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Do you have Tinnitis? (Ringing sound in your ears)

Do you have Tinnitis (Ringing in your ears)

  • No

    Votes: 41 13.8%

  • Occasionally

    Votes: 64 21.5%

  • Frequently

    Votes: 57 19.2%

  • Constantly

    Votes: 135 45.5%
  • Total voters
    297
For a while I had it very frequently and I worried, if prolonged and associated with hearing loss it could be associated with eighth cranial nerve cancer. Then it decreased a lot and now it happens only rarely
 
I've always had ringing in my ears I just presumed it was normal. When things go quiet I hear like a high frequency squeel it never goes away but its really never got to me, perhaps its just not that bad.
 
Trdat said:
I've always had ringing in my ears I just presumed it was normal. When things go quiet I hear like a high frequency squeel it never goes away but its really never got to me, perhaps its just not that bad.
Click to expand...

It might be normal for some people. I don't know.
 
If you are suffering from tinnitus occasionally/frequently then get your thyroid checked by getting blood tests such as TSH, T3 and T4.

Tinnitus can be caused by both hyperthyroidism and Hypothyroidism. It is a common disorder due to your thyroid gland producing too much thyroid hormone or too little.
 
Have had it for 18+ years, but after a few weeks it stopped bothering me. It is constant in the way that it never really stops, but quiet enough to be easily masked by background noises during the day. I feel like it might have gotten weaker. Pretty sure I never even thought about it in the last few weeks.

I did have my thyroid and auditory nerve checked out before I stopped caring.
 
Mild case in left ear that I totally forgot about until ya'll brought it up.

On another note, I think it's great that we were given such amazing senses that should be taken care of, so humanity created a world that attacks them all lol. Pollution that wrecks your smell/breathing, excessive noise all around, and no enforced regulation of retina destroying car headlights.
 
Some very interesting responses! I've learned some stuff. I suffer from hypothyroidism and unfortunately it went undiagnosed/misdiagnosed for many years until my blood tests alarmed a new doctor such that he had me back into his office for repeat tests same day and then into hospital the next morning for a grisly session of more tests, cannula fitments, infusion, more tests etc. I felt like a well used darts board. I had no idea that tinnitus was associated with this condition. It's something that hit me very strongly a couple of years ago, unfortunately during covid lockdown when seeking medical help for any but the direst emergency became a lost cause. I'll now be able to ask my doctor about tinnitus with reference to this. As someone else mentioned it does get worse if you binge on the booze! An odd experience was that I caught covid last October and was very unwell, though not hospitalised. When the fever broke and I started to recover I realised that the tinnitus had gone! I was delighted. Unfortunately, as I recovered, it came back. I have no idea why this might have been. I'd had a very high fever and severe headaches and had taken fabulous amounts of prescribed co-codamol. Sometimes I suspect that most of life's difficulties can be remedied by a good steady supply of opioids but governments disagree so I'm back on the beer :)
:facepalm:
 
I got it out of sympathy :facepalm: to my wife :), as it seems. Some 20+ years ago she developed a Tinnitus and just then I noticed it as well for the first time. Before that point I sometimes had ringing in my ears but very rare and just for a minute or so. My mother used to say that this means someone is thinking about you ;). However I think some psychological factors might play a role in my case.

A therapy with some kind of infusion (can't remember what it was, maybe Ginko based?) didn't help, neither me nor my wife. But I got used to it and am able to ignore it, except when thinking about it, like right now. I also notice it when I start listening to music (especially with lots of high frequency content) but it's not that strong to prevent enjoyment, and I can suppress it after a few minutes.

My health insurance company once made an offer to get music files manipulated such that the part of the spectrum which triggers my Tinnitus is filtered out. You'd need a smartphone app to be able to play those files and it would only work while you payed for the abo - the latter was the reason why I refrained. Nowadays I'd rather use EQ to filter all music of my choice on all devices of my choise for free. I just need to know the filter curve. Maybe next time when I visit the medics ...
EDIT: just read in wikipedia that in 2017 this method has been shown not to have any measurable effect.

Edit: I also stumbled upon the paper Evidence and evidence gaps in tinnitus therapy which in my view is highly recommended to read although I just made a very fast flight through it.
 
Last edited:
Doodski said:
For those trying to imagine tinnitus this tone generator is set to 9.5KHz and a low volume level. Adjust it to a very low level and then you can hear what people experience.
Click to expand...
That's an outright "post-hypnotic suggestion" offer that I respectfully decline!

I may find out that I have hypochondriacal tendencies, and tinnitus is something I don't want to EVER experience... if I don't have to.
This does not mean that I lack much empathy for those who experience such bouts (*including my mate).
Out of ignorance: Does pink or white (heck, any color!) noise decrease the level when tinnitus is being experienced?
 
Sometimes tinnitus is induced "mechanically", by stiffened neck muscles. I know I've surfed too long on my mobile when it starts, usually in the left ear first. Sleeping in the wrong position (stomach down) or with wrong type of pillow isn't a good thing either.
 
pseudoid said:
Out of ignorance: Does pink or white (heck, any color!) noise decrease the level when tinnitus is being experienced?
Click to expand...

In my experience, no. The "unheard sound" masks it for a while but when you get away from the noise generator the ringing comes right back.
 
I wonder how many people can trace the origin of their tinnitus...

I can trace mine to the first 3 notes of a Nucleus concert in the Cayuga High School gym, back in the late 1960s.
It was so unbearably loud that I and half a dozen others went flying out the doors.

Following that ... months of high pitched squeal in both ears. It faded over time but it still comes back occasionally.
 
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