I'm going to go crazy.

[User Name Here]

Every time things get quiet I can hear my ears ringing. Well, it's more like a high pitched noise, not actual ringing. Anyway, this literally keeps me up every night. I try to distract myself with white noise like a fan or even the TV but nothing works. Ear plugs just make it so that I can hear the "ringing" even more. Any time I think about it during the day time I can hear it, but usually I am too distracted by life in general so I mostly experience this at night. As I type this I can hear it despite the TV being turned up in the background and it's driving me nuts. Three a.m. and I can't sleep because of ringing ears? Ugh.

Is there ANYTHING I can do about this??? I've heard about this happening to people before but not constantly like it does with me. Help?

 

[User Name Here]

Oh yeah, if this belongs elsewhere I apologize.

 

[Mehm]

Have you listened to a lot of loud music or other loud noises like construction? You probably have tinnitus. Take of the headphones and turn down the volume. We can heal our own bodies through diet, yoga, mediation, herbs and self hypnosis. Best of luck and love to you!

 

[Tunnelfission]

My ears ring all the time, hum along with it, if it's permanent/semi permanent then let it be an integrated part of you. thats what I do of course, just try and hear the tune and hum along... not much one can do!

 

[Roose]

Yeah probably tinnitus.

I've seen tv commercials for pills you can take that will get rid of it. Dunno if they work

 

[RedLeader]

Have you gone to a doctor and had your ears washed out with water? I *think* it's called an"erragation" or something similar. They basically blast your ears with water for a few minutes to remove all of the wax and such. I got one right after college, as I was having a similar issue with ringing. Felt a bit weird, but not bad. Not as bad as I anticipated. I remember driving home listening to music and thinking how clear everything sounded.

Now I get them like every 6 months. It helps a ton.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Are you on any medications? Some drugs can cause tinnitus. Antibiotics whose names end in -mycin, NSAIDs (especially aspirin), loop diuretics, and others. If you are on an antibiotic and your getting tinnitus I'd talk to your Doctor because some of them when ototoxic can cause lasting hearing loss.

Tinnitus can come about with no discernible cause and can resolve itself or persist. Many times it is from a treatable cause so be sure to mention it to a health care provider as soon as possible. Their are some electronic treatment that get used for persistant tinnitus. Something to do with a device that makes noises that tend to disrupt tinnitus. No balance problems or dizziness, right? If balance or dizziness happen with tinnitus it is usually Ménière's or reated disorders.

(You might consider asking a mod to append the thread title w/ ringing in ears or tinnitus so people who have experience with this problem find it more easily.)

 

[PriestTheyCalledHim]

Have you gone to a doctor and had your ears washed out with water? I *think* it's called an"erragation" or something similar. They basically blast your ears with water for a few minutes to remove all of the wax and such. I got one right after college, as I was having a similar issue with ringing. Felt a bit weird, but not bad. Not as bad as I anticipated. I remember driving home listening to music and thinking how clear everything sounded.

Now I get them like every 6 months. It helps a ton.

I've done this and it helps. I didn't do it at home but I went to an ENT doctor and had him do it.

If you're on certain medications they can cause it or make it worse.

I have some of it but I think it's from seeing a decade or more of concerts and being in loud environments without earplugs which I started using years ago.

A friend of mine is in his late 30s and he apparently has bad tinnitus and his came out of nowhere since he isn't really into raves or live music.

Even before I went to concerts I remember getting some of it and I was a kid then. So I'm not sure how it happens?

 

[Jabberwocky]

I was diagnosed with semi-permanent tinnitus. The doctor told me it may or may not go away. It lasted for about 1½ years. I would hear a high pitched tone in both ears that wasn't loud. I used to do a lot of speaker tweaking when in first started. At first, it drove me nuts. But after a week or so, I grew used to it. And after a couple of months I didn't notice it at all- though it was still there. The only time I would notice it was when for a brief few seconds, it would mysteriously stop, then start up again. One day it stopped for good. Hope yours goes away like mine!

 

[ColtDan]

ive got tinnitus, partly caused by working in a noisy steel stock holding warehouse... the bangs of steel crashing around are like guns going off. i regret not wearing ear muffs. plus i go to very loud music events...at night i experience the same thing... fucking ringing in my ears. sometimes its louder than others. learn to live with it, your brain will filter it out

 

[Dr Pepper]

I've got it too at 19, may be from firing rifles w.o any ear protection, remember them ringing for days after that...
anyways i dont let it get to me because my chronic back pain is enough to make all my other problems seem quite petty.

 

[Bearlove]

You can actually buy pillows with speakers in them - I know this may sound like just adding further noise but it acts as white noise to block the ringing/tinnitus.

If you have a look at the RNID website they have several products that are proven to work - (normally by playing a sound to canx out the ringing / buzzing).

Good luck

 

[TheAppleCore]

Can't offer much advice other than to try not to dwell on it.

I've had tinnitus ever since I was a little kid. My parents educated me about the dangers of loud sounds from a very young age, so I've always been very protective of my hearing. And yet, here I am, typing this post to a endless little whistle.

 

[Dave]

The white noise suggestion works well, it's actually considered a valid non-pharmaceutical treatment for tinnitus. While I've had situational tinnitus in the past (loud raves w/o earplugs, ah the foolishness of youth!), luckily it goes away. But I've learned that running a fan while I fall asleep works wonders for blocking out ambient noise, and would likely work for mild tinnitus as well.

 

[Jackal]

If I am asleep by myself in a quiet place I hear a constant ringing. Or on a still day. Or when I am sleep deprived.

Always had some level. Got worse and stayed worse for a few years after hitting GBL and booze badly a few years ago but then improved.

Doesn't bother me, luckily.