What Do You THINK Is Causing Your Tinnitus?

[I who love music]

Aerosmith, Humble Pie, J. Geils Band, Rush, Queen, Uriah Heep, Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Kiss, Savoy Brown, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Edgar Winter, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent and a bunch of bar bands. Thanks guys.

 

[Dan Reagan]

Mine started a few days after my concussion and whiplash. I was taking Vicodin prescribed for the pain of the accident and it the T just began one morning and never stopped.

 

[JeffTexas]

They found some conductive hearing loss specifically in my right ear when tested. I'm not sure about electrocohleography, but they ran the full gambit on me for vestibular testing. They found that there was an increased pressure in my right ear, which prompted them to go the direction of Meniere's. Evidently, there are different types of vertigo according to my doctor. The one everyone talks about is when the room spins. With this one, the pressure has gotten into the labyrinth part of your ear. He said there is another type of vertigo or dizziness associated with Meniere's where the pressure has only progressed to a sac, which is in front of the labyrinth. This will cause a sensation of out of body experience and everything being at a distance.

 

[My T Sucks]

I suspect that since mine started soon after I withdrew from taking Xanax, that it is a protracted withdrawal symptom.

 

[washashore]

Years of chainsaws, lawn mowers, and music.

 

[Ricky81]

I'm not sure how I got T in both ears, but its louder in my left ear.
I was assaulted all over my head and jaw by 2 guys and I was hit especially on both ears thus causing some kind of ear Infection. My ENT doc gave me Ciprodex and on day 8 of Ciprodex ear drops I got T.
On Day 50 since the Assault I developed T. Why did it take 50 days since the assault for T to develop? I dunno, usually trauma related T happens within 2 weeks but I'm sure my T is indirectly related to the assault, perhaps the ear infection caused T? I had no broken bones, luckily.
Anyways my ENT doc ordered a Brain and Ear MRI and they found INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE because 1 guy was on top of me bashing my head. I'm lucky to be alive today due to bystanders stopping the assault. So I had to get a Lumbar Puncture on Nov 26th to bring the CSF fluid pressure down from 33 to 13.5. See details below.
My T has lowered since getting the Lumbar Puncture and my head feels so much better as the pressure is gone. My Neuro doc has placed me on DIAMOX medications to keep Intracranial Pressure low.
So this is my 6th month with T and I'm thinking I have to live with T for the rest of my life???
Anyone else have experience with Head injury or ear infection related T? My T has improved a lot since the first few months and even more since getting the Lumbar Puncture so I think there is hope it will go away completely. I sleep on my own without any meds too. A good nite sleep is a must for T sufferers. I only hear my T in quite rooms so thats not too bad compared to other posts I've read on this forum.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRAIN MRI:
There is bilateral distention of the optic nerve sheaths, with
flattening of the posterior globes and bulging of the optic nerve
heads, suggestive of papilledema and elevated intracranial pressure.
There is also an expanded, partially empty sella. Meckel's caves
appear slightly prominent.
Brain parenchyma appears normal. No mass lesion, abnormal
enhancement, infarction or hemorrhage is identified.
Ventricles are normal in size.
Paranasal sinuses and mastoid air cells appear clear.

IACs: (EAR MRI)
Posterior Fossa:
Brainstem and cerebellum appear unremarkable. No cerebello-pontine
angle cistern mass.
A vascular loop of the right anterior inferior cerebellar artery
slightly enters the right porous acusticus.
A vascular loop of the left superior cerebellar artery abuts the
medial cisternal segment of the left trigeminal nerve near the root
entry zone.
Temporal Bones:
Seventh and eighth nerve complexes appear unremarkable, without
evidence of mass. Otic capsule structures appear normal in signal.
Mastoid signal within normal limits. No other temporal bone signal
abnormality is identified.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lumbar Puncture:
Opening pressure was 33 cm H2O. 19 ml of clear colorless cerebrospinal fluid was removed and sent to the laboratory for analysis. Closing pressure was 13.5 cm H2O.
The needle was then removed and a bandage applied to the site.
The patient tolerated the procedure well without any immediate complications.

