Bad Luck or Karma?

hey, my Tinnitus is worse today so figured I should introduce myself, I'm Jack from England, I'm 25 and I have had T for around 3 weeks.. I should say I have been vegetarian/vegan for over 2 years and I have had ear issues in the past like having grommets put in my ears as a child..

I was travelling solo around Southeast Asia for 3 months, a Vietnamese friend recommended me this healing massage when I told her I was having groin discomfort and tingling, I'd had urine tests, blood tests and my prostate checked, all good so we both agreed it could be a nerve problem and she told me this massage could help.

full body massage including neck/jaw..

I had to get this massage everyday for 2 weeks and drink this herb medicine, on the 13th day after the massage I got to my room and I could hear a mild high pitched whistle sound in my left ear, 2 days later I was flying back to Europe, late flight so I slept upright on the plane, not sure for how long, after the flight I had a different noise in my right ear.

I've been back in England now for 2 or 3 weeks, it's sometimes hard to take, knowing that a massage caused me this Tinnitus, makes me think about life, bad luck, karma, everything happens for a reason etc.. all I can do now is research and see doctors, and hope my kind of T can go away, some Ts can go away depending on the cause..

Now I'm taking B12 supplement, I had 2 b12 injections while I was in Asia to be safe, Vitamin D3, Probiotics, and I'm working on what foods/ meals I should eat . I know Zinc and Magnesium is important for nerves, antioxidants etc..

PS. shortly after coming back home I was having headaches, neck and back pain, sore jaw etc.. so I saw a chiropractor in London 2 days ago and he said I had a misplaced or slipped vertebrae in my c-1 (atlas) in neck, and a problem with my lower back spine (sacrum) he adjusted my neck and lower back, pain in my has mostly gone but my T got worse, a new noise has come, could be Temporary, not sure...

 

Welcome to the forum. I have not read that a massage can cause T. Some chiropractic adjustments on the neck can cause T but a gentle body massage? It may yet cause your T but you also say you drink this herbal medicine. Will that cause your T if you have some allergic reaction to it? Anyway, there are many causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug reaction or side-effects, ear or Eustachian tube infection, ear drum injury, fluid build-up feeling pressured, TMJ, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma, neck muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's, barotrauma from flight, grief for the loss of love ones, untreated sleep apnea, elevated stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc.

For diet change, members often advice reducing intake of salt, sugar, MSG, caffeine, alcohol etc. One supplement often recommended is NAC, a powerful antioxidant.

 

The massage wasn't gentle, but not too rough, when I got back to England my neck, back and jaw was in some pain and discomfort, I went to a chiropractor in London 2 days ago, he looked at a lower back x ray I sent him and found a problem with my Sacrum ( I had a bike accident last December, most likely from that) and he found a problem with my c-1 (atlas) in my neck, a misplaced or slipped vertebrae I think, he adjusted my neck and lower back, my pain has reduced but my Tinnitus has got worse, he didn't take or see any neck x rays from me, but he has 20+ years of experience so I'm sure he knows what he's doing.. could be temporary, not sure at the moment..

 

Had a massage too 3 days before it started where she pulled my ear lobes down, another possibility to add to the list? Would she have damaged a bone @billie48

@Jack Thompson jaw issues and cranio issues can be related to T. In the beginning the sound was all over the place, there is more of a pattern now. Don't blame it on massage there was probably apredisposition

 

@Candy could be something to do with the neck muscles and nerves around the neck and ears, I don't know for sure what exactly caused my T, but my sound started around 30 minutes after the massage, and it was just 1 sound in my left ear, it wasn't all over the place, it kinda is now though after the flights and neck adjustment I needed to get, anyway its very early days for me still, but I'm determined to try and fix my problem.

 

@Jack Thompson With the onset of tinnitus many want to try and fix the problem Jack but be careful, as you can make matters a lot worse! This is why ENT Doctors like to leave the ears alone because things often improve by themselves. The ear is too delicate an organ to go messing around with. Believe me I and others here know.
Michael

 

@Michael Leigh I understand, I would be so so happy if my T went away on its own, as for the chiropractic adjustment, I simply had to get it done, I had a vertebrae problem in my neck and a lower back issue and I was in pain, I couldn't work, my T got a bit worse afterwards but its calmed down a bit now, I also hear though that the longer you leave T that is possibly curable the harder it is to cure, but I don't know, T is something that is hard to understand. All depends on what caused it I think.

