Thread: Tinnitus (ringing in ears and hearing loss)

I have hearing loss since a young age and tinnitus (ringing). Have any of you cured yourself of this with anything other than a hearing aid?

I have it also - waaay too many ear infections. I'm going to have to get hearing aids eventually. I'm down 40db on the left, and 20db on the right.

The constant clicking I've had in my right ear since March is now being called tinnitus since they couldn't find anything else causing it. The ENT said it was most likely allergies, probably from a food. I haven't tried an elimination diet yet, but it's been recommended.

I also had tons of ear infections as a kid, took WAY too many rounds of antibiotics, and am now very sugar-sensitive. I'm planning on doing another 4-day fast (eliminate everything at the same time! haha!) to see if it helps the clicking, but I have to work up the self-discipline first. ;)

That was the first indication my husband had that he had Meneire's Disease, which took almost all of his hearing in one ear. The ENT gave him a heavy treatment of prednisone, hoping it would cure it, but it didn't.

My tinnitus was partially due to anemia, so boosting my iron & protein intake helps reduce the ringing when it gets bad. that and finding out that food allergies were causing some of the anemia. I still roll my eyes when they tell me my iron is too low at my physicals- like I haven't been dealing with that since I was 12! Unfortunately, tinnitus is kind of a catch all term for anything that causes ringing & hearing loss (kind of like colic in babies) and could have SO many different causes! I think you're lucky if you can find out what your cause is! (not that that always helps!)

Originally Posted by Lara L

Unfortunately, tinnitus is kind of a catch all term for anything that causes ringing & hearing loss (kind of like colic in babies) and could have SO many different causes!

yeah, tinnitus has also been loosely associated with manganese deficiency, high lead levels, high salt intake, high fat intake, herpes simplex virus, diabetes and obesity, just to name a few. some say it's why Van Gogh cut off his ear. I can relate some days!

Originally Posted by Lara L

food allergies were causing some of the anemia.

what were the offending foods?

Playing zills doesn't help either, lol!!!

My doctor told me that I just have to live with it as there isn't any treatment . . . what do you mean???

I too had all sorts of ear infections when I was growing up . . . got my ear drums punctured (old technique) and had my tonsils removed. I do have allergies and have treated those fairly well. As for all the other things on Nasila's list, eek, I am a walking "tinnitus" candidate!!!

Originally Posted by nasila

what were the offending foods?

for me it was soy & egg whites- & when you're dealing with anemia & they want you to eat more protein, guess what they suggest for easy ways to boost protein? put eggs in everything and drink soy shakes. Yeah! The doctor also said (for 5 years) that it couldn't possibly be allergy related. One hour at a holistic clinic & the ND says, hmm, let's check allergies- oh, look, right here on the blood work your doctor already has on file, looks like you have allergies...

I am just SO impressed with the medical profession right now.

Originally Posted by Lara L

I am just SO impressed with the medical profession right now.

Wow. I hear ya. ,r:;

I've had ringing associated with nasal allergies. And a few louder concert type things. But now I wear earplugs anywhere where is might be loud. I think I hear music better with them ,r:;

I have wheat and dairy allergies and about 50+ lbs overweight so I think its a combination of these. I've always had a moderate ringing in my ears from when I was little and use to attend garage band performances back in my pre-teen days, but now since I've gained so much weight and have circulatory problems - the ringing has gotten worse.

Originally Posted by nasila

The constant clicking I've had in my right ear since March is now being called tinnitus since they couldn't find anything else causing it. The ENT said it was most likely allergies, probably from a food. I haven't tried an elimination diet yet, but it's been recommended.

Did you and your doctors rule out TMJ disorder as a culprit? I had a often severe clicking in my right ear, usually in response to sharp loud noises. Drum solos could be torture. I saw my doctor, who sent me to an audiologist, who could find nothing wrong (well, some upper range loss but that wouldn't be connected to the clicking) and in turn sent me to the dentist, who looked at the wear pattern on my teeth and told me I grind my teeth at night and the clicking was due to excessive stress in the jaw. Being mindful about not clenching my jaw and doing some massage of the mandibular joint cleared up the clicking within a couple of weeks. Sometimes it comes back, but those techniques will get rid of it again.

yeah, both dentist and ENT said it wasn't TMJ because it came at such regular intervals. I also have some inflammation around the eschuian (sp?) tube and glands in the area, but antiobiotics didn't help. thanks for the suggestion though!

I have both hearing loss and tinnitus and I wear hearing aids. When I am wearing the aids I don't have the ringing in my ears. Actually I pretty much ignore the tinnitus unless I am thinking about it. My hearing aids have a quiet mode that shuts out ambient sounds and the silence is soft and wonderful. It is actually intended to use for phone cnversation so that ambient noise doesn't interfere, but I love to use it when I am trying to concentrate on something or when I am reading or working on computer at home and the hubby has some annoying show on tv with the volume turned up.