 

[Relic Hunter]

Hearing loss..Plain and simple.

 

[calidude209]

I'm not 100% sure how I got mine.after reading a lot on this wonderfull forum i have myself thinking how I got it .

1.using saw,hammer 1st day.

2.i remember I got water up my nose by accident while taking a shower.

3.silent nite in bed the other day and first I hear a regular ringing in my right ear for secs.next day on my left ear I hear a tiny whistle.now I hear them on both ears.

 

[calidude209]

I spoke to a buddy who said when he worked at mcdonalds he worked with that headset taking orders .he would constantly hear BEEP! Over the headset( left ear)he told me he also had ringing but now he sometimes hear it and his hearing on the left comes and goes.

 

[Ricky81]

I don't think the McDonald's headset beep would be louder than 75 decibels... so I don't think it can cause T. Unless long exposure to such sounds caused some damage... who knows.

 

[conbsgc]

I don't listen to loud music on headphones... my tinnitus has to be related to an attack of vertigo that lasted like 3 months and really back neck pain for several years.

 

[Telis]

Blocked ear, then Valsalva method over and over until I had a slight ring in the right ear which was going away. The doctor put me on ear drops anyway, just in case as both ears looked swollen. A few days of drops and LOUD T both ears. I was also put on other meds for sleeping and anxiety due to T, this made things even worse. So....drugs causing hearing loss. Now I'm stuck with raging T, a ruined life over seeing the doctor.

 

[Cor]

I have no idea. Officially it was diagnosed as a hearing loss tinnitus. I have a minor hearing loss in my right ear. But tinnitus in both ears.

It could also be lots of other things. I have needed to use lots of ear antibiotics for one. And I used ibuprofen a lot for a few years due to major head aches.

But, lately im thinking it was actually caused by listening to audio books while running for 2-3 hours several times a week. Ive come to realise I had the volume real loud so i could hear the words over street noise. So then, yes, hearing loss.

 

[linearb]

Probably some latent hearing damage (I'm asymmetrical in the very high frequencies over ~11 khz) -- but as far as I can tell, muscle tension/trigger points and stress do more to aggravate it than anything else.

 

[linearb]

I suspect that since mine started soon after I withdrew from taking Xanax, that it is a protracted withdrawal symptom.

in that case it may make you feel better to know that I have read multiple accounts of people having tinnitus 3-4 years after benzo w/d, and yet still making a full recovery from it a bit further down.

benzo w/d definitely impacted mine, and for the first year and a half that I was off of them I got LOUD and FREQUENT fleeting tinnitus. That has consistently gotten better since then, but I obviously still have some ringing (which may not have anything to do with benzos at this point).

 

[CarolinaGuy]

Ibuprofen

 

[Giovanni]

Me constantly thinking about it

 

[ruben ruiz]

Meds and long term stress...

 

[Dr. Nagler]

What do you think is causing your tinnitus?

I have a question for anyone who cares to answer:

Once your doctor has ruled out the causes of tinnitus that can be fixed and in so doing fix the tinnitus - like, say, a severe middle ear effusion ...

And once your doctor has ruled out the (very rare) causes of tinnitus that represent a threat to health or life - like in @Ricky81's case with his increased ICP ...

Then what difference does it make what caused your tinnitus?

 

[Chelles]

I have a question for anyone who cares to answer:

Then what difference does it make what caused your tinnitus?

For a better understanding, hope for a possible treatment or future cure?

 

[Dr. Nagler]

For a better understanding, hope for a possible treatment or future cure?

Well, the premise of my question is that your doctor has already ruled out those causes of tinnitus that can be fixed - so that eliminates the treatment/cure part. And I guess I'm wondering how much effort should be expended in achieving that "better understanding" if it's not going to lead to eliminating the tinnitus or at least decreasing its loudness.

There's no right or wrong answer here. Just something to think about.

 

[Cor]

I can think of several reasons why people want to know.

