Coming Into New Awareness

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself' started by PortalNaut, Mar 13, 2018.

    1. PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Coming into new awareness...of how ephemeral and delicate life is.

      Went to a shooting range Thursday afternoon and had ear protection but apparently not enough for a loud rifle shooting in the lane next me - the concussive blows physically moved me. Time was like 5:30pm. Next day had ringing and over the next week headaches in the front of my head also.

      Did a lot of reading that first weekend. Was hoping "it goes away" after 48 hours, but it did not. I created a scale for me, maybe not like others use, but T of 2-3 is pretty bad. 6-7 would wipe out conversation, and 10 draw blood I suppose.

      On Day 7 I called ENT for an appointment, and saw her on Day 8. She said treatment of a steroid in the first 30 days could be effective. But she sent me to an audiologist to be tested...which was on day 8. That afternoon (Friday pm) the test results were back and had some loss 6000-8000 in the right ear, but I discovered they test you to only 8000 Hz. So if there is damage above there, well, I need those hair cells to heal too.

      Unfortunately the test result didn't get faxed over due to reasons, so on Monday Day 11 the ENT got the report and saw me on Day 12 and prescribed, and by 1pm I was taking 60mg prednisone.

      I had cessation of ringing about 2 hours later, but it's been an up and down journey, some days noisy and some quiet (where T is no zero but 0.5)

      I still am on treatment of the prednisone.

      In the beginning, there was general static with some roving multiple high frequencies, like 8800, 9200, 10500. Maybe 6800. I have some audio editing skills, so I made some notch audio files and I also made some band pass files. Over the last weekend, when I was on day 5 or of the steroid I tried to give some stimulation of the hair cells to 5 seconds burst using a sweep generator from 5900-8900 up and down. I hope they respond, but at the same time I also don't want to overuse this.

      Yesterday I came to the realization the attempts to use sound files/tones for therapy etc were "just" ways for me to try to control something over which I really have no control.

      I am a praying person, but this change in life has increased time in prayer from once a day to 10-20 times day. I have also submitted prayer requests to certain groups or people.

      When I went to the audiologist I read on a survey that tinnitus could be so loud as to drown out conversations. Yesterday I used my decibel meter app (and I do have a real meter, but haven’t brought it out) and found quiet rooms etc (bedroom, bathrooms) would be about 40 decibels, but the kitchen with running refrigerator at 60db would drown out the T I have. So it’s the quiet rooms when it really shows up. So maybe 15-20db of sound? But 9000Hz is not a fun listening experience.

      I will post more later. Hoping for the best. I have found to listen for things BESIDES the ringing and to just plunge into life’s important activities is helpful so far.
       
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    2. billie48
      Sunshine

      billie48 Member Benefactor Ambassador Hall of Fame

      Location:
      Canada
      Tinnitus Since:
      03/2009
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      not sure
      Welcome to the forum. You are not alone there with needing to pray so often during the darkest time of T suffering. It is a trial of both body and soul when we get T. It is not all bad, lol. We can become closer to God when times are bad and we humble ourselves before the Lord and ask for help.

      That is really one of the best ways to deal with T by giving it as little time and attention as possible. Distraction is a powerful approach to weaken T's strangle hold on our brain so it will have some chance to habituate to T. If you continue on this way and remain positive about the future, your stress level will stay low and sooner or later habituation will happen. Take good care. God bless your recovery.
       
    3. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Thank you for the encouraement and support.

      As to the below above, somehow my fingers mistyped, so I will correct it

      It should be that I called ENT on Day 6, went to her on Day 7 and saw audiologist (and had report) on Day 8.

      To add to that, I had to convince myself to call at all, but figured better to do so than to kick myself 10 or 20 years out that I hadn't. I guess my hesitation was part denial and part shame or blaming self, or wanting to believe it wasn't necessary. But I'm glad I did and got seen by the people I did.

      Yes I wish I had the pills on day 8 and not day 12. Of course I have no idea if there would have been better resolution if I had started pills on say Tuesday Day5. However, if the basic idea is correct and some of these haircells can get and transmit stimulation it still may be that months need to go by. Of an "instant" generation I keep thinking 2 weeks and it ought to be done and okay now...
       