Souzan

Originally Posted by Souzan

I have both hearing loss and tinnitus and I wear hearing aids. When I am wearing the aids I don't have the ringing in my ears. Actually I pretty much ignore the tinnitus unless I am thinking about it. My hearing aids have a quiet mode that shuts out ambient sounds and the silence is soft and wonderful. It is actually intended to use for phone cnversation so that ambient noise doesn't interfere, but I love to use it when I am trying to concentrate on something or when I am reading or working on computer at home and the hubby has some annoying show on tv with the volume turned up.

Souzan

wow, I never thought I'd consider hearing aids something to be desired... 4 kids & a husband, yeah, I need a quiet mode...g.:

Originally Posted by Lara L

wow, I never thought I'd consider hearing aids something to be desired... 4 kids & a husband, yeah, I need a quiet mode...g.:

My hearing aids also have a music chip built in so I can switch it to music and the microphone focus on musical instruments (live and recorded) rather than ambient sounds.

Getting hearing aids was a miracle. It was amazing what a simply was not hearing and how much I was actually reading lips.

Souzan

Has anyone tried Ginexin.F (ginko extract) ? I hear it helps some people with tinnitus. I'm going to try it and I will report back in a couple of weeks.

Please do, jasani!!!

My husband has a severe hearing loss and wears 2 hearing aids and has for about 35 years. He also has ringing in the ears for the last couple of years. He has gone to all kinds of DR and his audioologist....they all say nothing to be done for it....he has finally gotten "used" to it but I am really interested in any results anyone gets. His is worse at night when he takes out his hearing aids and there is silence....that when the noise starts.

It's been about two weeks since I've been on the ginkgo. The only results from that is that my eyes have become more of a darker blue and I still have some senior moments, ha-ha. I am taking 120mg twice a day with breakfast and dinner. I am abstaining from wheat, dairy, beans (we eat alot of pinto beans because of the bad economy), and potatoes. So far I think my tinnitus has lessened. It's still there, but it doesn't drive me crazy at night.

Thanks, jasani! Do you recommend a certain brand? I'm willing to try it, too.

Because I have food allergies, I chose a brand that did not contain wheat. Other than that, my second choice is what ever is cheapest. Again, I don't think it was the ginkgo that helped though - instead I changed my diet. I still have the tinnitus, just doesn't drive me crazy as much.

A friend of mine got tinnitus from a rave/techno event years ago..

She had significant improvement with hypnosis. It might work particularly well with her as she also quit smoking with it.. so maybe it does not work well for everybody.
Her doctor also distinguished between "physical" and psychological reasons.
have you had that checked?
After some checks doctors told her her ear was physically ok, and the thing would literally be "in her head only" (psychological).
I remember it came again with stress for her, but she managed to keep it under control better and better..
Have not asked her about it in a long time!

Originally Posted by genie

My husband has a severe hearing loss and wears 2 hearing aids and has for about 35 years. He also has ringing in the ears for the last couple of years. He has gone to all kinds of DR and his audioologist....they all say nothing to be done for it....he has finally gotten "used" to it but I am really interested in any results anyone gets. His is worse at night when he takes out his hearing aids and there is silence....that when the noise starts.

genie, has your husband tried hypnosis? (see one post above)

No, he hasn't tried hypnosis....I believe it is partly "in his head" as I think when he takes his hearing aids out....the absence of sound makes your mind manufacture sound.....Hearing people don't notice the sound....because we can hear and just ignore it. Maybe we all have it......

Bringing this thread back from the dead ~
I just did a search on Tinnitus and found there are different forms. Mine is caused by stress and it's called Somatic Tinnitus. After two days of dizziness and loud ringing (and some anxiety and crying) I found lots of research info on the web. I followed some directions on ear acupressure and it seems to have helped in diminishing the loud ringing. I also found that some people get tinnitus and have reduced it with magnesium to help the nerves in the ears and it also gives you an all around feeling of calmness. The more the better, you can't really overdose on magnesium - all you will get is the runs, and real good overall feeling of peace. ;P
So that's what I'm working on right now, exercise to help with circulation, ear acupressure and overdosing on magnesium (n/r). I'll write back in about a month with results - if I can remember to do so.

How do you do the ear acupressure? My husband would benefit from that maybe....

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Originally Posted by genie

How do you do the ear acupressure? My husband would benefit from that maybe....

The easiest way is to take your finger tip and rub behind the back of your earlobe where the bones are... there's a hollow point there. Push in the cartilage in front of the ear hole and rub the entire ear cartilage. For me it actually turned down the volume of the ringing.
I also take an generic antihistamine (drowsy formula) before bed - that helped me because I suffer from allergies. I also suffer from food allergies and since I've stopped eating wheat products the ringing has be tolerable. If your husband is taking any anti-depressants or other medication, do a web search to find out what drugs cause tinnitus, because a majority of them do. My Sister in Law's husband was taking anti-depressants and was under considerable stress. He stopped the medication and in a week the tinnitus was gone.

Thanks for the info Jasani....maybe this can help him!