* prevent further aggravation of tinnitus or tinnitus starting in the other ear.

* people/victims need to blame someone or something.

* probably many patients feel ENTs dont really try at all, so there is this nagging feeling something was missed.

* people want answers, to get some kind of understanding from those around them.

* people need to cling to some hope. if only they could find the cause, they could find a treatment.

* there is something empowering to patients coming together trying to solve a problem that isnt getting much attention otherwise.

None of it is probably going to amount to anything, but for some it may. There really isnt much effort involved in posting a few messages on a thread. I for one changed some behaviour after I realised it could lead to tinnitus. Never knew before. And I started telling people around me. So yeah, there's another reason, prevent the same from happening to those around you.

Probably the very worst thing though you can say to people with tinnitus is things like 'what difference does it make'. I can appreciate where that's coming from, but it shows a kind of lack of empathy that seems to be rampant when it comes to tinnitus.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

I can think of several reasons why people want to know ...

Thank you for your thoughtful and thorough response, Cor. I appreciate it.

 

[Max_fcktr]

Auditory Deprivation. I wore earplugs to bed every night for about 5 years and I was in bed for 10 hours and at home studying mainly were I swear its more silent than a sound proof room, haha So because I was getting zero input sound, my brain decided to make its own.

It is imporsible, but pressure change in your ear from earplugs can be cause, but is too particulary imporsible

 

[Ricky81]

Well in my case getting lumbar puncture lowered my T.. so I think high icp had something to do with T or was 1 of few contributing factors for my T due to contusion.

Every night is a struggle but there is improvement, one month at a time so I'm optimistic. Life has come to a halt for me. It's just work then home and netflix.

 

[Brianna]

I have a question for anyone who cares to answer:

Once your doctor has ruled out the causes of tinnitus that can be fixed and in so doing fix the tinnitus - like, say, a severe middle ear effusion ...

And once your doctor has ruled out the (very rare) causes of tinnitus that represent a threat to health or life - like in @Ricky81's case with his increased ICP ...

Then what difference does it make what caused your tinnitus?

I enjoy mysteries and tracing software bugs to the code that cause it and there is a mystery in my head.
If I can isolate MY possible causes, I may be able to mitigate some amount of tinnitus without looking a drugs
(that can cause it) to eliminate it. Curiosity makes the cat more knowledgeable and perhaps can then be
helpful to others. (I pretty much have useless middle ears, so I'll bypass that question.)

I'll add what a poster said - most people here need hope. That's why so many folks here are in search of answers.

Sir, I do have a question for you. ENTs specialize in various fields. Is tinnitus one of them? Thanks.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

I'll add what a poster said - most people here need hope. That's why so many folks here are in search of answers.

I understand. And unfortunately they tend to look for those answers most everywhere except where they should be looking. You see, until research for the cure yields tangible results, the answers that they are looking for generally lie within.

Sir, I do have a question for you. ENTs specialize in various fields. Is tinnitus one of them?

There is no ENT subspecialty like "tinnitology." There is, however, an ENT subspecialty called otology, or more properly neurotology. A neurotologist is an ENT (otolaryngologist) who has done extra training in the evaluation and treatment of disorders of the auditory system. The problem is that ENT itself is largely a surgical discipline, which makes neurotology largely a surgical discipline, and tinnitus is a non-surgical condition. Still, for all practical purposes, if you are going to see an ENT about your tinnitus, you would probably be best off in the hands of a neurotologist.

Now as opposed to being a surgical discipline, neurology is a non-surgical discipline, one that deals with problems of the nervous system (brain, autonomic nervous system, peripheral nervous system, etc.) And the subspecialty of neurology that is concerned with evaluation and treatment of non-surgical disorders of the auditory system is called otoneurology (in contradistinction to the ENT subspecialty neurotology.) So in theory the ideal doctor to evaluate and treat tinnitus patients would be an otoneurologist. I say "in theory" because otoneurology is not a particularly popular subspecialty, and most otoneurologists are more focused on balance than on tinnitus. Indeed, to the best of my knowledge in the entire US there are only three otoneurologists currently in practice that are interested at all in tinnitus!