    4. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      So I'm beginning the Prednisone taper. I'm not sure where things stand about this noise going away. Again, I've had some good days and some bad days. The good ones, I can forget about it entirely, not notice it. The bad days, is like T1.5-2 but I was hopeful it would get to <1.0. For the most part the sounds like a radiator hissing or static. But if I try to detect the main frequency, it is up like 9600 or 9800. (Note my scale is not quite the scale I think used at his site, T2.5 is at least "moderate" (4-5).)

      In this 'repair' phase I've been hoping to have the hair cells come back to life. I discovered something that would reduce the noise problem a little. When trying to see what frequency the main resonance is, I would use sites like notchtherapy, or tinnitusnotch or szynalski.com or onlinetonegenerator.com and, for me, if I gave a it 1-2 second burst of the TONE - it would be like telling my brain "you don't have to generate this tone, you can hear it!" And on those bad days the T would go down by quarter or half or so.

      I'm not sure if in the weeks ahead I will have to switch to the "notch" kind of presentation.

      There have been some big insights though:
      -I have to drop 'predictions' and just take thing right NOW.
      -I have to drop my fantasies of how life is supposed to be

      Those are things I wasn't able to arrive out without this darn noise.
       
    5. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      So I am now past 4 weeks after the event and am off the prednisone. Overall, I think there is some hope and that the T is less than before. I’ve woken up with almost zero or T=0.1 the past three days, and mostly only had a high of T=1.0 or 1.5 (on my scale) lately. Even with some hope I have to keep to the two insights above and not “make predictions.”

      Note: I can maybe numerically describe what 1.0 and 2.0 are like. In quiet rooms, ambient decibels are like 30-40, and if I go into the kitchen when the refrigerator is running and measure the sound level, the ambient is about 60db. If that is sufficient to mask the T, then that is my 1.0 level. In a noisy coffee shop, the ambient decibels are in the 70’s, and if that is necessary to mask the T, then my T is like 2.0. Other noes: Quiet rooms, are where the T shines of course, but I have been able to have low enough levels to read comfortably in bed the last few nights. When it's quiet it sounds like light static rather than a particular whine. Also, I’ve been in places where the ambient decibels are 80-90 and sometimes I can hear an elevated T at times, but it seems to subside when I’m out of the noisy place, or after I give some audio therapy (bel0w).


      THEORY I’M USING
      Midway through my treatment I came across the following paper from Bao, at Berkeley, and decided that I want to provide sounds to my ear cells so that they have a chance of generating outputs to my audio system

      http://news.berkeley.edu/2011/09/12/tinnitus-discovery-could-lead-to-new-ways-to-stop-the-ringing/

      One of the main things I do for audio treatment now that I’m off the medicine, is to use a tone generator and then slide back and forth between say 6-8000, or 8-10000, or 10-12000Hz. Earlier on when I discovered the various notch websites, I noticed when I played the T “frequency” for a few seconds my brain and T seemed to like it. So iow, in addition to he Bao article, not notching but stimulating near the frequencies which may have been affected by the original noise exposure is what I’ve taken as a goal.



      BIRDS
      I have quite a few good experiences with birds near my window. One morning a bird was near my bedroom window and in my groggy state I heard like a command “HEAR the bird!” And so I listened. Later that day, 2 birds came by office windows and also sang and chirped.

      Then on a rainy day, when birds should not be about, one again came near my desk window and I was able to use a audio tone generator and find the bird’s main frequency was at 7800Hz, which is near my HL.

      So since then I’ve found some good youtube videos, including the ones below, but I always take time to her the real birds in my environment



      My favorite:

      Sounds of Nature: Bird Songs (No Music) 30 min

      Sounds of Nature: Bird Songs (No Music) 30 min



      This one has high sounding triangles or bells, and at times is at the edge of comfort, but good at a low volume. Also has thunder, crickets etc.
      Best Tinnitus Sound Therapy Ever

      Best Tinnitus Sound Therapy Ever


      8 Hours Tinnitus Music with Flute,Water and...

      8 Hours Tinnitus Music with Flute,Water and Birds sound for Tinnitus Therapy
       
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    6. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      SUMMARY
      3 days good in a row good, with Scale 1 or less (so covered up by 60db refrigerator) and then one day of T 1.5 through the whole day.

