Tinnitus

[abunaitoo]

Ringing sound in the head /ear.
I've had it for as long as I can remember.
Sometimes it get louder, sometimes don't even notice it.
When I was younger I did try some things to treat it, but nothing worked.
Old now so I notice it more when it gets loud.
Anyone else have this.
Anyone ever find a way to get rid of it.
Doctors no help at all.

[Battis]

Mine started three days after I had an "injection." It won't go away. The trick is to push it into the background of your brain.

[elmacgyver0]

Mine is so bad I feel like I'm on the bridge of the "NCC-1701"

[CastingFool]

I have some of that. I hear a constant whirring sound, sort of a small electric motor running.

[elmacgyver0]

I have some of that. I hear a constant whirring sound, sort of a small electric motor running.

I wish that was all mine was!

[beemer]

I sometimes ask my wife if she can hear my ears ringing. We didn't know about ear protection when we were younger. Shooting did not do me any good but I think all most 50 years in a furniture machine room was worse. I wore protection but I think it accumulates over the years. I have learned to put it on ignore.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Mine's a high pitched constant ring/buzz sound. It never stops-I don't care anymore. Had hearing aids-they did a perfect job of irritating me more than the ringing. It gives me a great opportunity to ignore people.

[truckerdave397]

Mine has been going on for a couple of years. Most of the time I don’t hear it unless I think about it. Running too much heavy equipment in my younger days is what I believe is the cause. Bothers the most when I try to sleep. Needless to say I don’t sleep very good either.

[Battis]

Even worse, I used to get a terrible pain in one eye when I drank coffee. Drove me nuts. I finally found a doctor who cured me: "Take the spoon out of the cup."

[Ithaca Gunner]

Mine has been going on for a couple of years. Most of the time I don’t hear it unless I think about it. Running too much heavy equipment in my younger days is what I believe is the cause. Bothers the most when I try to sleep. Needless to say I don’t sleep very good either.

Doesn't bother my sleep a bit, within 10 minutes of hitting the pillow, I'm out for a good 4 hours until I gotta go pee, then another 2 hours sleep till I'm ready to get up. I usually take a mid afternoon nap...

[uscra112]

Mine's a high pitched constant ring/buzz sound. It never stops-I don't care anymore. Had hearing aids-they did a perfect job of irritating me more than the ringing. It gives me a great opportunity to ignore people.

Dittos on the hearing aids! Expensive failures.

I've had a very high pitched sinewave sound for at least 25 years now. It's grown so that telephones are hopeless. I've told the (adult) kids to use email. Grandkids' high pitched voices are totally unintelligible. At the doctors' offices I ask people to pull down their masks so I can lip-read. Speaker at the drive-thru? Just white noise.

Last fall it took on a new tone - I kept hearing a low rumble, like a refrigerator running, but only at night in my bed. Tried for weeks to find the source. Finally pulled the main breaker on my panel to stop everything - still there. Took another months to convince myself that it wasn't coming from an industrial plant a couple of miles away.

Nothing can be done except learn to ignore it, and cope with the disability.

[Winger Ed.]

Any little bit of background noise will often cancel it out.
I've heard the ringing called the sound of silence.
I've heard of people having a small fan running in the room, or one of those deals that look like a common clock radio,
but they play a few different kinds of white noise-- water running over rocks, rain, stuff like that.

[MarkP]

I have to sleep with fan on; if it is too quiet hard to sleep. When I travel I bring a fan with me or buy a fan if I do not check baggage when I fly.

[Hannibal]

I've worked in industrial - type environments since I was 13. Step dad took me to work with him. The last 25 have been at the RRd. I've had tinnitus for decades.

As someone else mentioned above, I can't hear people talking quite often especially when there is background noise. That's OK. Most of the time I don't want to listen to their drivel anyway and I've learned to ignore the ringing. It's been going on so long I don't even notice anymore. I don't watch TV so that's not a problem either.

[ulav8r]

Been hearing it for about 65 years. Most times just a high pitched constant ringing, but sometimes for a few seconds sounds like the ringside bell of a boxing ring or similar. Sometimes a little louder but never goes away. Started when I was 7 years old after having a fever of 104 caused by strep throat.

