Question about tinnitus

[Drake]

Hello everyone.  I was just wondering about tinnitus.  I am new to this and still pre-op.  With all the great members out there I am sure someone can shed some light on this for me.  I have a roaring noise in my left ear.  It gets very high pitched.  The neuro otologist said that this would be treated seprately from my AN and that he would try to make seem like a background noise.  Is it common for tinnitus to be this high pitched?  And also did surgery help relieve any of it?  Thanks for your experience and    opinions.   Drake.   

[oHIo]

Drake,
Tinnitus can be high pitched.  From people I have talked with, it can have many differing sounds.  One thing is for sure.  It is annoying and can sometimes be maddening.  As far as surgery, unfortunately my tinnitus got worse after surgery.  Don't use me as your norm though, because nothing I do is normal.   

I believe there are specialists that deal primarily with tinnitus.  I am considering seeing one due to the roaring and high pitched noise in my deaf ear.  Interesting concept though if you think about it.  A noisy deaf ear.  Makes for interesting dinner conversation when your friends can't figure out if you are serious or if they need to call the men in the white coats with the straight jackets. 

[GM]

Tinnitus is truely a drag...but it exists...its there...and we must accept it.   I used to work on helicopters, so I've had tinntius (and everyone that worked with me had it as well) for a long time.

I've posted before that I approach my tinnitus like "kids playing in the other room"  you know they're there...and you try to put their "noise" in the background...   Before you know it it's suddenly quiet and that means they're in trouble. 

Some days my tinnitus is louder than others.  I noticed that my tinnitus is louder when I'm tired or stressed out.  See if there is a pattern, but try not to concentrate on it.

Gary

[Tumbleweed]

I will add that when I don't drink enough water (I become dehydrated) or don't eat a balanced diet, my tinnitus gets louder. Eating fish (specifically salmon or trout) and leafy green vegetables almost always makes the noise less loud, sometimes to the point where it's virtually not even noticeable. Sugar makes it much worse, so I gave that up years ago.

And yeah, stress and lack of sleep is the very worst when it comes to my tinnitus; that always makes it worse.

Tinnitus can be high-pitched or can sound like whooshing sounds that are at lower frequencies. Or sound like electrical zapping noises. There are many varieties of tinnitus.

FWIW, my tinnitus became less frequent and less noticeable (less loud) after CK. But that's a very unusual outcome, from what I understand.

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed

[Drake]

Thanks for the replies.  I will work on those suggestions.  Found out yesterday that surgery is scheduled for the end of this month, so we'll see where all this goes.  Best wishes and speedy recoveries to all.   Drake.

[cindyj]

Hi Drake,

There is a thread here somwhere that has a link that gives "samples" of different tinnitus sounds...I don't know how to find it (big help I am), but someone else may come along that can find it and share it w/ you.  It was interesting to hear the various types of sounds...As the other posts mentioned, diet and stress seem to have an effect on the magnitude of tinnitus for some people. 

What type of surgery are you having?  Be sure to put it on the calendar here so we can all cheer you on!

Take care,

Cindy

[leapyrtwins]

Cindy -

here's the link compliments of LADavid    http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=6042.0


Jan

[drasberry]

My tinnitus is high pitched and even changes to different high pitched frequencies and times.  Most of the time it is very loud.  I am also pre-treatment and have noticed an increase in the volume level over the last few weeks.  One doctor told me that he thought it was your brain trying to compensate for the sounds that it is used to processing, but now have lost.  In my case the high frequency sounds were the first to go in my right ear.  I don't know where he got that information from, but it seemed to make some sense to me.  Everything I have heard and read so far, is not encouraging.  Most say, get used to it, find ways to deal with it like white noise when trying to go to sleep, etc.

The sugar and tiredness issues are good to know and I love fish.  I will monitor that and hopefully lessen the volume.

Darin

[Tumbleweed]

Please let us all know how those suggestions work out for you, Darin. This forum is at its best when people share what works for them. The best thing that can happen (besides spontaneous healing for all of us  ) is that we start to discover a pattern of certain things that help more than a few people.

Drake, good luck with your surgery!!!

