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Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 01-19-2007 14:56 Edit Quote

I'm not able to post that much recently, lacking a connection as I am but you can be sure I'm missing this place mentally. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to ask if anyone suffers from Tinnitus and what you might do to help you cope with it.
I have had Tinnitus for about fifteen years now, so you'd think I would have grown accustomed to it by now. There are a lot of theories as to the underlying causes for this torment but I've yet to hear any helpful information from anyone about treatmant, by helpful I mean a treatment that actually works. The usual approach is "I'm afraid you will just have to learn to live with it".

To help me "Live with it" I've decided to try to eliminate any other nasty reasons for the noise by having a MRI scan. That scan was a buzz too I was strapped down to a stretcher and loaded into a huge round electro magnet about 20 feet in diameter. I have not had the results back yet they are due in March but once they (hopefully) find no gremlins in my head I can carry on with cognitive retraining my perceptions.

I've been told some people use a sound masking device that helps sufferers reduce that noise for hours at a time but I don't actually know anyone who has tried it. I can't upload any stuff here where I am but I've made a MP3 of a noise that closely resembles the noise in my head. If you can imagine the sound of steam escaping under pressure mixed with a slowly modulating tone at about the 9000mhz range . It is constant, never stopping for one moment in fifteen years.

Most of the time I will have the radio on in the background to distract my attention as a coping measure but I'd love to hear from anyone who has found other ways of getting over this. Hell, I'd just feel a little reassured knowing that I am not alone with this awful silent noise.
Apart from this though I am in rude good health as I hope all my fellow asylumites are.

::tao:::: ::cell::

Blaise
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: London
Insane since: Jun 2003

IP logged posted posted 01-19-2007 15:10 Edit Quote

I've heard about Tinnitus before, but never knew much about it, doing some reading I came across and article on the BBC, you may have read it, but perha[ps it'll give you some ideas for treatment.

Good luck.

WebShaman
Lunatic (VI) Mad Scientist

From: Happy Hunting Grounds...
Insane since: Mar 2001

IP logged posted posted 01-19-2007 16:31 Edit Quote

I have Tinnitus - I received it during the Gulf War, from a particularly loud explosion nearby.

There is no cure for it, unfortunately. One has to learn to live with it. I have it in the left ear. Thankfully, it comes and goes. Stress seems to aggrevate it - I was once without hearing in my left ear for 2 weeks, and I was pretty nauteous due to my middle ear acting up. When it is active, it is a high-pitched whining that really grates on my nerves. Kind of like a mosquito in the ear, but it doesn't go away when I swat at it.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles


(Edited by WebShaman on 01-19-2007 16:43)

hyperbole
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: Madison, Indiana
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-19-2007 19:56 Edit Quote

I've had Tinnitus for the last three or four years. I remember that one summer about four years ago my ears would ring for several hours after I came in from a day of mowing the lawn. Then one day it just didn't stop.

When I was in the Navy, I worked around steam turbines, jet airplanes, and computers. It seems I have spent most of my life around machines that make some kind of constant noise. For example, the fans that keep computers cool. I have wondered if this constant exposure is what caused it. However, my father also had a hearing problem where he lost the hearing in his right ear and said he had ringing in both ears all the time. He always blamed if on his work running the rifle range for the army during World War II. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe some of it is hereditary.

I've had my hearing checked and the people giving the test say my hearing was better than 98% of all people's. I started wearing earplugs to see if reducing the amount of background noise from my computers would make it go away. That didn't seem to help. I mentioned it to my doctor and she had me checked for high blood pressure. My blood pressure seems to be fine.

Based on what you and WebShaman are saying, it seems that the frequencies each person hears are different. Mine is more like Tao's in that there is a constant background noise like a white noise generator in the background with a pulsating high frequency noise at about 18,000Hz over the top of it. The high frequency becomes more pronounced when I do heavy work or exercise.

After about a year of seeing different specialists, my doctors seem to be ignoring it, except to ask me at annual checkups if I'm still bothered by it.

I've learned to ignore it most of the time by thinking about other things, like the projects I'm working on, but it still gets annoying from time to time.

.



-- not necessarily stoned... just beautiful.

warjournal
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From:
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-20-2007 00:39 Edit Quote

I started getting it some years ago. A high-pitched whine for several hours a day. It started getting most annoying. I decided before it got worse to stop using my headphones so much. Man, I used to blast the headphone, and I'm pretty sure that was the start of it for me. Now I only get it when I'm really tired and lie down to sleep, or when I'm around electro-mechanical equipment that is is poor repair.

