2 months ago I underwent a hearing evaluation and scored considerably lower than in previous tests. I remember during the test, noticing that my ears were ringing slightly and wondering if that “percieved” ringing tone would mask any of the test sounds. In the 2 or so months since the test, my ears have begun to ring very loudly and consistantly. It is quite rare for the ringing to stop even for a few hours. I am aware that this condition is called tinnitus, but what I am interested in:
Have any of you noticed symptoms to be associated/related to diet?
Have any of you had positive results with changes in dietary habits or with the use of medication? (assuming there is an effective medication, I have not yet seen a doctor)
Are there any particular suggestions you might have which you have found to reduce the “whine”?
Could you suggest any good Tinnitus resources?
Its getting to the point that I am surprised when people don’t hear me approaching. At times it seems that if this were an actual sound that someone would be able to hear it from the next room.
I’m 38, male. No previous history of hearing problems.
Got allergies (Hay fever)? Got car stereo? Got stress? I got all.
I get tinnitus from time to time and with hearing tests it means the difference between “Say, are you superman?” and, “Matchka, you can start pressing the buttion now.”
What I do is get a lotta sleep. Like magic it goes away. You’re looking for an allopathic remedy, I expect, so spend a coupla bucks and talk to Doc about the ring.
I developed/understood it in The Army. As a radio operator I lived with headphones that unpredictably pumped everything from a faint radio signal to JJJAAAMMMM! I have since come to associate it (when problematic) with fatigue and have learned to live with it: When I need it to not bother me I get plenty of rest.
Things that exacerbate it for me are sinus congestion (hay fever) and Kinks played at speaker-blowing volumes on my way to work.
Very interesting, Matchka. I think you are on to something here. I’ve been suffering from insomnia for several months, presumably due to stress. Guess what? The tinnitus seems to have started soon after the insomnia. Maybe I should sleep on it eh?
It’s rare, but some tinnitus patients do have an actual noise in their ears that other people can hear, if they lean close. For the rest of us, the ringing is an illusion.
Yes, the ringing can mask some frequencies in a hearing test, but if you have the tinnitus, you probably have some hearing loss.
AskNott: O yeah, this one time a doctor used a chisel and 2 mechanical pencils before he could get the flea with a bagpipe out of my brother-in-law’s sister’s cousin’s uncle’s ear.
Seriously tho, what would that be? Some sort of nasal whine?
Yes, fleas and those confounded miniature bagpipes!
I heard that the audible version (where other people can hear the voices, too) is caused by air squaking out of the middle ear to the outer ear. Ever equalize the pressure in your ears on an airplane? Sometimes it squeaks…
Tinnitus is most often associated with damage due to noise exposure (24% of cases), or is of unknown origin (43% of cases). It has been associated with allergic reactions of various sorts.