Electrical Head Buzzing Tinnitus — What Has Helped YOU?

I've seen many posts on this and I wanted to start a thread so we can research this topic together. Also want to hear from anyone if anything has helped lessen this particular type of tinnitus or made it worse.

In my case, it follows a 3-day pattern - 1 day loud head buzzing, 1 day medium head buzzing, then 1 day with "ear only" tinnitus which is just a lighter white noise static sound.

For me, it's worse when I lay down however I must sleep to reset the pattern. For example, I can have a low or medium day, lie down for 15 minutes and the rest of the day will turn into a loud buzzing day. The fact that it alternates days tells me there is also a brain chemical turnover involved.

Q: Has anyone done anything or taken anything that reduces this specific electrical buzzing sensation? Benzos, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, dopamine promoters, etc. Please share anything that has worked for you or your ideas and theories on the topic.

 

Benzos will lower it a bit, listening to it (residual inhibition) helps a bit. Probably came about due to long-term stress/posture.

 

@Paul10 thanks. @JasonP also mentioned benzos have possibly lowered it for him. I'm currently on Klonopin 3/4 pill broken up over the course of the day. I have also tried a whole pill all at once on a loud day with no change. Which benzo have you noticed works - Xanax? Been thinking of trying that one instead.

 

Valium, give it a go, but it's not a longterm solution. I'm also on antiDs but I'm seriously considering giving them up because of worsening T. Could be unrelated. Catch-22 really.

 

Hi cal, Ron here been off my benzos 2 week's today very hard was on Lorazepam, they did not help with Taking it just in your mind because the anxiety goes away a little bit please try to get off I was on it for 22 months and just so hard but I must go on they give me a new pill Zoloft and I don't want to start taking it please get off of them

 

@Ron Robles sorry the benzos didn't help you. I'm aware of the dependency and withdrawal associated with them. I had to start taking it anyway because I had a reaction from Celexa called akathisia. I'm at 7 months with the klonopin right now and have no intention of getting off until I stabilize in some sense. I can't risk making the T worse at this point. Trust me, I hate being on it knowing that I'm dependent.

According to the Ashton manual for benzo withdrawal, they sometimes recommend a tricyclic antidepressant such as Nortriptyline vs the SSRIs. You may want to look into that as well if you're nervous about the Zoloft. But whatever you do with ADs, you should titrate up very slowly and start on the smallest dose - your body is in a state of hypersensitivity right now due to the withdrawal but you WILL get better.

What AD are you currently on and how long have you been on them when you noticed the T was getting worse?

 

Hi @glynis I saw in another thread that you mentioned Nortriptyline got rid of your "brain" type tinnitus and I wanted to see if had an electrical buzzing nature to it.

 

Hi @Gin I was reading some of your other posts and I wanted to invite you to this thread. I saw that you had buzzing head tinnitus and that you also mentioned you had recognized a pattern at one point - I'm very similar (see my first comment above). I haven't been diagnosed with anything because my T came on during a drug reaction so that seemed to be an obvious cause. I get a little dizzy sometimes but I don't seem to be a having "attacks". I do get the sudden blocked ear feeling that sometimes lasts even for a couple seconds - when this happens, I can hear the tinnitus shut off for a split second in that ear. Weird... I know you mentioned Lipo Flavanoids were helping you, do they seem to be helping you again? Sorry to bug you - thanks for your input as it's much appreciated!

 

Hi @Cal18.
My head tinnitus was really bad and felt like was all over my head aswell as ears and struggled to cope needing time off work.
I'm so glad it stopped it.
Love glynis
Not been on as we're all finding it hard at the moment xxx

 

Absolutely nothing works for me. I have this electric type of tinnitus. Buzzinghead, like it comes more from head, not my ears. I smoke medical marijuana, and use CBD oils, to cope with it and aid in sleep. It doesn't lower my tinnitus at all, but it helps me forget that I care about it and become more focused in other activities, along with helping with sleep. That and time to get used to the noise, though some days it's hard.

