Sizzling/Hissing Noise in Head

[Joe Cuber]

Please see my exercise plan in the PDF from this link:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/attachments/exercise-plan-pdf.51451/

@Samwise_The_Loud, my tinnitus modulates like crazy with these exercises, hilarious (I've known that my tinnitus modulates with jaw and neck movements).

 

[Sugarpuddle]

Thanks for the info. They don't happen to sell that brand in the US. Do you think menthol is a critical aspect of the spray? I don't actually think I have ETD, but I have had sinus issues my whole life so who knows.

Any menthol spray will do. Yes it's the critical aspect because it heals inflammation and cells. It's also not addictive like steroid sprays. It's all natural and way better for you. And it's working for me. The changes are very gradual but there's definite improvement after 7 months of this hell.

And if you have sinus issues it is very likely that's linked to your tinnitus.

 

[BuzzyBee]

Same. But I've never heard of anyone having hissing after an ear infection for 6 years. Have you checked out your ear with one of the earscope cameras you can buy off Amazon? You'll be able to see if it's retracted or not (slightly sucked in).

Have you not been given nasal sprays to help ease this?

I'm chuckling as I read this because yes, I've had everything that you mentioned and more including multiple surgeries. This is not my first rodeo

I was interested in your experiment with rubbing your jaw and Capsaicin because I'm always looking for ways to ease a flare up when the tinnitus spikes. Rubbing the mastoid area sometimes helps, but I hadn't really focused on the jaw. Turns out it doesn't help, but it was worth a try.

The reason I have tinnitus also has to do with hearing loss, though I had hearing loss for many years before the tinnitus (go figure). An ear infection somehow triggered it. Once triggered, it didn't stop. It's most likely a brain thing. And a big question is why tinnitus goes away for some, but stays with others. Millions of dollars are being spent researching this. I would love to be able to just fix it with nasal spray.

About the hiss, one of the many, many, many audiologists I've seen told me that the reason some people have a hiss rather than a tone is that the hiss sound is the same frequency as the hearing loss. So even though it is a hiss that sounds like air or wind rushing through a pipe, it is not the actual sound of air going through the Eustachian tube, it is just the brain playing tinnitus at a frequency the auditory nerve misses. It's filling in the blanks, so to speak.

You mentioned Eustachian tube dysfunction being a marathon, not a sprint, and that is SO correct. I've experienced that along the journey and, once it gets clogged, it takes a while to clear up. If your tinnitus is caused by ETD, keep being patient and using all of your sinus clearing tricks. You may find the tinnitus sticks around for a while after the ETD is fixed, but if you don't have a permanent mechanical hearing issue, it will probably fade away.

 

[Samwise_The_Loud]

My hiss is a combination of moderate hearing loss (not sudden) in both ears (but the hiss is only in the right ear) and a lot of stress (like months of it). My therapist thinks that childhood trauma factors in too.

I've had the hiss for 4 months now, and the peculiar thing is that it comes and goes by the day. So if I wake up with the hiss, I have it for the whole day, and if I wake up to quiet, I get quiet for the whole day.

This has been my exact experience as well, in addition to noise having an effect as @Sugarpuddle mentioned.

 

[Joe Cuber]

This has been my exact experience as well

Interesting @Samwise_The_Loud, so your tinnitus is on/off by the day too?

in addition to noise having an effect as @Sugarpuddle mentioned.

I tried to find the reference but couldn't. What kind of effect does noise have for you?

 

[Simona]

I would be interested to know if anyone can report whether the hissing noise has disappeared again?

In my case, it appeared after a middle ear infection, which was 6 weeks ago. The hissing is not always equally loud, it is usually more intense in the evening. As was suggested, I use menthol nasal spray, at least it doesn't seem to do any harm (like some other medications that have only made things worse).

Does it just need more time or do I need to slowly get used to the idea that the noise might be permanent?