Hi All,
TL;DR: I've had ringing T for at least 8 years, probably closer to 10. Just got hearing aids to try to combat the escalating volume. Nothing has worked yet.
I've had ringing for a long time, I really don't even remember when it began. I've had chronic middle ear infections all my life, so my eardrums and the bones, etc of the middle ear have really taken a beating. I'm turning 40 this year, and still get 1-2 ear infections a year, and it was worse as a child.
As a child, I had 3 sets of tubes to combat the recurrent infections. Clearly although they fixed the issue for the short-term, the longer term issue and root cause seems to be Eustacian Tube Dysfunction. At many times during my youth I would have temporary T, due to either loud music exposure or minor trauma (many seasons of soccer and other activities).
I gave myself a pretty nasty concussion while snowboarding in about 2003, and in retrospect, I would guess that this was the start of the T that I have now. Fortunately, my hearing was still adequate to ignore it other than in quiet situations.
When it did get worse, I spoke with my GP and ENT about it, but after an audiogram, it was dismissed as just a byproduct of my worsening hearing (scars on the eardrums from those 3 sets of tubes). I was disappointed that they didn't seem to want to treat it, but went on to see an acupuncturist for treatment. During my first session, he very confidently placed 4 or 5 needles and asked "ok, it's all better now, right?" Unfortunately, nothing changed over several visits.
As my hearing continued to degenerate, I was diagnosed several years ago with retracted eardrums and potential cholesteatoma due to the retraction. I now have a tube in my right ear in order to allow the eardrum to try and re-stabilize itself. I elected not to get a tube in the left ear at the same time, even though my left ear is significantly more retracted. I am considering a tube, or possibly eardrum replacement on that side, however I am concerned about the long-term success of either as the Eustacian tube seems to be locked in the open position.
Oddly, during the placement of the tube, I had about 15 seconds of pure silent bliss. I nearly started crying when the ringing quickly returned.
Unfortunately, the volume of my T has increased to the point where it significantly interferes with my ability to hear and comprehend my family and co-workers. I have just received my first pair of HAs yesterday and am very happy to be able to hear clearly again. Sadly, the T is still there in full force, but the HAs keep me from saying "What?" every time someone addresses me.
My T is a constant "eeeeeee" right around 6kHz. My new bff (my audiologist) hasn't performed any specific testing for the severity of the T, but I would estimate it to be around 60dB, although it still spikes up when I have an infection flare up (like I did the last few weeks).
So here I am joining the board to add my experiences and input and hopefully help support some of you as well. I get very frustrated at times, but try to keep focused on anything other than the noise.
Thanks in advance for your support!
Mike
TL;DR: I've had ringing T for at least 8 years, probably closer to 10. Just got hearing aids to try to combat the escalating volume. Nothing has worked yet.
I've had ringing for a long time, I really don't even remember when it began. I've had chronic middle ear infections all my life, so my eardrums and the bones, etc of the middle ear have really taken a beating. I'm turning 40 this year, and still get 1-2 ear infections a year, and it was worse as a child.
As a child, I had 3 sets of tubes to combat the recurrent infections. Clearly although they fixed the issue for the short-term, the longer term issue and root cause seems to be Eustacian Tube Dysfunction. At many times during my youth I would have temporary T, due to either loud music exposure or minor trauma (many seasons of soccer and other activities).
I gave myself a pretty nasty concussion while snowboarding in about 2003, and in retrospect, I would guess that this was the start of the T that I have now. Fortunately, my hearing was still adequate to ignore it other than in quiet situations.
When it did get worse, I spoke with my GP and ENT about it, but after an audiogram, it was dismissed as just a byproduct of my worsening hearing (scars on the eardrums from those 3 sets of tubes). I was disappointed that they didn't seem to want to treat it, but went on to see an acupuncturist for treatment. During my first session, he very confidently placed 4 or 5 needles and asked "ok, it's all better now, right?" Unfortunately, nothing changed over several visits.
As my hearing continued to degenerate, I was diagnosed several years ago with retracted eardrums and potential cholesteatoma due to the retraction. I now have a tube in my right ear in order to allow the eardrum to try and re-stabilize itself. I elected not to get a tube in the left ear at the same time, even though my left ear is significantly more retracted. I am considering a tube, or possibly eardrum replacement on that side, however I am concerned about the long-term success of either as the Eustacian tube seems to be locked in the open position.
Oddly, during the placement of the tube, I had about 15 seconds of pure silent bliss. I nearly started crying when the ringing quickly returned.
Unfortunately, the volume of my T has increased to the point where it significantly interferes with my ability to hear and comprehend my family and co-workers. I have just received my first pair of HAs yesterday and am very happy to be able to hear clearly again. Sadly, the T is still there in full force, but the HAs keep me from saying "What?" every time someone addresses me.
My T is a constant "eeeeeee" right around 6kHz. My new bff (my audiologist) hasn't performed any specific testing for the severity of the T, but I would estimate it to be around 60dB, although it still spikes up when I have an infection flare up (like I did the last few weeks).
So here I am joining the board to add my experiences and input and hopefully help support some of you as well. I get very frustrated at times, but try to keep focused on anything other than the noise.
Thanks in advance for your support!
Mike
Member
