ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Hearing Issues => Topic started by: PamJ on August 02, 2012, 01:35:26 pm
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Does anyone else suffer from tinnitus since having acoustic neuroma removed, I had occasional tinnitus prior to my op but it is constant now.
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Hi, Pam ~
Unfortunately, tinnitus does not usually disappear following AN surgery. Occasionally, as in your case, it may increase in severity.
Jim
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Thanks for your reply Jim it just seems strange I am totally deaf on my right side yet that's the side I can clearly hear the tinnitus.
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Thanks for your reply Jim it just seems strange I am totally deaf on my right side yet that's the side I can clearly hear the tinnitus.
Pam ~
Tinnitus is produced by the brain and has nothing to do with hearing. If it did, simply plugging your ear would quiet the noise.
Jim
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Does anyone else suffer from tinnitus since having acoustic neuroma removed, I had occasional tinnitus prior to my op but it is constant now.
Yes it was weird I did not have it the first 3 months after my surgery and then it started and has not stopped since and has been constant and at times worse still cannot get use to it and it has been 3 years.
Best Wishes,
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Hi I find I can ignore it during the day but in the evening it seems to get worse I wish there was a cure for it. I was hoping it would eventually disappear. It really is strange being deaf on the right side but hearing tiinnitus but as Jim explained it is the brain so that makes more sense to me. Thank you all for your replies.
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Bummer! I thought it was just me & if I ignored it long enough it would go away. I too had very little tinnitus pre-op & for the 1st 6 months post op. So it doesn't necessarily mean something is growing back right?
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The way I understand it is the tinnitus is your brain making up for the tones it is missing. Since it is used to hearing those noises for all of these years when it all of a sudden stops the brain looks for those sounds it can't hear anymore and makes them up.
I had a sudden onset of tinnitus and lost about 30% of the hearing in my AN ear. My doctor quickly put me on steroids and the hearing came back. Once the hearing was back the tinnitus was gone because my brain was once again hearing the tones it was looking for so it didn't have to make up the sounds itself.
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I just love that definition of tinnitus! It makes so much sense to me!
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on Bluesky comment - steroids actually helped in getting some hearing back therefore reducing tinnitus? What I would like to know is how this came about? Did your doctor just prescribe it to you or did tests show that you're a candidate for this?
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I just love that definition of tinnitus! It makes so much sense to me!
Tinnitus has its roots in the Latin "tinnire" meaning "to ring."
The same root of the word "tintinnabulation" which Edgar Allen Poe uses so melodically in his poem "The Bells."
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
Later on in the poem I think he might be describing the feelings of many a Tinnitus sufferer:
Oh, the bells, bells, bells!
What a tale their terror tells
Of Despair!
How they clang, and clash, and roar!
What a horror they outpour
On the bosom of the palpitating air!
Yet the ear it fully knows,
By the twanging,
And the clanging,
How the danger ebbs and flows:
Yet the ear distinctly tells,
In the jangling,
And the wrangling,
How the danger sinks and swells,
By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells
Of the bells
Of the bells, bells, bells,bells,
Bells, bells, bells
In the clamor and the clangor of the bells!
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Hi I am new here and I joined this group to learn more. About your subject, Tinnitus, can I ask what causes this ailment.
I am happy to hear your thoughts on this. :)
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Hello and welcome, Michael ~
I'm not an expert (nor a doctor) but the shorthand explanation is that the noise -'tinnitus' - originates in your brain, not your ears, although some cochlea damage is often present in tinnitus sufferers. Not all acoustic neuroma patients experience tinnitus but the majority do. However, the level of intensity varies from person to person. I have tinnitus but it is relatively mild and does not negatively impact my life. Others suffer with very 'loud' and disturbing tinnitus. The level of intensity often varies according to your state of rest, physical activity, etc.
Unfortunately, to date, there is no known, scientifically-proven 'cure' for tinnitus - although homeopathic remedies abound. Some actually work but usually in a very random fashion. Homeopathic remedies for tinnitus are not FDA approved and so I would caution anyone intending to try them not to set your expectations too high. However, if anyone ever does discover a scientifically-proven remedy for all levels of tinnitus, they'll be an instant millionaire.
