Theory About My Tinnitus

[josf3]

Okay guys I need yalls help and intelligence to try and put this thing together. So I devolped tinnitus after taking a supplement called l citrulline which is a vasodilator meant to increase blood flow. The ringing got so much worse after taking some fish oil, which is a blood thinner.

After taking phenylephrine a vasoconstriction meant to block blood flow, the tinnitus dropped significantly, then after taking fish oil again volume increased.

When I go to sleep and lay my head down the sound goes down as well.

There is obviously something going on that has to do with the blood vessels in the ear. I continue to take phenylphrine and the volume has went down a ton but it is not going away completly. Is there a way I can directly block blood flow in the ear or reduce blood flow in the ear? What do yall think?

 

[linearb]

I am not a doctor but I don't think you want to in any way significantly reduce blood flow to the ear; if you cut it off, you could cause damage to nerves or tissues.

There is imaging tech called MRA that can get a look at blood vessel function:
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=angiomr

 

[fhs]

I highly doubt L citrulline caused your tinnitus. Were you ever exposed to loud noises? Even if it was years/months ago? What does the tinnitus sound like?

 

[josf3]

I highly doubt L citrulline caused your tinnitus. Were you ever exposed to loud noises? Even if it was years/months ago? What does the tinnitus sound like?

Highly doubt? I expiernced ringing 5 minutes after taking two grams of l citrulline. Never have had any rining in the ears all my life until I took those pills.

 

[Alue]

There are other vasodilators that can cause tinnitus. Viagra and Cialis come to mind (although the mechanism may be different). There might be some involvement with the microcirculation in the inner ear, but blocking blood flow would not be good either.

You should see an ENT and be honest with them.

Highly doubt? I expiernced ringing 5 minutes after taking two grams of l citrulline. Never have had any rining in the ears all my life until I took those pills.

According to a quick search L-citrulline is processed by kidneys and is then converted to L-arginine. So I highly doubt it would take effect in 5 minutes. I'll have think about it more when I'm awake.

 

[fhs]

Highly doubt? I expiernced ringing 5 minutes after taking two grams of l citrulline. Never have had any rining in the ears all my life until I took those pills.

What kind of ringing then? Does it sound like a whooshing sound or is it a single tone??

 

[Ed209]

Highly doubt? I expiernced ringing 5 minutes after taking two grams of l citrulline. Never have had any rining in the ears all my life until I took those pills.

Josf3, I've spoken about this type of thing in the past. It's highly probable that it's just a massive coincidence, and this highlights a common problem in science when it comes to connecting the dots. You have experienced the onset of tinnitus and done what most would, analyse your last actions and blame the last likely thing you did. This in no way means it's the cause. Some people notice their T as a sudden onset, but sometimes it is so gradual at rising in intensity, that it mainly goes unnoticed until it passes the tipping point. Most people would then look for something to blame, because that's what we humans do. It could be that you have an underlying cause, previous accumulated noise damage, or something else.

You could easily have blamed something else entirely if you hadn't take the L Citrulline. At the same time you could be right, but it seems extremely unlikely to me. However, based on your assumption, I would at least book an MRI to look at the blood vessels around your ear to rule out a vascular condition.

 

[josf3]

I am 100 percent sure no doubt about it that it was from l citrulline, it is a potent vasolidator and blood flow changes that fast to the ear can cause problems. Yall all are basically saying to me that if you took a new supplement and then started having new problems the same day that you would completly ignore the supplement?? I have never ever had any rining whatsoever in my ear and never been exposed to dangerous amounts of sound. I have no hearing loss or anything like that, there was an immediate reaction to taking the l citrulline that is way to obvious to ignore as well as the dramatic increase of my T everyime I took a blood thinner and also a dramatic decrease of my T when taking a vasoconstricton, I dont know why you guys think its that hard to believe but it is fine with me, I know exactly what gave me Tinnitus and will use that to my advantage just wanted to see what yall thought.

Either way thanks guys. I will report back if anything else happens, wish me luck.

 

[racerfish]

I am 100 percent sure no doubt about it that it was from l citrulline, it is a potent vasolidator and blood flow changes that fast to the ear can cause problems. Yall all are basically saying to me that if you took a new supplement and then started having new problems the same day that you would completly ignore the supplement?? I have never ever had any rining whatsoever in my ear and never been exposed to dangerous amounts of sound. I have no hearing loss or anything like that, there was an immediate reaction to taking the l citrulline that is way to obvious to ignore as well as the dramatic increase of my T everyime I took a blood thinner and also a dramatic decrease of my T when taking a vasoconstricton, I dont know why you guys think its that hard to believe but it is fine with me, I know exactly what gave me Tinnitus and will use that to my advantage just wanted to see what yall thought.

Either way thanks guys. I will report back if anything else happens, wish me luck.

I absolutely believe that it could've been the supplement you mentioned. I had a massive spike an hour after taking an antibiotic that every doctor told me isn't ototoxic. My T was constant for 12 years and then suddenly my T spiked two times - the first time after taking Cipro and the second time after taking another antibiotic.

All that said, personally I would quit taking the supplements and then see what happens. It could go away once your body gets rid of the supplement. Have you also seen a doctor to see what he/she says?

 

[Ed209]

Yall all are basically saying to me that if you took a new supplement and then started having new problems the same day that you would completly ignore the supplement??

Not at all, but stuff like this is hard to verify. There are a lot of variables at play with tinnitus which means it's incredibly hard to know and/or find a cause in a lot of cases. Acoustic trauma seems to be the biggest cause in unknown cases where ototoxic drugs can be ruled out.

I'm no stranger to L Citrulline or other nitric oxide boosters like L Arginine. I've used these along with other supplements, in the past, when I used to train more seriously. I know the effects very well (better pump in the gym, increased erections etc) and although I'm no Doctor I find it unlikely that L Citrulline has literally caused your tinnitus. If you really believe your symptoms worsened after taking it then I'd definitely get an MRI to rule out any problems with the blood vessels around your inner ear, and also your jugular vein. I recall the renowned neuro professor Dirk De Ridder once explaining how a kink in the jugular can be a cause for tinnitus.

Can you explain the sound you hear? If it's vascular it will be pulsatile in nature (whooshing as well as hissing); you may even hear your heart beat as well.

 

[devonlee]

My question is why are you taking vasodilators and vasoconstrictors in the first place? Why are you taking both? Isn't that a little contradictory? Also you say you're taking a blood thinner?

 

[LucyLou128]

I believe this 200 percent. All substances in the arginine NOS PATHWAY do this to me.

Nitrates in spinach carrots beets. Berries.

I used to think it was from Salicylates or Oxalate in those Foods.
I'm following a thread on Facebook right now with a really smart practitioner who is familiar with this.

She calls it UNCOUPLED NOS. and is really common !!

 

[LucyLou128]

I have high citrulline on my Nutreval which is amino acids etc testing from Genova Diagnostics

 

[LucyLou128]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781386/