      Reminds me I have to take it just one day at a time.


      EARBUDS
      Ironically, discovered my earbuds didn’t put out proper sound on the right, so bought a bunch and tested them, and selected a nice pair that was the most accurate I feel. In this process I used ear buds, at low volume, to play (test) some of my favorite music, and it was quite enjoyable. I know there are warnings here not it use them, but for my case I think I could stand it. I want some solution so in case I need to use some audio therapy I can do so without disturbing people nearby.


      COFFEE
      Doesn’t seem to bother me. I did cut back to some half-cafs for several days in a row, but I’ve gone back to overall 4 cups a day of the regular.


      ALCOHOL
      I am a low volume drinker, like 3 oz wine/week. But with the stress and extra work my mind is doing with T, I have taken to having sometimes 1 beer a night. And to me, it seems like the T goes down. So, as long as that’s the pattern and I keep this under control I will have something now and then when I feel I need some ‘adjustment.’


      FREQUENCIES
      When the T is really low volume, it is just seems like a low volume static. But when louder, seems like the buzz of cicadas. I have noticed the main frequency of the T shifted a little higher, like to 10kHz, and for that day, using sounds like 10l-12k or 13k seemed to help. This changes day to day. And roughly, audio tones of 9-13kHz is the sweet spot.


      B12
      I am taking but I don’t think it will do much.


      NEW TREATMENT
      I have decided to self-medicate a certain way having had several inspirations. It is something I take, let’s 3x per day. I think it helps but I will proceed and not give details until the end and be able to tell people results. That way there aren’t people wasting their time if it doesn’t pan out.


      TOILET LID
      I have found a horrible noise in the house when throwing the lid (plastic) up again the tank (porcelain), or letting it drop. I now have a frequency analyzer, so I plugged my ears and reproduced this, and this what I found. Yep it’s loud A quiet bathroom which I was in started at 40DB and then when the lid drop produced a 100db noise. The frequencies are solid, like white noise right up to 20,000 Hz. It was just as bad as I surmised. You better believe I've been careful lowering the lid! Also, to note, when frying an egg in the kitchen, I capture a loud pop from some oil popping, and it was 90db.


      CHURCH MUSIC
      I went to church for Easter on Saturday and managed to be outside for most of the music. I know they run the music at 100db, and it is really too loud, but particularly for people like me with ears that are trying to recover. So I use plugs or stop the ears up with some kleenex. (I don’t feel I need silence, but a 15-20db drop would be fine.) As it turns out they had 2 songs near the end at strange times and I wasn’t ready with the plugs and listened through a quiet one, and part of another. But I think over the next 48 hours my eras are complaining.

      Note, I also used my frequency analyzer app, and the subwoofers are putting out a ton of loud (high decibel) bass at say 60Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz etc, and while those are levels I can’t really hear, my body, and cranium must be aware of them

      I would have more to say about loud church music but will save it for another time.
       
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    7. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Another week has passed and there are mixtures of good days and less-good days, but they are bearable.

      I still use audio therapy of playing frequencies near the T. Example: if the T is quiet and then flares up a bit, I can play some sounds for 5-10 seconds, maybe several times, and the T will dissipate. to a large degree.

      For that, I found a really good Iphone app, called Sonic (search: sonic tone generator) by Von Bruno. It has an orange app logo. With it, I routinely play frequencies up and down in the 10-12kHz range, running my finger up and down pretty fast. Also 6-8000Hz depending on what feels right.

      I am continuing my other treatment, and will report on that later.

      Oh yes, this weekend I was at a kids party and a little girl screeched and was 6 feet from me and I felt it was hurting my ear a bit, so I ducked away. Over the next several minutes she screeched some more. I decided to measure what I could and elected not to use the decibel meter app, and she was further away anyway, but I used my frequency analyzer app....and her main noise was centered around 7600Hz. Hmmmmm (similar to my deficit....). I think the initial 'blast' when she was close was a decibel issue. It's easy to go above 90db.
       