[Cris T]

I have had it for about 40 years. I learned to ignore it. BUT then I got this new virus (can't say the name) which was pretty bad...darn near killed me. Since then it's so loud I feel like I am standing next to a jet engine. I did some research on it and the best explanation I found is that the new epidemic is caused from spike proteins causing the tiny blood vessels in the brain to leak and cause swelling in the area that can affect this neuro transmission. That is what causes the same swelling in the front of the head (sinus area and such).
I have been experimenting with many of the newly discovered supplements. Some may help but I can't say for sure at this time. I do believe however that loratadine and tylenol make a bit of difference. I don't take them for tinnitus but frequent sinus pressure and it seems to help with the constant whine.
I also tried to frequency blocking. You can find stuff on youtube about wearing headphones piping in a "sympathetic frequency" that some people say will make the noise go away for several hours. I haven't played with that enough to say. Here is a link to one of the tinnitus frequency test pages in case you want to give that a try:
https://www.tinnitracks.com/en/matching

[armoredman]

Mine comes and goes, often years between episodes, a very loud high pitch whine, that fades in...and fades out. Usually lasts no more than 5 minutes. I beat up my ears when I was young, but I've never heard of part time tinnitus.

[Thundarstick]

I've had it for so long I can't remember when it started. I have good quality hearing aids and absolutely love them! They are not what God gave me, and they are not perfect, but they are worth every penny I paid for them! No problem sleeping, and it doesn't real impact me in any meaningful way.

[pworley1]

I have had it for as long as I can remember. I am not able to hear some things well if the frequency is close to the ringing. On the bright side, when the locust come out in the spring and drive people crazy, I am not bothered because that is what I hear all the time.

[john.k]

Doctors receptionists are the worst ,I find.......they twitter like tiny birds ,and I cant even guess what they are saying.........result of shooting without ear protection when young ,then operating earthmoving machines,some without mufflers.......some didnt even have exhaust pipes.............I didnt even know there were such things as earmuffs till I was around 30.

[Half Dog]

Yep, I’m noticing a high pitch and my wife has a soft voice, most of the time. I’ve lost interest in music due to lack of clarity and I’m having trouble deciphering the words. I guess age will do that.

[Sasquatch-1]

I trace mine back to an incident that happened when I was about 20. I'll be 70 in March. Went shooting with some friends at a gravel pit. One of the guys discharged a .44 Mag about 3 feet from my ear. Hearing has never been right since. The least little bit of ambient noise and I am asking people to repeat themselves. Absolutely terrible in a restaurant.

[uscra112]

Doctors receptionists are the worst ,I find.......they twitter like tiny birds ,and I cant even guess what they are saying....

Ditto. Even worse on the phone. And they have an ironclad policy about not using email.

[salpal48]

Tinnitus Cause is part of of the Aging process. It is not about loud noise . The hairs in the Inner Ear deteriorate with age. There is Nothing That can be done. Some get It Earlier than other.s. Yes it is annoying. I guess some Have a ear Damage that happens can cause it.
There is No product Out There will Help. Commercials with Drum Player and such are Just BS. Tinnitus is different than "Loud Noise Shock" to the ear.

[MrWolf]

I have to sleep with fan on; if it is too quiet hard to sleep. When I travel I bring a fan with me or buy a fan if I do not check baggage when I fly.

They have phone apps that make those same sounds. I use that when I am away from home. Just remember to plug in your phone charger before falling asleep.

[georgerkahn]

Ringing sound in the head /ear.
I've had it for as long as I can remember.
Sometimes it get louder, sometimes don't even notice it.
When I was younger I did try some things to treat it, but nothing worked.
Old now so I notice it more when it gets loud.
Anyone else have this.
Anyone ever find a way to get rid of it.
Doctors no help at all.

