Ringing in the Ears (Tinnitus)

[Superdirk]

My colleague is suffering from tinnitus. he swears it is linked to his stress level. I started to experience it too from time to time, during periods of high stress at work.. I don't mean simple workload, but kind of existential-level stress, where you feel you have nothing under control and no way to fix it...

In my company, many many people are suffering from stress related health issues. I have my defence mechanisms but I am not immune against it.. If you notice stress related symptoms, it's time to hit the emergency brakes and do something about it... find the balance between what you are able to accomplish (with the methods available to you) and what you want to accomplish. After trying to improve what you can in terms of efficiency / effectiveness, don't feel bad if you have to lower the targets you set for yourself...

 

[TPadden]

The male brain is wonderful at making ignored things almost disappear. As many have already pointed out tinnitus, like eye floaters, are a fact of life and will drive you crazy unless ignored. 30+ years of marriage helps.

Tom

 

[The Dark Shadow]

Did anybody have an issue with ringing in the ears (tinnitus) caused by wind noise while riding?
I have a problem and trying to figure out what's causing it.

Thanks for any help,
Afan

Tinnitus can actually be a brain neuron issue. Check out gluten in your diet. And other foods.

Loud noises don't help and can instigate tinnitus.

Earplugs are good for your ears.

 

[Arellcat]

I'm not sure ANY ear muffs are enough for Top Fuel dragsters. That sound goes right through you and will vibrate the fillings from your teeth 1/4 mile away.

The Top Fuel dragsters are incredible, as though the very fabric of spacetime is being torn apart, starting from within one's own chest. I usually have my ear defenders and my Ultimate Ear earplugs with me…but one can't help but shout "aargh" in amazement as the drivers tear away from the tree.

Howard Leight makes an orange and a green foam ear plug (not sure if those are what @Upt' North was talking about). The green is softer and I can wear those for longer periods of time than the orange.

I've ordered a sample multi-pack of the different Honeywell/Howard Leight earplugs to try. The pink/yellow ones seem popular but I'll willingly experiment!

 

[ST Gui]

Loud noises don't help and can instigate tinnitus.

I've never talked to an audiologist or similar after the military about my tinnitus but it's 24/7/365. Well occasionally there are times when it's not as bad as others. But it never leaves me. There's no telling what will ramp it up. It could be a loud bang. It could be ice cream. Biting into a Werther's Original might set if off. Or it might kick in while reading a book. On a good day it's like hearing someone with a hearing aid turned up too high and getting constant feedback. It can get much worse.

Too many concerts small arms fire and loud bikes. Those were the days my friend. If I had know then... I wear earplugs when riding but hearing damage is accumulative and for most of us – never gets better.

 

[williscreg]

I have my appointment with the ear doctor Staten Island in three weeks and really hope he will help me with the tinnitus, which got really bad these days.
Of course i read about all the triggers, which make it worse and try to avoid alcohol, stress and dehydration.
Is there something else i can do? What helps you guys to sleep at night?

 

[Mr.E]

Qualified in Industrial Audiology at Southampton University (ISVR) in the mid 80's, so, Tinitus is a rouge signal sent out along the Auditory nerve to the brain from the Cochlea and should be regarded purely and simply as just that - a rogue signal and not actual noise.
Generally worse at night when trying to sleep with very low ambient (background) noise levels, this quiet background does emphasis the problem unfortunately and some experimented with a unit called Anti-Noise where a speaker is placed under the pillow and emits a counter frequency wave to cancel out the Tinitus wavelength. Not helpful to your partner sleeping next to you though!
The effect may be caused by excessive noise, vibration and or chemical / drugs etc. and as mentioned above, a radio playing at low volume in the background may help mask out some of the ringing.
As far as I'm aware there is no final medical fix for this problem, apparently it closely resembles ghost pain signals experienced by amputees.

 

[Mr.E]

I read somewhere that a NRR of around 30 (maybe slightly more) is about as good as you can get with ear plugs because at higher ambient noise levels there is a certain amount of bone conduction - and ear plugs don't attenuate that noise. Ear muffs can have a higher NRR, but still run into the same problem at some level of noise.

Indeed this is the case, road hammer drills and heavy duty grinders etc. will send the noise in the form of Vibration directly through your hands into the skeleton and then into the skull where the Cochlea is directly damaged.
So no form of hearing protection will save you from this.

 

[DavidR8]

I watched this TED Talk on tinnitus ( I have too...) and my vague recollection is that the brain is trying to fill in the missing frequencies from the sound spectrum. My sister-in-law is a doctor of audiology at the University of British Columbia and there are advances being made in treating tinnitus.

 

[ST Gui]

What helps you guys to sleep at night?

I've just learned to live with it. Been doing it for decades. There are standard triggers but many of mine are also innocuous or unknown. Eating ice cream has set it off a couple of times. Sometimes it seems to just come on as when reading a book. Sometimes it's a particular potato chip. By come on I mean worsens be a factor of 5. If it hangs around I just get used to it. Then it quits and suddenly and I'm back to the "daily" tinnitus.

It's worse in one ear than in the other. Aside from a slight hearing loss that occurred the same time as the tinnitus my main complaint is it messes with my listening to a lot of music.

I'm retired so I'm up 'till I get tired. That pretty much overrides the whistle in my ears. Sometimes I'll wear an AirPod in my "good" ear and listen to an audiobook. Then it's lights out.

I hope you find something that works for you. I've not sought professional help for it since the '70s. And the professional advice was "live with it".

 

[St-Gerard]

Most Medical doctors have no cure for it .

 

[Henry567]

Did anyone have tinnitus due to high blood pressure? My Mom started suffering from ear ringing about two months ago. At first, she thought it was because of hearing issues, but the hearing test showed no severe problems. After a thorough examination, it turned out she had blood pressure issues. She is on Lisinopril now (I checked the info about it on the Canada Drugs site and the info about it sounds promising). Also, she monitors her diet. But what else can be done?

 

[St-Gerard]

Hi Blood pressure is one cause of tinnitus, hopefully once you moms is under control it will stop.