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    8. Pleasure_Paulie

      Pleasure_Paulie Member

      Location:
      Australia
      Tinnitus Since:
      06/2016
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise or maybe... unicorns!
      Hyperacusis is extremely common, including ear pressure and pain in the ear with the onset of Tinnitus. That subsides for most people. I recall when I first got tinnitus, a child was playing basketball on a court near me and the ball bouncing was extremely painful!
       
    9. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      @Pleasure_Paulie , Thanks for that, I suppose I could have some H. Wasn't sure if it in general my reaction was just me protecting my ear or sensitivity. This morning someone is using a chainsaw to take out a tree stump, and it is unpleasant, different from before my hearing problem. Hopefully in time this will heal.
       
    10. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Just another weekly update. Had some good days and some bad. Also some days where the T is variable and some parts of the day it is quiet and some it is loud.

      On bad days, the high pitch is very evident and 'bothersome.' When it acts up, I do play frequencies up at 10-12Khz or down at 5-7kHz and it helps for a few minutes. And then if I can forget about it for a bit while being busy, my awareness of it seems to fade.

      Right now it is quieter and sounds like static with a slight variable high-pitch noise that moves back and forth every second or so. On my scale where if the T can be hidden by a running refrigerator (which I have measured the room at 60db) is a 1.0, it is less. So fairly tolerable.

      As a note, if it's in the evening and the T is loud, I might elect to have one beer with dinner and that seems to quiet it down. Perhaps placebo, but whatever.

      I am still reminded...
      ....... of taking one day at a time, and to
      ....... appreciate the day for what it offers. and that,
      ....... we aren't guaranteed anything really, and so
      ....... make life happen and live meaningfully. Hard on a bad T day, but persevering is something in its own right.

      Also to note, birds come by the window less now, but I still appreciate them
       
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    11. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Next report: Had quite a few good days last week, but then a change happened for the worse.

      I had decided to get and take NAC. Had read some good things about it, and an alleged military usage for people who just had noise trauma. I got 600mg capsules and took one in the morning one in the evening. Of the 7 doses I took, only the first 2 had no or lower T, and next 5 had noticeably higher T...within 2o minutes. At first I could just justify the noise by thinking some nerves might be coming back to life etc, but after 3 days...I cannot countenance it within myself, and have ceased taking it.

      In my research about NAC hurting T, I did indeed find some people say it increased their T, found one double blind study which said "no improvement" with it, and two spec pages (in German and in Spanish) which said a side effect of NAC was tinnitus. Some people say they take it for prevention or for non-T purposes, and God bless all who take it, but it doesn't seem like it's for me.

      1.5 days now without, and the T is much lower volume.

      After stopping the NAC, one day I spent 3hours+ listening to music and measuring frequencies (youtube rarely has frequencies above 13kHz on my pc (but I did find some)) figuring I don't have to solely poke my ear nerves with single frequencies or sweeps. That night and the next day, I found I could hear much higher frequencies up into the 12kHz range maybe into the 13's. Which is amazing.

      Beer is still lowering T in the evening if it is up when I get home. Odd, but also perhaps true (for me). I noticed a poll on TT where 1/3 reported alcohol made T worse, 1/3 no affect and 1/3 said it improved it.
       
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    12. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Another weekly update...and things are different and somewhat better. While I had a mix of good days and bad ones, there have been 3 nights when I went to bed and the T sound was like a very quiet sizzle or almost gone.

      I also had a day where in the morning the T seemed like level 1.5 (louder than my running refrigerator) and basically during the day it was very noticeable, yet that night ended on a very quiet note.

      Another development, is my hearing range seems to have expanded. I used to have a max hearable frequency of about 12kHz, but now I can hear into the 13's and sometimes in 14! So with that I have decide to use frequencies in the 11-3 and 13-15 range and keep trying to push it higher.

      Also, in the last 2 days when I have a ringing T sound it seems to be at a higher frequent; instead of like 9.5 or 10.0 or 10.5 KHz, one day it was up at 11.8kHz. I think this is a good sign also. Note: I can hit whatever frequency with audio at that frequency and listen for 5-10 seconds and have the T go away for a bit, so that is part of what I do. But also I am looking for more "complete spectrums" so I'll put some notes below on this topic.

      I have also found a good youtube video with nigher frequencies, and I'll show that if uploading some graphs below.