 

@Jack Thompson . Many people that get tinnitus it goes a way by itself in the first 6 months to 1 year. After about 7 months then a person might have it long term. However, remember, that most people habituate to tinnitus withing the first 6 months and go on to lead perfectly normal lives because the brain is able to dismiss it as unimportant. As I said before, the worst thing that a person can do is to try and treat tinnitus themselves and have no idea of what they are doing. I can only give you the benefit of my experience and others here that have had tinnitus long term, I feel will share my views. When new to tinnitus leave it alone.
All the best
Michael

 

@Michael Leigh but isn't Tinnitus a symptom of a problem in the body ? so for T to go away you need to find out whats causing it and then treat the cause ? ie Tinnitus can be a symptom of TMJ, so you would treat the TMJ, and hopefully the T will go also, so doesn't it make sense that I should try and find out whats causing my T rather than doing nothing for 3- 6 months ?

 

Time is the greatest healer. We want to be cured of our problems pronto but the body especially the ears can take a long time to heal. I believe I made my T worse by drinking a herbal concoction which seemed to bring on humming in my right ear which was fine up until then. Others have taken drugs which may have created further problems for themselves eg eye problems. Keep yourself healthy, get plenty of rest. You are young. Your body has the capacity to heal itself without the extra stress put on it by faddy diets and drugs.

 

@Jack Thompson

I must agree with @billie48. To blame it simply on a series of massages might be a wrong approach to figuring out why you developed tinnitus. The herbal medicine has me a tad concerned as well as frequent flights. The cabin pressure from one flight to another varies, and if you had any unknown reaction to the herbs, a combination of things may have happened. As always I recommend you speak to your family doctor, audiologist and even a Ear Nose Throat specialist about everything. They may not be able to help you reduce or cure T but they may offer ideas and suggestions to better avoid things that trigger spikes. If it gets to the point it effects sleep and daily living, there are things they may suggest to help with those issues also.


Tinnitus sucks. No other words can describe it. I was happy to read you take probiotics as your digestive system is so very important in helping your body get the proper fuel to battle oncoming bugs etc. No matter what we eat and how healthy we try to eat, we still consume vasts amounts of processed and modified foods. They can lead to a higher count of bad bacteria in the digestive system and slowly lead to poorer health. I swear by my daily supplement of probiotics.

So in saying everything here, what may have caused your T or spikes in your T may never cause it in another person you know. We have a long way to go to really understand ALL the triggers. Some triggers of course make sense like loud environments, medication reactions, head trauma etc. Speak to your GP and get a referral to an ENT. Research as much as you can on Tinnitus as even your own family doctor may have lack of in depth knowledge on it. Think about everything you have done in the past, such as loud concerts or pubs, any possible accidents however mild that may have involved head trauma, drugs you may have entertained in your life, other sicknesses in the past. Do you grind your teeth at night or anytime? Are you stressed a lot? Suffer anxiety often? The more you look into yourself the more reasons may come for this onset of T.

I hope yours fades or even disappears. For many of us, it remains and is now a constant part of our lives. Best wishes and keep us all posted.

Mike

 

Tinnitus is a symptom of a problem in the body and exposure to loud noise is the most common cause of it. Usually it’s the cochlear in the inner ear that is affected and it sends the tinnitus signal to the upper regions of the brain known as the Limbic system.

I could go into this at length but haven’t got the time at the moment. The reason why your appointment is 3 months away and I personally believe this is too soon is, because the best treatment for tinnitus and the ear in the early stages of it is to leave it alone. Don’t try and fix anything or take any medications other than an anti-depressant if your GP suggests it, as tinnitus can make people feel very stressed.

I would prefer you to be seen at 6 months. There are many things that can cause tinnitus and rightly TMJ is one of them but you are best to leave it to the professionals at ENT, where you will get the help that you need. Hopefully, your tinnitus will calm down and eventually go away.

If you have read the post that I sent to you titled: Introduction to tinnitus, then I advise that you read it again and follow the advice such as buying a sound machine to use at night.
I wish you well.
All the best

Michael