Actually, the electro-mechanical thing is kind of weird. Sometimes it's pure electrical. I can actually hear pure electrical from some distance sometimes. Run some low voltage through a transformer and I go nuts trying to figure out where the whine is coming from. "Who turned that on?" and I go running about like a ferret. This was not the case prior to my onset.

Treatment? The only thing that works for me is indulging it in pure silence. Turn everything off and meditate on just the whine. Or sitting reclined in the bathtub with my head half underwater. If I let the whine run rampant and listen to it, it tends to calm down.

SleepingWolf
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From:
Insane since: Jul 2006

IP logged posted posted 01-20-2007 01:15 Edit Quote

I have it as well (100% of the time)...but I only really notice it in bed at night when everything is very quiet

...if i focus on the noise it becomes very loud (perception only)...during the day normal ambient noises drown it out or mask it so i don't even notice it....

it is worse if i have a cold...when my ears and nose are congested...

using noise to cancel it out might work, if you can try to tune it out mentally that might help as well...

do you have hearing loss and/or vertigo?

Nature & Travel Photography
Visit the Sleeping Wolves

reisio
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: Florida
Insane since: Mar 2005

IP logged posted posted 01-20-2007 02:17 Edit Quote

Jeez, I wonder if there's a link between it and our types...

Wangenstein
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The year 1881
Insane since: Mar 2001

IP logged posted posted 01-20-2007 18:55 Edit Quote

I have it, too. Had it since I was a teenager. I had a lot of ear infections in middle/high school, so I'm fairly sure that's what did it. Of course, the concerts I went too as a teen probably didn't help, either. It's a high-pitched modulated sound (I've never tried to track down the frequency) that never goes away. Odd thing is, I realized I had it one night when I laid down to sleep and realized that I couldn't remember the last time I heard nothing. It's most prominent when I'm stressed or when there aren't any competing noises. (I'm guessing that stress sharpens my focus on my hearing in a 'fight-or-flight' kind of way, making it that much more noticeable.) I suspect I have a small amount of hearing loss as well, as I've noticed myself occasionally asking people to repeat things in the last few years (I'm 33, so I'm a little young for an ear trumpet).

I've never sought treatment for it, but I do keep my eye out for news. Most of what I've heard involves retraining, although I heard something a while back about a supplement to treat it. I'll try to track down the name, although I'm always wary of a supplement claiming to do anything for anything.



Evil in theory, not so much in practice...

twItch^
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From: Denver, CO, USA
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-20-2007 22:33 Edit Quote

I've had it for as long as I can remember plus 10 years. Used to cry all the time when I was a baby, no one knew why.

These days, I'm always always listening to music. So I almost never hear it anymore. Of course, I'm almost deaf in my right ear now. So, que sera sera. The only real problem is that when you're always listening to music, you sometimes run out of things you want to hear. Audio-books, relaxation noise (rain forest anyone?), whistling, whatever. I feel your pain.




If I'm focused, generally coding, I can sometimes forget it's there.

-svd

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 01-21-2007 14:19 Edit Quote

Thanks for the replies fellas, strangely enough it really does help knowing you're suffering too Odd creatures we humans eh?
I've saved this page to my USB Drive so I can look at it properly when I get home and write a more comprehensive reply, which I will post up next time I am at the Library or using my buddys connection.
First thoughts are, tension and stress do seem to exacerbate the perceived intensity. As do electrical noises, and bunged up sinuses. I really will have to look into these.
Here is a rough idea of what the noise actually sounds like, in reality there is alos a white noise type of hiss over the top of it but I could not manage to get that effect using cool edit pro so you'll have to imagine it
Tried Ginko which was about as useful as sticking snails up my nose and cost a packet too.
I think some noises, like the computer or electrical junction boxes and meters act or react as a kind of harmonic with the tinnitus. WarJ you made me smile there as I too can often tell if an electrical switch has been turned on in the house. It's like the persistant tinnitus acts like a carrier wave that might amplify certain frequencies.

Once again thanks a googol for the info/replies/kind thoughts. You never fail to bring a little sunshine to my day.

::tao:::: ::cell::

twItch^
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From: Denver, CO, USA
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-22-2007 15:05 Edit Quote

I always found putting snails up my nose helped a lot. Are you sure you got the right kind of snails?



I am insane, though. That might factor in.

