An Operation to Make Deaf? Would It Cure Tinnitus?

I understand that for some people tinnitus is very loud and severe, driving them to the brink and even contemplating their life.

If tinnitus is that bad for a very minute percentage of us. Is there not an operation that could be done to make the sufferer completely deaf?

 

Making a person deaf wouldn't stop the tinnitus Hardwell, because the tinnitus is coming from the brain, so the T would still be heard, louder infact, making a person deaf would make matters worse as their would be no external sounds to provide sound enrichment.

 

Hi Hardwell.
My tinnitus is so sever and never stops at all.
If I were to have my nerves cut and made deaf I could still have tinnitus.
I rely on my duel purpose hearing aids to give me slight releaf taking the edge off my tinnitus .
Menieres is progressive and my hearing will deteriorate over time but my tinnitus I'm told will stay...lots of love glynis

 

Okay thank you @Michael Leigh I feel kind of stupid for asking now, but I'm happy I'm now more the wiser

 

Hardwell, I have had tinnitus many years. When I first had it I thought if a person were deaf they wouldn't hear the tinnitus untill someone informed me that wasn't so. We learn from each other no need to feel stupid.

 

@glynis you truly are a remarkable person, you deserve so much credit and appreciation.

The fact you suffer with what sounds like an extremely bad case of T and yet you're able to spread positivity and make all us 'newbies' who have it about 1/5th as bad as you feel better about ourselves is extraordinary.

I take my hat of to you!

Much love and respect, Callum

 

@Michael Leigh I've learned so much more about T on this site than any doctor has taught me. Also knowing I'm not the only person going though it has made my condition so much easier to deal with

 

Indeed Callum, Glynis is a very special person that has a will power, determination and positivity which is an example for many to follow. Michael

 

Hi @Hardwell,
Thank you so much for your kind words and I will always be around to help others .
This is a lovely forum and everyone is truly remarkable here giving support to each other and a lovely tinnitus family.
We are all only a click away and as its world wide their is always someone around....
Nice picture of you Callum...lots of love glynis

 

Hi @Michael Leigh ,
Thank you also for your very kind words...lots of love glynis

 

I can't thank you or anyone else on this forum enough! I wish there was a global annual meet, I would attend without a doubt. In honour of all this positivy ive just taken a photo of myself being a pirate. After a long stressful day it's important to unwind

 

Doctors and healthcare providers that work in ENT are very important to us Callum as they know all about the anatomy of the ear. However, the majority of them have never experienced intrusive tinnitus.
Michael

 

@Hardwell ,
Love the photo and made me smile,
You would make a great SantaClause....lots of love glynis

 

@Michael Leigh Yes I don't doubt ENT's importance to us, I was referring more to the gps I've seen. Well one in particular who just told me there's nothing that can be done and made no effort to identify a cause.

@glynis I may just be Santa Clause hahahah

 

Many GPs react in the same way Callum and say: "nothing can be done, you'll have to learn to live with it". Some have a better bedside manner though.
Michael

 

I completely agree with you Michael, I was just about to privately book a good ENT that was £220 an hour, but after a bit of research I've realised I share a lot of similarities with tmj induced tinnitus, So I'm going to explore that first. @Michael Leigh

 

If you live in the UK Callum, I assure you that paying for private consultation or treatment for tinnitus in my opinion is a complete waste of money. The private practice will have posh furniture and all the rest that goes with it. A consultant with a silky smooth voice that will reasure that they can make you better. After they've won your confidence and extracted as much money as possible out of you. They'll tell you nothing can be done go to the NHS. The NHS will provide you with the best treatment for tinnitus that no private practice can match! For the simple reason is this: In many cases tinnitus can be a long term treatment, most normal people cannot afford to pay. I have been under the NHS for 20 years and have had very good treatment for my tinnitus.

Many years ago when I first got tinnitus, I asked my GP if he could recommend a private practice that would help me. He said: "You will get the best help and long term after care under the NHS". And he wasn't wrong.
Save your money and thank your lucky stars for the help that you're going to get now and in the future if you need it.
Michael

 

Ahh I live in Bristol Michael which I'm sure you'll agree has the best football team in the championship haha, thank you for the words of wisdom Michael. I'll make sure those money robbing thieves don't get a penny off of me! @Michael Leigh

 

lol....Callum. I know Brighton has it's own football team the Seagulls. But I'm a newbie and only been living here 1.5 years. I'm a Londoner born and bred, but becoming a Brightionian pretty fast...lol. Sadly, there are a lot of con-artists, charlatans and thieves out their Callum, just waiting to take your money. They feed of people's misery and are driven by greed.
Michael

 

Brighton are actually unbeaten and top of the league, there's a banter page on Facebook that has 13000 members from all teams from that league on the page, I'd recommend joining it if you're interested in learning more about football. It certainly is sad Michael that people feel it's acceptable to make money of off people who are going through such a hard time, luckily there's support forums like this one on the web and people like yourself to help us all @Michael Leigh

 

Thanks for the tip about joining the football forum Callum but it's not something I follow. However, I do watch the big games cup finals etc.

