ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Hearing Issues => Topic started by: Nancy Drew on July 30, 2008, 11:18:12 am
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I have just recently started having tinnitus in my AN ear. It is constant. Sometimes it is worse that others. When I am in a noisy environment it usually isn't a problem. However, when I am alone in a quiet environment, especially at bed time, it is louder and annoying. Do you ever get a break from it? Or is it a case of once it has started it will never go away? Just curious how tinnitus affects your life. I can tolerate it for now--just hope it doesn't get louder. It sounds like cricket in my ear. Maybe I should give him/her a name!
Nancy
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Nancy:
To the best of my non-physicians knowledge, tinnitus is a permanent condition, although there are myriad treatments and 'cures' available with varying effectiveness, including none at all. Unless it is debilitating, most tinnitus sufferers (including this one) learn to live with it. I wish I could offer you more encouraging news but unless there is something I've missed, this is the discordant reality of tinnitus. :(
Jim
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Jim, My husband has tinnitus (every day I assume), and he said he has gotten used to it. I only have it in one ear. Is that usual for ANers? Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have it in both, but I am not wishing for it by any means! I have heard some people here say that the sounds change. One woman said hers sounded like a violin, and she was disappointed when that one was replaced with a really annoying sound. Mine is still a "cricket". I've heard about those treatments for tinnitus, and I hope I don't have to go in that direction one day. I am really amazed that the tinnitus just came on so suddenly--out of nowhere. Thanks for your reply.
Nancy
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Tinnitus has been with me since day one post op. It is only unbearable when I admit it to be so. It is here to stay, I believe.
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Yes, the tinnitus stinks, but I guess it could be a lot worse. I'm ready for the violin. The cricket is getting old. At least I'm not hearing voices, yet!!!
Nancy
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i had tinnitus for the longest time ever (before my surgery) and after surgery, i still have tinnitus in my deaf ear - go figure!! i have learned to live with it and don't really pay attention to it anymore.
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I guess from what I am reading acceptance is key in dealing with a lot of the AN issues. I'm getting there! Nancy
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I guess from what I am reading acceptance is key in dealing with a lot of the AN issues. I'm getting there!
So does that mean you are starting to accept that acceptance is key? Are you ready to accept that accepting that acceptance is key is key? ;D
Steve
(crickets forever)
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The noises thing is there and for real - and in one sense, forever
However its not really a "sound" you are hearing
in some way is is a reflection of nerve activity expressed as noise
- when some us close our eyes, the "noise" changes
Its also alot to do with the bloodsteam/nerve activity at any one time
So things like caffine/sugar even gen fatigue do seem to alter
the amount and strength of the noises
Its worth to experiment with diet/fluid/sugar levels and rest !
to moderate the effects ?
Best Regards
Tony
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Nancy,
I have had tinnitus since I was a child of five after I accidentally was hit in the head with a baseball bat in a sandlot game. When I kept telling my parents that I heard this high pitched ringing noise they took me to the family "quack". He looked into my ears and said "Nothing there. You are fine. It is all in your head." Yes Dr. Quack it IS in my head! Geez! So as a five year old until now (53), I have learned to live with it. Sorry to vent a little in your post but looking back, it just P*** me off.
Unfortunately the AN surgery mad it a little worse and new "cricket-like" sounds. At least it is a little different. ::) ;D
Just try to ignore it. The more you think and focus on it, the worse it controls you. Don't let it! Ignore the little tinnitus beeotch! :P
Can I say that or do I need to be sensored? :D
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As I`ve said in previous posts have tinnitus for 30 years. I have tried everything to help and presently doing Neuromonics which has seemed to subdue the noise somewhat. It just becomes part of you and you get used to it. No harm to try and find something to relieve it. This was may main symptom all these years I guess for an AN which I finally found out about a year ago? Good Luck Mickey
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Hi Nancy,
My tinnitus and hearing loss ocurred suddenly after sneezing one time. Before surgery, my tinnitus had many forms/sound. Since my surgery on June 16 it has changed. It hasn't gone away and I feel that I need to get used to it all over again. What I have now are just the crickets--a bunch of them chirping far away.
