Hearing Loss, and...? Common Thread Concerning the Cause of Tinnitus

[JohnFox]

Just thought I'd throw this out there. The more I read these posts, I do see a common thread emerging concerning the cause of tinnitus. Okay, I am convinced that tinnitus has something to do with hearing loss, but I also see that it seems often it is hearing loss combined with something else. I read so many accounts of people who say I did this, or did that, ie, a medication they were on, a car wreck, a dentist appt, a period of high stress, and of course loud noise, ...the list goes on and on.

What say you? Have some of us always had some form of hearing loss, and then we take that medication, go to that dentist or whatever, and then the tinnitus is activated, which maybe would not have been activated had we not already been living with even mild hearing loss?

 

[Contrast]

Yes it's usually a perfect storm scenario of hearing loss and "something else" and resolving the something else also seems to help.

The most common "something else" along with hearing loss is TMD/TMJ, cervical issues, trigeminal neuralgia, head trauma and
stress.

 

[Gman]

Just thought I'd throw this out there. The more I read these posts, I do see a common thread emerging concerning the cause of tinnitus. Okay, I am convinced that tinnitus has something to do with hearing loss, but I also see that it seems often it is hearing loss combined with something else. I read so many accounts of people who say I did this, or did that, ie, a medication they were on, a car wreck, a dentist appt, a period of high stress, and of course loud noise, ...the list goes on and on.

What say you? Have some of us always had some form of hearing loss, and then we take that medication, go to that dentist or whatever, and then the tinnitus is activated, which maybe would not have been activated had we not already been living with even mild hearing loss?

Hearing loss is a natural part of ageing unfortunately, for everyone. It is sped up by a multitude of different factors like noise, exposure to ototoxic agents, physical and psychological causes. But not everyone develops tinnitus.

 

[Contrast]

Hearing loss is a natural part of ageing unfortunately, for everyone. It is sped up by a multitude of different factors like noise, exposure to ototoxic agents, physical and psychological causes. But not everyone develops tinnitus.

because there are other mechanism with it that play a role.


Ultimately the goal should be curing the hearing loss, as it sucks.

 

[JohnFox]

Ultimately the goal should be curing the hearing loss, as it sucks.

Yea, I hear ya..(no pun intended). My sudden hearing loss is so complete in right ear that I feel like somehow the nerve is likely toast, so I am not too hopeful of recovery. It's still early for me, so who knows. It's such a weird thing,....one day my ears were just fine and then whammo,... It's like my right ear was disconnected, leaving me with our friend the big T. No rhyme or reason. I'm sure there IS a reason why I suddenly lost my hearing, but I fear I'll never know what it was.

 

[Gman]

Ultimately the goal should be curing the hearing loss, as it sucks.

Yes, of course it would be good to cure it. Then we might be on par with birds.

 

[Gman]

Yea, I hear ya..(no pun intended). My sudden hearing loss is so complete in right ear that I feel like somehow the nerve is likely toast, so I am not too hopeful of recovery. It's still early for me, so who knows. It's such a weird thing,....one day my ears were just fine and then whammo,... It's like my right ear was disconnected, leaving me with our friend the big T. No rhyme or reason. I'm sure there IS a reason why I suddenly lost my hearing, but I fear I'll never know what it was.

You are seeking medical attention for it, right?

 

[JohnFox]

You are seeking medical attention for it, right?

Absolutely. I was at the ENT doc the day it happened. Complete audiograhm and then put on a steroid treatment. A few days later I had a head MRI. I go back to the ENT in a few days for a follow up where he will likely recommend a steroid injection into the inner ear. After that I will go back to what I am doing now, learning how to live with a dead right ear and a untuned radio in my head 24/7 .

 

[ShariK]

Absolutely. I was at the ENT doc the day it happened. Complete audiograhm and then put on a steroid treatment. A few days later I had a head MRI. I go back to the ENT in a few days for a follow up where he will likely recommend a steroid injection into the inner ear. After that I will go back to what I am doing now, learning how to live with a dead right ear and a untuned radio in my head 24/7 .

John, my heart goes out to you!! I do hope your doctor is able to help you. I have some hearing loss in my left ear and that is where the tinnitus is louder. In the last year I have to wear ear buds at night with "white noise" to help me sleep. My sound machine didn't help anymore. I am always looking for healthier and better ways to live with tinnitus. My tinnitus started in the early 90's due to loud sounds (outdoor machinery, barking dogs in kennel), but I also think my TMJ repair may have contributed to it since it started after I got my jaw realigned.

 

[Gman]

Absolutely. I was at the ENT doc the day it happened. Complete audiograhm and then put on a steroid treatment. A few days later I had a head MRI. I go back to the ENT in a few days for a follow up where he will likely recommend a steroid injection into the inner ear. After that I will go back to what I am doing now, learning how to live with a dead right ear and a untuned radio in my head 24/7 .

I really hope that it can help restore some hearing and you can get some answers about what's going on with that ear.

 

[JohnFox]

I really hope that it can help restore some hearing and you can get some answers about what's going on with that ear.

Yea, thanks. It is so baffling. It would at least be nice to know just what the heck caused my sudden hearing loss.

 

[Gman]

Yea, thanks. It is so baffling. It would at least be nice to know just what the heck caused my sudden hearing loss.

I wonder if a middle ear ossicle was displaced. Did they speculate it could be that?

I've had the rare moment where one ear goes deaf suddenly with an increase inT until it goes back to normal. It's like fleeting T but worse, so I have a little bit of understanding how unpleasant it is. I've often wondered if it's neck / nerve compression related, viral or something else.

 

[JohnFox]

I wonder if a middle ear ossicle was displaced. Did they speculate it could be that?

Yea, who knows? I don't know what a middle ear ossicle is. I see the ENT again in a few days and I will be asking him some stuff to be sure.

 

[Gman]

Yea, who knows? I don't know what a middle ear ossicle is. I see the ENT again in a few days and I will be asking him some stuff to be sure.

Ossicles are tiny little bones in your middle ear that allow sound to be conducted from your ear canal to your inner ear.

 

[GregCA]

I wonder if a middle ear ossicle was displaced. Did they speculate it could be that?

I doubt it. I have never come across a single case of "ossicle displaced" in all my "ear pathology" reading. Ossicles can have issues (ask me how I know), but I don't think they get displaced.

At any rate, a simple way to assess that is to do a hearing test with bone conduction testing: if there is an air-bone gap, you can start looking into middle ear issues.