Best wishes to all,
Tumbleweed

[HeadCase2]

Drake,
  Unfortunately AN treatment rarely eliminates Tinitus.  And AN treatment can increase or start Tinitus.  It's just one of those damnable things about AN.    I can only tell you that, with time, you'll probably be less bothered by it.  I've had Tinitus for a long time, after sudden hearing loss in 1980.  And I only notice it when I think about it.  When Tinitus comes on suddenly it's very noticable and intrusive.  But your perception of Tinitus, and how much it bothers you, will get better with time.
  Tinitus can also have some odd characteristics.  Whenever I move my eyes (left, right, up, or down) suddenly I get a little boost in Tinitus volume during the movement.  And if I bite down hard, that also increases the volume.  If you look through the Tinitus threads on this forum, you'll find some other variations.
  Best of luck with your AN treatment and recovery.
Regards,
  Rob

[LADavid]

Hi Drake

I have tinnitus in both ears.  The noise in my right ear sounds like a steam kettle letting off steam.  Recently I developed tinnitus in my left ear that sounds like crickets.  Occasionally I get something that sounds like windchimes.  Got a full orchestra thing going.  Thanks Cindy for finding that link.  For those of you who are new to tinnitus, I know it's tough at first to deal with.  But it is something you get used to over time.  The only time I ever think about it is at times like now when I'm talking about it.  As far as I know, there is no sugery or medicine that will get rid of it.  Although over the years I have had to put up with people telling me that this and that works and they just don't know why I haven't tried it.  Sort of goes hand in hand with the ever popular "at least you're alive."  Do know that you are in good company -- there are quite a few famous people who have it - particularly musicians.

Best wishes for your surgery.

David

[AMD]

Hi Drake,

my tinnitus is usually very high-pitched, but can vary from time to time.  It usually isn't too loud.  I haven't had the surgery yet, so I can't tell you how that affects it, at least not from my standpoint.  I did , however, find that if i repeatedly push gently on the little piece of cartilage covering the opening to your ear (like you are trying to shield your ear from a loud noise, or get water out of your ear) that the tinnitus usually dissipates quickly.

Best of luck,
Amy

[Pol]

Hi
I had AN surgery in May and the tinnitus did get worse. The doctor said that it usually stays the same or gets worse. I saw an audiologist recently who told me that the tinnitus can improve with time. I agree with others who say that your brain does get used to it. (Either that or mine HAS gotten better).

There is an tinnitus website which may be of help: www.ata.org. Since the AN is the cause of our tinnitus, I have found this website and discussion forum more helpful. I can't imagine a more supportive, funny group!

Polly

[Nancy Drew]

WOW!  That sound link was freaky.  Mine sounds like the second one.  When I heard it, my tinnitus decided to kick in full blast.  I had never had tinnitus until a couple of months ago.  I was on a walk.  It was hot outside, and my AN ear started hurting . . . like an earache.  By the time I got home, the tinnitus had set in.  It is pretty constant now, but I have learned to deal with it.  I am pre-treatment, and I hope it doesn't get worse.  My husband has tinnitus also so we can compare.  His is worse than mine.  Tinnitus is something we can "bond" with in regard to my AN.  Nancy

[mikado]

Me too, was number 2.
Don't understand why, but for the last month or so, tinnitus, dizzy, and vertigo have "left the building".

Finally after 4 mos. (hell to me... not knowing, makes me crazy) had appointment with neurosurgeon, diagnosis... as AN was only 1 cm. nothing would be done. Awaiting date for 2nd MRI, to ensure no growth, apparently. File forwarded to Gamma/Radiosurgery specialist.

LOVE my AN doc.
He cuts right to to the point. It is what is, and this is what may or may not occur. If it grows, radiosurgery, one or the other. Hopefully that will be then end of it. If not, he and I will talk further. I love it, in my face, bring it on!!!!!

My family doc. turned ashen when I told him, months before, I had recieved books from the Brain Tumour Foundation. His only comment was... didn't it scare you?. NO

My AN doc. promotes the Foundation and distributes their literature to his patients.
Thank you ANA and ANAC you are our lifelines in our time of need.