Anyone here suffer from tinnitus? If yes, how do you deal with it? Is there anything at all that helps alleviate the problem? Can tv's, monitors, etc trigger tinnitus? The humming sound that the tv generates seems to trigger the same sound in my ear. Ahh when will they find a cure for this b/s??
I have it because of a mild hearing loss from ear infections when I was younger. It is annoying but if you put a fan or something in the room, it isn't as bad.
I have it and have for almost 4 years now. One day out of the blue it started. What's really puzzling is that I never abused my hearing w/loud music etc. I was so depressed when it started that I almost considered suicide. It was (and is) day and night. Howevere after reading support message boards and hearing that many millions of peopel have it I learned to just live with it. I have an approx 9000 Hz sizzling sound in both ears. I find that if I generate a 9KHz tone on my computer and play it at a moderate volume for a few seconds, it actually "stuns" my ears and stops the tinnitus for a few minutes. Here's a strange thing: If I clench my jaw, lean my head far back or press on the skull bone right behind my left ear I can make the tinnitus scream louder, so it leads me to think there's some mechanical problem inside. Maybe one or both cochleas are pressing against something - who knows. Can anyone else here change the pitch or intensity of your tinnitus at will?
Just a thought..... Could part of the problem be spending so much time in front of a monitor? Head and neck getting out of alignment. My Chiropractor has had a dilly of a time getting by head straightened out. Yes, possibly in more way than one. Thought I'd add that before any of you guys do.
Occasionally, yes. I also had tubes put in my ears as a kid (I remember the doctor ripping them out, but I'll save that story for another thread about most painful experiences). The tinnitus occasionally will get loud once in a great while, and change the way sound sounds within my ear. I do know that there are many conditions causing tinnitus, but I believe tinnitus is always accompanied by some type of hearing loss. Hair cell sound receptors within the cochlea die from some sort of trauma, causing the underlying nerves that connect to the hair cells to constantly fire. The sound you hear is actually uncontrolled neuron impulses. The nerves are still alive but the cell that sits on top to control them no longer functions. The only way I know that tinnitus can be stopped is by surgery to sever the 8'th cranial nerve or the auditory nerve, but that results in complete and total deafness. They are apparently working on drugs that will restore hearing cells -- but that is a decade off. Here is something out now that introduces strong anti-oxidants to the inner-ear. It may help relieve certain tinnitus. The price is low, so it may be worth trying out. http://www.abgpharma.com/news.htm I know the U.S. military has created potent anti-oxidant pills that protect against loud noise exposure -- which might have some effect on tinnitus.
Aphie - Some forms of T originate in the brain itself. I've read accounts where people have the 8th cranial severed and STILL have tinnitus - now that's all they hear since they're totally deaf. It's a mess. I personally don't have hearing loss but I find that the high-frequency of the T masks similar high-freq sounds so it can sometimes be misconstrued as hearing loss.
I know exactly what you're talking about. If I "clench" my jaw and try to move it towards my ears, the hum gets louder.
There's a book I'm reading by a guy named Pete egoscue, called Pain Free. He has a clinic where he treats structural problems (back, knees, hips, neck...anything a chiropractor would treat.) Anyway, he has a series of exercises that he has developed to deal with different problems. He claims a 98% success rate with compliant patients. I have no idea if his exercises work as well as advertised, but the way he describes how the structure of the body functions makes a lot of sense. Anyway, he has a series of exercises he recommends for vertigo, which he recommends for tinnitis as well. You really have to buy the book (less than $15) to see the exercises; I couldn't really describe them here. Anyway, here's his take on tinnitis, fwiw: tinnitis is a condition that often accompanies headaches, poor balance, and positional vertigo. Like the others, its principal effect, ringing of the ears, can be addressed by repositioning the head. The ringing is literally an alarm that is telling us that the inner ear doesn't like the position of the head. No idea if this is true. It almost reminds me of chiropractors who claim to be able to fix just about everything through manipulation. I have mild tinnitis myself; I will probably give the exercises a shot when my lower back gets better.
Hey how about that, I was right for once. Chiropractors CAN fix just about anything with manipulation. The interrelationship of nerves and body parts is incredible. What are the chances of a group this size with so many participants experiencing the same problem. What do they have in common?