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Tinnitus tips


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ejweiss
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:33 pm    Post subject: Tinnitus tips Reply with quote

Do you have any tips on dealing with Tinnitus? I have it 24 - 7 and need some help. I have tried custom masking hearing aids with white noise - no luck. They give my sound and other instruments a strange vibrato feedback. I have custom musicians earplugs to protect my ears from further damage, but they are so hard to play with. I can play for short periods with a practice mute but that is not going to work forever. I can not practice at home without the T driving me crazy.

What works for you? Thanks

(yes I have been to several specialists)
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homecookin
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only "tip" I can offer is something you may or may not already be aware of.
I have had tinnitus for over 30 years, and generally it doesn't bother me at all.
Even though it is always there. I have tried ginkgo biloba, and it really didn't seem to help much, but your results may be different. One thing that I have learned over the years is that your diet is very important concerning tinnitus. There are certain foods and drinks that can actually make your tinnitus worse. A few examples ....cheese, believe it or not, can make tinnitus worse. Wine is also another culprit, and I don't mean daily consumption of wine, I mean just a glass or two can cause tinnitus to flare up. Caffeine ( as in coffee or Coca Cola) can affect tinnitus, but it has been my experience that it is not as bad as other drinks.There are other foods and drinks that we ingest that can affect tinnitus greatly. If you do a little research on Google
you will come up with a whole list of foods that make tinnitus worse. Although not everybody is affected by the same foods.
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VetPsychWars
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mine is related to my other health issues.

In other words, are there other issues?

Tom
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Trumpet1Ohio
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have had tinnitus for years. Have it in my left ear only and blamed it on playing in a Chicago/BS&T band night after night/ week after week. The guitar players amp was always on my left. So, I have some hearing loss in my left ear and a constant whistle. It doesn't really bother me unless I'm really run down and don't get enough sleep. Always settles down after I get needed rest.

Wish I could be more help. Might want to talk to a ENT Specialist if it's driving you whacky.

Good luck
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ejweiss
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have been on the Ginko for about a month. I'll keep doing it. A side effect is it makes you smarter. I have been trying to limit my caffeine. Boy I love cheese. Might have to look into that one.

Other health issues! Stress and anxiety. That can't be good for it.

Band director for 30 years. Think that's a problem?
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ketch22
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm sorry to hear of your tinnitus problem - it is not easy to live with sometimes.

Mine started about 45 years ago as a result of an auto accident (street racer hit me from behind) and the concussion and subsequent medications. Both ears ring with multiple tones equally loudly, so the recent advances in blocking the sound with a matching frequency will not work for me.

There is no magic cure of which I, or my doctor knows. All I can do for you is to describe how I deal with it - or in fact NOT deal with it. I ignore it! I'm fortunate that I have a career/vocation a d life style that requires 24/7 involvement and concentration which keeps my mind away from the sound in my ears. The worst thing I can do is to listen to the ringing sounds. Of course, I sometimes can't help it, and I lose sleep, etc. but for the most part it hasn't affected my life enjoyment or kept me from doing what I want to do.

It also has had no effect on my musical 'exploits". In fact in a way it might have helped because I tend to listen through the ringing to what is important. I still play in concert band, BBB, and jazz band. I am also very careful about protecting what hearing I have left.

Drinking wine, eating cheese, etc. has no negative effect so I still enjoy those. Some people feel they are helped by Ginko, and I sincerely hope you are one of those people. Good luck.

K22
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MacMichael
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 10:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All that dietary stuff is highly overrated.
Of course coffee´n´booze are not really beneficial, in general
but as long as you do not get down to finding and
curing the roots of your tinnitus, it is futile to just
keep a diet.
Tinnitus is 90% a reaction of your body to express physical and psychological stress. And as there are strongly connected, someone like an osteopath might
be able to help significantly more than anything and anyone else, as he will strengthen your mind and body, plus help you to do so yourself.

Just my 2 cents, from a 2-year tinnitus experience.


Last edited by MacMichael on Mon Feb 15, 2016 10:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Seymor B Fudd
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 3:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MacMichael wrote:
All that dietary is highly overrated.
Of course coffee´n´wine are not reakky beneficial,
but as long as you do not get down to finding and
curing the roots of your tinnitus, it is futile to just
keep a diet.
Tinnitus is 90% a reaction of your body to express physical and psychological stress. And as there are strongly connected, someone like an osteopath might
be able to help significantly more than anything and anyone else, as he will strengthen your mind and body, plus help you to do so yourself.