Syl
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Hi everyone,
Interesting that there are a lot of "crickets" in the ears. Steve, I love your play on words. They make me think, and they also give me a laugh, and I can use every laugh I can get. I think I am getting to the acceptance stage. Of course, I haven't had my treatment yet, and I know that with radiation I won't get rid of the tumor. I will have to keep a close watch on it, and it is always possible that more symptoms will show up. Acceptance is KEY, and it applies not only to the AN, but also to so many other things that come up in life. On a side note, since my husband has nonAN tinnitus, we can at least have a common bond with our tinnitus!. I'm gonna be OK. Thanks for your support. Chirp, Chirp.
Nancy
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It's strange because my mother has suffered with tinnitus for a number of years (diabetes and thyroid problems) and I remember having a conversation with my sister where we said it must be awful to have to live with a noise in your head all the time! I used to so love silence and now here I am, also with the crickets and the hissy wooshiness! I do ignore it and get on with my life day to day but I notice that when it is worse my balance is a little 'off', get earache/pain and my face can feel a bit strange. My otolo. guy continues to insist tinnitus is nothing to do with the AN???
I am still in wait and watch though so do wonder if the AN has 'moments' due to blood flow? Can't see any pattern to it (diet, tirednes, etc.).
There is so little they seem to know about tinnitus but how can they say it's nothing to do with the AN pre-treatment??
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It's funny, but I barely notice my tinnitus until I start thinking about it. :D In fact, just reading this thread caused it to act up! Usually though, I only have one or two episodes a day that last only a couple of minutes.
Lisa
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Esperanza,
From what I've read here, on the internet, and have been told by my doctors, tinnitus can be a symptom of an AN. If you read the posts here, it seems to be a common symptom. Chime in someone. . . .I can relate to what you said about getting earache pain and a strange feeling in the face. Seems to happen when the tinnitus is at its worst. Most common response I have heard here about tinnitus. . . . . just accept the fact that you have to live with it. Stinks!
Nancy
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Nancy -
tinnitus can be a symptom of an AN, but as I'm sure you already know having tinnitus doesn't necessarily mean you have an AN.
There are also AN patients who don't have tinnitus. I fall into that category and I'm thankful I do.
Jan
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I am really pleased (and envious!) that you don't have tinnitus Jan, but I wonder why don't you have it and we do?? wish they could find out what it is that makes some peeps get it and some not...
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I don't want to recommend AN surgery as a cure for tinnitus, but, oddball that I am, mine was greatly diminished or possibly gone after my surgery. I'd had it for many, many years, and it had gotten worse as my hearing decreased. After surgery, I also don't hear the buzzing noise that came with listening to anyone speak.
Tammy
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Esperanza -
I have no clue why I don't have tinnitus.
I didn't have it prior to my surgery and the doctors were uncertain if I'd get it post op.
From what I've heard from others with tinnitus (AN patients and non-AN patients) it's hard to pinpoint just why it happens.
Jan
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Funny, I was just telling my husband tonight that my acupuncurist asks me every time I see him how my tinnitus is - I believe he thinks he is going to "cure" it. I had it before surgery, and have it (worse) since treatment, only on my AN side. I find that having some background noise at all times (a fan blowing, usually) helps distract my mind. But as others have pointed out, I think you just learn to live with it. And as much as I love acupuncture, that doesn't seem to be helping with this particular problem......
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Mar -
if your acupunturist does happen to come up with a cure, make sure you plaster that fact all over this forum.
Oh yes, and ask for a commission for all the grateful patients you will be sending his way :)
Jan
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I had tinnitus pre and post op. I can usually ignore it.... but now that I'm writing about it, it's extremely distracting!
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Hi Nancy,
Like so many others here in the AN world, I have had tinnitus forever. I had it long before I was diagnosed 2 years ago. I have just learned to live with it but I do notice that at night lately it really drives me nuts to the point I can't sleep. I don't know if just having finished CK is the reason or not. During the day when I'm busy I don't notice it as much. My friends tell me I have too much energy as I'm always baking, cleaning, etc. I tell them I have to keep busy or the noise in my ear drives me crazy. They can't relate! They have no idea what its like to have crickets 24/7 singing to you. Hang in there!
Debbie
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So Debbie, does this mean you are not experiencing post-CK fatigue, at least? :)
I have the crickets too, though I am quite used to them now. Hopefully yours will settle down soon.
Steve
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Hi Steve,
I am having fatigue. I can be in the middle of something and then be exhausted and need to take a nap. How long does that last? I have to go back to work in a week and am hoping I will have enough energy to get through the day with elementary school aged kids. I'll probably have to take a nap on my lunch.
