Correlation Between Tinnitus and Eye Floaters?

Is there any evidence stating a correlation between tinnitus and eye floaters?

I had my first episode of floaters this Saturday.
I am 42 years old with some myopia.

There are several threads on Tinnitus Talk regarding people suffering from both floaters and tinnitus.

I wonder if it is just a coincidence? Or is there any logical explanation?

Thanks.

 

It is no coincidence, chronic exposure to repetitive noises can lead to a modification of the brain chemistry, including a very perceptible deregulation in the receptors present in the nucleus accumbens and therefore a substantial reduction in its size, those changes may (and usually do) include side-effects, most of which are imperceptible, others which can be or are.

Those changes may or may not be irreversible but would last so long as your tinnitus does (which is why we do not know if the changes revert back) one of those side effects can be floaters (floaters were always physically there, but it turns out the brain becomes less efficient at filtering those out), in extreme (and very rare) cases, visual snow can also be yet another side effect from those changes, though the likelihood of visual snow occurring is much higher when using specific anti-seizure/epilepsy medications (such as Trobalt) as these drugs induce visual snow on their own.

While visual snow is usually irreversible (hence why you should pay close attention to what medications you use), floaters, should they become persistent, are not, as there are surgical procedures that will permanently remove them, something you should undertake should floaters become negatively impactful on your quality of life.

 

I understand your point of view. It is likely to be the justification for a considerable part of the threads we see on the forum.
Basically, with Tinnitus our brain becomes ultra-sensitive on a permanent alert state.

However, in my case, the onset of floaters was sudden. I was on the beach with my 3y son when a small spider was in front of my right eye. I even tried multiple times to remove the little bastard.
I guess I had a posterior vitreous detachment. Fortunately I went to the hospital and everything is ok with the retina.

It puzzles me because according to statistics only 1 out of 10 persons suffers from Tinnitus. I guess the probability for symptomatic floaters, should be on the same magnitude, particularly on a 40year old range.

Suffering from both pathologies should be as rare as 1 out of 100 persons.....

 

It seems floaters are more likely to occur on myopic people...

There are also laser treatments for floaters considered to be safe but at the same time with a low rate of success.

 

This is interesting and seems credible:
Eating pineapple clears up eye floaters: Taiwanese study

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3712403

I had floaters but they have become much worse since tinnitus.

Perhaps taking a Vitamin C pill would help?

 

Yes, I had no floaters until my T worsened from Cvemp and Ecog. I got black ones in there now.

 

@Lilah -- So does Dr Christopher's Herbal Eye Formula Extract, 1 Fluid Ounce. The link will take you the Amazon comment section on this product. I did a search on the commnets, and came up with 8 separate ones which commented on what it did for their floaters.

I researched this product extensively many years ago, and used this Eyewash forumula for a while. It was amazing when I first started how clear things suddenly became. Sort of like getting used to a buggy windshield on the car, and then washing it at a filling station. It was really that dramatic.

At one time, I ran across a long list of testimonials by people who used this product. One of the more dramatic cases was by a man who was born blind, and had never experienced even a flicker of light coming into his vision. He found out about this product, and decided to give it a try. He did it daily for 6 months, and noticed absolutely nothing.

He was encouraged to try it for another six months, and within that timeframe, he began to experience flickers of light registering in his eyesight. So he continued on. As the months ticked by, he slowly began to experience more light; and then began to notice the outlines of images as they moved. And then those images began to come into focus. After a while, those images came into complete focus, and he ended up with 20/20 vision.

Apparently, a dysfunctional or compressed optic nerve was the cause of his blindness, and they credited the eye formula for "waking up" this optic nerve, resulting in his perfect vision. I suspect the cayenne pepper (yikes) in it could also have dramatically improved the circulation in the eye.

I've heard about onion juice and honey being put in the eye to dramtically bring down drug-resistant gluacoma pressure. -- I myself regularly put small amounts of DMSO in my eyes, which has signficantly improved my eye resiliency and function. -- DMSO has also been reported to completely dissolve cataracts, eliminating the need for cataract surgery.

Reviewing this is giving me some incentive to get back on this eyewash regimen [this product can also be used as eyedrops, which would be much more convenient]. -- Seems like whatever is good for the eyes is likely good for the ears, and vice versa. I haven't done this since my tinnitus started, so it may be worth a try. If it doesn't help my tinnitus, I at least know it would be good for my eyes. -- @Michael Leigh

 

I have had floaters ever since I can remember (at least since age 12, maybe earlier--I am currently 35). Especially in the right eye. In college (and to this day), I write only on green, blue, and some shades of yellow/gold paper. I wear sunglasses most of the time when outside (even a gray day is still a bit bright for me, which makes floaters show up more). A bright day with snow can be annoying, too. Custom backgrounds and adjusting the brightness down on electronic devices help as well. In some classrooms, I would wear sunglasses (with less tint) because the projector or powerpoint was too bright (and white).

For me/my case, I do not believe there is a link to the tinnitus, but who knows, maybe there is some minor correlation to being more susceptible.

Try not to focus in on the floaters (squinting to see their shape), even under less bright conditions, as I feel it might deteriorate your vision more (I guess anytime focusing on a light is probably not good ). My vision in the eye with more bothersome floaters has always been a little less compared to my other eye .

Interesting about the Herbal Eye formula. Maybe I will try that someday. For me, I would much rather eliminate the T, since I have had floaters for many years. However, I remember when I was young and first had the floaters, no one knew what I was complaining about. It was frustrating.

Wearing sunglasses and making some adjustments lets you notice floaters a lot less. I ignore them and am successful most of the time. My desk is black, etc, and I do not like white walls in my house. Beige, tan is usually ok (or I am used to it since few homes have dark walls).

Also, I use Sony Digital Paper (the more recent version 2, large 13" edition) for reading PDFs. A good e-reader or similar to take away your eyestrain helps and that reduces the contrast minimized the ability to see floaters. Back-lit devices, like iPads, bother my eyes/floaters, so pay attention to what you buy. Of course, even with these devices you might be able to set a custom background or manipulate the brightness and have custom color scheme.

Like I said, I have had floaters for many years, so these choices are pretty easy/routine for me. I think overall my eye health is fairly good, as I have learned to protect my eyes with less bright screens and wearing sunglasses a lot.

Lastly, Smart TVs (or any digital TV, really) are set to a very high brightness for display in the store (usually 85-95 brightness), and this is the default state when you receive it at home, which is super bright. There are a few sites that can help you calibrate to a proper brightness/backlight for viewing. In a dark room, for my Toshiba Fire TV, I have the brightness/backlight between 22-27. In bright viewing conditions (sun shining in room, lots of lights on, 'darker broadcast') I only go up to a maximum around 58 on the backlight. Typical viewing for me is between 30-44 on the brightness.

 

Family Guy and Eye Floaters. I remember when this episode came out. I was like finally I am hearing about this in mainstream entertainment. Family Guy needs a similar Tinnitus episode (or please let me know if they have).

Family Guy Eye Floater

squiggly line stewie

 

Auditory system rewires and causes the thing that filters them out of your perception to malfunction.

 

Not sure about that, but who knows.

I do like this page on eye floaters from the Mayo Clinic:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-floaters/symptoms-causes/syc-20372346

If you have floaters, you have probably come across that page before, though.