Just my 2 cents, from a 2-year tinnitus experience.



Tinnitus is the curse of music - my started out once in the Brassband, I played the soprano part, churchconcert (I already had simpel earplugs at the time, interested in soundlevels I brought along a gadget to measure....117 dB peak...)later that night I became aware of what I judged was a tone, possibly double high C or something like that..........and ever since; at one occasion we reahearsed at a place with nil damping, I got it in both ears, so severe I went to a specialist who in essence told me to quit playing. And I was in such a tremendous shape, the upcoming concert would have been the peak in my sopranocareer - but - I quit.....4 months....it did not get better. So I got these special earplugs, molded after my ears. There I am today, 20 years later, playing more than I ever did. As my hearing is impaired too I got these hearing aids with some kind of tinnitusfighting mode (haven´t figured out what) which may dampen.

I have noticed that the damn tinnitus has certain variations. Haven´t found that food is important, maybe wine... Stress, as MacMichael mentions, definitively makes it worse - to counteract I have tried simple meditation (close your eyes, repeat in your mind "calm" "calm" every time you breath out..then proceed to relax the whole body, part by part (like "and noow my chest relaxes", on the breathing out) do this for say 20 minutes. etc; sometimes listening to very soft music; that is - enter a "hypnagogic" state.
Listening to music or doing something that actively captures your attention
I also found helpful - distracts and makes for periods when I am not conciously aware of the hissings sounds. ejweiss - are your sound single tones or hissing or what? The point of entering some kind of trancelike state (flow), whether this is listening to/playing music, or meditation is that the tinnitus goes on but one is simply not paying attention to the damn thing.
So I can find periods not thinking/being aware. Talking with someone who suddenly asks "how about your ears" acutely makes me aware again.
So, "don´t mention the war"....if you´ve seen John Cleese in "Faulty towers".
ps the earplugs, custom made for me, dampens say 15-30 dB; the first year or so difficult to play with but you hear with more than your ears so to say. Eventually I learned how a fortefortissimo sounded inside the skull...and a pp. For me no problems staying in tune, I most certainly do miss most of the jokes, do not hear the director saying "now we start at B"; biggest problem is when some nut on the horn starts to make noise and I am the only one not hearing it.....I will not say that the plugs are easy to use, but what is the alternative??Music is my (2:nd)mistress...
Do fight on! Came to think of a march.. the Contenders..
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MacMichael
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seymor B Fudd wrote:
The point of entering some kind of trancelike state (flow), whether this is listening to/playing music, or meditation is that the tinnitus goes on but one is simply not paying attention to the damn thing.
So I can find periods not thinking/being aware. Talking with someone who suddenly asks "how about your ears" acutely makes me aware again.


Yes, apart from the health and wellness tips, that is quite essential, on the one hand you succeed when you are able to ignore the tinnitus to some extent (not too much self-conscious self-observation) , on the other hand you also succeed when you have learned how to live with it, to arrange with the inevitable, also accepting the fact that ear noises (which are no actual sounds really) are somehow natural, and that they are actually created by your brain.
So it takes a "relaxed offensive strategy", as it were.

It is tricky, I know, but I have been down that road, but fortunately things have worked out pretty well. Making music is no longer the menace it had been in the acute stadium.

Good luck! Give your ears, mind and body enough rest.
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ejweiss
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you all for taking the time to share.Lots of good, common sense advice. I am giving my ears a rest for a while. I am not practicing at home at all. Limiting my outside playing to prior commitments only. I have turned down a few gigs, but explained my situation to the contractors in hopes that they also will understand. No school today for Winter break also helps!
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oxleyk
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my experience tinnitus is not exacerbated by external noise and taking "a rest" won't improve anything.

Kent
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MacMichael
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2016 10:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

oxleyk wrote:
In my experience tinnitus is not exacerbated by external noise and taking "a rest" won't improve anything.

Kent

Sorry to disagree, Kent, I do not think that is a valid statement.

In the acute first phase of a severe tinnitus, any extraordinary noise (including exposure to any music) can put you under additional physical stress, so consequently your situation will aggravate.
You might want to ignore that, but I can only say from my experience that in that very first phase of psychoacoustic trauma, practically every sound hurt and, yes, giving my ears some rest didactually help.

