Poll: What's Your Relationship with Alcohol Since Your Tinnitus Onset?

[Óscar PP]

We all know more or less how alcohol theoretically affects GABA receptors and how in general it's a very bad idea to mess with those, but I wonder how tinnitus sufferers manage their relationship with alcohol, since for some it can cause instant spikes whereas for others it can give a temporary relief.

 

[GoatSheep]

I didn't drink any for almost 2 years after getting tinnitus. Now my relationship with alcohol is the same it was prior to tinnitus. I drink a glass of wine occasionally. Like less than once a month on average.

It doesn't affect my tinnitus positively or negatively. Perhaps because I consume so little.

 

[Chadilac]

Alcohol always spiked my tinnitus so I quit drinking more than a year ago.

 

[Rainer]

The last time I drank Ethanol was 2016.

Until then, I had monitored my intake with an Excel spreadsheet, which is probably a good strategy if you worry that your consumption is beyond healthy. I found it easier to decrease the weekly dose than to quit cold turkey.

 

[David S]

Alcohol always calms my tinnitus down. In the past if I drank a lot I could not even hear my tinnitus.

 

[iGL0CK]

Alcohol used to calm down my tinnitus and hyperacusis but last year things changed and now it is completely opposite - tinnitus is louder and I have more noise sensitivity after alcohol. I don't know why that happened, maybe my body didn't like me drinking so often to calm down tinnitus to have better sleep

 

[Hamsti]

Because of my anxiety medication (Mirtazapine and Seroquel) I stopped drinking... I hope that I'll be able to sleep without medication in the future because I miss drinking my beer in my camping chair at festivals

 

[linearb]

Voted every day but I have been a 1-2 drinks per year since 2002 or so.

Tinnitus did not change this and it is very rare for me to exceed that number.

 

[Óscar PP]

Because of my anxiety medication (Mirtazapine and Seroquel) I stopped drinking... I hope that I'll be able to sleep without medication in the future because I miss drinking my beer in my camping chair at festivals

I'm currently on Mirtazapine but never heard it could interact badly with booze.

 

[MartinPihl]

Well... I don't know if it actually lowers my tinnitus... but:

I have been a party-dude from age 18-30 (I'm 39 now).

I can definitely say that alcohol makes me forget my tinnitus. I'm a freelance programmer - and with a good rum, low country music and just relaxing with something I like... I aaaaaalmost forget my tinnitus!

 

[Gb3]

Alcohol helps me relax and forget about tinnitus when I have a couple craft beers.

 

[Sentinel]

Alcohol almost without exception raises my tinnitus, but it's sometimes worth it to relax and make me care a little less.

 

[Forever hopeful]

Alcohol definitely decreases my tinnitus. I am not a big drinker but when I do, my tinnitus almost disappears but not completely. But I focus on it less and I can enjoy myself. Since I have all kinds of TMJ issues and I'm highly stressed and tense, I wonder if for me, my tinnitus decreases because my facial and jaw muscles relax.

Although I have wondered if I'm starting to see a pattern where I have a spike the following day. Not always but sometimes. Not sure what that's about since the whole premise of alcohol raising tinnitus seems to be related to either an increase in blood pressure and I have perfect blood pressure, or increased blood flow to the ears which would be more immediate rather than the next day. Since I have fluctuating tinnitus, who the heck knows?

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

A bottle of whiskey a day keeps the tinnitus away.

 

[Flet]

So far alcohol hasn't changed a thing. Still have tinnitus. And it's been worse the last few months.

At least alcohol makes me care less about it in the evenings.

 

[JCA]

I'm 55 and a week after the first Pfizer shot someone flipped a switch and boom, ringing was off the charts.

The second shot increased it a little more and then the 3rd a little more.

I don't think about alcohol all day but I agree with many of the rest, in the evenings it helps calm all my nerves and not a great way to manage this but I haven't found too much else that calms it down to the point I can get a few hours of peaceful sleep.

Someone on here recommended CALM which is a Magnesium supplement and sometimes that helps.

I have a medical marijuana card and the indica and sativa help but I don't use as much as some. So my relationship with alcohol and tinnitus hasn't really changed much.

Wish you luck.

 

[kingsfan]

I was drinking every day back in October and ended up with a nasty spike that lasted through November and December. New tones that appeared during that spike subsided but my baseline volume is now much louder. Could all be coincidence, but that's where I am now.

 

[Travis Henry]

Yeah I don't think I can drink or smoke weed anymore, sadly. I loved both.

 

[Blix M. Paraglot]

Alcohol has always taken the edge off my hyperacusis and even made my tinnitus seem quieter, but it no longer helps as much as it used to. Now I'm on Naltrexone for tinnitus, and it blocks the euphoric effects of alcohol. I still love the smell and taste of wine, so I still drink a little now and then.

 

[Rockman]

Haven't drank a drop since onset. I've heard it can make it worse or make it better temporarily. Well if it makes it better that would be a whole another problem... I probably would not put the bottle down.

 

[RAA]

Since my tinnitus naturally dropped from severe to slightly intermittent after a couple of years following my noise trauma, I tend to have 1 or 2 "annoying" tinnitus days a week and without fail a few craft beers/some red wine nullifies it for me. After 6 days of quiet-room-only tinnitus, and then having an annoying day of 1.5-2.0/10, the booze really reduces it.

I really feel for those that get an opposite experience. It's insane how we are all so different with what helps/doesn't help us.

 

[GuitarMan]

Same as it was before my tinnitus spiked 2 months ago. I drink more than a lot of people I know but a lot less than many of the other musicians I play with. During the week usually a glass of wine or two with dinner, or a glass of scotch when I get home and some wine with with dinner, but when we have gigs I'll usually down 3 or 4 drinks throughout the night. I used to play in a band in which the other guys would start the evening with a 6-pack on the drive to the gig and another 6 or 7 during the gig. I was the lightweight of the bunch.

As I type this post I'm sitting here with a glass of wine.

Surprisingly I'm not an alcoholic even though it runs in my family.