Tinnitus, it's doing my head in.

mex

mex

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I have had tinnitus, mildly for years, but lately it has got a lot worse and it is really starting to get to me now. Initially it was just a faint whistling in my right ear , now it's become considerably louder and a rushing water type noise too. I've been to an audiologist and that turned out to be an expensive waste of time ( she just wanted me to upgrade my NHS hearing aid to one that she sells for £2200). I could wait for an appointment with a NHS audiologist, but the waiting list is currently 3 months. Does anyone have any remedies?
 
I have had Tinnitus for about 9 years now, due to a mastoidectomy surgery. I have seen several NHS audiologists and unfortunately they all say the same thing. There is nothing that can be done. As for hearing aids, no matter how much you pay, they will only help with hearing loss and are not a cure for Tinnitus. Sorry but i feel for you and anyone else who has it.
 
With Roger above, there's really nothing you can do about it except learn to ignore it as much as you can. Mine is more like a high pitched whine with white noise mixed in.
 
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I only have mild and occasional tinnitus, but have found sometimes that wearing noise-cancelling headphones cancels it out to a degree - worth an experiment if you have some. Mine is worse in one ear so I wear them only over one ear so I don't have to cancel out all external aural input eg wifely noise.
 
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lindsay said:
I only have mild and occasional tinnitus, but have found sometimes that wearing noise-cancelling headphones cancels it out to a degree - worth an experiment if you have some. Mine is worse in one ear so I wear them only over one ear so I don't have to cancel out all external aural input eg wifely noise.
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Wifey noise or tinnatus, there’s a choice.
 
I had problems as well , Kept cleaning my ears with a hair clip to scoop out the wax then a cotton wall bud and it got gradually worse , Doctors appointment. He asked what my cleaning method was , He was shocked at what I told him , followed by never put anything smaller than your fist in your ears, Ears are self cleaning with hairs in the lining of the ear helping to transport the wax away , Also a certain amount of wax protects the lining , I now do not clean my ears , Let nature take it corse , Gradually over some time the tinnitus has lowered to a very slight hiss that I can live with.
 
I tend to avoid silence, I know it doesn't stop it but it makes it less of a distraction. Strangely I find when I am really concentrating it appears to go away or maybe me brain just doesn't register it.
 
If it's any consolation one does tend not to notice it after a (long) while. The very mention of the word makes me notice it and I can certainly hear it now. If I am tired it tends to be more noticeable. When you do hear it, continually tell yourself that it is meaningless. As in Munch's post above eventually the conscious part of the brain doesn't register it.
 
You should still get it checked. I’ve had tinnitus for years in one ear and always put it down to playing in a band with a loud drummer, plus going to lots of gigs when I was younger. However, when I finally gave in to my wife pestering me to get my hearing checked it turned out that the tinnitus is actually being caused by a benign growth in my skull that is pressing on the auditory nerve. (An auditory schwarnoma). Now I have to have an MRI every year to check if the growth is increasing. If it gets too big there is a chance I could lose hearing completely in that ear. Surgery is a possibility but it could also damage the nerve, so again I’d lose all hearing on that side. So far it’s remained stable.

For ear wax cleaning, the best thing is to use ear drops or warm olive oil. Never, ever, poke things down your ear canal.

Edit: forgot to say, you do eventually get used to tinnitus. I only notice it in really quiet times. I dated a hearing specialist for a while and she confirmed there is no medical treatment for it, beyond giving people coping mechanisms.
 
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I've suffered with Tinitus for so long I can't remember when I didn't have it. Silence is the killer, especially when trying to get to sleep, but I guess I've got used to it over the years.

My (NHS) hearing aids have helped to a degree, but sometimes it's like a radio being tuned in as the frequency of the whine goes up. The aids are a godsend when out birding, a few years ago my wife would hear a call and ask me "what's that bird?" to which I would reply "what bird?" Now I can hear the birds again, which is wonderful....
 
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I have had a slow developing of it for a few years now, started about 4 years ago with a slight cricket chirp , came and went then a period of nothing then started a ticking noise a bit like static, still very quiet and came and went , however recently started up again with a mild whine type noise like a plug top transformer high pitched eeeeeeeeeee it is still very quiet though mainly notice it in bed. A friend of mine is an audiologist and he suggested there is not much that can be done for it but he did suggest there were links to being overweight and high blood pressure
 
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I have high pitched whine tinnitus, my NHS issue hearing aids help me hear but also also deaden the tinnitus, local clinic advise a drop or two warm almond oil in my ears weekly to help wax removal, hearing aids block some natural wax lose.
 