 

Sorry Cal about my input on benzos, just worried about all of us and to Julio I understand what you are saying and we all do need help believe me I have it pretty bad too I think I'm even starting to get vertigo with it I went to a chiropractor I think he started this vertigo I never had this feeling before just worried about all of us on this form Iam Sorry if I offended anybody talking about benzos but we do know it's bad once again Cal I am sorry and Julio you have the right to speak your mind God bless you all once again sorry

 

@Ron Robles No worries Ron, I know you're trying to help. I do hope you settle down from the withdrawal soon. If you have vertigo, you might have meniere's, not sure if you're currently looking into that as a possibility.

I felt like benzos helped me in the first month or so with that type of tinnitus but it took several days to kick in. I think with benzos (in some cases) you might need to take them for a couple weeks to get the positive effect. As I mentioned, I took a much bigger dose on a very loud day with no change at all.

The buzzing is my case is very bad but I'm lucky to have a day or two per week with "ear only" T. The buzzing is literally impossible to mask. If I do try to mask it, it's like I'm adding more noise to the mix instead of covering it up which just creates layers of chaos in my head and I need to retreat to a quite area. When I don't have buzzing, I can successfully mask with a loud fan or AC and TV. On buzzing days, I have bad reactive hyperacusis, then the next day, no buzzing or H. Makes no sense how these symptoms simply shut off and on from day to day.

Thoughts/Research:
This type of tinnitus seems to be very much nerve related especially since it can also arise from meniere's. I felt like it also seemed slightly better when I was taking a small dose of gabapentin however it seriously blurred my vision.

Fibromyalgia link: I also read that this is common with fibromyalgia so it might be plausible that fibro treatments might help (which to me, would include stem cell therapy). This is why I also keep circling back to tricyclic antidepressants.
Fibro buzzing: http://forums.webmd.com/3/fibromyalgia-exchange/forum/13837
http://ukfibromyalgia.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15809

 

Hi @Cal18 - you describe my symptoms exactly.

The buzzing is my case is very bad but I'm lucky to have a day or two per week with "ear only" T. The buzzing is literally impossible to mask. If I do try to mask it, it's like I'm adding more noise to the mix instead of covering it up which just creates layers of chaos in my head and I need to retreat to a quite area. When I don't have buzzing, I can successfully mask with a loud fan or AC and TV. On buzzing days, I have bad reactive hyperacusis, then the next day, no buzzing or H. Makes no sense how these symptoms simply shut off and on from day to day.​

I've tried a lot of things - wearable pink noise maskers, Betahistine, general masking, diet modifications - yet there is no consistent response to any of these. I have a noise-related hearing notch loss in my hyperacusis ear and put my problems down to that. The funny thing is that if I do nothing for a few days, simply watching quiet tv and going for peaceful walks etc, the hyperacusis buzzing drifts away. Almost immediately I start doing something creative and a bit mentally taxing it starts up again. I am lucky as I have retired and can take it easy when I need to, but I really wish I knew the cause. You are completely right when you say that it makes no sense.

 

@Redhen Thanks for the input. This is interesting. So in your case, it will amp up just with mental activity (not necessarily stress). There is almost a DEFINITE link to buzzing and H. It's like you're asking your brain to perform a certain activity and the neurons start firing - almost like they are getting confused. My career requires me to be artistic which is very difficult with this condition (as you already know). On a loud or medium day, my creativity is fully stumped which makes me more nervous and results in an increase of T.

Here's an interesting article regarding dopamine medications and creativity. I had mentioned in another thread that my T came about after a "dopamine blockage" due to a medication reaction. People with Parkinson's who were taking dopamine medications, noticed an increase of ease and production in artistic tasks. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4041074/

 

I have electrical head buzzing (brain T) for a year now. These weren't options in the vote so I'll put them here. I think the cause of mine was stress. The things that make it worse are movement (not head movements, but movement in the sense of driving/traveling) and stress. Sleep is the on/off switch. The first couple months was a 9/10. Then it lowered to a 7/8 and has stayed there. I get one good day a week when it stops.

 

Thanks @BLane. Everyone's is sounding very similar. Driving and being in the car definitely makes it worse for me. I wear shooting range muffs in the car (like a moron) but I still get effected. I can't tell if it's the noise or the vibration.

Something that helps keep it at bay is low level physical activity - walking. I notice I can get it to quiet down quicker in the morning if I get out of bed sooner instead of "forcing" myself to fall back to sleep. Immediately after waking, I walk around the house for about 10 minutes. It lowers the buzzing at least in the morning for a couple hours.

