"Feeling" of Ringing

[Joe123]

Anyone else ever get the feeling of tinnitus without the actual ringing? It's hard to explain. My tinnitus is pretty settled at a mild tone but I get an irritated feeling quite often. Kind of like when I get a spike I can almost feel the ringing, it's basically the same as when I get this irritated feeling except... no ringing? Really is strange.

 

[john paul]

yeah i can feel the activity in my brain, even if i can barely hear it when masking it. Its like permanent head fuzz.

 

[Joe123]

Yeah kinda like that. Lately my headset has been irritating my ears too. Kind of like they're tired. It's not pain or anything just when I have my headset on I get sick of hearing music and things like my ears need to relax or something.

 

[Joe123]

Anymore insight to this? It's kind of giving me the feeling like when you're about to vomit and you squint your eyes. On top of that it feels like theres major ringing but is none. Just before in my right ear it sounded like someone kicked my ear drum for a split second however my tinnitus is fine. No spike or anything. Maybe an ear infection? I plan on visiting my ENT this week to double check but when I was there a week ago my ears were fine. Any insight to this?

 

[Lane]

anymore insight to this? It's kind of giving me the feeling like when you're about to vomit

Not sure I can provide any insight, but I also experience tinnitus as a feeling. So masking is really not a viable option as some kind of long-term solution, as I can always feel the t above any masking I try. That feeling varies, but at its worst, I also feel I'm about to vomit, or I can get a gagging feeling. I also can experienced a very heavy-hearted feeling.

My best guess is this is all because of the connection of tinnitus with the vagus nerve, which is the main nerve in the body, extending to virtually every important area of the body, such as the heart, gut, liver, etc., besides being responsible for the gag reflex. I try to do various things to stimulate the vagus nerve, which has a calming influence,and tends to take some of the edge off.​

 

[Joe123]

It's kind of weird because generally speaking I don't feel it when I have a spike. Occasionally I do thought however I'm currently not having a spike.

 

[Joe123]

Oh and the feeling is worse while wearing my headset and hearing sound through my headset.

 

[Samir]

I assume you are talking about a physical sensation and not an emotion. Tinnitus is not something you feel, it is something you hear.

What you are describing is reminiscent of hyperacusis. That is, you experience normal sound levels as too loud. When you have hyperacusis, you can get this sensation where it "feels" though as if your "brain is vibrating". The brain can't vibrate though. This vibratory sensation is likely the result of middle ear muscle contractions. This can be a spontaneous contraction every now and then or take on the form of a disorder called tonic tensor tympani syndrome where at least one of these muscles is more or less constantly contracting and relaxing, causing you to hear clicks or thumping sounds all the time.

These symptoms are sometimes referred to as objective tinnitus, because they can be observed by an observer, better known as a "doctor". Doctors don't normally investigate these symptoms when patients complaint about it. They go by your patient history and their gut feeling. They can't even see these tiny muscles with a regular otoscope. They need to use a microscope, and they don't normally pull those out unless they are doing micro-surgery. It's just too much trouble for little return and it's a lot of time wasted. Besides, even if they pull out the big guns and they objectively diagnose you with something like tonic tensor tympani syndrome or similar, there is not much they can do for you. They can proscribe some medications or inject botox to calm down or paralyze these muscles. But botox wears off with time and medication can have unwanted side-effects.

In addition to these symptoms, you can have hyperacusis with ear pain. But not everyone gets ear pain with hyperacusis. I normally don't get ear pain, but I have a mild hyperacusis. Although I can get ear pain if I have been exposed to a loud environment.

Pain is the body's warning system. If your ears are already compromised, you will get ear pain more easily or more frequently then before, as a way to prevent further damage.

Just before in my right ear it sounded like someone kicked my ear drum for a split second however my tinnitus is fine.

Tensor tympani muscle pulling on the ear drum?

Oh and the feeling is worse while wearing my headset and hearing sound through my headset.

We hear with our ears, not with headsets or hearing aids. Try to cut down on your headset use if you can, or avoid it altogether. You may have a profession where you can't do that, and I can understand that. If you only use it for entertainment you have no excuse not to stop using it.

 

[Joe123]

I assume you are talking about a physical sensation and not an emotion. Tinnitus is not something you feel, it is something you hear.

What you are describing is reminiscent of hyperacusis. That is, you experience normal sound levels as too loud. When you have hyperacusis, you can get this sensation where it "feels" though as if your "brain is vibrating". The brain can't vibrate though. This vibratory sensation is likely the result of middle ear muscle contractions. This can be a spontaneous contraction every now and then or take on the form of a disorder called tonic tensor tympani syndrome where at least one of these muscles is more or less constantly contracting and relaxing, causing you to hear clicks or thumping sounds all the time.

