Tinnitus "Fixes" ?

[Undertow]

My significant other also suffers from something like Tinnitus (but not sure if that's it; doctor's can't figure it out) and she swears by the low-sodium diet. She also recommends getting at least 8-9 hours of sleep. She often rocks in a rocking Lay-Z-Boy and stays away from loud noises to combat her symptoms.

She often becomes very dizzy and confused due to these symptoms and she even has trouble driving at times.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

My significant other also suffers from something like Tinnitus (but not sure if that's it; doctor's can't figure it out) and she swears by the low-sodium diet. She also recommends getting at least 8-9 hours of sleep. She often rocks in a rocking Lay-Z-Boy and stays away from loud noises to combat her symptoms.

She often becomes very dizzy and confused due to these symptoms and she even has trouble driving at times.

Is she suffering any memory loss?

I just read a book about water, and how we dont' drink enough of it and it talks about a connection between dehydration and tinnitus.

"Your Body's Many Cries for Water."
http://www.watercure.com/

Interesting stuff, to say the least. I now drink my water to be sure!

 

[SamMarlowPI]

my father has it...he can't hear the extremely high pitched and annoying screeching of the brakes on the car...

 

[kokopelli]

A very common thing

It does appear to be very common. I sit in a room with 20 servers running all the time... There does seem to be some variability in the symptoms. Ron

 

[dollydaydream]

My significant other also suffers from something like Tinnitus (but not sure if that's it; doctor's can't figure it out) and she swears by the low-sodium diet. She also recommends getting at least 8-9 hours of sleep. She often rocks in a rocking Lay-Z-Boy and stays away from loud noises to combat her symptoms.

She often becomes very dizzy and confused due to these symptoms and she even has trouble driving at times.

Is that tinnitus? My mum had a thing called labyrinthitis which had these kind of symptoms, the dizzy spells & tiredness thing. It's caused by having a virus apparently [huh]

 

[pgoat]

I'm no expert, but I believe tinnitus is the noise alone; it may coexist with these other balance issues, which also have to do with the inner ear.

I was trying to get across the dangers of loud volumes on the other thread....I always thought I'd just lose my hearing a bit earlier than the average guy due to music exposure - so what, right? Nice peace and quiet; what's so bad about that? I know I never realized I'd be living with the test of the emergency broadcasting system - and I can't change the channel or turn it off/down.

 

[Undertow]

She does occassionally have memory loss and when tested, doctors were unsure of the presence of an infection or virus, although results were positive to some abnormality to the inner ear. Thanks to incorrect claim coding and hard-headed billing clerks, the tests are currently unaffordable until we can resolve the issue of labeling the test medically necessary w/diagnosis rather than a simple routine hearing test (ludicrous).

Thank you for the info regarding water. I know she tries to stay up on that but I think I'll mention your concerns and suggest drinking more.

Neither doctors nor I have thought to suggest labyrinthitis so I will do some more research and see how closely this relates to her condition; thank you.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

She does occassionally have memory loss and when tested, doctors were unsure of the presence of an infection or virus, although results were positive to some abnormality to the inner ear. Thanks to incorrect claim coding and hard-headed billing clerks, the tests are currently unaffordable until we can resolve the issue of labeling the test medically necessary w/diagnosis rather than a simple routine hearing test (ludicrous).

Thank you for the info regarding water. I know she tries to stay up on that but I think I'll mention your concerns and suggest drinking more.

Neither doctors nor I have thought to suggest labyrinthitis so I will do some more research and see how closely this relates to her condition; thank you.

You are welcome. I know it sounds like old-school old wives tales, bout the drinking water.. but it is true...

Let me know how it goes with your SO b/c I am going crazy (not literally but almost) with my tinnitus.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I've spoken to a few tinnitus sufferers who claim that drastically reducing the sodium in one's diet can really help - almost to the point of eliminating it. I'm not a sufferer, so I can't vouch for the method's effectiveness, but I will say that on days I've consumed a great deal of processed or salty food, I have noticed that my ears tend to ring quite severely, so it's possible these tinnitus sufferers didn't have tinnitus at all, but rather an over-salted diet.

-Dave

My mother has had ringing in her ears since shooting rifles in high school (late '40s, early '50s) and during her first pregnancy was told to cut out salt. She's eaten virtually no salt in more than fifty years and her ears still ring. Fortunately, it's very mild and hasn't affected her ability to hear.


Lee

 

[Sefton]

Does anyone get it in just one ear like me? It's just my right ear and it varies from close to non existant to a mild ringing tone. The worst is when the tone 'warbles' in pitch. Up and down like someone's fiddling with a radio tuner. I only listen to old Jazz now and never use headphones. It was probably the headphones more than the concerts that's done this....

 

[pgoat]

I think most people have a bit worse in one ear; might be trauma induced. My right ear is worse cause that was the side that got the amps more when i played. I have read that violinists get awful tinnitus in the ear that is right next to their sound holes (Makes sense!).