Of course there are different degrees of tinnitus intensity, e.g. what you experienced as a young man after a night out in a loud club was maybe a
humming sound in your ears that lasted for half a day or so.
But that is fundamentally different from a sound inside your head that almost makes you mad, you can´t sleep at night etc.

Be that as it may, the only thing one should never ever do is to take cortison infusions (which I sadly did), as they make everything worse and even cause further ear noise (I guess because the increased blood rush due to the blood thinning). So never accept these infusions, they are more or less an expression of the ENT physician´s helplessness.

As said before, you need to face the demon and get down to the roots to improve your situation. The good news is that your body is not only part of the "disease", but already part of the cure as well. The appropiate amount of relaxation is the key.
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MacMichael
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 1:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

(double post, sorry)

Last edited by MacMichael on Tue Feb 16, 2016 7:52 am; edited 1 time in total
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oxleyk
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 4:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Like I said, in MY experience. I've had tinnitus for so long I don't remember what it was like before.

Kent
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Mac Gollehon
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 6:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is this condition ever diagnosed as allergy or inflamed sinuses being a contributing factor or is it only because of irreparable damage?
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ejweiss
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mac Gollehon wrote:
Is this condition ever diagnosed as allergy or inflamed sinuses being a contributing factor or is it only because of irreparable damage?


I get sinus infections about twice a year. The last one was about 2 months before the T started. I do a lot of prescription Flonase and OTC Zyrtec. The ENT did not say that sinuses were connected to the loss. He just attributed it to the hearing loss results as conducted by an audiologist.
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Craig Swartz
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ejweiss wrote:
Have been on the Ginko for about a month. I'll keep doing it. A side effect is it makes you smarter. I have been trying to limit my caffeine. Boy I love cheese. Might have to look into that one.

Other health issues! Stress and anxiety. That can't be good for it.

Band director for 30 years. Think that's a problem?

My underline... If I'd have known that I'd have been feeding it to the entire school population during the 40 years I taught band. Teachers and admin especially.
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Dollard147
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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2016 7:25 pm    Post subject: Tinnitus Reply with quote

I had experienced pulsate tinnitus in my right ear. It was a real pain for me. I was very sensitive to certain sounds for a while. My tinnitus was caused by a loud noise exposure. I did a complete audiological evaluation by a qualified ear specialist in Calgary and thankfully I've not had it in the past few years. I always make sure to put my fingers in my ears to block it out.
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Bob Stevenson
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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2016 11:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sadly I don't have any "tips"...I wish I did!

Western medicine considers T untreatable although they 'think' they know it's cause;.....inside the inner ear are voids with tiny hairs standing in rows and which contribute in some way to how the brain interprets the frequency of heard sounds. For some reason these hairs collapse instead of standing up firmly and the brain injects a sound signal or false sound in order to function without the hairs.....Thus, T is considered to be a 'brain malfunction'

I have had T in my left ear continuously for the last 30+ years but it became troublesome some 20 years back after I suffered a very bad winter virus that infected my left ear and left me deaf one side for about 5 months. The same virus affected several friends and aquaintances......the wife of an aquaintance has worn hearing aids in both ears since.

People who suffer from T quickly learn that western medicine does not really understand T, has no answer and is thus is embarassed about it's ignorance and would really like to just avoid the sufferers.

The only thing that I have found that definately reduces and helps the problem is acupuncture. I was very fortunate to find a really skilled and knowledgeable Chinese doctor, an older lady who was here in the UK to look after her daughter. Although she spoke little English she was the most caring and kind person and I found that I trusted her completely. This was just as well because she treated my T with three needles, one about 2 inches long applied in the depression under my ear lobe and which I could sometimes feel in the root of my tongue. She told me that this was, not surprisingly, "very dangerous" to do! After several weeks of sessions lasting about 20 minutes the noise lessened considerably. Our conversations (such as they were without language) showed me that she knew about the 'flattened hairs and brain signal' but did not accept this discription of T. Sadly she has been back in China for some years now and the T has grown steadily more annoying since.
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american boy
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PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2016 4:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Years back I was playing a long running Broadway show in an old dusty pit,and after a couple of months,I started to have difficulty hearing at times.It continued to get worse(I thought at the time it might be my brains hatred of the music in the show 8 times a week)and finally,I went to see an allergist and get tested.Sure enough,I was very allergic to dust,so I started to get allergy shots.After about 3 months the hearing started to get better.
Can`t say for sure if this would help you,but it worked for me.
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