Just Recently Got Tinnitus

[Emperor-Drax]

Oyyyyy yeah.

I'm getting a bit wary of earplugs in certain situations. Sometimes in particularly loud environments, they can shift sound to vibrate through your skull, which can be just as bad as it was without them.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Sometimes in particularly loud environments

Earplugs won't help in "particularly loud environments". Staying away from those environments would.

 

[Helgabje]

I'm 26 and also just got my T 4 days ago. Also went to ENT today, coming back with no problem with hearing test and possible cause is due to stress from uni. My ENT said T should fade away when I relax more and when the exam period is over. Like others, I also believe you have a good chance your T would go away on its on. Try not to think about it, listen to soft music in the background (from computer or so, not from ear/headphones), eating/staying healthy and active, keep busy with work/hobbies.. all of these I've been doing more of for the pass few days and I'm already feeling better (T feels a bit softer as well). Best of luck!

Wow my doctor said exactly the same to me!
Its just hard because im generally bit stressed, so for me to start relaxing is actually quite challenging! Oh and I love my headphones, this is a bummer but best of luck to you, I hope we'll get rid of this! (At least for the most part)

 

[PortalNaut]

@Person123 You have asked about getting on a steroid. My ENT said it could be effective if within 30 days of a trauma. Now. what exactly was your cause and did you damage your ear hair cells and nerves? Well we may not precisely know, but since you have T something happened. I know my body can handle a steroid, so if I was in your shoes and the doctor was amenable I would take the steroid.

Good luck.

 

[Person123]

@PortalNaut I'm fairly sure it was largely caused by using earbuds and overall noise exposure. I've also read that some think stress can contribute to it, and I was a little stressed just before the onset of T, so I think that may have had something to do with it as well.

I've seen two ENTs, I asked both about the cortisteroids and both seemed unconvinced that they would help. I may think about going to one more doctor and seeing if there's any more advice that can be given or perhaps one that can give me a prescription for cortisteroids.

 

[PortalNaut]

@Person123 that's too bad they are reluctant. My ENT said 'don't worry, I'll prescribe it' and then sent me to an audiologist. The report showed a light notch at 6000Hz, and with that she felt justified.

Maybe they have 'rules' and guidelines to follow, but since it's YOUR body, imho you ought to have the final sayso in iffy situations.

So on the doctor's side of this, there are certainly factors where it might not help (stress), however, same thing, imho your 'need' to have any possible nerve/hair-cell damage be helped by the steroid ought to be entertained.

You may have to read up on strategies to have a doctor provide the care for best outcome, or such.

Good luck.

ps. I paid the ENT cash and that may be a factor. When insurance is involved, they have to follow rules that the insurance company requires. Ie they have "guidelines."

 

[Contrast]

@Person123 that's too bad they are reluctant. My ENT said 'don't worry, I'll prescribe it' and then sent me to an audiologist. The report showed a light notch at 6000Hz, and with that she felt justified.

Maybe they have 'rules' and guidelines to follow, but since it's YOUR body, imho you ought to have the final sayso in iffy situations.

So on the doctor's side of this, there are certainly factors where it might not help (stress), however, same thing, imho your 'need' to have any possible nerve/hair-cell damage be helped by the steroid ought to be entertained.

You may have to read up on strategies to have a doctor provide the care for best outcome, or such.

Good luck.

ps. I paid the ENT cash and that may be a factor. When insurance is involved, they have to follow rules that the insurance company requires. Ie they have "guidelines."

Steroids don't regrow hair cells or repair synapses they just slightly help prevent damaged hair cells from dying in a 72 hour window after acoustic trauma. Steroids are usually oral and have other effects on the body not injecting directly into cochlea.

Modern medicine cannot directly address the root problem and an ENT told me cochlear hair cell regeneration is 100 years away despite a Clinical trial currently existing with Frequency Therapeutics.

 

[Person123]

@Contrast I've been reading a little through what some companies have been doing in search for a tinnitus treatment, and a good amount have been trying to use NMDA antagonist things, which, from what I've read, have helped lessen tinnitus in certain clinical trials.

I think more attention is being given to inner ear problems by researchers, and I think the demand for treatments of tinnitus/hearing loss will only increase in the upcoming years, as more people will experience such problems due to more people using earbuds/headphones.

I mean just after I got tinnitus it really became more apparent to me how many people use earbuds, I just look at people walking on the sidewalk and so many use them.

But yeah I think I'm more hopeful that some kind of treatment will be created for tinnitus in the relatively near future, regardless of whether it's regeneration of cochlear hair cells or something else.

@PortalNaut Yeah idk maybe I'll still look into trying to get cortisteroids, maybe I'll look into seeing an audiologist as well.

 

[Contrast]

@Contrast I've been reading a little through what some companies have been doing in search for a tinnitus treatment, and a good amount have been trying to use NMDA antagonist things, which, from what I've read, have helped lessen tinnitus in certain clinical trials.

I think more attention is being given to inner ear problems by researchers, and I think the demand for treatments of tinnitus/hearing loss will only increase in the upcoming years, as more people will experience such problems due to more people using earbuds/headphones.

I mean just after I got tinnitus it really became more apparent to me how many people use earbuds, I just look at people walking on the sidewalk and so many use them.

But yeah I think I'm more hopeful that some kind of treatment will be created for tinnitus in the relatively near future, regardless of whether it's regeneration of cochlear hair cells or something else.

I agree something will come soon for tinnitus, however I'd like to mention certain models of tinnitus are NMDA centric and I believe them to be incorrect.