-svd

Skaarjj
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From: :morF
Insane since: May 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-23-2007 11:44 Edit Quote

I've had it for as long as I can remember. It's not serious, and definately not loud, but it's very definitely there. Then again, it could jsut be the oversensitivity of my hearing simulating it; I don't really know. I just know thatwhen things are quiet, it's all I can hear, and it seems very, very loud. Doesn't keep me awake anymore, though. I'm far too used to it.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

SleepingWolf
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From:
Insane since: Jul 2006

IP logged posted posted 01-24-2007 00:01 Edit Quote
quote:

Skaarjj said:
it could jsut be the oversensitivity of my hearing simulating it



i think that's exactly my case...i know that since participating in this thread i've become aware of the ringing at night...i normally don't notice it....i had to refocus my mind last night in order to mentally suppress the ringing..it worked very well and off to sleep i went.

my better half has had what she describes as very loud ringing in her ears since childhood...she has learned to deal with it and almost never mentions or complains about it.

but each case is different, so the only advice i can give is try to ignore it...no matter how loud....
on the other hand, if you have vertigo or hearing loss with the ringing...well that could be much more serious.

Nature & Travel Photography
Visit the Sleeping Wolves

Skaarjj
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From: :morF
Insane since: May 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-24-2007 08:26 Edit Quote

My worst cases are actually painful. I'll very suddenly lose all hearing in one ear, and this loud, high-pitched ringing will start, accompanied by a stab of pain. I have to stick my finger in my ear to make it go away.


Justice 4 Pat Richard

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 01-24-2007 12:18 Edit Quote

I have it too, but I'm normally so sensitive to the noise from electronic devices that I only really hear it when it's dead quiet - it is very much like the whine from a leaky capacitor. It is much more pronounced when I've been drinking, or when I'm particularly tired or stressed. It seemed to start for no particular reason when I was about six (I believe I had conjunctivitis) and has been ever-present and variable in intensity since. Oddly, it shifts from one ear to the other sometimes, or becomes momentarily very intense, then fades back into the background.

Working in an office saturated in electronic equipment, it never bothers me during the day - I can hear the noise of every fan motor, charging capacitor, CRT, fluorescent light, transformer, etc, etc - and at such a level that I probably wouldn't notice if an insect was singing soprano in my skull. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this sensitivity - many have accused me of imagining it. I have often diagnosed impending failures with equipment based on the noise they emit - and I don't just mean the dreaded hard-drive "clik of death"...

When I was living out in the country, half-way up an Irish mountain, I thought I had it really bad for a while - night after night, the whine was so bad it kept me from sleeping. I thought I would go mad right up until I found the source of my torment; an electronic mouse-deterrent! I hadn't noticed the thing plugged into a socket just outside my bedroom, and when I switched it off, the peace was blessed indeed! My normal level of background whine was restored, and almost welcome. Predictably, not long after I pulled the plug on it, I spotted mice several times that I hadn't noticed before. It seems that they and I shared a mutual hatred of the thing's noise - it actually was effective as an irritation to us both!

I'm afraid that I have no idea of an effective treatment. I find that meditation can help to "tune out" the noise, and a few minutes relaxation can help reduce the stress and tension that often exacerbates it, but when it's at its peak, I just do my best to ignore it - along with the pulsing whine of my mobile chargers and radio alarm clock, and of course the constant noise of passing sirens, neighbours getting home drunk and rowdy, or watching their televisions with the volume up...

Use of a therapy lamp in the mornings (to help me fight the winter blues) has helped me enjoy my days more. The reduction in stress and depression, along with the general boost to my energy levels throughout the day, means that I feel less exhausted in the evenings. As a result (perhaps, indirectly) I haven't suffered so much with it. In fact, I have had fewer headaches since starting to use the lamp too.

Perhaps my headaches and tinnitus are directly related to stress? That would be far less worrying than the thought of a CAT scan... O.o

Good luck with those results - and with coping with the noise! It actually helps me to know that there are so many others out there with the same problems!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz.....

Skaarjj
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From: :morF
Insane since: May 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-24-2007 13:30 Edit Quote

Yes, it's electronic equipment I'm particular sensitive too. I can hear the whine of the television if it's been left on, even if the screen is blank and there's no sound coming from the speakers. And I can hear when someone switches on my computer (and I can discerne my computer from, say, my laptop, or my father's computer, or the shitbox testbed server I built) from across the house. And, same as you, White Hawk, people have accused me of making it up in the past. Shows what they know, doesn't it?


Justice 4 Pat Richard

warjournal
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From:
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 01-24-2007 20:23 Edit Quote

OMG I'm so glad I'm not alone with the electro-tinnitus. Just one of those things I've never really thought about talking about. I'm glad it was brought up. Love you funky inmates.

