tinnitis is a symptom of several disorders. Some of which are well understood and some not at all. Menieres Syndrome is one that is understood. And is treatable (not curable). I am familiar with this because my wife had it. She had two surgeries to alleviate the symptoms. (tinnitis being extremely annoying, but not the most serious of the symptoms). Neil Armstrong had Menieres. It took him out of the running as an astronaut. But then after surgery, he was one of the guys that made it to the moon. Bottom line is tinnitis is not something that can be cured or treated without knowing what greater malady is causing it. In many cases it cannot be treated. I have been told that some cases of tinnitis are so severe that other people can actually hear the ringing in the ears of the sufferers. Anyone suffering from tinnitis should seek medical attention. I know that it can be a debilitating symptom. If you suffer from it, and it can be treated, why suffer? It is believed that Van Gogh cut off his ear because of tinnitis (from Menieres). Pretty radical self treatment (and probably completely ineffective since it is a INNER ear problem). Aphie claims that his symptoms are easily attenuated by turning on a fan in the room to drown it out (I am assuming). Metooxx said "live with it, you get used to it". But Tech Analysis said it got him so depressed he considered suicide. Clearly the severity of tinnitis varies greatly. To dismiss it as a minor annoyance just isn't applicable to those who really suffer tinnitis badly. Treatment of tinnitis can be quite complex. In some cases just an ENT or an audiologist can be of help. Perhaps even an allergist. In other cases, it may require the service of an ear or neurosurgeon. It is not a disease in and of itself. It is a symptom. Sometimes of serious diseases. Shouldn't be ignored. Especially by young guys like Aphie. It is highly unlikely to just "go away". It is very likely to get worse over time. If treatment can be done sooner than later, that is the way to go. My wife had (and died from) cancer. But she suffered more (and longer) from Menieres. Serious shit. Ringing in the ears is not something to just ignore. BTW, she had her second proceedure (a severing of the vestibular nerve, which is the "balance" nerve) at the House Institute in Los Angeles <http://www.houseearclinic.com/> There were so many people being treated for the same thing there, that it appeared to be almost an "assembly line" surgery. As far as I know, it is the only place in the Western US where the proceedure is done routinely (which is what you would want when undergoing an irreversible and very complex proceedure). Recovery included having to learn to compensate for the loss of balance in one ear, and letting the other ear take over for the whole body. Therapy included having to re-learn how to walk. Don't take tinnitis lightly! If you are suffering from it, and haven't seen a doctor about it, at least do an internet search. Asking on ET is NOT an adequate approach: Here is a perfect example of what I meant about NOT using ET as a reliable source for this kind of very serious information. Obviously Aphie meant well by his post, and because he suffers from tinnitis, one would expect him to know more about it and it's treatments than most. But what he says is not true. The vestibular nerve section DOES NOT cause "complete and total deafness". (If the proceedure is done successfully). As I said, it causes a complete loss of the sense of balance....but only in the one ear. I do not believe that any surgeons would perform this on both ears. The patient would never know up from down without a balance nerve in at least on ear. Peace, and good hearing, RS
Well, I meant total deafness in the ear on which the surgery is performed. The total separation of that nerve results in the inability for any sound to get transmitted as electrical impulses to the brain. This was information I discussed with my ENT doctor, because I had to get MRI's to make sure there wasn't a tumor pressing against that area. So most of the information I was giving out was straight from my doctor's mouth. A surgeon would have no choice but to perform this on both ears in the very rare circumstance of bilateral tumor growth against the 8'th cranial nerve -- in the process of removing two tumors, the nerve could be damaged or completely destroyed. I do not know how often this happens, but I am sure there are situations where this takes place over time given enough people. I've dealt with these issues for the better half of my life, so I do believe I have some knowledge on the subject. Tech isn't the only one who suffered from severe depression due to tinnitus -- because at one point I thought I was going crazy.
http://www.entcolumbia.org/neuroma.htm If you'd like academic sources for how hearing is affected by cutting the VIII'th nerve, I can give you some. But saying that I was flat out wrong is just wrong on your part.
Yep same here. Tinnitus is ok once you get used to it, if the tinnitus is at a low enough level. The real bitch is hyperacusis, if that gets bad you don't want to leave your bed.
When my tinnitus first started I had hyperacusis in 1 ear so bad the fans in my computer tower sounded like jet engines. I had to use cotton until it subsided a few days later. It's no picnic.
Found this thread stashed away.... Wondering if any of you guys was able to successfully cure your tinnitus in some way....
I've had it since I was about 23. I'm 49 now - you get used to it. Mine is a "rushing" or high pitched whine in one ear. It gets louder and changes pitch if I clench my teeth. It definitely affects my higher freq hearing. The only good thing, is that it contributes to "wife deafness!" Good luck to anyone with this malady. It's no fun...
Probably off topic... but here's a semi-related article (NewScientist.com) I posted in a different thread recently. Red wine may fight deafness. Moderate consumption of the popular drink, or aspirin, could delay the onset of age-related deafness and reduce hearing loss caused by loud noise. MODERATE consumption of red wine or aspirin may delay the onset of age-related deafness and reduce hearing loss caused by loud noise and some antibiotics. The delicate hairs of the inner ear which are vital for hearing can be damaged by the oxygen free radicals produced by normal cellular processes throughout life and in response to loud noise and exposure to antibiotics. Antioxidants such as resveratrol, which is found in red wine and green tea, or salicylate, the active ingredient of aspirin, help to neutralise these free radicals, so might be expected to protect against some of this damage.