Blocking NMDA prevents more hair cell damage but some scientist such those at Auris Medical actually hold a stance that NMDA is the cause of tinnitus, but I subscribe to a different model of tinnitus and do not believe NMDA is the root cause of tinnitus because it does not explain why people get tinnitus from ear wax, conductive hearing loss or severed audiotory nerves in an accident.

NMDA antagonist stop tinnitus by preventing more hair cell damage after acoustic trauma should be recognized as a way to prevent more hearing damage which can usually help tinnitus.

It upsets me knowing a most likely incorrect model of tinnitus is still being used by some researchers
Central Gain Model explained below

 

[Contrast]

NMDA blockage will help tinnitus only in a very short window of time by preventing more hearing damage.

Individuals with long term tinnitus that didn't understand the science behind it got excited over nothing

 

[Person123]

@Contrast I could be wrong, but my understanding was that those who have tinnitus have certain regions of their brain, associated with sound/noise (which I thought might be or include the NMDA receptors?), active even when there is no sound present in their environment. And the NMDA antagonists cause those regions of the brain, in those who have tinnitus, to not be as active.

I also read that this form of treatment would only be meant to help those who have a certain type of tinnitus. I think from one study I read, I could be misremembering, but I think it said the NMDA antagonist treatment was meant to help those who had tinnitus due to acoustic trauma.

Either way it's good that people are studying this condition and trying to better understand it. The better understanding the research community has of tinnitus the easier it'll be to try and find a treatment I think.

 

[Person123]

Hey guys so recently I've been reading about NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine), I was just wondering what your thoughts are about it. I initially read that some think it helps prevent any worsening of hearing or tinnitus, but I've also been reading through a few threads in which some actually say they think NAC has worsened their tinnitus.

I think more people agree with the former theory, that it helps prevent worsening of T/hearing loss, than people who think it has a negative impact on T.

I'm not really sure what to make of this, I was wondering if anyone's had experience with NAC or could offer their input on it.

 

[Lane]

I initially read that some think it helps prevent any worsening of hearing or tinnitus

Hi @Person123,

Along those lines, you may want to check out THIS THREAD on Sodium Thiosulfate, which is being used in conventional chemotherapy to cut in half the incidence of tinnitus occurring from cancer treatment.

Best...​

 

[Person123]

@Lane Hmm that looks like it might be promising, I'll look into that, thanks for the link

 

[PortalNaut]

Hey guys so recently I've been reading about NAC (N-acetyl-L-cysteine), I was just wondering what your thoughts are about it. I initially read that some think it helps prevent any worsening of hearing or tinnitus, but I've also been reading through a few threads in which some actually say they think NAC has worsened their tinnitus.

I had read that NAC was used by the US Navy in the first 48 hours when serviceman had severe noise trauma exposure...along with a bunch of other measures. So that along with other of my research, I tried it at about 1.5 months...and my T volume increased, so I stopped. I then researched a bit further and also found a sizable amount of users had their T increase. To be fair, for some probably it also helped, but the mechanisms to tell are too difficult so I would not rule it out for anyone. I might even try it again. My wife is a proponent of certain supplements like this, but we haven't discussed it yet.

Earlier I wrote:

In my research about NAC hurting T, I did indeed find some people say it increased their T, found one double blind study which said "no improvement" with it, and two spec pages (in German and in Spanish) which said a side effect of NAC was tinnitus. Some people say they take it for prevention or for non-T purposes, and God bless all who take it, but it doesn't seem like it's for me.

Good luck

 

[Bill Bauer]

I had read that NAC was used by the US Navy in the first 48 hours when serviceman had severe noise trauma exposure...along with a bunch of other measures. So that along with other of my research, I tried it at about 1.5 months

What were the other measures? Do you know what dosage was given to those servicemen?

 

[PortalNaut]

What were the other measures? Do you know what dosage was given to those servicemen?

I recall it was prednisone, NAC and then other unspecific measures. I was wondering myself what they were. Wondering if it was bariatic maybe.

I'll look for the link, and post it if find it.

HAHA - Found, it's at TT. I'll post the info below.

It is a 17 page thread on NAC. And please note, there are reasons to think NAC can contribute to T for some people as well as possibly benefit others. There are a variety of experiences, dosages etc, in that thread.

My gleanings:

- -- - - - - - - - - - - -
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/n-acetylcysteine-nac.395/

p1

i think the us navy uses n acetylcysteine to inhibit hearing loss... administered quickly after extreme noise exposure

for example a member of a deck crew on aircraft carrier sometimes has protective head gear knocked off as a jet engine is throttling up and if given large doses of NAC and another supplement ( L- carnitine?) immediately after noise exposure allegedly limits oxidative stress and damage to the hearing hair cells (stereo cilia)

..
also p1
(article is mentioned twice on p1)

Last year, a psychiatry journal published a letter about NAC and tinnitus. The letter described a woman being treated with NAC for unipolar depression (2g, daily). As a pleasant and unexpected surprise, the NAC nearly eradicated her tinnitus; and, when it did reoccur, she described it as "much less noticeable" than before her treatment. Please note her tinnitus, which she described as "medium" but nonstop, had bothered her for six years prior to the NAC treatment.

Here's the link:

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajpsy/article/viewFile/91125/80563



...

p7

Here is another interesting article on NAC for hearing protection. In this study, textile workers took 1200 mg a day to protect from hearing damage due to loud machinery. Below is the abstract and a reference to the full text.

Noise Health. 2014 Jul-Aug;16(71):223-7. doi: 10.4103/1463-1741.137057.

Comparison of the effects of N-acetyl-cysteine and ginseng in prevention of noise induced hearing loss in male textile workers.

Doosti A, Lotfi Y1, Moossavi A, Bakhshi E, Talasaz AH, Hoorzad A.