These symptoms are sometimes referred to as objective tinnitus, because they can be observed by an observer, better known as a "doctor". Doctors don't normally investigate these symptoms when patients complaint about it. They go by your patient history and their gut feeling. They can't even see these tiny muscles with a regular otoscope. They need to use a microscope, and they don't normally pull those out unless they are doing micro-surgery. It's just too much trouble for little return and it's a lot of time wasted. Besides, even if they pull out the big guns and they objectively diagnose you with something like tonic tensor tympani syndrome or similar, there is not much they can do for you. They can proscribe some medications or inject botox to calm down or paralyze these muscles. But botox wears off with time and medication can have unwanted side-effects.

In addition to these symptoms, you can have hyperacusis with ear pain. But not everyone gets ear pain with hyperacusis. I normally don't get ear pain, but I have a mild hyperacusis. Although I can get ear pain if I have been exposed to a loud environment.

Pain is the body's warning system. If your ears are already compromised, you will get ear pain more easily or more frequently then before, as a way to prevent further damage.


Tensor tympani muscle pulling on the ear drum?


We hear with our ears, not with headsets or hearing aids. Try to cut down on your headset use if you can, or avoid it altogether. You may have a profession where you can't do that, and I can understand that. If you only use it for entertainment you have no excuse not to stop using it.

Thanks for the info. I looked into Hyperacusis but sound doesn't bother me really. Sounds are all normal, I get the occasional ear pain but I've had that long before this started. I tend to get inflammation in my ears and sinuses often due to my horrible allergies. As for the muscle, maybe not too sure. It just sounded like a thump kind of like a heartbeat. Yeah I have to give my headset a break I think, my ears feel pretty normal when it's not on.

 

[Samir]

Thanks for the info. I looked into Hyperacusis but sound doesn't bother me really. Sounds are all normal, I get the occasional ear pain but I've had that long before this started. I tend to get inflammation in my ears and sinuses often due to my horrible allergies.

I still don't understand what this irritating sensation is. How can you feel the ringing? What you are feeling may not be the ringing, it may not be related to tinnitus at all. If it's not hyperacusis, it may be something completely unrelated to hearing, hjearing loss or tinnitus.

Ear pain is not a good sign, nor is inflammation and allergies. I used to get ear pain before I got tinnitus. In addition to that I also have sinus problems and some allergies. But one problem may not be related to the other at all.

 

[Joe123]

I still don't understand what this irritating sensation is. How can you feel the ringing? What you are feeling may not be the ringing, it may not be related to tinnitus at all. If it's not hyperacusis, it may be something completely unrelated to hearing, hjearing loss or tinnitus.

Ear pain is not a good sign, nor is inflammation and allergies. I used to get ear pain before I got tinnitus. In addition to that I also have sinus problems and some allergies. But one problem may not be related to the other at all.

That's the weird part. So when I get spikes in tinnitus occasionally it's accompanied by a weird feeling for a few seconds, something that is almost like a tickle, maybe something vibrating the nerve. That's kind of the irritated feeling I'm getting right now. You could be completely right, and most likely are. This is probably unrelated to my tinnitus completely but I was just double checking to see if maybe someone had a similar experience. Today there were parts of the day I didn't even notice it (when I was distracted) so this is making me believe it's my anxiety mixed with the irritation of my ear canal caused by allergies. About a week ago when I saw my ENT he described my ears as the best he's seen in almost his entire [long] career but also said the inflammation that is in my ear canal and my sinuses is some of the worst he has seen. I'm starting to lean more in the direction of allergy & anxiety (literally the story of my life and 99% of my problems). Thanks for some insight, exactly what I was looking for!

 

[Samir]

Where is it? Where do you feel it?

That's the weird part.

It's not as much weird as it is difficult to explain.

I have had moments where my tinnitus sounded not like ringing but more like shooting lasers in Star Wars. I once described it as if the neurons are talking and making a plan on how to overthrow their boss.

The trouble is explaining these symptoms to outsiders.

So when I get spikes in tinnitus occasionally it's accompanied by a weird feeling for a few seconds, something that is almost like a tickle, maybe something vibrating the nerve.

Vibrating nerve... interesting. I have had similar imaginations about some of my own symptoms. There was a period where I would hear what sounded like puncturing a car tire. It would sound like "ptssss..." and then again "ptssss...". My hearing felt like it was improved between these sounds. I pictured it as sparkling between two ends of a broken wire.



But it might have been cochlear hydrop, which is very nicely illustrated in the following video.

 

[Joe123]

Where is it? Where do you feel it?


It's not as much weird as it is difficult to explain.

I have had moments where my tinnitus sounded not like ringing but more like shooting lasers in Star Wars. I once described it as if the neurons are talking and making a plan on how to overthrow their boss.

The trouble is explaining these symptoms to outsiders.


