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Alcohol Quiets Down My Tinnitus

#2
Can someone please explain how the erratic chirping / ticking noise in my ear disappears completely when I get drunk?

Sure, my ears will "ring" when I'm drunk. Probably just the effect of blood rushing through my ears. Or higher blood pressure which is just what happens when you're drunk.

I don't have a ringing noise, and I wish I did because it's hard to get used to a bird chirp every 3-4 seconds. It's like my ear saves up the ringing over the past few seconds and then releases it all at once.

I guess I could keep drinking 5-7 drinks every night to continue abolishing my condition. I think we all know where that would end up.

Has anyone else experienced something similar???
 
#3
@dudeguywithstuff

Never experienced the chirping symptoms you have. I have however been a little tipsy a couple times in the past and my T was still as loud as ever. I'm actually happy that's the case or I would be a raging alcoholic instead of a raging tinnitisoholic!!
 
#5
@dudeguywithstuff

Ah OK. Mine is just a steady super high pitched screech in each ear. At least with Tinnitus, if I get pulled over by the coppers while driving, I can't charged with Tinnitus-and-driving!! Or DWT driving while tinnitusing! lol Be careful with the alcohol.
 
#6
MikeP505 said:
@dudeguywithstuff

Ah OK. Mine is just a steady super high pitched screech in each ear. At least with Tinnitus, if I get pulled over by the coppers while driving, I can't charged with Tinnitus-and-driving!! Or DWT driving while tinnitusing! lol Be careful with the alcohol.
Click to expand...

That's why I'd really like to know if anyone has something similar. The members of this forum tend to be fatalistic in the sense that if you have a sound in your ear, it is almost certainly cochlear damage that can't be cured and will continue forever. But the folks here also acknowledge that tinnitus has many causes. We of all people ought to be able to figure out what types of noises mean what and what changes in tinnitus lead to what future outcomes.

My noise is intermittent in the sense that I can still hear silence...it just gets interrupted by a chirp, kind of a WWSHH noise, and sometimes just a tick / click, every few seconds. If it's not constant, it seems like it shouldn't be cochlear damage. But it IS constant in the sense that it never stops sounding off every 3 seconds. (Unless I get drunk)

I would just love to hear someone comment on this. I've heard tinnitus described as "ringing, rushing, whooshing, tea kettle, jet engine", which all sound like constant noises. Then I hear it described as "chirping" or "clicking" which are INTERMITTENT noises. Can intermittent noises still be cochlear damage and be permanent? Does ANYONE have any expertise on this?
 
#7
Wow 5-7 drinks a night. Consider what that would do to your life long term...though for right now maybe you are more focused on the noise in your head.
Will give you the counterpoint to your question. First, there is no medical expert that can answer it with certainty. Second, there is no cure for tinnitus of any variety because it is a brain processing issue. Cochlea damage doesn't necessarily precipitate tinnitus. A person can be hard of hearing and not have tinnitus. Nobody yet has unraveled the mystery of redirecting the brain which creates an illusionary sound whatever hardware issue you may or may not have...cochlea, the analog to electrical signal creator or auditory cortex which processes the sound. I believe one day, this mystery will be solved and/or shorter term in next few years symptoms will be reduced. Only speculation and greater research needed. Meanwhile, consider reducing your drinking for your long term health. The noise in your head may even subside with time or you will habituate to it and it won't bother you as much.

Good luck.
 
#8
Is it possible that the alcohol thins your blood enough to temporarily treat whatever it is thats causing your ticking/clicking?

If so, I wonder then if another type of blood thinner would cause the same thing to happen.. perhaps.. gingko biloba, or vinpocetine?
 
#9
dudeguywithstuff said:
Can someone please explain how the erratic chirping / ticking noise in my ear disappears completely when I get drunk?

Sure, my ears will "ring" when I'm drunk. Probably just the effect of blood rushing through my ears. Or higher blood pressure which is just what happens when you're drunk.

I don't have a ringing noise, and I wish I did because it's hard to get used to a bird chirp every 3-4 seconds. It's like my ear saves up the ringing over the past few seconds and then releases it all at once.

I guess I could keep drinking 5-7 drinks every night to continue abolishing my condition. I think we all know where that would end up.

Has anyone else experienced something similar???
Click to expand...

I don't know for certain but maybe because it is an NMDA antagonist and I believe it also has an effect on GABA as well.
 
#14
I think that alcohol thins the blood , maybe thats why ?
IN fact , alcohol and sitting in a jacuzzi for an hour are the only two things that have a positive effect on my T.
I should just sit in the hot tub all day with a beer and i am good.
 
#17
I used to be pretty good with alcohol, felt it helped me, but more recently I find it spikes me more. Sometimes when I'm out drinking and for the next couple of days or so after.

Plus it can make me have more fleeting tinnitus episodes where my hearing drops out and I get a much louder noise.
 
#20
Benzos and alcohol actually do have some things in common in regards to how they work on the brain. People with anxiety disorders can be at risk for problem drinking -- although too much alcohol, ironically, also can cause panic.