Sleep is definitely the on/off switch. You should try this one a low day... On a low day, I went to bed rather late and they work up very early (not by choice) around 4am. I noticed the buzzing had not fully kicked in yet but it was starting to as it was a scheduled "loud" day since the previous was low. Instead of staying in bed, I got up, walked around and forced myself to stay awake while either sitting or standing. The loud day become a low day and I had broken the cycle. If I laid down for even 5 minutes the buzzing would start - I was SO exhausted that day. The real test was what was going to happen the next day... did I skip the loud day or would it just pick up where things left off after I slept? Well, the following day was very loud.

I really get the sense that there is either a chemical depletion or excess that has to run it's course. For example, we could be having a burst of acetylcholine for several days (which can be activated by stress) and then after a few days, it depletes drastically resulting in a low day or exhaustion of fusiform cells. A good way to know if you have excess acetylcholine is your reaction to fish oil. If it tends to make your anxiety worse, this can be an indication.

Thoughts/Research:
If this is even half way true, L-Tyrosine might be beneficial as in can increase acetylcholinesterase which reduces extra acetylcholine which has been linked to T in some studies. Or, tricyclic ADs.

 

Yes, ear muffs or earplugs make no difference with mine. I've even tried the BOSE noise cancelling headphones to no affect. More than 20 minutes of motion, especially down the highway and mine goes beserk, BUT when I stop it does seem to calm down a bit. Short trips or running around town don't seem to affect it much. I think it may be more connected to vibration than noise. For example, if an AC units kicks on near me, it'll notch my brain T up, but music or television don't.

I've noticed the same thing with sleep. If I've had a good day I can force the brain T to stay off by not going to sleep. I've awoken early at times before it kicks on and kept it down that way too. But, I've still got to function. Can't be a walking zombie all the time. So I try to get good rest and deal with whatever the next day brings. Prior to T I enjoyed afternoon naps on the weekends. I stopped after T....but now I'm getting back to my weekend naps. It does increase my brain T, but dammit, I like my naps!! =) I also wonder if it speeds up the cycle to the next good day?

You could be onto something with your chemical depletion theory. Fish Oil is a new one for me, hadn't thought about that. I do take fish oil supplements. I'll take a break for a while and see if I notice anything. Several months ago, I thought it may be a dopamine deficiency, so I took a course of L-Tyrosine and 5-HTP, but noticed no difference in my brain T activity or mood.

My brain T is louder than people talking, but I've no problem falling asleep. I don't even use a masker anymore....not that it helped much. I think I'm so exhausted by the brain T at the end of the day that I just crash regardless. Regular ear T is nothing compared to brain T. If that's all I had to contend with, I would probably not even be on these forums.

I often think it could be nervous system related, but then I used to get motion sickness prior to T, but it went away after T which has got to be some sort of auditory malfunction. I dunno know, I'm no expert....neither are the doctors it seems. Let me know if you discover anything.

 

Wow, I can't believe how brain T can function so similarly for people. I'm amazed that you had the same outcome with the sleep deprivation test. I agree, I literally could not function that day due to the exhaustion but I wanted to test the theory. I also had the same thought in regards to naps. Maybe forcing the T be worse via napping on the loud days will exhaust the neurons quicker.

Did you start the fish oil before or after your buzzing T? Thanks again for your input, this info is really helping.

 

I started the fish oil after my buzzing T. Oddly enough, it did start while I was camping.....eating fish I had caught and cooked over the campfire. I still think it was probably stress related though.

I've also noticed that I'm more energetic....ermm....awake on days when my brain T is buzzing. When it shuts off for a day, I feel sluggish and tired all day.

 

I feel similar but on the day it shuts off I just feel "normal". I feel more amped on the buzzing days.

If you decide to break a on the fish oil, let me know how it goes. You can also try switching to an EPA fish oil vs DHA/EPA mixed. It is said the EPA is what causes the acetylcholine increase. http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/0...depression-or-anxiety-consider-acetylcholine/

 

Ive been in a bad way lately and find Diazepam( Valium ) does lower it somewhat. It has at least enabled me to get into work lately. Cant do that forever though.

