Got tinnitus?

[Myk Rian]

Will someone please get those Cicadas out of here?

[Wade Lippman]

I've had it for about 10 years, and it seems to be getting worse. But my sister has had it for 30 years, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

About a year ago I was lying in bed and something was wrong. Then I realized, it was quiet! The tinnitus has gone away for a couple hours. Don't know why, never happened again. Oh well.

[Bill Cunningham]

20 + years for me.. Back in the 60's you never seen a pair of hearing protectors in any factories. I worked in a heavy steel shop where they were banging 2" thick steel deck pales for mobile cranes into place with sledge hammers. Later damaged/stressed both ears periodically on diving jobs, and time in hyperbaric chambers decompressing. Mine sounds like the singing high voltage in old T.V's and it's 24 hours a day. I have quite a notch in my hearing chart for both ears. because of the frequency range hearing loss, I refer to it as my built in 'wife filter'... I really can't hear her unless she's looking directly at me....honest dear...

[Ed Griner]

I have most of the symptoms described by the other posters. I gave up hearing aids because they were making things worse. My suggestion would be to not dwell on the inner ear noise,mine is there all the time 24/7 any time I think about it,it's available. It makes me think of an AM radio with a broken antenna,a type of bio/electronic noise. You just have to ignore it,it works!

[Bill Cunningham]

Yup.. If you didn't mentally adapt yourself to ignore it, it would drive you crazy

[Chris Parks]

Will someone please get those Cicadas out of here?

You have the same brand of tinnitus that I have, Cicadas indeed.

[Dave Verstraete]

I refer to it as my built in 'wife filter'... I really can't hear her unless she's looking directly at me....honest dear...

That is the only upside to my tinnitus!

[joe myer]

Many of us give least importance to safety of our ears while we work constantly in high noise atmosphere. Most of us hesitate to use ear plugs or ear muffs and due to this many people end up victims of gradual hearing loss or some other problems such as tinnitus. People who are working under high noise atmosphere need to check out their hearing health for any kind of hearing loss or other ear problems. Timely consultation and usage of proper hearing aids can minimize the effects of hearing loss. Regarding tinnitus one should get adjusted with that phenomenon and it serves as the best solution to overcome it, meanwhile you can consult an audiologist for expert advice.

[Michael Hammers]

Ive had it since my time in the Corps......hazards of being a 1371 I suppose.
Then nearly 17 years as a Paramedic then Flight Medic...the flying in AK really did me in.
Our Metroliner was so noisey....
The only thing I have been told by my doc is that aspirin does affect it.
Ive learned to ignore it but have to sleep with white noise on.
I currently run a little UV\HEPA air cleaner that suffices.

No miracle cures...just the promise as we age we will lose enough hearing eventually that it will resolve itself....or pushing daisies...either way should stop it...

[Michael Peet]

Mine came on a couple years ago. I had a hearing test and it came back perfect. I switched to decaf with no noticeable effect (still drink mostly decaf though). I wear hearing protection in the shop and have a quiet desk job during the day. Mostly listen to NPR in the car at conversation-level volume.

Some days it's worse than others. It's most distracting when I'm sitting in my office at work trying to concentrate on a difficult problem. David's comment about the chiropractor is very interesting; might be worth a shot.

I wish I could help you. Hope you find some relief,

Mike

[Brad Cambell]

I have tinnitus. It gives new meaning to "The Sound of Silence." I got hit in the ear playing racquet ball. It was terrible for a long time, especially when I was trying to sleep. It seems to be lessening of late, and it is not too bad now. I only faintly hear it when there is absolute silence. I don't think that there is anything that can be done for it if it is caused by nerve damage. Good luck.

[Justin Ludwig]

I've had it since I was a kid. Can't remember not having a ringing in my ears. I can concentrate on the ringing and it will increase in pitch and intensity. I've found that on the rare occasion it bothers me, I focus on it to make it worse. When I stop focusing, it becomes bearable again (odd, I know). I didn't even know my ears were ringing until I started reading this thread. Thanks a lot.

Aggravations for my tinnitus: alcohol, not using hearing protection at work or shooting firearms, forum post about tinnitus.

[Dennis Peacock]

Yup, I have it...got it good with all the woodworking tools I've been running. Been woodworking since I was 13.....I do wish the ringing would stop, but I've learned to deal with it most of the time.

[Brian Ashton]

Quite possibly there will be a cure when the scientists figure out how to make stem cells therapy safe. They've been able to take nasal cells and turn them into stem cells and then inject them into the ear, restoring hearing... From what the doc told me is they haven't figured out how to get the errant stem cells to turn off when the job is done.

I have tinnitus also, had it for at least a decade, and have always been religious about wearing hearing protection even when it was considered real uncool... so it's not always because you were exposed to load noises. Hopefully they'll get it all ironed out soon so I can get my knee and ears done...

[Dave Cullen]

Yep, me too. Loud concerts when I was young, and woodworking tools later. I asked my doctor and he said he had it too and has asked every ear specialist he's met and they all told him there's no real treatment.

If you Google tinnitus cures you'll get lots of input on it, but I've never persued any of them. Mine isn't horrible enough that it can't be ignored.