Anyway, re. tinnitus and alcohol: I also find one or two glasses of wine can calm down my T, although it never completely goes away. But too much alcohol? Way wicked tinnitus. At least for me.
 
#21
Beer really helps quiet things down for me. Wine on the other hand makes my T worse.

So I have found my temporary " T " cure in a bottle. Haha

t_beer_neutral.png
images.png
 
#22
Andrea White said:
@Steve
I was told that alcohol was a no no with Tinnitus - I've not had had a glass of red wine in over a year - so seeing your posts, maybe I should try it again?
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Hi Andrea, there are no hard and fast rules. Like you see written around here people have varying degrees of help and harm from alcohol. I guess that everything in moderation is generally okay, if you feel like it try a couple of glasses of wine and see how you feel after.
 
#23
Had half a beer the other day..didnt notice a thing..only half but it had like 8% alcohol.
 
#25
I'm not much of a drinker. however in the past week I've gotten drunk twice and both time my T disappeared. unfortunately, life's not about staying drunk, not for me anyway.
 
#26
Alcohol used to have the same effect for me but not now, I drink too get drunk every night now just too deal with the tinnitus, hearing loss, balance issues and destroyed life. Then I wake up with a slight hangover into a massive panic attack and struggle threw another horrible day.
7 months today.
 
#28
Jason C said:
Alcohol used to have the same effect for me but not now, I drink too get drunk every night now just too deal with the tinnitus, hearing loss, balance issues and destroyed life. Then I wake up with a slight hangover into a massive panic attack and struggle threw another horrible day.
7 months today.
Click to expand...

Wow that is terrible. You might benefit from having hearing aides with maskers. It can help calm you down some to hear something besides ringing and also the amplified hearing could take some of the ringing away. In the temporary, have you thought about taking some Xanax to see if that will take the volume down a notch and help with panic? If it does, there may be something else that could help because Xanax is an addictive drug and should not be taken long term. I think they said Valium (other benzodiazepine) has the longest half life so I am not sure if that would be better or not. Right now, I am taking Lamictal for depression and Klonopin (wish I could get off the klonopin but long story there) and am thinking about adding in some lithium orotate right now but don't know how well that will do for me. I think I have a circadian rhythm disorder and have had depression issues for years before T. I hope you find something to help.
 
#29
JasonP said:
Wow that is terrible. You might benefit from having hearing aides with maskers. It can help calm you down some to hear something besides ringing and also the amplified hearing could take some of the ringing away. In the temporary, have you thought about taking some Xanax to see if that will take the volume down a notch and help with panic? If it does, there may be something else that could help because Xanax is an addictive drug and should not be taken long term. I think they said Valium (other benzodiazepine) has the longest half life so I am not sure if that would be better or not. Right now, I am taking Lamictal for depression and Klonopin (wish I could get off the klonopin but long story there) and am thinking about adding in some lithium orotate right now but don't know how well that will do for me. I think I have a circadian rhythm disorder and have had depression issues for years before T. I hope you find something to help.
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There is nothing that can help the self hate, along with the tinnitus, balance problems and hearing loss it really is a losing battle. My life has been destroyed. I did it all on my own and I am too blame. I went too see a show on Boxing night with my family and the T has been worse ever since, I used plugs but didn't help. Hearing is worse in the left ear and the fullness is back.
Anti depressants won't help me with all of this. A bottle of wine helps take the edge off and helps
me get too sleep. I can't keep doing that forever though so I guess things will come too a natural conclusion at some point. We shall see.
 
#30
Jasons.....I feel for you both. I also think it CAN get better for you both.
My tinnitus (24/7 high pitched hiss plus intermittent PT) started with a very mild virus in Oct 2014. Eustachian tube dysfunction, grommets, T-tubes, severe depression,panic attacks, deafness, vertigo (unrelated ....Benign Positional) all made their way into my life and almost took it. But not now...though I have tinnitus as bad, or worse than ever.
Sound-generating hearing aids helped quite a bit, but I use them less now as the tinnitus no longer really bothers me. Anti-depressants drove out the 'black beasts' of depression and panic. Alcohol makes me forget about the tinnitus (but I think it's probably there at the same volume)....I enjoy wine and drink it quite often, but don't enjoy being drunk or getting hangovers, so am a moderate drinker. I go to the cinema, music gigs etc (plus good quality earplugs)....tinnitus stays the same.
I think you are probably suffering from the mental health issues that tinnitus brings with it....tailored help from professionals is the way to go.
If, actually I mean when (but in the first year or so of tinnitus you may not see this) you can ignore the tinnitus, the tinnitus will improve. It IS there, it is always there, but with neglect it improves.
I really do hope that I don't sound like I'm smug/preaching etc. That's not my intent. What I'm trying to do is to say that life/tinnitus etc will improve, but, like those things/people etc you love, tinnitus thrives on attention, it rolls up when neglected.

Fungus
 

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