So sad -- I am also a tinnitus victim -- one of the major purported causes is exposure to *LOUD* sounds. For me it was a double-whammer, as I played in a band with my piano centred between the electric guitar to my left, and the drum-set to my right. Then, in addition, was my "need" to send the bullets I cast and loaded down range -- in my early days with minimal, el cheapo (if any) hearing protection.
My quest for a solution came with a teeny bit of help, relief, that being some parts in the ear (which I can neither recall their names nor pronounce/write if I could) crystalize with age, and their state as such is the root of the "sounds" we hear. An aged medic suggested that this is a normal aging process, exacerbated and increased by, as mentioned, earlier exposure to high volume sounds. He suggested "hydration" helps, and noted, too, as we age we tend to drink significantly less. "Just for kicks & giggles, try drinking TWO full glasses of water each day above what you normally drink -- and see if (in addition to more toilet runs) the tinnitus decreases?"
Bion, he was right on (for me) on both counts. My tinnitus level has dropped -- and my water bill has :) increased.
geo

[MT Gianni]

I have it. The good news is that the little voices in my head need to shout to be heard and often it isn't worth their effort.

[Loudenboomer]

I've had tinnitus most of my adult life. (According to the V.A. Being a Mortar Gunner in my 1st stint and a F-16 crew chief in my second had nothing to do with it.) Many hours on dozers and tractors, drag racing and shooting sports. A loud life. Got hearing aids when I turned 60 a few years back. They have been a real help discerning certain speech sounds and have reduced ringing by at least 50%.

[uscra112]

Time to post some authoritative information....

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14164-tinnitus

[sparky45]

Excellent post uscra112.

[FredBuddy]

Lightning strikes on the antenna I was using.
Back in the old days we didn't have noise
dampening headsets, just the old WWII earphones
like you see in the old movies.

I learned to ignore it most of the time
and use a small fan at night.

[white eagle]

I know exactly when mine started 1980
it used to be very slight and I could open my ears and it would go away,
you know like when your ears pop, then it got worse constant ringing never stops
only gets louder and sometimes changes sounds, like chains dragging or sometime like someone is hitting a hammer in the other room
from what I remember my Dad had it and my son tells me he has a touch of it
a person does get used to it but it aint no fun especially during hunting when you want quiet
womens voices are especially hard to understand but I've been told that is a blessing but would be content not to be blessed :killingpc

[45workhorse]

Yep, good post!
Mine gets Aggravated, from ridding my HD, just figured that out. Going to try a plug in one ear (left) to see if that helps. No I don't have super loud exhaust either.

[JoeJames]

Started shooting a 22 revolver when I was 11; I am 71 now. Hearing protection was unheard of then. Army physical in 1971 - "massive high frequency hearing loss". Always sounded like a grove full of Cicadas to me and still does.

[MarkP]

They have phone apps that make those same sounds. I use that when I am away from home. Just remember to plug in your phone charger before falling asleep.
Some of the phone apps I have tried had a repeating pattern that kept me up. My wife bought a noise device and it had a weird pulsation that made me feel nauseous. She said I was imagining it. Almost like when you lower the windows in a newer car while driving fast just not as intense.

[Rapier]

I guess you know why VanGot cut his ear off. I know exactly where mine came from, swimming in lake and canal water, got ear infections. Then was a Chief Surveyor in the Army, surveyors are automatic forward observers upon them finishing the survey duties. We were shooting a Direct fire Qual with a battalion of new 105s. They will make your ears ring pretty good. In process a battery of 106 Recoilless Rifles, come up to qualify, added a dab of icing to that cake. The 105 has a mean muzzle blast on a charge 7, but a 106 mounted on a jeep pulling up next to our OP then fired with no warning was just stupid. Could not hear at all for some time after that blast.

[abunaitoo]

My hearing is fine.
Don't have many headaches.
Shooting and racing when younger.
Not much loud music.
Probably just born with it.
It doesn't bother me when it soft, but sometimes it get so loud it bothers me.
Don't think it's getting worse now that I'm and old fut.

[375RUGER]

It never stops for me. I've had it as long as I can remember, since young teen for sure but probably longer than that. It's a buzzing ring now. I liked it better when it was crickets. At night when it's quiet, I can still hear the crickets under the buzzing ring.
The covid made it worse, louder, for a while. I know a guy that shot himself just last year, because it was so bad he couldn't handle it.

[atr]

years ago I was camped out by myself in the middle of no-where and when I woke up I though "who is running machinery way out here"....turned out it was the ringing in my ears.
I've had Tinnitus for many years and just try to push the noise in the background. I noticed in the last VFW magazine that tinnitus is recognized as a disability.
in Freedom
atr

[uscra112]

My primary care provider was in the Army (and was in Desert Storm) before he took his medical degree. He's got two cochlear implants, which the VA paid for.