Electro-Tinnitus Asylum Support Group
E-TAGS

Stick that on your ID card.

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 03-29-2007 18:24 Edit Quote


I thought I'd post an update. Yesterday I got the results of my MRI scan at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. I'm delighted to say that I was cleared completely of any nasties in my head like tumours or rumours of tumours. Yay =)
I really wanted to get a copy of the scan to show y'all but for some daft reason the National Health Service don't allow copies to be made or sold (yup, I offered hard cash too.)
After a good ten minute chat with the specialist the only new piece of information I learned was this. The actual reason we hear these noises is because our wonderful and resourseful brains realise that there is a hearing loss at whatever frequency and attempts to boost the signal at that frequency to compensate. A bit like turning up the volume of your radio while it is tuned into a weak transmission, you get lots of background hiss.
I took the recording I made of the simulation of the sound I hear to the specialist and it is more or less the same frequency as the hearing loss I present at the hearing test.
The specialist was surprised and amused that I had taken the time to simulate the tinnitus sound and make an MP3 of it.
So now I can get back to the task of ignoring it and managing the condition. I have to say that reading all your wonderful responses above really helped me just as much as the specialist hospital treatment.
Shine on you crazy diamonds.

(Edited by Tao on 03-29-2007 20:54)

Lord_Fukutoku
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: San Antonio
Insane since: Jul 2002

IP logged posted posted 03-29-2007 20:11 Edit Quote

Wow, I missed this thread when it came around the first time.

I've had tinnitus since I was real young. No doubt it came from shooting firearms without the proper hearing protection every now and then.

The first time I recall actually noticing it was in 7th grade. It was exactly like wj and skaarj said above

quote:
Actually, the electro-mechanical thing is kind of weird. Sometimes it's pure electrical. I can actually hear pure electrical from some distance sometimes. Run some low voltage through a transformer and I go nuts trying to figure out where the whine is coming from. "Who turned that on?" and I go running about like a ferret.

I walked into our science lab and not 2 feet through the doorway my eyes opened up and I knew there was a television on in the room. Sure enough, I walked to the back of the room and there was a tv on the floor, muted, behind a table. As soon as I saw the tv it sent a shiver down my spine.

For the most part I don't notice the constant ringing now. But as soon as I think about it (since I started reading this thread) I hear it. If it ever gets completely quiet around me I'll hear it; luckily though I've just about always got music playing or a computer fan next to me. twitch^ hit the nail on the head too:

quote:
The only real problem is that when you're always listening to music, you sometimes run out of things you want to hear. Audio-books, relaxation noise (rain forest anyone?), whistling, whatever. I feel your pain.

I'm constantly trying to find new music to listen to, or even just something I haven't heard in a couple months sometimes.

One treatment I've heard about before is to take a zinc supplement. I haven't tried it, but talking about it again, I think I might give it a shot next time I go to the store.

I've never tried to identify the frequency I hear, but I want to try now, just out of curiosity.

--

Any sufficiently advanced bug is indistinguishable from a feature.

GrythusDraconis
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: Here and There
Insane since: Jul 2002

IP logged posted posted 04-13-2007 19:30 Edit Quote

Um... hi... long time no existence I know.

I seem to remember hearing something about a "hearing aid" that was being used to help mask the effects of tinnitus on the ear/mind. Instead of just amplifying sounds from outsid ethe ear it produced a negative frequency to that of your particular tinnitus. It was something akin to standing near running water and having that alleviate your symptoms or a white noise that was enough to counteract the tinnitus but still allow you to hear. I'm not having a lot of luck tracking any links down and it was a year or more ago... I'll see if I can't find something and update the thread.

Good to see the familiar faces are still here =)

heh.

GD


[UPDATE]Using Sound to Suppress Tinnitus - 3/14/07 (From American Tinnitus Association
For many years, people have been using sound to mask (cover up) tinnitus. Now, researchers at the University of California in Irvine are looking for a way to use sound to silence tinnitus altogether. In this case study (a study of just one person), Dr. Fan-Gang Zeng was able to use an external sound, directed through the subject's cochlear implant, to suppress the subject's tinnitus. Dr. Zeng notes, "the suppressor can be much softer and more pleasant (lower pitch) than the tinnitus." For those without cochlear implants, he says, "I also believe the technology to help is here already: Internet, MP3 player and iPod." This research was presented at the Mid-Winter Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, but has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. You can read more about Dr. Zeng's research here (link goes to .pdf) and download the sound used to suppress the subject's tinnitus here. (link goes to .wav)This sound was customized over several months for one specific subject and is for demonstration purposes only. [/UPDATE]
(Edited by GrythusDraconis on 04-13-2007 19:31)

(Edited by GrythusDraconis on 04-13-2007 19:38)

GrythusDraconis
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: Here and There
Insane since: Jul 2002

IP logged posted posted 04-13-2007 19:48 Edit Quote

Another link discussing Tinnitus masking

And a link regarding frequency testing using your computer to find the frequency that works for you.