Jim
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My tinnitus varies from day to day, hour to hour but I am only 7 weeks post surgery. Just curious--can anyone tell me if their tinnitus "got better" once they had a BAHA or other implant/device? I am assuming if it does it would be because the regular sound distracts you from the tinnitus but just wondering.
Meg
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Hi Meg I've had my BAHA four weeks now and still have constant tinnitus but because I can hear more now I hardly notice it until I take my BAHA off before bed.for a I've just had my BAHA fined after wearing it for a month and am really happy with it.
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Later on in the poem I think he might be describing the feelings of many a Tinnitus sufferer:
Yes! It's amazing how this can drive one to distraction. I had a visit with my sleep MD who is a neurologist. I told him that the worst part of my day was when I was very tired and trying to fall asleep. The ringing keeps me awake and makes me a little crazy. He has recommended a good white noise machine or classical music without strings or loud horns. On the noise machine, he said that variable raindrops helped a lot of his patients. I'm looking for a machine now. I've seen a few recommendations that folks have made here and will check those out. He also prescribed some Klonopin to help me fall asleep.
It's crazy how the brain works. You'd think that your brain would figure out it was making itself crazy and turn off this ringing, but I guess not.
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I've had tinnitus in my left ear for many years, it has gotten louder as I have lost the hearing in that ear. In May of '12 I had sudden loss of the last little bit of hearing in that ear and a couple of really bad dizzy spells (felt like I was kinda drunk, couldn't walk a straight line, vomited with each episode). That finally drove me to see an ENT. When the last of the hearing went, the tinnitus became what I call "screaming" tinnitus. There is a high pitched noise, clicks, and a sound that is very much like a mosquito buzzing at that ear. The mosquito is what varies, softer to very loud at times.
The ENT sent me for an MRI. I think he knew I had an AN on my left. Imagine his supprise when the AN was seen on my RIGHT! Not to mention my supprise! So I have no hearing in my LEFT ear and an AN on the right (with slight buzzing, and mild-mod hearing loss in the right)
At present I am 1 week into fractionated radiation treatments (whoo-hoo, 20% done!) My Neuro-ENT feels the fractionated treatments hold the best option for hearing preservation over the long run, but feels that within the next 10 years I will lose "useful hearing" in the right ear. At that point I should be a candidate for a cochlear implant.
My question is...since the tinnitus is basically the brain wanting to make noise to compensate for no audio imput coming from the left, if I have a cochlear implant, will the tinnitus decrease? Does anyone out there have one?
And I love the explaination of the tinnitus...it is the best one I have ever read.
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I am an AN caregiver and have had tinnitus for almost 20 years - constantly on both sides and annoying. I've tried acupuncture and Chinese herbs and researched the subject extensively on the web. Everyone has different experiences with the treatments available - but it appears that there is no solution to the constant ringing.
No one seems to know exactly why it starts or ends, over time it becomes part who you are. I find that white noise tends to reduce the ringing (or in my case wooshing) in both ears. I also find that a lowering of the barometric pressure seems to make it worse. I guess I should be a meteorologist!
Try all the options - you have nothing to lose. Some people have been helped by biofeedback or acupuncture - others have had no success.
Good luck.
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Hi Pam,
So glad to hear it is working well for you. I am hoping to have mine in another 6 months or so.
Thanks,
Meg
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Hi Meg I hope you enjoy yours and much as I enjoy mine, I had a small infection and couldn't wear it for 3 days and it was like losing my right arm I really missed it.
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Thanks, Pam.
I'm hoping to get the BAHA but may have to wait. We are a military family and I do not want to make having one make me EFMP (Exceptional Family Member Plan). Being EFMP means we would be unable to move to certain areas due to needed medical services being unavailable at the new locatuion. Right now, I am in the position of only needing one MRI a year and pain meds so I'm not "exceptional" :) Had a 2.5 cm AN removed via Translab in late Aug 2012 but had a considerable amount of facial nerve involvement so they left a small piece of the tumor on the facial ner in order to preserve function. Bottom line is I don't have to have the BAHA, just a quality of life issue. But if having it limits our possible assignment locations, I'll just wait until when we are looking to retire from the military to have it done.