      Now NOTE: Not everyone will want high frequencies, but for me I am trying to exercise my ear's hair cells.

      Bell melody for tinnitus - random background noise
      Code:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_LRAI3GkOs
      and here is a great site to loop it at I found, where you can put the link (of the v...suffix) as follows:
      https://loopvideos.com/a_LRAI3GkOs


      Hear are some graphs of the frequencies in play:


      Bell melody for tinnitus - random background noise
      Code:
      Bell melody for tinnitus - random background noise
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_LRAI3GkOs
      Bell melody for tinnitus - random background noise

      Bell Melody - and note the spikes traverse around as the different sounds occur:

      upload_2018-5-1_12-25-15.png


      A complaint of mine is that most of YouTube cuts off at about 11kHz,as below, so I went to find some more songs with complete spectrum, if that was possible. I suspect the uploaders, in combination with some of the transcoding of YT have some cut off in their codec.

      YT, typical:
      upload_2018-5-1_12-24-44.png


      Lindsey Sterling Shadows
      To me this is wonderful sounding. I've listened to it at least 2-3 tiumes a day.
      Code:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGCsyshUU-A
      Shadows - Lindsey Stirling (Original Song)
      
      Shadows - Lindsey Stirling (Original Song)


      upload_2018-5-1_12-28-37.png


      Here's another good one for full Spectrum with peakiness too
      Code:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKkzbbLYPuI
      Lindsey Stirling - Carol of the Bells
      
      Lindsey Stirling - Carol of the Bells

      Lindsey Stirling - Carol of the Bells
      upload_2018-5-1_12-30-49.png



      (And by the way that "Best Tinnitus Sound Therapy Ever" above also has good high frequencies.
       
      Last edited: May 1, 2018
    13. New Guy
      Doh

      New Guy Member Benefactor

      Tinnitus Since:
      3/18
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced Hearing Loss
      @PortalNaut

      This is a great thread. It's great to see your progress and hear that you're noticing progress. That video of the woman playing the violin with her shadow is crazy. I wonder how she does that?

      Please keep this thread up. It's great to watch.
       
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    14. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Thanks @New Guy

      I'm still plugging away.

      Had a pretty good week, with at least 4 days where the sound was just a low level static or sizzle, with an occasional burst of ringing. But that may just be giving me false hope, enjoyable as it was. Because.... afterward I had a day of ringing again. Actually, before the ringing I had been sick for two days, and laid low. Took generic forms of Sudafed and Benadryl, and also Acetaminophen. I didn't look up those drugs toxicity or whatever, so I was thankful T noise was low...as I had just low static or slight T.

      In other tests, I was able to hear (at max volume) 14.6KHz. I don't know my neighbor hears, but usually I try not to "test" when people are around.
       
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    15. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      This condition is a tricky bastard. I had mostly good days when I was sick last weekend, and then also two quiet days and then T was back pretty loud. Then he went away for 34 days, and back again. *

      After I was sick 3 day when I took some otc medicines and T was quiet I wondered the affect of the medicines. I was thinking they were possibly bad for T and so I took them one at a time like 1-2 days after when I wasn't sick, and T did not increase. Nor lower.

      Youtube notes: I've listened to ones directed at Tinnitus sufferers and used my frequency analyzer on them. I saw some that cut off all the audio at 11KHz (like other yt vids), and also saw others with huge bulges (upward intensity) at frequencies the creator thinks would be helpful. Mostly I guess unless you use an analyzer you have to user your ears and judgement as to which might be good for you.

      Code:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yyx19ElHb3U
      Autonomic nerve adjustment music
      I can't read the Asian characters, but the audio has nice music with water and bird sounds.
      The frequency chart looks like Carol of the Bells above, with a bit more white noise.

      自律神経を整える音楽~【めまい・耳鳴り・不安感・恐怖・イライラ・食欲不振・不眠】ストレスにより...


      Good luck all.

      * Remind self: stick to the moment, and not make predictions.
       
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    16. New Guy
      Doh

      New Guy Member Benefactor

      Tinnitus Since:
      3/18
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced Hearing Loss
      I'm sorry your t came back. Remember as time passes your experiencing it less. Focus on that.
       
    17. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Thanks for the sympathy @New Guy .