GD

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 04-15-2007 21:59 Edit Quote

I tried the frequency testing, but my soundcard began procducing secondary frequencies over 18.5KHz - so it seems that my SBLive is not happy attempting to emulate my high-frequency tinnitus.

Having had a good read of the information on tinnitus masking, I ended up on the subject of noise as an aid to sleep (paradoxically, it seems). I listened to a few downloadable samples of white noise before trying out a signal generator. I eventually created a soundfile over twenty minutes long of 'pink noise' (essentially, soft white noise), then played it to myself on my MP3 player when I went to bed last night.

I was asleep before the sound file ended. This certainly bears further investigation, and I'm going to play around with the idea of generating my own anti-tinnitus signal.

____

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 04-16-2007 01:38 Edit Quote

Wow GrythusDraconis long time my friend. Good to see you about
You've posted up some good links there, I have not had the time to go through them just now but I will just as soon as I get back from a day or two away.
I have another appointmet with the doctor next week who is probably going to say somthing like, now that I've found no nasties in my head I can concentrate on not thinking about it again. May well have a look at the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy malarchy and report back.

Thanks for taking the time to search these things out. Btw do you have tinnitus at all?

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 04-17-2007 13:21 Edit Quote

Back to the drawing board for me. Tried the pink noise thing again last night and found it impossible to sleep - perhaps I was just in an irritable mood...

And sorry, GrythusDraconis, I did mean to thank you for that marvellous information!

____

GrythusDraconis
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: Here and There
Insane since: Jul 2002

IP logged posted posted 04-25-2007 19:49 Edit Quote

No problem, White Hawk!

I hope that it ends up working out for you. I got all excited when you said it worked that first time. :/

Just for reference... No, I don't have tinnitus... just trying to help out some friends

GD

JKMabry
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: raht cheah
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 04-26-2007 05:16 Edit Quote
quote:

GrythusDraconis said:
just trying to help out some friends GD



man up and rub some dirt on it you poofs

seriously tho, I got through 5 seconds of that clip and brought the wife in for a listen, major heart goes out to yous from the both of us.

and now I know why you good people are so off kilter

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 02-02-2008 03:29 Edit Quote

Gosh nine months since JK's post, tempus flippin' fugit asylumites
New hope for tinnitus sufferers
Here is the programme: Longing For Silence
I wanted to post this little update as I thought the above Radio Four programme was the best news on the subject I have heard in quite a while.
Before you get too excited, it is not yet a cure but it sounds really interesting. I am going to make further enquiries and if all goes to plan I want to go over to Belgium and perhaps Germany and take some teats to ascertain if I would be "suitable" for treatment.
I'll keep you posted.


Those who look for monsters should look to it that
they do not become monsters. For when you gaze
long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.


(Edited by Tao on 02-02-2008 03:31)

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 02-02-2008 03:34 Edit Quote

"teats"?
I'll take some tests as well

zavaboy
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: f(x)
Insane since: Jun 2004

IP logged posted posted 02-04-2008 07:14 Edit Quote

This is one of those threads that I never bothered to read... now I realize how much it relates to me.

I had Tinnitus since I can remember. I never realized that it was a hearing condition until I saw this. Something that may have a hand in mine would probably be rain. I lived in Washington state for the first 7 years of my life, and people who live there know it rains a lot. I recall this one time very clearly when I was 5 (I think) and I was waiting in our family car and everything was dead quiet, so quiet I could hear a pin drop. I took notice of the ring in my ears (very much like Tao's audio sample) and it seemed to get louder and louder but it really wasn't.

So fast forward to now, and I still have the ring (I have it now as I type this). I have developed some ways to combat it, it seems to work fine for me most of the time. If it's irritating enough, which is very rarely (only a few times in a year), I would stop whatever I'm doing (unless what I'm doing is important, like driving) and just focus on the ringing. I find that trying to twitch my ears makes it louder, but I eventually start thinking of something and my mind forgets about listening, much like daydreaming. I sometimes can even do this in the middle of loud noises (vacuum, etc.) and then for a second I could swear I didn't hear anything.