I didn't realise I had tininitus , Must have had it all my life quite mild and to be honest.. I thought this is what silence sounded like.. if that makes sense... Now I dont notice it until someone mentions it or I see it written down like this thread.. so thanks for that haha
 
Apparently I have tinnitus but my high frequency hearing loss is that bad I can’t hear it got the latest digital hearing aids from the n.h.s that you control / program from a I.phone and they are amazing for hearing loss .but I still can’t hear the tinnitus
 
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Mr Bump said:
I have had a slow developing of it for a few years now, started about 4 years ago with a slight cricket chirp , came and went then a period of nothing then started a ticking noise a bit like static, still very quiet and came and went , however recently started up again with a mild whine type noise like a plug top transformer high pitched eeeeeeeeeee it is still very quiet though mainly notice it in bed. A friend of mine is an audiologist and he suggested there is not much that can be done for it but he did suggest there were links to being overweight and high blood pressure
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That's me!
 
the black fox said:
Apparently I have tinnitus but my high frequency hearing loss is that bad I can’t hear it got the latest digital hearing aids from the n.h.s that you control / program from a I.phone and they are amazing for hearing loss .but I still can’t hear the tinnitus
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It's very strange that you have tinnitus but you can't hear it, even with hearing aids ....... I can't quite get my head around that. Glad to hear that hearing aids work. Can you hear birdsong?
 
jerry12953 said:
It's very strange that you have tinnitus but you can't hear it, even with hearing aids ....... I can't quite get my head around that. Glad to hear that hearing aids work. Can you hear birdsong?
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yeah some with the aids in but my ears aren't trained to what they are and what direction there coming from , over the years I have adapted to watching for movement rather than sound to spot the birds and I don't think I do to badly with that
 
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F1.2 said:
I had problems as well , Kept cleaning my ears with a hair clip to scoop out the wax then a cotton wall bud and it got gradually worse , Doctors appointment. He asked what my cleaning method was , He was shocked at what I told him , followed by never put anything smaller than your fist in your ears, Ears are self cleaning with hairs in the lining of the ear helping to transport the wax away , Also a certain amount of wax protects the lining , I now do not clean my ears , Let nature take it corse , Gradually over some time the tinnitus has lowered to a very slight hiss that I can live with.
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I do similer, but only when my ears itch so much. I will try and resist the urge.
 
I'm taken aback at how many on here have this condition .I appreciate,as with phone-ins,it can be biased but it's all members we are familiar with. I can only conclude the condition is quite common.
 
JohnC6 said:
I can only conclude the condition is quite common.
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Quite common.

I've had mild tinnitus for as long as I can remember, with a background hiss noticeable laying in bed. Tension as an adult can make it worse. This year I think I caught covid again, descending into a form of long covid, with increased tinnitus being one of the symptoms and sometimes making speech hard to understand.
 
Had tinnitus for well over 35 years now.

It is extremely loud now. I can hear it constantly. Even while listening to music. Nothing hides it.

At night i listen to rain on my earphones. Its still very loud above that though.

Best is to try and ignore it otherwise it can drive you mad!! There is no cure.

I have treated my ears badly over the years. Music and cleaning them aggressively. Every now again i clean them out with a battery operated tooth 'pik' washer. It sprays water in like a tiny jet. Only way i can get them clean. Damage was done many years ago so i am not overly concerned anymore...sad i know....
 
Pretty sure mine was caused by years of driving diesel vans for hours a day/
 
JohnC6 said:
I'm taken aback at how many on here have this condition .I appreciate,as with phone-ins,it can be biased but it's all members we are familiar with. I can only conclude the condition is quite common.
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one of things i have noticed in society is how many people i know wearing discrete hearing aids at my age in there 50s that worries me a lot.
 
one thing i notice as well is i have started having no alcohol weeks just as part of a healthier lifestyle and when i do that i drink a lot more water
my tinitus seems to back right off then....
 
a friend of ours has Ménière's disease - he has tried everything, NHS and he has spent literally £thousands privately with very little improvement, it has just ruined his life in retirement
 
BillN_33 said:
a friend of ours has Ménière's disease - he has tried everything, NHS and he has spent literally £thousands privately with very little improvement, it has just ruined his life in retirement
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That was what set my tinnitus off - or rather it might have been. I have occasional "attacks" of dizziness and it has variously been diagnosed as "Definitely Menieres" "Definitely not Menieres" and "Possibly a form of Menieres". I may have got off lightly as I know it can be a devastating condition for some people. Over the years it has made me very very anxious about the future but fingers crossed.......:whistle:
 
I have it too. Mainly I don't notice it. I'm speaking generally here, but it does seem to me that it can be a result of the brain over tuning the hearing. This occurs when it is still and you are straining to hear the slightest sound. A poacher told me that. ;)
 
It may have already been mentioned, I haven't read the whole thread, but certain things can exacerbate tinnitus. Alcohol and particularly red wine can affect me, also if I am stressed I can suddenly get a loud pure note playing (an A if you're interested :D ).

There is a Tinnitus Society https://tinnitus.org.uk

I think there are devices that will play white noise which can help mask it if it stops you sleeping. Mine is not that bad, but the more I think about it, the worse it is.
 
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