Tinnitus

[salty mud]

Any one here suffer from tinnitus? I've always had a slight ringing in my ears but it was never enough to bother me. I've got an ear infection at the moment however, and for some reason there is a rather loud ringing from my left ear, and I'm scared that it won't go away. It's not overly annoying or anything, but it's just... there all the time, and becomes apparant when in a quiet area. I'm fortunate in that people suffer it much worse than I do - some have to have the television extra loud, or some can't hear people speak because of it. It saddens me that there is no proper, tried and tested cure.

 

[Cutlass]

I've had it my whole life. Or at least so long that I can no longer remember a time when I didn't have it. It's a really crap thing to have in the long run. Last time I asked a doc, there really wasn't anything that could be done about it.

 

[salty mud]

Is it bad? Does it keep you awake at night? Or just a minor annoyance like mine?

 

[Leonel]

I suppose I have a slight ringing but it's more like the sound of when a cathode ray tube starts up like there's a whine and often times I forget about it until stuff like this thread reminds me of it!

 

[Cutlass]

It's bad. It makes is very hard to get to sleep when it's really quiet out. I prefer to live next to a busy road for the background noise. It's pretty much an annoyance every waking moment that there isn't a lot of other noise about or I'm really busy. It's a constant distraction. I've heard that it's even a cause of depression and other mood disorders. And it's bad enough to interfere with watching TV and movies and having conversations with certain people if they just have voices that fall in the wrong place.

 

[pob]

I get tinnitus, but it's not too bad and doesn't annoy me much. Very occasionally it can affect my sleep, and when that happens I just hang my head out of the window for a couple of minutes.

 

[Dreadnought]

I notice it when I'm sleeping with my earplugs in, but it's not annoying enough to prevent me from sleeping.

I'm much more worried about the effects it may cause later in life, because my hearing is sub-optimal as it is.

 

[salty mud]

May be pleased to know, Dreadnought, that we are apparently very close to a cure for the affliction. So hopefully you won't have to fear much longer!

 

[Verarde]

My father had a ringing in his ears for a while, which might have been tinnitus. Currently, I don't, and I take precautions. Earplugs for the drums, music only loud enough that I can hear it well and it doesn't blow my eardrums.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

Even though I sleep better when I lie on my left, the tinnitus in my right ear prevents me from sleeping on my left, mainly because as a child, tinnitus would literally trigger nightmares. The tinnitus goes away only when I sleep on my right side.

Although I've been getting better at falling asleep on my left, since I've been forcing myself to, and the tinnitus seems to be going away, albeit extremely slowly.

 

[Smellincoffee]

I suppose I've had it all my life: I was born with holes in my eardrums which required surgery to repair, so I'm used to ear problems. Usually I'll hear a ringing that fades away gradually (after a score of seconds, I suppose), but once a couple of years ago I got the waterfall effect. Also, when my blood pressure is low I hear a kind of...whistling or hissing. That's one of those "Okay, I need to sit down now" signs.

 

[Bugfatty300]

I used to hear high pitched ringing noises that was always associated with TVs and other electric appliances. If I unplugged it or left the room it would stop. Drove me crazy, especially when I had to search all over the room to find what was causing it and of course no one ever heard it but me.

 

[Disgustipated]

Sometimes I hear ringing in my ears, I'm not sure if it is tinnitus. I've tried to protect my ears most of my life, and I tried to avoid putting my music on the highest volume for headphones. If I did it, it was for only one song (although even that can be too long). I don't listen to headphones anymore, but sometimes I still listen to music loudly in my car. Why does loud music feel so good? My first concert really hurt my hearing. I couldn't hear normally for many hours afterwords. My first concert was Megadeth opening for Dio. Both were extremely loud. My poor ears. I've been to probably around 12 or 13 concerts my lifetime which really hurt my ears. And one Nascar race which was equally loud.

In the navy I worked in a high pressure steam environment, but I was pretty good about keeping my earplugs in while working in the engine rooms. But in the shipyards there was so much loud noise. I couldn't stand it (one reason I got out of the navy is because I don't like loud metallic noises). I didn't always have my earplugs in when walking through the ship in the shipyards. I also fired my gun once without earplugs. It was outside, so I figured it wouldn't be that loud. I was wrong.

I think most of my ringing is associated with ear wax buildup. I've never been good at removing it, and I usually just have it done at the doctors office.

 

[Berzerker]

I had to switch golf drivers because the ping sound was starting to cause some discomfort, I even started wearing ear plugs when driving the ball. I'll run a fan at night while sleeping but I dont have it too bad, but with dead silence I can hear a slight high pitched buzzing sometimes. I wonder if its pressure related, I remember it being worse during a flight.

 

[Skwink]

I think I may be getting it soon, I hear a buzzing noise in my ear once in a while, but not constantly. Shooting guns and loud music probably doesn't help.

BTW I hear a commercial on my local radio station often for a OTC drug that gets rid of the ringing, but never really paid attention.

 

[Labtec600]

I can only hear it when I concentrate on it. But once I realize it's there it's a pain to stop it.

 

[Princeps]

I did get a slight tinnitus when we had plank ammo exercises in the army. But fortunately it dissipated.

 

[Hehehe]

I did get a slight tinnitus when we had plank ammo exercises in the army. But fortunately it dissipated.

When you get tinnitus like that, enjoy it while it lasts. That's the last time you'll hear those frequencies ever again (what I'm saying is that those exercises did permanent damage to your hearing).

Also, that small tinnitus one might hear when concentrating on it when in quiet is perfectly normal. It is caused by air molecules hitting your ear drums.

 

[Princeps]

That's the last time you'll hear those frequencies ever again

My hearing is fine at least according to the medical tests made at the end of my active service.

 

[dIZZyBlIZZy]

When you get tinnitus like that, enjoy it while it lasts. That's the last time you'll hear those frequencies ever again (what I'm saying is that those exercises did permanent damage to your hearing).

Also, that small tinnitus one might hear when concentrating on it when in quiet is perfectly normal. It is caused by air molecules hitting your ear drums.

I still question permanency of hearing damage. When I was on ship my annual hearing tests showed I had loss, but I was on shore because of injury my last 8 months and my final hearing test before discharge actually showed and improvement. Leaves me with questions, but I've found no answers.

I, personally have never had a problem with tinnitus though, and honestly, I know little of it, but I'm infrequently in an area silent or loud enough to make me hear a ringing.