Ringing in Ears May Have Deeper Source

[Andy]

hi everyone haven t been here for a time but always interesting to see how things change but stay the same TINNITUS and they are many types but the most common one is caused by hearing loss pure and simple thats what my DOC says and when you hear it you go in to a sub panic and the rest follows ie depression, anxiety ect and if you dont get fast intervention you stuck with it and as your hearing loss gets worse as your tinnitus gets worse and anything that upsets your thought process stress etc creates more brain activity and the more activity the more noise as your brain tunes in on it, as doses anything with a E.M.F. computers ect simple so he says. if you can tell yet with his attitude he was of no help to me. ( go away theres nothing we can do kind of a guy but nice with it) but sometimes I THINK HE MAY BE RIGHT

 

[carlover]

..........hi andy and you know what having T for 26 years and having tried most things known to mankind (except prescription drugs apart from Serc) .I think he may be right as well.

But I still plough on looking ,trying

 

[erik]

Sounds like a decent explanation of tinnitus although there are other causes, but in the end no matter what the cause the effect on the person is usually the same, anxiety, panic and sensitivity to sounds. T tends to affect people more who already had a predisposition for anxiety, depression, ocd or other similar type issues.

 

[Katkin]

Molan, you raise a good point especially since both articles you point to were prior to Schaette report. I would like to know this too. I will ask, see if I get a response and if so post it here.

For me I think my T has something do to the brain as well as possible damage to the nerve/fibers/hairs. After 2 audiograms from 2 diff audiologists including high frequency, my hearing is fine up to almost 14K. However, I do believe I some hearing loss just not detected on these tests. The thing that is interesting to me is that I just got off 3 days of near quiet T (.5/1 out of 10), which was barely audible, noticeable and I forgot about it most of those days. Today, it is quite the opposite -much louder and definitely noticeable and not forgettable (7-8/10). Despite the fact that I may have some type of permanent hearing damage or not, it is interesting that my brain can translate this into almost turning off of the T where I can' barely hear it for several days a week. This happens to me every week but and is typically 3 days sometimes 4.

I have been trying to find a trigger, pattern and have yet to. So, whether I have some type of hearing damage or not, my brain can still almost quiet my tinnitus at times-- why is that? And if it can do it sometimes does that mean it is possible that it can do that all the time? Is there an area in my brain that can be suppressed to just quiet my tinnitus?....there must be because it happens frequently and everything else functions as normal.

Erik, this happens to me too. Also I did a DIY hearing test online and myself and my ex-husband (who does not hear tinnitus) (aged 49 and 51 respectively) could both hear up to 14 khz but we had to increase the volume at 14 khz to hear it. My 16 year old daughter could hear up to about 18 khz on this particular test (she doesn't have tinnitus, except when she once fainted and as she came round, said she could hear, what she described as screechy tinnitus sounds which quickly faded away). My standard medical audiology tests (the usual up to 8khz frequency), I was told were 'within the normal range'. I hope you're doing ok now and getting many quiet days, best wishes.

 

[Tom KW]

Molan, you raise a good point especially since both articles you point to were prior to Schaette report. I would like to know this too. I will ask, see if I get a response and if so post it here.

For me I think my T has something do to the brain as well as possible damage to the nerve/fibers/hairs. After 2 audiograms from 2 diff audiologists including high frequency, my hearing is fine up to almost 14K. However, I do believe I some hearing loss just not detected on these tests. The thing that is interesting to me is that I just got off 3 days of near quiet T (.5/1 out of 10), which was barely audible, noticeable and I forgot about it most of those days. Today, it is quite the opposite -much louder and definitely noticeable and not forgettable (7-8/10). Despite the fact that I may have some type of permanent hearing damage or not, it is interesting that my brain can translate this into almost turning off of the T where I can' barely hear it for several days a week. This happens to me every week but and is typically 3 days sometimes 4.

I have been trying to find a trigger, pattern and have yet to. So, whether I have some type of hearing damage or not, my brain can still almost quiet my tinnitus at times-- why is that? And if it can do it sometimes does that mean it is possible that it can do that all the time? Is there an area in my brain that can be suppressed to just quiet my tinnitus?....there must be because it happens frequently and everything else functions as normal.

My T acts the same way as yours, some days it's barely there other days like right this moment it's pretty loud can't figure out the trigger either. however, despite popular thinking, it would seem that coffee has a good effect on my T, i'm thinking maybe it's citrus that sets it off. The trouble is, everything seems to be time delayed, so it's hard to pin it down.

 

[LondonGirl]

..........hi andy and you know what having T for 26 years and having tried most things known to mankind (except prescription drugs apart from Serc) .I think he may be right as well.

But I still plough on looking ,trying

Hi Carlover,
Have you tried TRT?

 

[carlover]

Youve got me there Londongirl no I havent but its the ear pressures that are doing my head in at the moment more than the T as my hearing aids are knocking a lot of the T out when they are in,good luck ,Pete

 

[Littlebailey]

I bouthg this book ages ago. Ive read most of it and it makes a lot of sense. Its explaining it in the same was as the Jastreboff Model really. Its about anxiety causing the hearing to become super-sensitive (as happens after hearing loss too). And about how to combat that anxiety.

