ANA Discussion Forum
General Category => Hearing Issues => Topic started by: Rivergirl on January 18, 2009, 07:13:37 pm
-
I was wondering... does tinnitis go away after treatment? Is there anything that can be done about it without treatment? Mine is getting louder and more annoying, high pitched and constant. My research says that it is the hearing nerve dying and it may be permanent, I hope I don't have this forever.
-
So sorry, but no it doesn't go away...well in the vast majority of cases it doesn't. There is someone here on the forum that had it go away after treatment, just can't remember who right now. But, she is by far the exception. There are some websites that give ideas/thoughts/theories on how you can reduce the severity of the noise, and I think some folks here have had some success with certain of these methods. But, I think most people just have variations in the level of the tinnitus from day to day and/or hour to hour. Yes, it is quite annoying - for the most part I can "tune" it out and not think about it too much.
I'm sure others will come along with better comments for you. Take care,
Cindy
-
You can try different treatments. Neuromonics is one, expensive but did subdue mine. Iv`e had mine for 30 years. After a certain period of time you do get used to it. It becomes more manageable. If you stay in good health in general, eventually most of the time you learn to tune it out. Good Luck, Mickey
-
I have heard no - that what you have is what you will keep (give or take a few cases outside the bell curve). Similar to hearing loss - you don't get back what you have lost.
I too am in the watch and wait and have been told to expect it to worsen as I wait! I think my tinnitus has either gotten significantly worse since I was told of my mild hearing loss or I just notice it all the time. Thankfully, it is currently quite pleasant.
-
Rivergirl:
Since I got my hearing aid, less than one month ago, my tinnitus is milder and more consistent. I don't notice it as much. I expected that the amplification of sounds in my AN ear would worsen my tinnitus.
Syl
-
Rivergirl, this is one of the many annoying things that make living with an Acoustic Neuroma frustrating and tiring. It is sometimes all the little things that add up to one great big annoyance. And sometimes the little things get louder and you just want some peace and quiet for a change. At least I sure do!! When your brain latches on to the tinnitus it rarely lets go of it. You may have to experiment a little and see if some choices you can make make any difference in the level of head noise. Sometimes laying off of caffeine, salt, or aspirin may help. Some people notice a difference, some don't. Obviously trying to avoid noisy situations which aggravates tinnitus can help. Sometimes being in too quiet of a room only makes it more noticeable. Sometimes a little white noise in the background can "even" out the sound a bit. I sleep with a fan on in my bedroom. Otherwise, I lay there and listen to my head noise and focus on it and have a hard time going to sleep.
Not the kind of news you want to hear, no pun intended, but the truth can hurt sometimes. It takes time, but eventually you do learn to live with it and by doing that, it can recede into the background. I find that when I'm busy or concentrating on something, I can forget that I have that noise buzzing in my ear.
Hang in there, kiddo. Eventually, it probably will not be as big of an issue. It just takes a little time.
Sue in Vancouver USA
-
Rivergirl:
I'm sorry to have to add my voice to the dirge but in all honesty, your tinnitus very likely won't disappear, even after treatment. Although it can be lessened (or exacerbated), I've found that after awhile I've 'absorbed' it and it really doesn't bother me, much, anymore. Better to face harsh reality (and possibly be pleasantly surprised) than expect something that probably won't happen. :(
Jim
-
i am guessing the treatment is ck or gk - anyway, i had translab surgery and technically i am stone deaf in my AN ear as i no longer have the hearing nerve................yet somehow i still hear that darn tinnitis ??? dr brackmann could not explain it so i guess i will have to accept this as one of life's greatest mysteries.
-
I had two types of tinnitus before CK treatment: high-pitched ringing and pulsatile tinnitus (the latter in the form of hearing a whooshing sound synchronous with that of my pulse). Oddly (and unexpectedly), the pulsatile tinnitus disappeared immediately after CK treatment and the high-pitched ringing decreased dramatically. This is an unusual outcome of CK treatment.
Around Thanksgiving last November, the high-pitched ringing increased in volume somewhat but still remained lower in volume than what it was before treatment. I now seem to be able to keep the tinnitus at a very low volume most days by eating a balanced diet (including lots of seafood rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon), getting plenty of sleep, and taking large doses of vitamin E, manganese, calcium/magnesium, and a vitamin-B complex supplement daily.
I hope this helps you, too, Rivergirl.
Best wishes,
Tumbleweed
-
Hi Rivergirl,
My tinnitus has spiked up since an audiogram before xmas and I have it in my good ear almost all the time too following this which is frustrating.