After reading this whole thread, I realize that it could be the reason I can't go to sleep at times. I grew up around computers, so that may be another factor. I can still hear clearly TVs that are on and other high pitch sounds my parents can't hear. For all we know, it could be cell phones, they may be frying our ears, not our brains.

So, thanks Tao for bumping this up. I hope what I said could help others.



(Edited by zavaboy on 02-04-2008 07:15)

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 02-04-2008 13:38 Edit Quote

Until this thread began, I really had no idea how common this problem was - it's one thing to read a bunch of statistics, but quite another to see the responses to this thread.

In my case, I believe my tinnitus has become worse during the darker months of winter, especially as I suffer from terrible insomnia during this time (I spend all night wakeful, and all day drowsy). Of course, during the day, I am utterly unaware of it over the noise of several fans and hard drives clicking and whirring away in the office.

On a side note, I find I'm much less aware of it at night when my girlfriend comes to stay - possibly because I fall asleep much more quickly. It could also be because the sound of another's breathing is a good substitute for a pink-noise generator. lol

quote:
I can still hear clearly TVs that are on and other high pitch sounds my parents can't hear. For all we know, it could be cell phones, they may be frying our ears, not our brains.



Funnily enough, Zavaboy, as Tao mentions above, one possible explanation for tinnitus is a loss of hearing in a certain range which causes the brain to 'pump up' the volume. Personally, I also have no trouble hearing high-frequency noises that others appear not to be aware of, so I'm unsure of how accurate this is. I do know that attempting to match the frequency of my tinnitus with a signal generator was pointless, as the speakers fell silent far short of the perceived frequency!

I'm not convinced of any arguments regarding the risks of mobile phones and phone masts, but I wouldn't be surprised if overhead power lines were having some effect on health...

Arthurio
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: cell 3736
Insane since: Jul 2003

IP logged posted posted 02-04-2008 13:45 Edit Quote

Does everyone here have that? (I don't.)

I just remembered something interesting ... when I was I guess about 8-11 years old I used to hear a voice in my head . It was my own voice and it was an interesting kind of "hear" ... not like thinking and not like hearing. It was like sensing that a second me inside of me was saying something. It would come and go and it was an endless stream of chatter. Often repeating things that it had said over and over. Never anything too meaningful ... much like a dream. But it would scare me every time. Sometimes it would start quiet and get louder and louder and often it would just annoy the hell out of me. I don't remember having it anymore. Anyone here ever had anything similar? Surely it's the best place to look for other crazy people...

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 02-04-2008 14:31 Edit Quote

Nope - never been schizoid myself. I'm content with my borderline-psychotic, bi-polar, obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Oh, I see dead people. I forget that, sometimes.

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 02-04-2008 16:51 Edit Quote

No Arthurio, not everyone here has Tinnitus. Hearing a noise is one thing, those noises articulating words is another. I think Master Suho have a cure for that!

White Hawk, I find if I have a cold or blocked sinuses or nose (all those winter type of afflictions) the noise is definitely worse. It is during these times that I find it very difficult to sleep, the noise seems/feels deafening.

Zavaboy sorry to hear you have it as well. I was staying at a friends house the other day and they have their computer on all the time, day and night. Even though I was in an adjoining room the noise of the computer amplified the tinnitus so much that I had to get up and sleep on the couch at the other end of the house.

This thread has been a great resource for me too. I now know that other people report a raised sensitivity to electro/mechanical noise too.

I'm still making enquiries about the treatment outlined in the Radio 4 programme.
I know if this treatment works I will have no hesitation paying the £500 - £1000 for it. Imagine, no screaming feedback noises, I could sit in the quiet and listen to the bird song till my hearts content, bliss.
By the way, I can still meditate and the noise does not intrude too much. It is only a certain type of meditation that I find hard because of it, one that requires no thought, just emptiness and a kind of contemplation of the void.

SleepingWolf
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From:
Insane since: Jul 2006

IP logged posted posted 02-29-2008 05:05 Edit Quote

Tao:
I might start cursing you soon for posting this. Since following this thread I've become much more aware of the ringing in my ears. Curse you!

So the psychological component of tinnitus is very real. The more you think about it the more the phone rings inside your head.

Nature & Travel Photography
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SleepingWolf
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From:
Insane since: Jul 2006

IP logged posted posted 02-29-2008 05:06 Edit Quote
quote:

Arthurio said:

It was my own voice and it was an interesting kind of "hear" ... not like thinking and not like hearing.



did the voice say "redrum, redrum"

Nature & Travel Photography
Main Entrance

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 02-29-2008 14:37 Edit Quote
quote:
The more you think about it the more the phone rings inside your head.