Debbie
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I can increase the sound of my tinnitus every time I scratch the left side of my spine between the scapulas! What's up with that?!
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Hi Nancy
Yes as far as I know, it's forever. I've had it for nearly 24 years in one ear -- and partially in the other since my surgery last December.
The only positive thing I have to say, as most others have said, you will get used to it. I look at it as a part of me and accept it as the way I am. Mine's a steam-kettle letting off steam in one ear and crickets and chimes in the other. Sort of a weird orchestra in my head. Actually I don't even notice it unless I'm talking about it like I am now. Hopefully you will get to that point someday.
I do feel for you though. When I first was cursed with it, I was miserable and would not accept that it's permanent. But what makes it even more frustrating are those that tell you that there are treatments for it and that you need to get it fixed. Prepare yourself for that and don't carry a gun. I suppose they mean well (even though they are insinuating that you are an idiot for not researching the issue like the wonderful they did) but I put them in the category with those that say -- at least you're alive. I've often felt like saying to them -- "untill you are living inside my head, you are forbidden to speak. Ever." I'm having a militant morning.
I wish you the best.
David
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I am having fatigue. I can be in the middle of something and then be exhausted and need to take a nap. How long does that last?
It varies (of course). Although I never had fatigue during the day, I do notice that at the end of the evening, say 10:30 pm, I go from wide awake to a "must - sleep - now" zombie state in a matter of minutes. I have to make sure that I brush my teeth before that happens, or it won't get done. Some have reported fatigue as an issue for months afterwards; I think shorter times are more common, though.
Steve
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My tinnitus sounds like the sea. I use it to fall asleep at nights. During the rest of the day I can barely notice it.
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Tinnitus, yup, check. Only post-op and of all the issues I'm dealing with, this one seems the most manageable to me. Of course my life as a musician is the real question right now. My son, who lost some hearing due to self-inflicted ear abuse, has tinnitus and swears that caffeine makes it worse, as does fatigue. He is a working musician and has learned to deal with it pretty well.
Marci (crickets mostly, sometimes just white noise, and when I'm lucky, the ocean)
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Unfortunately tinnitus is forever, but for some there are different levels of tinnitus. Some days the tinnitus is loud, some days soft, some days barely there…others have a more consistent level. Others feel that tinnitus is lessened by staying away from caffeine or hydrating more….tinnitus is still a mystery.
Personally, I believe that my tinnitus is caused by my brain searching for a “signal� that used to be there. I have the typical “cookie bite� hearing loss (middle range lost) in my AN ear.
If you’ve ever been in a very quiet room without sound you’ll notice that there was a high pitched noise. I believe that this is what my brain is doing now, substituting for no input…or lost signal. My wife has a co-worker that was born deaf in his left ear only. He cannot hear in that ear but also does not have tinnitus in it. Could this be because he never had a signal in that ear? Is this why the brain is not searching for a signal?
On another note…I have found interesting conversations about tinnitus from this site:
http://tinnitussupport92262.yuku.com/ I think it used to be an EZboard.com site but they moved….
Take care all
Gary
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Yes - the tinnitus is very annoying - mine is a constant "white noise" and different levels as Gary described perfectly!
Wreaks havoc in the life of a musician. Hopefully as time goes by I will learn to work with it. For now, I shut the piano lid
when my tinnitus is loud. I found a pillow with slim speakers in it and I hook up my MP3 player and play soothing ocean sounds
to help mask it when I sleep. It helps!
Pauline
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Really weird thing going on with this tinnitus. This weekend I went up in the mountains, and the tinnitus pretty much subsided. Coming back down, the tinnitus came back, and it is louder than in the past. I also have bad ear pain associated with coming down from the mountains. Another weird thing that confuses me is that when I was in the mountains, my AN symptoms got better. Maybe I should move to the mountains! I am curious to see what happens tomorrow. As for the caffeine theory, I am wondering about that. My husband does not drink or eat anything with caffeine in it, and he has tinnitus in both ears. His is constant, but he has learned to live with it. Nancy
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Nancy,
How high up were you in the mountains....roughly? I wonder if the lower pressure density is affecting you (in a good way) somehow. -bucko
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I live in Denver, the mile high city. In the Rocky Mountains I went up to about 11,000 feet. Four days later now and my symptoms have subsided gradually to where I feel like my AN is not acting up as much. Sometimes I feel like I don't even have an AN and other days the things just acts up like a baby having a temper tantrum. This little AN baby has me really confused. Nancy