Vibrating nerve... interesting. I have had similar imaginations about some of my own symptoms. There was a period where I would hear what sounded like puncturing a car tire. It would sound like "ptssss..." and then again "ptssss...". My hearing felt like it was improved between these sounds. I pictured it as sparkling between two ends of a broken wire.

View attachment 19648

But it might have been cochlear hydrop, which is very nicely illustrated in the following video.

Talking about electricity actually kind of sparks (haha) an idea. It kind of feels like a very low voltage shock (kind of like when you lick a 9V) but in my ear canal minus the pain. It kind of feels a little tense and tickles but in an irritating way (kind of like the 9V) but absolutely no pain and no increase in the tinnitus. I felt pressure in my ears after one night on vacation and my ears were constantly popping. This was put down as inflammation and I was put on a prednisone taper and it resolved itself. The pain in my ear is in the canal close to the exterior also sometimes in my ear lobe which is strange? I don't hear any noises or anything. *rephrasing my initial edit* The video states something about Menieres. Does this mean that if it is hydrops it could possibly rupture and progress into menieres (like shown in the video) or is the hydrop a symptom of already having menieres? Is there any way to have this checked and what do you recommend I do to help this resolve if this is in fact the case?

 

[Samir]

You may be worrying about nothing. But it's best to have yourself checked just to be on the safe side. You did say you have inflammation of the ear canal. That may explain the sensation you have.

Cochlear hydrop doesn't always result in Meniere's disease. I used the video to illustrate some of the hidden processes that take place inside the inaccessible parts of our bodies that give doctors and researchers a hard time. More often than not, science can't catch what we as patients are capable of experiencing. But as people, we should not settle with vague explanations, we have to continue to question and go to the bottom of things. That's the only way we will learn and understand things.

 

[Joe123]

You may be worrying about nothing. But it's best to have yourself checked just to be on the safe side. You did say you have inflammation of the ear canal. That may explain the sensation you have.

Cochlear hydrop doesn't always result in Meniere's disease. I used the video to illustrate some of the hidden processes that take place inside the inaccessible parts of our bodies that give doctors and researchers a hard time. More often than not, science can't catch what we as patients are capable of experiencing. But as people, we should not settle with vague explanations, we have to continue to question and go to the bottom of things. That's the only way we will learn and understand things.

I will be seeing the ENT this week. The thing is worrying about nothing is my specialty Also how does one get checked for hydrops, as far as I'm aware it's diagnosis by elimination. I'm hoping it's due to inflammation, some benadryl helped a bit but not fully.

 

[Samir]

I will be seeing the ENT this week. The thing is worrying about nothing is my specialty Also how does one get checked for hydrops, as far as I'm aware it's diagnosis by elimination. I'm hoping it's due to inflammation, some benadryl helped a bit but not fully.

There are two types of it, one called primary and another called secondary depending on the symptoms you have. So yeah, it's basically down to diagnosis by elimination, a.k.a. differential diagnosis.

• Primary endolymphatic hydrops
• Secondary endolymphatic hydrops

It's good that you have yourself checked. But unless you have balance problems I think it's safe to say that you don't have Meniere's nor do you have endolymphatic hydrops.

From Wikipedia:

The symptoms of endolymphatic hydrops include the feeling of pressure or fullness in the ears, hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and balance problems. Individuals who have Meniere's disease have a degree of endolymphatic hydrops that is strong enough to trigger the symptoms of this disease, but individuals with endolymphatic hydrops do not always progress to Meniere's disease.

 

[Joe123]

There are two types of it, one called primary and another called secondary depending on the symptoms you have. So yeah, it's basically down to diagnosis by elimination, a.k.a. differential diagnosis.

• Primary endolymphatic hydrops
• Secondary endolymphatic hydrops

It's good that you have yourself checked. But unless you have balance problems I think it's safe to say that you don't have Meniere's nor do you have endolymphatic hydrops.

From Wikipedia:

My balance is as it always was which is pretty good considering the activities I do / did. I also don't have hearing loss and my tinnitus is still around the same as usual with a SLIGHT increase in the passed day which is again intermittent and most likely due to my anxiety going through the roof right now. Just imagining it could be hydrops or anything of that nature has me freaking out and immediately going into "end of the world" mode. How I love my anxiety...

 

[Joe123]

My balance is as it always was which is pretty good considering the activities I do / did. I also don't have hearing loss and my tinnitus is still around the same as usual with a SLIGHT increase in the passed day which is again intermittent and most likely due to my anxiety going through the roof right now. Just imagining it could be hydrops or anything of that nature has me freaking out and immediately going into "end of the world" mode. How I love my anxiety...

I think I've spent the passed 15 hours looking into how peoples lives are with hydrops and menieres and everything to prepare for the worst... Not even a joke. I've been at the point of anxiety where I feel like I'm about to vomit for each of those hours as well. Haven't been this panicked in about a year since my "I have every type of cancer" phase.