 

@glynis hi I read you have “head T” I’ve been to every dr there is in the last 2 weeks (when it started) and no one can help me they all say it’s probably from anxiety (I have severe anxiety since I was 14) and keep trying to give me antidepressants! The neurologist told me it’s not “real tinnitus” since I hear it in my head, I feel like my head is going to explode I have this CONSTANT high pitched tea kettle like sound in my brain and it has not stopped or gotten better and it scares me, I was diagnosed with Viral Meningitis on 12/8, about 5 days after the spinal tap is when it started I got a blood patch in case it was from a CSF leak but they did nothing! I’m not sure what caused mine they had me taking meds that’s are on the list that cause it as well so I’m so confused, I do remember it started low and I began focusing on it and ever since then it’s been terribly loud. What helped yours? I am losing my mind and have 3 little kids so I need to get better and I am so scared I won’t and I can’t live like this

 

@Dginobile I know your question was meant for Glynis but I'll try to help if I can. Firstly, you do have "real" tinnitus. You'll see by reading many threads here that for some people it starts in the ears and moves to the "head" or maybe they have both, like myself. You are definitely not imagining it. If you're going to look to a doctor help or support, you probably need to find a different one who doesn't discredit you.

Exactly how long after the spinal tap did it start (do you suspect this is what caused it)? What were your symptoms leading up to the spinal tap?

Are you sensitive to sounds as well?

 

@Cal18 i think it was about 5 or 6 days after the spinal. I was super sensitive to sounds at first but that seems to be getting “a little” better. But I also feel a TON of pressure in the bridge of my nose and some pressure in my head on and off I had an MRI which showed “minimal” sinus infection in my ethnoid sinus’s but they claimed that it wasn’t enough to be causing the pressure I said I was having smh (the mri was before the ringing started) I’ve seen 3 Drs so far (not including the 7 ER visits) and each one of them acts like I’m making my symptoms up! It’s so frustrating

 

@Dginobile, my head tinnitus went away after taking Nortriptyline which I was put on to stop misfiring signals.

I had a spinal tap last year resulting in headaches, off balance and vertigo as it kicked off a mega Meniere's flare up even though I asked them before hand and the needle hit a nerve and could not feel my leg for days.

Love glynis x

 

@glynis they tried giving me amtriptyline (sorry for the spelling) but after my first dose it gave me a bad spike the following morning and made my anxiety worse so I haven’t taken it since and yes my legs from the knee down were heavy/numb after the blood patch.

 

Seems like you haven't had much luck with doctors. I tend to downplay my symptoms a bit and speak calmly - since we're already talking about something they don't really understand. Our symptoms can be diagnosed as anxiety because that's all they can see. Doctor's unfortunately don't seem to have too many answers or none of us would be suffering with this but a doctor may be of some help in locating the route cause if it is in fact sinus related. ...I also had a weird pressure in my right eye when all of this started, it may or may not have been sinus related.

The fact that your hyperacusis improved is a good sign so you might want to wait it out. If you do go the medication route, I wouldn't recommend benzos because they mostly seem to help with tonal tinnitus and can cause worsening tinnitus when you come off of them (I only mention this as doctors may want to prescribe these to you to help with anxiety). If you decide to try the Nortriptyline (what helped Glynis), proceed with caution and start on a very low dose and titrate up and please report back and let us know if it helped you - it may take a few weeks to feel any effects.

 

@Cal18 thank you, I have been taking Xanax here and there (my mom gave me a few I break them in half) when I need it most (when I start panicking about what happening) it’s the only thing that’s makes me feel like I can live at the moment. My Anxiety is VERY bad right now I have never taken meds for it until now

 

@Dginobile ,
I was on Amitriptyline for 12 years for pain management by the rheumatologist .
After doing so well and no pain I reduced them with my doctor but when came off them my tinnitus sky rocketed and wizzing round in my head and ears.
I could hardly walk or balance and head pain and got admitted into hospital for lots of tests.
MRI ,Angiography,CT scan,Spinal tap,balance tests and a lot more.
I also was on a strong 10mg sleeping tablet.
Tests were fine and my doctor put me on Nortriptyline and that stopped the head tinnitus but sadly not my ears due to Menieres and hearing loss.
To this day I have no head tinnitus.
Love glynis

 

@glynis i hear a high pitched constant tone in my head I wonder if it would help mine