ok... here are my 2cents

Coincidentally enough I just went to my Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor on Tuesday to finally figure out what was happening with my ear ringing.

I stupidly self diagnosed myself with hearing loss/damage since I have had Tinnitus about 10 years. I just always assumed it was because I went to too many rock concerts and sat too close to the speakers, and I always had really load headphones (really stupid idea folks) when I was a teenager. And since most cases of tinnitus is due to hearing loss I figured that was the reason.

Recently the ringing got worse I would have the original hight pitched ringing with another ringing with a different tone. Went to the walk-in clinic and was put on anti-biotics which got rid of the second ringing in my ear.
Anyway, my ENT doc just put me through some tests and told me that I do not have any hearing loss and that my tinnitus is not likely due to anything physically (i.e no damage to the ear drum and no tumours since having ringing in one ear may be a sign of a tumour near by) and that my ruing was in fact due to something else.

You can get tinnitus for many reason including excessive caffeine, Vitamine E, lack of sleep, nicotine, certain drugs,stress and excessive wax in the ear (which may be that "cure" you can find over the counter).

This was amazing news for me because it meant that maybe the ringing may go away if I can figure out what exactly is causing it. So I haven't had a coffee for 3 days (which is really hard!) I feel like I am not stressed but am thinking of getting more sleep and trying to de-stress everyday in hope that the ringing may stop.

Not sure if this helps but I thought I would share since I have been dealing with this specifically in the last few days

P.s Tinnitus doesn't just come at night.... it's just when it is quiet enough for mild cases to be heard. During the day, it is disguised by all the regular noise and sounds around us, unless it comes and goes in general, it is a constant thing

One of those drugs is aspirin so if you're taking a lot of that in one dose or taking a little over time it can cause problems if you develop a sensitivity. One other thing to take note of, particularly if you're older, is that tinnitus is also a symptom of high blood pressure.

sfmelo
Thanks for all that info! That's great to know. Doctors huh? Who woulda thunk they knew more about health than guitarists? But it turns out they do.

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"...Compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees, I am an Apeman."

Roger that. Also, avoid aspirin and other Motrin-related medications...so-called NSAIDS....non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If necessary, find yourself a good ENT who's practice is limited to otology. As previously noted you should rule out acoustic neuroma (a lesion of the 8th cranial-auditory nerve), and only that need can be determined by a physician.

Pretty decent response from out there ya'll.

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

Stress? High blood pressure? Hhmmmmmm......... We may be on to something there. I hadn't heard about stress related tinnitus before but yea...the stress this past year has been unbelievable. In October of '07 when my wife and I were going through adoption classes my mother had been diagnosed with cancer (it was my Mom's 6th round with cancer and meant putting the adoption thing on hold). Around July of last year the cancer had moved in to her brain and then she passed away in October. For the next couple of months after that we were focusing on getting Dad's house cleaned up and getting his life back in order and then the holidays hit. I figured after the holidays we'd all have a chance to stop and catch our breath and maybe "process" things a bit but then on Jan 4th, my Dad fell and broke his hip and ended up having a partial hip replacement surgery...and he's still recovering. Stress? Did someone say stress??? Yea...I guess that would certainly be consistent with the past few months to say the least and that seems to be about when I started noticing the tinnitus every night and not just after practices/jams.

I also know that my blood pressure is certainly up as well (did someone say stress???)...it's been border-line high for a while but now I'm officially in the "hyper-tension" category (this past month it was up to 151/96). In addition to the stress issues, since Dad's surgery they did an over-all evaluation on his health and he's now on a low sodium, low cholesterol diet (only 2 grams of each a day). Since I'm the one who's been trying to figure out some things that a 76 year old man can cook for himself while recovering from a major surgery that might actually taste decent (unlike his meals on wheels), I've been evaluating my own sodium intake as well...I really had no idea at all that it was so high! I never really payed any attention to my sodium intake at all but yea...it's damn near off the charts and I -know- that certainly contributes to hbp. Of course I'm also a good 60 lbs over-weight -and- I smoke. I am starting to work on some of these issues so we'll have to see if and how that effects the tinnitus. Hmmmm...maybe it's not the music after all....at least not completely.

Thank you to everyone and particularly the past few posters there. Interesting stuff...I'll have to do some investigating there...thanks!

Jim

We're always here to try to lend a hand, Jim. As you yourself have been part of that generosity in times past. Keep us abreast of your progress.
Hope you find some relief.

Doc

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"Another day in paradise!"

Hope my experience with the doc has helped. I am going to another specialist soon for a second opinion and would certainly pass on my experience with the second doctors visit

I was hoping to find a miricle cure in this thread I've suffered for years, I'm pretty much used to it. The doc told me I picked up some kind of weird bug, from a pool in the Carribean

Well snowy, if you're gonna pick up a weird bug you might as well be enjoying yourself in a pool in the Carribean.

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"...Compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees, I am an Apeman."

Hi just to pitch in on this one.

Someone previously mentioned hypnotherapy and I guess you're thinking how the hell will that work? Well whilst it won't cure it, it certainly is a valid treatment because your perception of the ringing is affected by other things - like stress.

It is possible to train someone to change, tone down or tune out the ringing with hypnotherapy and if it was me that would be the road I'd be heading down.

If you're not convinced just stop for a second and listen to all the sounds where you are now both inside and outside. When you were reading the previous sentence you were totally oblivious to them. But they were still there.