I do my best to get on with things and ignore it really but sometimes it drives me nuts and has woken me up at night on
a number of occasions lately.
I think it seems to be easier to cope when its a constant sound (which it was before, just white noise with the occasional hiss) much better to habitualise I think rather than different pitches of tones, hissing and almost generator noise which come in and out at all times of the day (I have also had a church bell type sound lately - very bizarre!).
I actually found it has helped me sometimes to go online and listen to examples of tinnitus and then I realise that mine is still a lot better than some people have to cope with! I am due for an appointment shortly and I am planning to ask lots of questions on AN's tinnitus and the nerve - so I'll post anything I find out...
-
Hi to all,
I had mild tinnitus due to an Acoustic Neuroma operation in 1993. A year and a half ago, I was subjected to loud noise for a brief amount of time. My tinnitus went (on a scale of 0-10) from a 2 to an 8! I have tried: accupuncture (11 sessions), supplements (6 months of t-gone), homeopathy (17 months of t-gone), hypnotherapy (24 sessions of Kevin Hogan's approach), energy healing (6 sessions...once I had 4 people work on me, at the same time!), Emotional Freedom Technique (www.tapping.com), meditation, sesame seeds, Organic Fenugreek Seed Tea, and rubbing blessed earth from a chapel in Chimayo, New Mexico. My tinnitus is better, and my hyperacusis has dimished. Nevertheless, I would still like to lower the volume and get rid of my musical tinnitus.
When I was hypnotized, the following day was noiser (crisis healing), but the day after, for quite a few days was much lower.
I have seen my internest, 3 ENTs, a TOP ear doctor in NYC (considered a "TINNITUS EXPERT"!), as well as others in the field, and also have contacted many more (some in the cutting edge of researching a cure).
Thanks for reading my two cents!
-
Come up with a fix for tinnitus that works and you'll have more money than Gates
Completely deaf in left ear but still have loud tinnitus, have it in my good ear too but bothers me more in the deaf ear.
Just have to live with it.
-
Can I just add I have been advised by a very reliable source! that following treatment 50% of people may experience some improvement in tinnitus, 40% find it stays about the same and for 10% it get worse >:( (this is following surgery).
I am figuring that as I have already dealt with balance issues, SSD and am dealing with worsening tinnitus issues at the moment! If I do have surgery I may be dealt a kind hand!
Stay positive!
x
-
As all have said -- no -- it doesn't go away. After having it for 24 years, I can tell you, the only time when you notice it is when someone asks -- does tinnitus ever go away. Then you recognize it. Actually it becomes a part of who you are. And you're in great company -- there is a long list of celebrities who have it -- David Letterman, Bill Clinton, Pete Townsend, Neil Yong, Barbara Streisand. It's tough to deal with at first personally -- eventually you'll find that you can deal with it -- you will find however, that it's tough to deal with the people who don't get it. I've always felt that perfect people need to be put out of our misery.
(just kidding)
-
Thank you all for your posts, learned alot, maybe not what I wanted to hear. Alec, amazing what you have tried and some of you have given me hope that maybe it will reduce at some point in my treatment.....and I am in good company. It is funny the quieter the environment the more aggravating the tinnitis.....so silence is golden does not apply to us.
-
I recommend an article from the current issue of the New Yorker magazine regarding Tinnitus.
Jerome Groopman, Medical Dispatch: That Buzzing Sound, 'What causes tinnitus?' -- (February 9 & 16, 2009) starting on page 42. AN is discussed but not named in a paragraph on page 44. The article includes a description of some new research & possible tinnitus treatments. There is also in interesting discussion of the frequency of the problem with returning vets.
FWIW, I have some tinnitus but it doesn't seem to interfere with my life.
I'm pre-op & an occasional lurker on this site-- it has been really helpful to see a range of issues discussed.
I was Diagnosed last summer (2 cm) - dealing with other medical issues prior to translab surgery.
-
Not sure if this is the correct thread to add this, but I found an organization online called the American Tinnitus Association (they have an association for everything!).
Their website is: www.ata.org and they have some good tips for coping with tinnitus.
Jan D
-
Thanks everyone.