So how's that for a frustrating non-answer??!!

 

[Brianna]

I understand. And unfortunately they tend to look for those answers most everywhere except where they should be looking. You see, until research for the cure yields tangible results, the answers that they are looking for generally lie within.


There is no ENT subspecialty like "tinnitology." There is, however, an ENT subspecialty called otology, or more properly neurotology. A neurotologist is an ENT (otolaryngologist) who has done extra training in the evaluation and treatment of disorders of the auditory system. The problem is that ENT itself is largely a surgical discipline, which makes neurotology largely a surgical discipline, and tinnitus is a non-surgical condition. Still, for all practical purposes, if you are going to see an ENT about your tinnitus, you would probably be best off in the hands of a neurotologist.

Now as opposed to being a surgical discipline, neurology is a non-surgical discipline, one that deals with problems of the nervous system (brain, autonomic nervous system, peripheral nervous system, etc.) And the subspecialty of neurology that is concerned with evaluation and treatment of non-surgical disorders of the auditory system is called otoneurology (in contradistinction to the ENT subspecialty neurotology.) So in theory the ideal doctor to evaluate and treat tinnitus patients would be an otoneurologist. I say "in theory" because otoneurology is not a particularly popular subspecialty, and most otoneurologists are more focused on balance than on tinnitus. Indeed, to the best of my knowledge in the entire US there are only three otoneurologists currently in practice that are interested at all in tinnitus!

So how's that for a frustrating non-answer??!!

I'm laughing my head off (it's a good place to temporarily store tinnitus - in an extracted head). I've dealt with ENTs all my life. I know my regular ENT cannot touch anything cochlear-implant related. I know that even more specialized ENTs here in our boonies weren't able to see cholesteotoma in a catscan but the CI ENT sure did and I believe it was there. It was a little worse with and ENT in NY/NJ where a regular ENT was confused about what appeared to be an infection in my ear. HE should've known. But his findings fell through the cracks for I don't know how long.

Your answer pretty much confirms what I've said in one way or another about the subset of the population who deals with maladies that do not attract money. I believe it's due to the small portion of say the U.S. population that has reported it (and it doesn't accurately reflect the total number of those who do have it). It's pretty crazy because, as you've seen in this forum, tinnitus drives people to attempt physician-assisted suicide or suicide. But, that's not what drives relief for diseases like this.

I checked the local ENTs and no one specializes in neurotology. But, for now, I appear to be moving forward
in a positive direction on my own and thanks to this forum.

I appreciate all the work you put into your answer, sir.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

I checked the local ENTs and no one specializes in neurotology. But, for now, I appear to be moving forward
in a positive direction on my own and thanks to this forum.

Well, in the end that's what's important, right? Moving forward.

I appreciate all the work you put into your answer, sir.

You are most welcome, Brianna. Actually, I put a lot of work into the majority of my responses on this board. Some of those responses might not be particularly popular, but I put a lot of work into them just the same.

Here's to quiet days ahead for all.

 

[Cor]

Dr Nagler, in a way you answered your own question about "what does it matter". It is pretty clear that most people on this planet with tinnitus are cursed with sub-optimal care. You say so yourself, it's not a very popular field.

I know you are a big proponent of TRT, but in many parts of the world that is not available either.

I have seen 4 ENTs. I was not particularly impressed by any of them. And not because I think they could have magically fixed something unfixable. I did not know that then, but I know that now. What I also know now, is that they should have provided more support, or referred me to more support. I am certain many people feel the same.

So what do people do when the medical profession drops the ball? They go looking for answers themselves. I think thats totally normal. And I think it's something everyone with tinnitus should go through. In a sense we're all not unlike other victims going through the usual stages of grief.

When I read your 'what difference does it make' it kind of angered me. Not only do most of us (many are not in the US) deal with lacking care, but then we're also not supposed to go look for answers ourselves? The answer will probably not come, but I think the journey is helpful.