[white eagle]

Do you all get different sounds in each ear?
Now I have crickets in my left and a swishing noise in my right

[Eddie Southgate]

Some times it's the only thing I can hear ! Wife has developed it in the last couple of years but I have had it as long as I can remember. See the swimmers in my eyes too. Not sure which is worse.

[Wis Tom]

I have had it for years. Went years ago and had a hearing test and the hearing aids made it louder. My is a louder ringing in the left ear more than the right, and some days are worse than the rest. People have gave advice on cures, but none seem to work, for me anyhow.

[Electrod47]

I have to sleep with fan on; if it is too quiet hard to sleep. When I travel I bring a fan with me or buy a fan if I do not check baggage when I fly.

That's how I roll. I was a tanker in the Army. My ears have been ringing since 67'. In the summer I hang a small tinkling kinda wind chime from my bedroom ceiling fan adds a little extra help. I found a few years ago a small fan that runs on A/C and batteries for traveling out state hunting trips. Cheap motels never have fans.

[bullet maker 57]

I have a high-frequency buzz. Been there for years. It doesn't affect sleep. I can't hear certain tones. It can be a real pain sometimes.

[Kosh75287]

Ringing sound in the head /ear. I've had it for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it gets louder, sometimes don't even notice it.
When I was younger I did try some things to treat it, but nothing worked. Old now so I notice it more when it gets loud. Anyone else have this? Anyone ever find a way to get rid of it? Doctors no help at all.

Does the ringing in your ears ever seem louder after you eat, especially something sugary? Do you have a way to check your blood sugar? Does anyone you know have a way to check it?
If you're a shooter, yer probably going to have SOME level of tinnitus. If it seems to be louder at certain times than others (except right after being on the shooting range), then it could be your body trying to signal that your blood sugar is too high. This isn't a HIGHLY CERTAIN thing, but it's easy enough to check, and you could be saving your body a WORLD of trouble, down the line.

[Kenstone]

Any little bit of background noise will often cancel it out.
I've heard the ringing called the sound of silence.
I've heard of people having a small fan running in the room, or one of those deals that look like a common clock radio,
but they play a few different kinds of white noise-- water running over rocks, rain, stuff like that.

Yea, white noise does it for me.
My new to me hearing aids are Bluetooth compatible so I can play music on my phone "blue toothed" to those hearing aids.
Even play those rippling stream/rain/ocean wave type sounds.
I can double tap my ear to answer the phone via Bluetooth/hearing aids too!!
I have an app on my phone for adjusting the hearing aids a multitude of different ways, volume of each ear, comfort, clarity, conversation, wind noise, base, tremble, etc.

My tinnitus is from wind noise riding motorcycles while wearing a full-faced helmet...
I have been wearing ear plugs under my helmet for the last 10 years but it has been too little/too late.
I have learned to ignore the tinnitus but have some friends who cannot, and it has led to sleeplessness and depression.

Regretfully, I have a tumor growing in my left ear canal and it is putting pressure on the 3 nerves in there.
One nerve is for hearing, one is for balance, and the 3rd is for left side facial muscle control.
So those other 2 nerves, not for hearing, are being affected too, and my balance has been deteriorating.
They don't operate on anyone my age to remove that always-benign-tumor because of the risk of disturbing that facial nerve.
So, added to the tinnitus, that tumor causes a constant feeling of pressure within my left ear now.
Sorry for the bloviation about my hearing/tinnitus but I wanted everyone posting here to know about the Bluetooth hearing aids and what they have done for me.
jmo,
.

[Bmi48219]

Does the ringing in your ears ever seem louder after you eat, especially something sugary?….

I don’t notice mine until I’m half way through my first cup of coffee.

[uscra112]

My tinnitus is from wind noise riding motorcycles while wearing a full-faced helmet....

I think that's my source, too. Over a quarter million miles and 20 years on an old BMW with a Vetter fairing that directed turbulence right onto my helmet. Only after I finally finally sold that bike did I realize that. Too late.