That made me think of Bananaphone! <---some expletives, so may not be work-safe...

warjournal
Maniac (V) Mad Scientist

From:
Insane since: Aug 2000

IP logged posted posted 03-03-2008 12:11 Edit Quote

Schitzophrenia? Once in a great great while, I'll hear a female voice whisper my name. Seemingly external and very clear. Most of the time to the left and behind. Thankfully that's about the extent of it for me. The internal voices confuse me enough without having to worry about more external ones.

Arthurio
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: cell 3736
Insane since: Jul 2003

IP logged posted posted 03-03-2008 17:50 Edit Quote
quote:

SleepingWolf said:
did the voice say "redrum, redrum"


nothing like that fortunately ... it was never suggestive or commanding ... it just used to annoy me greatly

White Hawk
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: zero divided.
Insane since: May 2004

IP logged posted posted 02-24-2009 12:13 Edit Quote

Sorry to drag this old thread out of the shadows and dust, but I've had a recent revelation. I've discovered that while I suffer tinnitus particularly when tired or stressed, the most noticeable noise in my head usually directly precedes a migraine aura. I get weird visual, auditory, and other sensory hallucinations sometimes - more often during the Winter (thanks to SAD) - but I rarely get the headaches I used to get with them. Sometimes, I get a massive increase in tinnitus-like noise for a while before the aura becomes apparent.

I've become so used to migraine auras over the years (started when I was eleven) that I've found ways of calming it down and avoiding the worst of the symptoms (blindness, insensibility, absolutely-intolerable-screaming-agony). I haven't had a full-blown migraine headache since I was about sixteen.

The thing is, the occurence of aura has been increasing in frequency for a while now. I have come to blame energy efficient bulbs, as my father suffers migraines (far, far worse than mine ever were - something I couldn't even begin to imagine) and he's noticed an increase in them since changing all the bulbs in our house. It makes some sense, as I've never been able to spend an entire day under flourescent lights without my eyes going bad, though I haven't noticed such a substantial effect with these.

Anyway, as I've started to determine a link between an increase in my tinnitus and the auras, regardless of the cause, I have to ask if any tinnitus victims here suffer, or have ever suffered from migraine auras, migraine headaches (usually very severe headaches or headaches on one side of the head), or visual disturbances in artificial light? Has this ever coincided with a noticeable increase in tinnitus?

How about normal headaches - do you ever find your tinnitus is greater when your head is throbbing? Is it possible that the 'morning-after' tinnitus is related to the 'morning-after' headache, and not the volume of the rock band the night before?

I've been thinking about this for a while, and this thread was the most obvious place I could think of to pose the question.



(Edited by White Hawk on 02-24-2009 12:14)

WebShaman
Lunatic (VI) Mad Scientist

From: The Happy Hunting Grounds...
Insane since: Mar 2001

IP logged posted posted 02-24-2009 14:42 Edit Quote

My tinnitus is not related to headaches (though sometimes I might get a slight headache from the tinnitus - depending on the volumn of the noise in my ears).

What I particularly dislike about my tinnitus is the loss of sense of balance, that leads to dizziness.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 02-24-2009 17:12 Edit Quote

Synchronicity abounds!
I've been waiting for an appointment to take my search for treatment to the next level.
The "next level" being palliative treatment as prescribed by my doctor and most of the medical professionals I've talked to over the years.
I did receive an introductory letter from a clinic (whose name I can't remember) about six months ago. They wanted me to fill in an assessment form before considering me for any treatment, the first two questions had me scrunching up the letter and throwing it in the bin.

  • Would you describe your childhood as a happy one?
  • Would you say you had a good relationship with your Mother and/or Father?


After a few days I dug out and unscrunched the letter with the intent of replying, without filling in the tick boxes provided and adding my own more pertinent notes. Alas, the deadline had passed for me to reply so I've had to wait till now to reapply.
I really don't think having a chat about my childhood relationships is going to help my tinnitus, but it is a "hoop" I have to jump through in order to access any other help.

I've heard of migraine auras before White Hawk. I seem to remember the discussion explaining electrical activity in the brain prior to and during a migraine can also affect the parts of the brain that controls vision, perhaps causing these auras. I do not have anything like that I'm glad to say, and I'm sorry to hear that you are a sufferer.
I have those energy efficient light bulbs all over my place and the only adverse way they affect me is that I can hear them, which can be very irritating. When I sit in a room with say, two or three table lamps switched on, there is a kind of harmonic resonance that seems to build up with the tinnitus.