Unfortunately, wherever there's money to be made. Decency, ethics, scruples, and to be honourable to one's fellow human being often goes out of the window. Thankfully not everyone is like that but you just have to be on your guard. Nice talking to you but have to go, so please excuse me.
All the best
Michael

 

If you watch the Dr. Sedley interview I posted, he talks about cutting the auditory nerve. In some people, the tinnitus actually does go away completely. However, there is no way to know whether or not this will be the case, and it's therefore not even worth the attempt. This condition is just so complex.

It really is best to try and live a positive life with the disorder! Easy to say, I know, but Glynis is living proof that it's more than possible! And she's doing it KNOWING her hearing is getting worse. What an absolute inspiration. Really incredible woman. Cheers.

 

It's been a pleasure talking to you @Michael Leigh and I'm grateful for all the advice you have given me tonight, farewell and I'm sure we'll talk again in the future. Callum,

@Lloyd Carter ill be sure to watch that video now, if I'm being honest while I'm currently going though a spike my tinnitus hasn't bothered me much even though it's constant and I've had no breaks from it as of yet but I've only been a victim for under two months. I wonder if you can help me with a question Lloyd, all though not at all certain .. My tinnitus is looking to be tmj induced so why have I surcome to a noise induced spike?

 

It doesn't matter what your T originally comes from--ear infection, noise trauma, cold, TMJ, drugs--noise above 85db (8 hours at 85db, 4 hours at 88db, 2 hours at 91db and so on...) can always make it worse. Hoping your T comes back to baseline, though!

We understand the relationship between TMJ and T even less than we understand T itself! A lot of this symptom is just mysterious... best to protect your ears (ONLY in unsafe environments) and enjoy life regardless of the ringing!

 

While it seems like a dumbass question @Hardwell asked I am not convinced ALL tinnitus is in the brain. My left ear is a higher pitch than my right ear. When I block my ear with my ear lobe the whine becomes louder just like putting one ear on a pillow. So how would that make it a brain thing? I am not convinced it's not signals sent from oscillating cochlea hairs. On the other hand I'm all in agreeance it has to be faulty neurons or chemicals. I have not concluded either is correct......

Just for interest my right ear also can vibrate which makes an additional noise. No joke I can do a polite type of single hand clap and for less than a second the noise disappears then comes back 'on'. This is so weird. Hope one day it goes for good but it happens less now than months ago.

* by the way my tinnitus is noise induced from a single gig. Walked in fine. Walked out with a ring with hearing threshold shift and have a ringing that has never left me but has changed around during the time since.

 

@Lloyd Carter thats good information to know, thank you for your support. I see no reason why it won't return to Base level as this is my first spike, I kind of feel lucky that there's potentially an underlying cause that's caused my T that can be managed/fixed either diminishing or even getting rid of the T, whatever the cause or whatever the outcome I'm more than prepared.

I completely agree with you @Dave AUS my tinnitus was a very high pitched noise in my left ear but after a slightly loud noise exposure I'm experiencing a lower pitched/whirling sound in my right ear (hopefully temporary) I've found that ambient noise amplifys the noise in my right ear during my current spike, when before ambient noise used to mask my T. We're at the stage where us the sufferers know more about our condition than the medical professionals. May I ask first of all your name lol and how long you've been suffering with T?

 

Hi @Hardwell, looks like we got T on the same terrible day!!

Hopefully it will leave for us on the same day (and someday soon)

 

I hope so to my friend! And I see no logical reason why it can't, how are you coping with it pal?

 

I have good days and bad days...trying to cope with it and also trying to get into the AM101 trial...

 

No idea what the am101 trial is? Just when I started getting used to my tinnitus I had a spike so I'm having s bad days at the moment! But
I always say 'it could be worse' I'm ways here if you need to talk, I could do with some friends
Who share the same condition as me pal