[BD]

I've had tinnitus for years, ear infections as a swimmer when I was a kid, loud work environments, plenty of gunfire, all the common causes. I did find that after I got my first pair of hearing aids ten years ago that they helped a lot. They amplify all those little sounds that go away with hearing loss, leafs rustling, paper moving, cars going past outside. All of that incidental background noise makes me overlook the tinnitus for most of the day. Not so much at night when it really is quiet.

[fixit]

Mine sounds like a woods on a summer night.....which makes listening for deer or squirrels annoying and frustrating, since the buzz sounds almost like what I'm trying to hear! It is the price of living a loud life.

[MaryB]

I trace mine back to an incident that happened when I was about 20. I'll be 70 in March. Went shooting with some friends at a gravel pit. One of the guys discharged a .44 Mag about 3 feet from my ear. Hearing has never been right since. The least little bit of ambient noise and I am asking people to repeat themselves. Absolutely terrible in a restaurant.

I feel your pain except it was a 12 gauge shotgun... mine is around 600hz which is dead middle of speech frequencies. Any background noise and I can't hear. Friends complain I have the TV to loud but this time of year I have the pellet stove running in the living room to stay warm and the fans are noisy...

For summer when I want to move cool air into the living room I found these little Honeywell turbo fans for $20 or so. On low they are almost silent! Have one in the bathroom pushing cold air to the living room(the warm air flows in behind it to heat that room) and I can't hear it running.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Thank God my is just noise and I can live with it. Migraines, noise and being sick is just a way of life, hearing is still good but sure can get fun. Ringing and buzzing, sounds I have to deal with.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Thank God my is just noise and I can live with it. Migraines, noise and being sick is just a way of life, hearing is still good but sure can get fun. Ringing and buzzing, sounds I have to deal with.

[SeabeeMan]

Yup, mine has pretty clear causes: a couple fairly large bangs that I was WAY to close to in Iraq. It's pretty constant ringing, like the noise that they use in Hollywood movies when the main character gets blown up and it's silent except that high pitched whine. It never goes away but occasionally gets worse to the point that it is distracting. I teach high school and it will get to the point that I lose my train of though in front of the whole class or look for a source when it just suddenly cranks up to 11.

[HollowPoint]

I can't remember a time when I didn't have this ringing in my ears.
It can range from a straight monotone ringing to a high-pitched ringing in one ear and low tone in the other ear and all points in between.
I couldn't really say that I've grown accustomed to it but, since it's ever present, I only notice it most when I think about it.
You'd think that after all of these years of having this ringing in my ears it would have slowly evolved into a nice musical presentation of some sort.
Most of the time it sounds like the high-pitched sounds of air leaking out of a tire.

HollowPoint

[KCcactus]

Mine varies, mostly depending on what I eat. Black pepper makes them ring loudly. I'm also allergic to eggs. In addition to making me feel sick, they make my ears ring.

[abunaitoo]

Since I've had it all my life, and thought it was normal, I don't really notice it unless I listed for it.
Sometimes it sounds louder, sometimes I don't notice it.
Might have been better off not knowing it was not normal.

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve done everything I shouldn’t have regarding my hearing. Up until 2000, I could notice the hissing stopping. I didn’t stop abusing my hearing and now it’s always there. I usually don’t hear it if I don’t think about it, but now it’s back as I write this. They say you shouldn’t think that since you already have it, and don’t protect your hearing. It can get worse. There’s a lot of talk about ear plugs you wear around your neck until you need them. Some kind of springy plastic loop. Supposedly, they protect your ears more than the standard bulky over your ears type. I’m going to be looking into them. I usually use ear plugs these days, because the headset type interfere with putting my cheek on the stock when aiming.

[uscra112]

I spent the last 15 years of my working life in and out of auto industry powertrain plants. Almost all of then supplied the EAR brand of foam plugs. Had to be rolled tight and then inserted, but they work the best of any of the foam type. Some come as a pair on a plastic string. Still have some around here. Used them when cutting wood with the chainsaw, as well as under my muffs when shooting. Too late, of course, by the time I was 45 the damage had already been done.

[gordie]

this is not a cure... but made my ears/head feel better :
Ear-a-gator. spelling? kind of a "bore-scope & pressure washer"