      But only one bad day in 7 is somehow in a downtrend, I hope and pray. I'm not sure what affect my sick/cold spell had on this. Today, the 8th day, is a bit noisy but well... got to keep on keeping on.


      (just saw my post #15 says 34 days..it was supposed to be "3-4" days).
       
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    18. Lane

      Lane Member Hall of Fame

      Tinnitus Since:
      02/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Single 25 mg dose of (anticholinergic) drug Promethazine
      Just to mention, antihistamines in general are anticholinergic drugs and thus ototoxic. I've read one online account of a man taking just ONE dose of Benadryl, and has had tinnitus ever since (years).

      Thanks for your ongoing posts and updates!
       
    19. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Thanks for the info. Ironically I used to take a fair amount of Benadryl last year...without problem. This time around...could certainly be more complex. I was aware it might be considered bad for T (without looking these up), but my nose was running a lot! :eek:

      Now i have to look up anticholinergic! :rolleyes:
       
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    20. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      By the way, since the title of this thread is about New Awareness, I want to include a wise insight with thanks to @emmalee :

      We can't let our struggle become our identity, we are more than that.
       
    21. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Also, I love this offering, which I have on my refrigerator.

      BRvVMX2CEAArIrM.jpg
       
    22. Mystery Reader

      Mystery Reader Member

      Tinnitus Since:
      11/2017
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Still Under Investigation
      @PortalNaut
      What a great thread! Will keep up with your progress.

      Mystery Reader
       
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    23. Lane

      Lane Member Hall of Fame

      Tinnitus Since:
      02/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Single 25 mg dose of (anticholinergic) drug Promethazine
      Hi @PortalNaut,

      Here's a little head start for you: "inhibiting the physiological action of acetylcholine, especially as a neurotransmitter." -- My understanding is a cholinergic drug inhbits the action of acetylcholine by blocking acetylcholine receptors. wherever they may be in the body.

      We have tons of these receptors in our brain, nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract. But they're also present in our inner ears. My tinnitus started after taking just a single dose of an anti-nausea, anticholinergic drug called phenergen. So I'm extra vigilant about drugs these days that are anticholinergic.

      They've just recently discovered (noticed) that elderly people take on average about 2-3 drugs that are anti-cholinergic, and that there's a very direct correlation between levels of dementia and the number of these drugs that are being taken.

      I read one testimonial online about a woman who was given a transdermal anti-nausea, anticholinergic drug just before going out on a 2-week cruise vacation. She suffered serious cognitive and memory problems while on this trip, and four years later, has not recovered. It appears that generally speaking, we're better off not have our acetylcholine receptors blocked!​
       
    24. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      @Lane
      Do you have a goto site to check what is an anticholinergic? I get that these drugs that affect the synapses of our neurons/brain are not to be messed with lightly.
       
    25. Lane

      Lane Member Hall of Fame

      Tinnitus Since:
      02/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Single 25 mg dose of (anticholinergic) drug Promethazine
      Hi @PortalNaut, here you go. I'm happy to see you're interested in this, as it so far appears to me it's an important topic that's not well understood on this forum.

      The list below was from THIS ARTICLE:

      We have identified drugs with high, moderate and low anticholinergic (AC) action in brackets. The greater the AC activity the more worrisome the cognitive impact. The rankings are somewhat arbitrary and controversial since some research categorizes these drugs differently. This is our best assessment at this time. It may change as better research is conducted.
      • Amitriptyline (Elavil) [high AC activity]
      • Atropine [high AC activity]
      • Benztropine (Cogentin) [high AC activity]
      • Chlorpheniramine (Actifed, Allergy & Congestion Relief, Chlor-Trimeton, Codeprex, Efidac-24 Chlorpheniramine, etc.) [high AC activity]
      • Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) [high AC activity]
      • Clomipramine (Anafranil) [high AC activity]
      • Clozapine (Clozaril) [high AC activity]
      • Cyclobenzaprine (Amrix, Fexmid, Flexeril) [moderate AC activity]
      • Cyproheptadine (Periactin) [moderate AC activity]
      • Desipramine (Norpramin) [high AC activity]
      • Dexchlorpheniramine (Polaramine) [high AC activity]
      • Dicyclomine (Bentyl) [high AC activity]
      • Diphenhydramine (Advil PM, Aleve PM, Bayer PM, Benadryl, Excedrin PM, Nytol, Simply Sleep, Sominex, Tylenol PM, Unisom, etc.) [high AC activity]
      • Doxepin (Adapin, Silenor, Sinequan) [high AC activity]
      • Fesoterodine (Toviaz) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Hydroxyzine (Atarax, Vistaril) [high AC activity]
      • Hyoscyamine (Anaspaz, Levbid, Levsin, Levsinex, NuLev) [high AC activity]
      • Imipramine (Tofranil) [high AC activity]
      • Meclizine (Antivert, Bonine) [high AC activity]
      • Mepenzolate (Cantil) [high AC activity]
      • Nortriptyline (Pamelor) [high AC activity]
      • Olanzapine (Zyprexa) [high AC activity]
      • Orphenadrine (Norflex) [high AC activity]
      • Oxybutynin (Ditropan, Oxytrol) [high AC activity]
      • Paroxetine (Brisdelle, Paxil) [low AC activity]
      • Perphenazine (Trilafon) [high AC activity]
      • Prochlorperazine (Compazine) [moderate AC activity]
      • Promethazine (Phenergan) [high AC activity]
      • Protriptyline (Vivactil) [high AC activity]
      • Pseudoephedrine HCl/Triprolidine HCl (Aprodine) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Scopolamine (Transderm Scop) [high AC activity]
      • Thioridazine (Mellaril) [high AC activity]
      • Tolterodine (Detrol) [high AC activity]
      • Trifluoperazine (Stelazine) [high AC activity]
      • Trimipramine (Surmontil) [high AC activity]
      Other Drugs that May Have Some Anticholinergic Activity
      • Alprazolam (Xanax) [low AC activity]
      • Amantadine (Symmetrel) [low AC activity]
      • Baclofen [moderate AC activity]
      • Brompheniramine [high AC activity]
      • Carbamazepine (Tegretol) [moderate AC activity]
      • Carbinoxamine (Arbinoxa) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Carisoprodol (Soma) [moderate AC activity]
      • Cetirizine (Zyrtec) [moderate AC activity]
      • Cimetidine (Tagamet) [moderate AC activity]
      • Clemastine (Tavist) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Clidinium & chlordiazepoxide (Librax) [low to moderate AC activity]
      • Clorazepate (Tranxene) [low AC activity]
      • Codeine [low AC activity]
      • Colchicine [low AC activity]
      • Darifenacin (Enablex) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Digoxin (Lanoxicaps, Lanoxin) [low AC activity]
      • Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine, Gravol, etc) [high AC activity]
      • Diphenoxylate plus atropine (Lomotil) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Disopyramide (Norpace) [low to moderate AC activity]
      • Flavoxate (Urispas) [moderate AC activity]
      • Fluphenazine (Prolixin) [moderate AC activity]
      • Furosemide (Lasix) [low AC activity]
      • Hydrochlorothiazide (Esidrix, Dyazide, HydroDIURIL, Maxzide & literally scores of other medications for high blood pressure) [low AC activity]
      • Loperamide (Imodium) [moderate AC activity]
      • Loratadine (Alavert, Claritin) [moderate AC activity]
      • Loxapine (Loxitane) [moderate AC activity]
      • Maprotiline [low to moderate AC activity]
      • Meperidine (Demerol) [moderate AC activity]
      • Methocarbamol (Robaxin) [moderate AC activity]
      • Methotrimeprazine (Nozinan) [moderate AC activity]
      • Nifedipine (Adalat, Procardia) [low AC activity]
      • Olanzapine (Zyprexa) [moderate AC activity]
      • Orphenadrine (Norflex) [moderate AC activity]
      • Quetiapine (Seroquel) [moderate AC activity]
      • Procyclidine (Kemadrin) [moderate AC activity]
      • Propantheline (Pro-Banthine) [moderate to high AC activity]
      • Ranitidine (Zantac) [low AC activity]
      • Solifenacin (VESIcare) [low to moderate AC activity; more research necessary]
      • Thiothixene (Navane) [high AC activity]
      • Tizanidine (Zanaflex) [high AC activity]
      • Tramadol (Ultram) [low AC activity]
      • Trihexyphenidyl (Artane) [high AC activity]
      • Trospium (Sanctura, Spasmex) [high AC activity]
      Here's a graph from a different website...