Blaise
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: London
Insane since: Jun 2003

IP logged posted posted 12-23-2009 23:47 Edit Quote

This article might of interest to some here, although the website in question is apparently only for temporary tinnitus

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8285518.stm

helven
Obsessive-Compulsive (I) Inmate

From:
Insane since: Aug 2009

IP logged posted posted 12-26-2009 06:35 Edit Quote

Take some pills and get some rest. You're gonna need it. As for the disturbances, leave them alone. Brother, those things just wake you up @ a second down to the last drop of audio assurance.

You haven't seen how far this has taken you. Just use a thermometer to check your conditions but don't overdo it. As for other things, get some exercise when you feel healthy.

Tao
Maniac (V) Inmate

From: The Pool Of Life
Insane since: Nov 2003

IP logged posted posted 09-16-2010 13:21 Edit Quote

It has taken a while but I'm now at the "next stage" of looking for some kind of treatment for my Tinnitus. I am attending the Maxillo Facial Surgery department of a local hospital this afternoon. I'm doing this because I've heard that T can be caused by injuries to the jaw, amongst other things. I have such an injury so I'm hoping if I can get that sorted then maybe the T will be eliminated or lessened.
This is an example of the constant noise I hear, it is not exact but close enough. If you do have T it will irritate you a bit so..
I also have a copy of a radio programme that discusses T in some detail which I found very interesting. If you want to listen to it let me know and I'll send you the link.
I do not want to post it up here publicly because I think Aunty Beeb would get most irate.

Blaise
Paranoid (IV) Inmate

From: London
Insane since: Jun 2003

IP logged posted posted 09-17-2010 10:24 Edit Quote

Good luck with the visit, let us know how it goes.

I don't get troubled by mine much these days, only when I put in ear plugs to sleep, which happens from time to time in London

Jdlaughead
Neurotic (0) Inmate
Newly admitted

From:
Insane since: Dec 2013

IP logged posted posted 12-16-2013 12:56 Edit Quote

I find that you first study you ear, by google by image, Cochlea, and up will come 500 pictures of your inner ear.

Jdlaughead
Obsessive-Compulsive (I) Inmate

From:
Insane since: Dec 2013

IP logged posted posted 12-16-2013 13:07 Edit Quote

To understand what is going on in the inner ear, Study It. The way you do this, is very simple Google by Image , by the word Cochlea, and about 500 pictures will come up, you have about 30,000 hairs in the inner ear, and most of the bottoms of them are in a fluid for the inner hairs and outer hairs, and what these hairs need, is exercise, which it seems the Medical industrial complex, doesn't know how to do, don't want to do, to protect their racket. The hearing business big money, so why fix people's hearing. Now google hairs in the inner ear, and look at the design of those hairs, they are in large on the bottom and smaller as they step up. Well that is the way you exercise, those hairs, by pitch, from a bass to treble sound. Now what tool do you use to do this with, not a 6000 dollar hearing aid, No, just a 6 dollar, Variable pitch DOG WHISTLE, which you can buy at any PETCO, store. Now how do you do this to exercise the little Hairs, you start from the lowest pitch, bay adjusting the screw in the whistle, all the way out and tighten the little nut, then blow hard, till you hear a solid pitch sound, which is about 1500 CPS. ( Cycles Per Second) then just change the Pitch to a higher frequency, by screwing the screw in a little more, now can you picture what those little hairs are doing in your inner ear, 1500 CPS can vibrate a lot of hairs, as you step up the scale, the frequency increases up to about 14,000 CPS, That is a lot of shaken going on, and bringing a lot of hairs alive. When a man starts to lose his hearing, it is from the high end, and by exercising the high end hairs he can regain even better high end hearing, as a lot of hairs in the high end have never been exercised, as there was no pitch to exercise them with. To me this is simple 101 Physics. I discovered this process by accident, I can't afford 6000 dollar hearing aids. I now have hearing I have never had before, and I am 79 years old. And I have No ringing in my ears, just a lot of wonderful sounds of music and highs I never heard before. After you go up the scale, and can't hear any more sounds. Put your hands over your ears and cup them, and listen to yourself talk, it probably won't sound much louder, then wait 12 hours and then do it again,WOW, you Can really hear yourself talk, get a good head phone set, I have comcast, and love their music channel, Never could hear music like I can hear it now!



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