Over the weekend I started to get sort of a high pitched ringing in my ears. Continuously. It’s driving me nuts. Unfortunately I have no chance to get to see my doctor until next week (I’m out of town on business again). What I’d like to know is, what might this be…and should I go to urgent care or just tough it out until I’m back home and can see my own doctor? Basically, it’s very distracting and giving me constant low grade headaches (thankfully, no migraines yet), so I COULD live with it until I get back…as long as it’s not something likely to kill me.
I’ve never had anything like this before and it just started seemingly out of the blue. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Ah, thanks. That doesn’t seem too serious then, assuming that’s what it is. I can probably tough it out until I get home (and reading the article, there don’t seem to be many treatments for it anyway, short of some nasty surgery and such…yikes).
It might be temporary, or it might not. I have had ringing in my ears since 1988, and it sounds like a goddam smoke alarm All. Day. Long. I had a consultation at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary with one of the leading researchers in tinnitus, and he basically said get used to it, becaue there is no cure. The one thing I learned is that it originates in your brain, not your ears, so nothing you do to your ears will change it. You could cut your auditory nerve, and your ears would still ring. I do notice that the ringing stops when I am dreaming.
Yeah…it’s all day long, and the worst part is that it keeps me up at night even using sleeping pills (I don’t sleep well even under the best of circumstances). That sucks that you’ve had it since 1988(!!) and that there isn’t any cure for it. Reading through the Wiki article there didn’t seem to be much in the form of treatment that would work. I can’t think of anything I could have done to trigger it, but then if it’s in my brain and not my ears maybe there isn’t really any trigger at all.
Although it may seem innocuous, tinnitus that is severe enough can have profound effects. I have heard stories from a reputable source (senior researcher in my university’s department of neurobiology and anatomy) of individuals who have killed themselves due to their tinnitus. Basically it sucks, its poorly understood, and there is very little effective treatment available.
I, too, have suffered from tinnitis since the 80s or 90s (different levels of physical/mental acrivity probably explain the lack of precision). I did have a concussion incident in the mid 80s requiring hospitalization.
I have tried to use an audio signal generator to try to negate the noise, but that only works until my brain figures out what is happening, then the frequency seems to change just enough.
The only thing that seems to help is watching movies/TV/listening to music. My Ipod is a great help. But for the most part, I have grown used to it.
I’ve had tinnitus since the mid-90s; it came on one night for no obvious reason and hasn’t changed a whit since. I’m a fairly light sleeper but it doesn’t keep me up, fortunately.
Note there is a small but finite chance it’s a brain tumour or genuine ear/hearing problem, so get those checked out. You’ll probably have to have an MRI and a hearing test.
Be aware there are a lot of scams claiming to cure you, ranging from natural remedies to dietary supplements to gadgets that claim to reprogram your brain to fix the problem. None of them work.
I have the tiniest, quietest ringing that is constant, which I always chalked up to too many concerts without ear protection in my early 20’s. I never read up on it though, and always chalked it up to ear damage. For me, it’s extremely mild, and only notice it if I put my fingers in my ears or if it’s very quiet. I use a white noise CD to sleep, it helps because it’s so many frequencies that it matches up with whatever tone is going “eeeeeeeeeeeee” in my ears, plus it drowns out the sound of cats licking themselves, using the litterbox, and of neighbors in the courtyard/playing music/generally living/going in and out at night when I’m trying to sleep.
If you haven’t been exposed to noise or loud music, another trigger could be a viral ear infection. I know someone who suffered from this. I would see a doctor sooner rather than later.
No loud music or noises that I know of (I fly a lot and was on a plane last week, but not over the weekend when this started). I generally use my Zune for audio-books, and I don’t have the volume cranked or anything like that. I guess I could have an ear infection, though I’m not sick or anything…no fever or any other symptoms.
This really sucks. I never heard of this thing before and I’m looking with horror at all the folks chiming in saying they have had something like this for years or even decades. :eek: I’m not sure that this is something I could stand, long term.
It’s true that tinnitus is very common, but that’s because it’s a side effect of ordinary hearing loss, which is itself very common. Many tinnitus suffers are enthusiastic motorcyclists, musicians, rock concert attendees, firearms afficionados, etc. who did not take proper steps to protect their hearing. It sounds like your tinnitus is caused by something else.
Severe tinnitus (as described, your tinnitus is definitely “severe”) that appears suddenly is significantly less common than hearing-loss-induced tinnitus and could be caused by a variety of unpleasant conditions. Do not risk your hearing by waiting to see if it will go away, and don’t take the advice of anyone who tells you not to worry about it. Call an audiologist as soon as possible and get his advice.
Audiologists are not necessarily MDs. I would suggest seeing an ENT first. An ENT who specializes in tinnitus would be even better. I think you should have it looked at soon in case there is an infection or blockage.
I’ve had it in my left ear for somewhere around forty years. It’s the last thing I hear before falling asleep and the first thing I hear in the morning. I mostly don’t pay it any attention anymore unless something makes me aware of it-----this thread is a good example. I hope the OP does see a professional ASAP and I hope it might be cured. For a lot of people, the constant ringing is a real curse; I might even be tempted to consider it a handicap.
Well, you said that the ringing is giving you constant low grade headaches, but is there a chance that rather than causing the headaches the ringing is just concurrent with them?
Did you start any new medications or such prior to this past weekend? Apparently there are a number of meds that can have ear ringing as a potential side effect.
You should definitely see a doctor sooner rather than later. If it is something like an inner ear infection, it may not kill you to wait but it may lead to hearing loss and/or the ringing becoming permanent.
try a radio at low volume, on AM put between stations on some static or AM/FM to some talk station. put the volume just so you can perceive it but not loud enough to distract or bother.
I got tinnitus from a cold a few years ago and it hasn’t changed a bit since. Doctors probably couldn’t do anything except measure some aspects of it and give general recommendations but get thee hence anyway. They can’t hear it and they can’t just open up your ear and root around but even the slightest chance that they can do something is worthwhile.
It’s surprising how many people live with this day-to-day. It sucks.
I’ve had it for about 12 years now. At first I thought it was related to some international travel, long flights and the like. But my dad has Meneire’s and, after testing, it would appear I do too. Tinnitus w/ occasional bouts of dizzyness and possible nausea. Joy.
The sleep disruption thing, yeah, that’s when it seems loudest, at night when all else is quiet. Like many others, I find the sound of a fan most closely ‘whites out’ the noise.
It could be, though I generally don’t get low grade headaches…I get really nasty migraines or no headache at all. The headaches have been going on since the ringing started.
Nope, no new meds. The only real medication I take is Ambien and I’ve been taking it for years now.
I’m going to try and leave a day early to get home to see my doctor. I called his office this morning and he can see me Friday. I talked to the nurse and she seems to be saying the same things a lot of folks in this thread are saying, which doesn’t make me too hopeful that there will be anything that can be done.
I actually ran the fan in my hotel room last night for the whole night and it seemed to help. The white noise from it seemed to cancel out the ringing, at least enough to get me to sleep.