But I think you are right; I started using headphones in 1999 or so and I think they have done far more damage than playing live music or going to clubs and concerts.

Part of the problem is that audio gear is so much better now, the volume can be turned up to the max with virtually no distortion. So we all get hit with a lot more decibels than we used to in more places. for example, I remember going to baseball games as a kid (In the 70s), and in between innings you had peace and quiet, maybe a dorky organ player at very polite volume. NOW you are assaulted all the way through the game with uber loud snippets of music, announcements, etc.

 

[Nick D]

I tried cutting out caffiene, it didn't work. So at least I can still have my morning coffee and tea.

I went to the doctor about it, she told me "It's tinnitus, if it's not an outer ear canal infection there's no cure and it'll drive you bonkers". :eusa_doh: At least I didn't have to pay for that sound medical advice. And it wasn't an ear canal infection.

I also hear it most when it's quiet. It sometimes keeps me awake, but for the most part I just live with it. I think about something else other than the ringing.

 

[pgoat]

I'll add - I once tried a product called "Ring Stop" - it actually contains caffeine and other herbs that actually cause tinnitus....I showed it to my ENT and he freaked.... he basically called it snake oil, and he may be right on -

basically the directions are to use it for a month with heavy doses (Several pills a day), at which time you may sense an increase in tinnitus (well, DUH!).

THEN you lower the dose to one pill/day, at which time you should notice a decrease in ringing......of course, they do not claim to cure or stop it entirely...

so they basically charge you money to worsen your condition, then lower it to its original baseline! yippeee!

Save yer money, kids....

 

[Undertow]

I mentioned Labrynthistis to my young lady and she was happy to read about it. Apparently her doctor had mentioned that to her some months ago but never followed through with anything. Thank you for the direction, she's been pretty depressed with her condition and any help goes a long way! :eusa_clap

 

[pgoat]

I'm sure we all sympathize, Undertow - hope she keeps her chin up and that the possible diagnosis might provide a clue towards some relief.

 

[rikrdo]

Good luck, Undertow.
Keep us posted on any progress.


I smoke and drink caffienated beverages. I like food that is properly seasoned (re: salt added). I dont drink enough water.

I am doomed [huh]

 

[StraightEight]

To Kabuto's point, I'm a religious user of earplugs, especially on the motorcycle, when cutting the grass, when driving in any open car on the freeway, on long drives in some closed cars and SUVs with big noise-generating tires, and sometimes in movies where I know it's going to be loud. I've always had somewhat sensitive ears (I was the kid with his fingers in his ears during most of 'Oklahoma' waiting for the gunshot). And after watching a friend suffer greatly from Meniere's disease, I've become more sensitive to environmental noise and there are pairs of earplugs strategically placed around the house, in the garage, in all of the cars, in the motorcycle togs, and in my briefcase.

The world is a loud place and we don't even realize it. OSHA says hearing damage can begin as low as 90 decibels (over a period). The higher the dB, the quicker the damage occurs. I test cars for a living and one of the things we do is run a measurement of interior noise with a Bruel & Kjaer type 2225 sound level meter, which is limited in the number of frequencies it can detect but paints a general comparative picture. We check levels at idle, full throttle acceleration, and 70 mph cruising, radio and a/c systems off.

A typical family sedan makes about 40-45 dB interior noise at idle, 70-75 dB at full throttle, and 65-70 dB at a 70 mph cruise. Closed sports cars with large tires that generate a lot of road roar often accelerate at 85-90 dB and cruise at 75 dB. An open car on an expressway with trucks roaring past can get up to 120 dB. Of course, most of us turn the radio on, and turn it up over the road noise, and have our cell phone ear pieces turned up to max so we can hear. Ever notice how loud the radio is when you turn the car on in the morning? You can spend your half-hour commute exposing yourself to 90 dB or more, every morning and afternoon. (On longer trips I often put the plugs in and turn up the radio so I can just hear it through the plugs. That way I can really control the radio volume, as I'm only exposing myself to the radio and not the radio plus the ambient noise.

Heck, just sitting here at the computer with the hard drive whirring, the window open and a lawn crew cutting grass next door, the B&K reads 46 dB. Now the mower is going past the window, a double-pane installed last year which I just noticed is cracked only about two inches, and the meter has jumped to 75 dB. We had it serviced and calibrated less than a year ago (at great expense--these things are not cheap) so I'm confident it's accurate.

The point: your ears are suffering in more ways than you probably realize. Use earplugs. Those with hearing problems now should probably use plugs every time they drive the car or engage in any otherwise "noisy" activity.

 

[pgoat]

I smoke and drink caffienated beverages. I like food that is properly seasoned (re: salt added). I dont drink enough water.

I am doomed [huh]

lol lol lol

 

[pgoat]

Thank you Str8 8
:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

This is what I was trying to say in the "Ear Abuse" thread

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

I think I am going to use earplugs from now on all day. To see if the tinnitus gets any better.....well shall see how this go.