It sounds entirely reasonable to me. But also equally unprovable as such.

It definitely sounds like good advice, if not always easy to achieve, even if what it amounts to is self help. And it doesn't seem to conflict at all, I don't think, with any of the various T cures and focuses (foci?) of research, which try to disrupt the strictly physical or tangible aspects of the T cycle with the bad ears and the resultant compensatory ringing. If you're happy as a clam, and don't have T, and you stand next to an explosion and get T, the brain cranks up the ringing, but quite possibly partly because of the 'flight or fight' component of the response, and not strictly only the more direct feedback loop between the ear and the brain. Even the most composed person might experience on a subconscious level some ForF in response to a deafening sudden sound.

And even if he is "right" about ignoring it and focusing on the positive and calming your fears, it doesn't mean it's always achievable for any number of reasons, even for strong people with a good sense of themselves. None of us are Guatama Bhudda, so it's easier said than done. I mean why does it get worse when you're under stress? And why doesn't everybody who sustains hearing loss get T, as would seem to follow from the basic premise of what the basic T mechanism is.

Anyway, what I just said is probably bunk, but being calm and at peace with yourself can't hurt.

 

[LondonGirl]

Youve got me there Londongirl no I havent but its the ear pressures that are doing my head in at the moment more than the T as my hearing aids are knocking a lot of the T out when they are in,good luck ,Pete

I think I will probably go down the TRT route but wanted to explore all options, which is where this forum has been great. Glad the hearing aids improve things and I hope the pressures sort out for you soon.

 

[erik]

My T acts the same way as yours, some days it's barely there other days like right this moment it's pretty loud can't figure out the trigger either. however, despite popular thinking, it would seem that coffee has a good effect on my T, i'm thinking maybe it's citrus that sets it off. The trouble is, everything seems to be time delayed, so it's hard to pin it down.

Yup, after a while I just quit trying to figure out the triggers. Its not worth the time and effort. Plus something that seems like a trigger one day isn't the next day and vise versa. Better to do other things more meaningful and then when you have those loud days you won't care as much.

 

[xmierce]

I did the same thing on trying to find triggers.. It will just drive you crazy to do it... I thought about keeping a journal on it, once again a bad idea. I am pretty sure for me it give louder when rain comes my way. Well, unless I move to Nevada I cannot do anything about that.

 

[Mark McDill]

Molan, you raise a good point especially since both articles you point to were prior to Schaette report. I would like to know this too. I will ask, see if I get a response and if so post it here.

For me I think my T has something do to the brain as well as possible damage to the nerve/fibers/hairs. After 2 audiograms from 2 diff audiologists including high frequency, my hearing is fine up to almost 14K. However, I do believe I some hearing loss just not detected on these tests. The thing that is interesting to me is that I just got off 3 days of near quiet T (.5/1 out of 10), which was barely audible, noticeable and I forgot about it most of those days. Today, it is quite the opposite -much louder and definitely noticeable and not forgettable (7-8/10). Despite the fact that I may have some type of permanent hearing damage or not, it is interesting that my brain can translate this into almost turning off of the T where I can' barely hear it for several days a week. This happens to me every week but and is typically 3 days sometimes 4.

I have been trying to find a trigger, pattern and have yet to. So, whether I have some type of hearing damage or not, my brain can still almost quiet my tinnitus at times-- why is that? And if it can do it sometimes does that mean it is possible that it can do that all the time? Is there an area in my brain that can be suppressed to just quiet my tinnitus?....there must be because it happens frequently and everything else functions as normal.

Erik
Mine does the same thing (only I get 2 days off for one day on); lately, however, it has been much more erratic (much more frequent). I can't find a trigger nor a pattern either. When it's off, I have no idea why it comes back -- it would be easy for me to believe it never will; then it does. Oh well...

Mark

 

[erik]

Erik
Mine does the same thing (only I get 2 days off for one day on); lately, however, it has been much more erratic (much more frequent). I can't find a trigger nor a pattern either. When it's off, I have no idea why it comes back -- it would be easy for me to believe it never will; then it does. Oh well...

Mark

I hear you Mark. Mine was quiet last week. Then I got the flu 4 days ago and it has been raging non-stop. I was trying to watch the Shawshank Redemption yesterday (for the umpteenth time) and had to turn TV up....

 

[Mark McDill]

I hear you Mark. Mine was quiet last week. Then I got the flu 4 days ago and it has been raging non-stop. I was trying to watch the Shawshank Redemption yesterday (for the umpteenth time) and had to turn TV up....

I love that movie! Bummer about the flu; hope you are better. For some reason my T has been on the increase too, but I'm handling it ok (just don't understand and don't like it going up)

 

[Tom KW]

I think one of the worst things about when your T goes off for a while, at least for me anyways, when I discover that it's not there, I stop to listen for it ,How dumb is that? and usually at that point it will come up a little bit for me to hear it. I guess maybe it's just trying to accommodate me.