      Screen%20Shot%202017-07-07%20at%2010.01.53%20AM.png
       
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    26. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Thank you @Lane, I love a resource. And we all make each other better. This condition (T) needs publicity before one gets it, but gathering the info is a step to eventual warning. Someone who reads this may save someone else. And also, like you were doing by helping me, may also reduce further suffering for one with T.

      Thank you again.
       
      • Like Like x 1
    27. emmalee
      No Mood

      emmalee Member Benefactor Hall of Fame

      Tinnitus Since:
      03/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      ?
      I love this thread @PortalNaut, thank-you for starting it. The videos that you posted are wonderful, I just listened to all of them. A lovely way to start my day.

      ~emmalee
       
    28. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      Thanks @emmalee . You know you reminded me of something about Lindsey Sterling and a couple of the videos above.

      I only came across her a few years ago (2015?) from the following Motivational video. And then I didn't think about her music until these last few months with this T. Now...she has many videos with over 100M views, adding up into the billions.

      Since I really like the following video (the one from 2015), I am posting it. It may or may not help anyone with T directly. I understand while belief in a thing or outcome is no guarantee, nonetheless our mindset and approach...of acceptance or attack or of learning or of reframing can enable us to do more than we think we can in our worst moments. So please indulge me while I post this. :cool: Also, you can see Ms Sterling as she opens the segment below, and then you can see her later around 5:40.

      Code:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPQ1budJRIQ&feature=youtu.be&t=118
      PROVE THEM WRONG - Motivational Video
      
      I can't get the html code to embed correctly, so please watch the below video beginning at 1:58

      PROVE THEM WRONG - Motivational Video
       
      Last edited: May 19, 2018
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    29. AUTHOR
      AUTHOR
      PortalNaut

      PortalNaut Member

      Location:
      USA
      Tinnitus Since:
      Late 2/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      Noise Induced
      So had a pretty good week, with T being sometimes a low sizzle, or just low volume eeee. But I did have a scary (and strange) event, but somehow weathered that. Mid week, actually late Thursday I came out of a store maybe 4:45pm and got in my car, drove for about 10 seconds with the radio on at medium volume when there was a sudden POP in my right ear and an immediate loud tea-kettle eeee T ringing. The T was very much on the right side of my head - all other times, T is centered in my head, or maybe "both ears", this was clearly 80% to the right side. The volume quadrupled at least from what it had been a moment before. And...the audio quality of my hearing in the right ear was quite a bit poorer too.

      I took some medicine, played some audio frequencies, and then continued on my way, concerned. That night I had to attend a conference with about 200 people and a pa system, and actually by then my hearing and T didn't seem so bad. And by next morning I woke to quiet T. As to the hearing quality, though I feared it being bad for about an hour Thursday it somehow must have come back.

      Then I had 2-3 days of quiet T.

      What could have happened? Was it possibly related to being sick a week+ ago, and a E tube needed clearing? What a terrible thing if so. I know I've popped my ears about twice a week in the last few months, so it's a little weird but maybe. I had had very few signs of any holdover from being sick, but did cough up something small that day or the next (and hadn't' for a week). And strangely, today, 4 days later I coughed something small up again.

      It's also bothersome to think that T can roar back so easily.

      On another note, I measured the frequency of my T and have heard 13k and 13.2 kHz. Quite different from 8k etc of the early days.
       
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    30. emmalee
      No Mood

      emmalee Member Benefactor Hall of Fame

      Tinnitus Since:
      03/2018
      Cause of Tinnitus:
      ?
      This video had me fighting back tears at moments, @PortalNaut. I have been a bit of an emotional wreck the past couple of days or so and this certainly had something to do with those tears, also.

      The young boy and ballet dancer (Misty Copeland, she's awesome) struck a chord for sure, but Lindsey Stirling, wow, such a magnificent talent. There is much to be learned from those who continue to fight the good fight.

      Words can be so very damaging, even more so than a physical blow.

      Thanks for the video, we all need to watch it.
       
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