Musical Tinnitus Is Making Me Nuts! Good Morning All, I'm New Here.

[MelissaJane]

I have had tinnitus since I was about 9 years old, having gained that lovely gift as I lost my hearing. I now have 20% low frequency hearing to work with. My tinnitus has never really bothered me too much as I found that if I embraced it and didn't fight it, it would not get in my way of enjoying life. But..and here's the catch..now my tinnitus has joined the ringing with musical tinnitus. One ear rings all day while the other one plays the same few bars of music constantly. OK, that I accept. Here is what I don't accept: every time I run the musical tinnitus gets super loud and lasts the entire day at that increased volume. It has gotten so bad that I find that I am skipping running days just to get a break from the musical tinnitus. And I love to run, it's my heart and soul. Drs can't help at all. Any advice?? Or empathy? I'll take empathy any day

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum. I am no doctor so I can only speculate what may be the problem. If you run, your blood pressure and blood flow with increase or speed up. Blood circulation issue can trigger or aggravate T. So it may cause your T to flare up. As far as why only the musical tinnitus, it may not be easy to understand why. Here are write ups on musical tinnitus, they call it musical hallucination.

http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/musical-hallucination

http://musicpsychology.co.uk/what-is-the-difference-between-musical-hallucinations-and-tinnitus/

 

[MelissaJane]

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes I am aware of those links. I've read everything I can find on musical tinnitus. Nice to know I have some musical geniuses for fellow sufferers I am beginning to agree that the increased blood flow and pressure from running has something to do with the volume increasing. Got to have a sense of humor with tinnitus: at least I don't need an Ipod with me, right?

 

[dragonjax]

Tons of empathy! And I admire your sense of humor. (Maybe musical tinnitus is where "earworm" comes from?)

I wish I liked running. I do taekwondo, and running (or in my case, plodding) would help my stamina for sparring. But ugh, running. What about running do you love so much? Maybe I could learn to love it too...

 

[MelissaJane]

I live on a farm road having moved from NYC to the country 8 years ago. So first, I walk out my front door and there is my own private running track which is visually stunning. I am deaf so visuals are always important to me. And when I run, I just go into my own private world in my head, it's almost meditative to me, the regular rhythm. It's where I develop my writing and design my jewelry. Then I come home, sit down and put everything together. So for me, running serves many purposes, creative inspiration and peace only two of them. If you wanted to start running, I highly recommend using the online site C25K (Couch to 5K). With a little effort, anyone can do this and progress to running a 5 K.

 

[dragonjax]

Thanks, @MelissaJane - it's wonderful to read about how running is meditative for you. I've done C25K before, when I trained to successfully take part in my first 5K race. I'll try to think about running as private time for me to recenter myself. Maybe it can help me get Zen about my tinnitus.

 

[MelissaJane]

I've had the tinnitus since I was a kid when I lost my hearing. Lots of different sounds going on simultaneously, the ringing standing out before the musical tinnitus recently started. I always found that fighting the ringing made me feel worse whereas embracing it, thinking about it as a part of myself, helped me accept it and almost ignore it. Good luck with the running!

 

[Rosie_Rose]

@MelissaJane - Ack! Being deaf and having T.....a challenge to learn to ignore the noise. But if you can run you can control many things about yourself. Running requires so much from the body - I'm betting you can channel some of that energy into pushing the music into the background.

I'm jealous of your running. I can walk though and that's good. This may sound strangely selfish, but when I have my days where coping seems to be a problem (and I do have them), I think of all the people (kids especially) who are going through so much more than me and that bounces me back to a reality where I am once again the commander-in-chief of my own body.

 

[MelissaJane]

Yes, it's true, if tinnitus is your worst problem, you're lucky. Are you physically unable to jog? If you can jog, you can do the Couch to 5K. You can choose to follow the program by distance or time. I do time because I'm older and I do what I call a Native American slow run rather than walk..but the change it made in my life is incredible. That program is amazing, and I believe they have a program for walkers who are unable to run or jog.

 

[Rosie_Rose]

Yes - I am unable to jog. I have a lot more going on with me than just the T. Not willing to share THAT info yet. I try to do 3 mph walks using my treadmill on an incline because it's less painful for me than flat walking. The endorphin rush - I miss that!!!! I'll have to look up the Couch to 5K on the internet. Keep the body moving if possible!

 

[MelissaJane]

Well, if it helps you, I have RA, Scleroderma and Celiac. At one time, I could not walk through a grocery store. Dr said my hearing loss may very well also be autoimmune hearing loss. Not fun but with great doctors I am now pretty much medication-free and now using exercise, rest, and a super healthy diet to stay strong.