-
The ringing, woooshing, ect. that I endure everyday is driving me crazy. Does anyone have a problem with the volume increasing and decreasing when you turn your head or move your eyes from right to left. My tinnitis is far worse than before surgery. I wake up alot during the night and it almost sounds like people talking on the T.V. but, you make out what they are saying. I always think one of the kids left the t.v. on and I have to get up and check. Some thimes I think I am going out of my mind :P I try to ingnore it but somedtimes I can't exspecially when it is in high pitch mood. I do try to distract myself from the noise but, it is hard for me to ignore. I would think being SSD on the left side I surely wouldn't be able to hear anything I am deaf lol ;D
If anyone comes up with something that really works to distract yourself, then let me know.
Golden
-
Does anyone have a problem with the volume increasing and decreasing when you turn your head or move your eyes from right to left.
Does it help to know it has a name? ???
That would be something called "gaze-evoked tinnitus." There is brief discussion here, with links to more:
http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=8111.0
Steve
-
My Dr. in Boston (McKenna) suggested I try Celexa (antidepressant) because some people with tinnitis have had some success while on this med, they don't know why it helps some but I figured it was worth a try. He said wait a couple of weeks to give it a chance, its been 2 weeks nothing yet but I think I am a bit happier. On a more serious note, it does stink to have this, I try to keep noise around me all the time, I listen to my noise machine at night.....waterfall or rain and that is a blessing. I don't like the silence. They say we get used to it, some moments I do.
-
Hi Rivergal! Yes, I`m W+W with about the same size AN as you and just turned 60. I did do neuromonics which although expensive without coverage has helped a bit. It has made my tinitus much more bearable. Hasn't gone away but not near as annoying. Just a heads up, Mickey
-
I'm new to the forum, one of the lucky ones with screechy tinnitus in the deaf left ear (worse after surgery). Having that hearing nerve intact is a MUST, otherwise like in my case, there is NOTHING you can do. Yep just gotta live with it. Sometimes I just wanna cry-OK I do. It's almost like so loud it hurts.
I've been to a shrink to try different meds to see if they will calm the neurons. Antiseizure meds didn't work. The only one that has helped is XANAX, and that is a highly addictive benzodiazepam. Docs don't like to prescribe it. I'm in the military system BTW. Low dose of .5 mg two times a day, which brings it down a bit, but not enough. I would love more of it!
So with your hearing nerve intact, it is so much easier to muffle the sound. You do have some control at least.
Wish I had my hearing nerve,
Maureen
-
Sorry for all that responded with tinnitis. The celexa did not work for me so I am weaning off it, you can't stop it abruptly. I just keep busy and avoid silence, not much more I can do. Thanks all for the advice.
-
40 years of very unscientific observation tell me that my AN tinnitus is aggravated by: fatigue, stress, caffeine, aspirin, and - darn it - beer (the next morning, anyway). During a busy working day, the brain will pretty much ignore the noise, but in the still of the night I'm treated to a high pitched whistling or, conversely and for no understandable reason, a deep machine-like purr, like someone three doors down running a snow blower. You will learn to deal with it...trust me.
-
So ... is it the beer that makes your ears ring or the really loud bar where you drank that beer.
The question has baffled me - I don't think I ever notice tinnitus until after I was told I had mild hearing loss (and the web told me I likely had tinnitus) other than after a big night of loud music and beer (and that was at university 15 odd years ago.) Between the spins and the tinnitus, I don't drink anymore beer!
Ann
-
Hi, I am just shy of 3 years post-surgery. My tinnitis has not gone away, but at times I am unaware of it, and at other times it seems loud. I've noticed that when I am busy with something I like or am engrossed in, the sound appears to recede. If I have a headache or am tired, it is more noticeable.
-
Hi,
I'm revisiting this thread. I went to the ATA site and found it interesting. I also saw the pages that have the CD's that you can listen to at night. I think I might invest in a CD player for my bedroom and play those CD's instead of the big box fan that looks terrible. Also, I think I've seen this before, but if you go here you can see the different sounds people get in their ear/head. Mine is kind of a combination of the roar and the static. It is not a steady sound, if you really listen to it. It has tiny swirls and pulses and louder and quieter areas. It's quite a symphony of texture to the whole mess.
Sue
http://www.ata.org/store/downloads-0
-
I started to get a pulsative type of tinnitus in my good ear a few weeks ago although I did mention it to the Specialist he did not take it further.
Has anyone else suffered this in their good ear and did they have it treated?
Along with the increase i've had in the deaf one which hasn't got better it is all a bit unkind really :'(
-
Unkind is too nice of a word. Anyone tried acupuncture?
Maureen
-
Rumor has it that acupuncture hasn't worked well for tinnitus, but it has helped some people with headaches.
That's what I've heard anyway.
Sue in Vancouver USA
-
Thanks sue,
Maureen