From Dry Eye to Tinnitus

Hi all,

I've recently acquired tinnitus in my left ear. But before I talk about that, let me tell you about the other condition that affects my quality of life.

I've had chronic dry eye for over 5 years now, as a result of both contact lens and computer overuse. My dry eye started very mildly, but grew worse over the course of a couple years as an engineer. Eventually, I had to quit my job (and have not had an office job since then). For about the last 2 years, I've been seeing a corneal specialist on the east coast. With his help, I've gotten a lot better. However, in the last 3 months I've started feeling pain in my eyes for the first time. This, in my opinion, is a pretty big setback. I know there are things we can do for it and I remain optimistic for the future, but it's just disheartening to have taken many small steps forward and then a big step backward.

Regarding the tinnitus:
The tinnitus in my left ear may go back to August of this year, when I had ringing in my ears for a few days after being in the second row at a ZZ Top concert. I'm not sure if the ringing actually went away, or if it just got so quiet that I stopped noticing it. But a couple days ago, I suddenly noticed ringing in my left ear. This ringing fluctuates in pitch and loudness very rapidly (several times a second) and irregularly, so it's hard to ignore it. I also have a low level of pain in my left ear.

I went to an ENT doctor today and had a hearing test. Apparently, my hearing is normal. The doctor told me there's nothing I can do to make the ringing more constant in terms of pitch, and he suggested that I use white noise to try to train my brain to ignore it. I'm skeptical, however, since the pitch of the tinnitus seems to fluctuate so rapidly. He also mentioned the possibility of taking an anti-depressant, but I'm already taking nortriptyline as part of my dry eye routine.

Some things which may have caused the tinnitus:
1. Three rock concerts this year where I sat close to the front.
2. I use in-ear headphones every time I go to the gym, which is almost everyday. The volume is usually loud enough to drown out ambient noise but not so loud that my ears hurt.
3. Since about 17 years ago, I sometimes hear a "crackling" sound in my left ear when sound or music is too loud in that ear.

I'm not sure what to do at this point besides getting a second opinion or hoping that this all goes away soon. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Yes. Stop listening to loud music. Stay away from loud sounds.

Your meds could also be a contributing factor to your T.

 

My advice is for you to stay away from concerts, festivals, movies, etc. The last thing you want to do is to increase this monster. I wear earplugs when I am outside in the public, there are too many sudden/unexpected sounds. Make sure to protect your ears as they are now compromised. Your T can fade or can go away!

Read this post by Bill regarding the recovery stats..
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/

 

I also have dry eye. What I found to be helpful: 1) adding fish oil to my diet; 2) cutting way back on sugar; and 3) getting enough sleep (stops the bouts of burning, stinging eyes). I rarely use eye drops anymore.

And I agree with the other responses: stay away from loud noises and quit using headphones. Your body is telling you that it can't handle them, and bodies always have the last word.

 

That's good that you don't need eye drops for your dry eye. Unfortunately, I have pretty severe dry eye and I need to take something called serum tears about 8x/day. Hope yours doesn't get that bad.

 

Dry eye can be really unpleasant, I'd rather listen to my noisy ears. (Can I say that on a tinnitus forum? ) I also discovered that the more I used eye drops, the more I had to use them. My doctor didn't believe it, but a lot of bodily processes have feedback loops where intervention actually makes things worse.

But your condition sounds much worse than mine.

By the by, I also have fluctuating tinnitus. It follows its own whims, apparently. The only thing that always quiets it down is getting at least 10 hours of sleep, which is easier said than done. However, I actually prefer the fluctuations to a constant drone. When it's loud, I know that at some point it's going to get quieter again, so I don't pay too much attention.

 

for the dry eye have you tried autologous serum?

 

Yes, serum tears are also known as autologous serum tears. Autologous just means the donor and recipient are the same person - I am donating blood to myself.

 

Stay away from concerts, stop using earphones. You may have some damage in the ear nerves it will not improve it only can get worse. nortriptyline Can cause blurred vision and other problems in the eyes. Always read the side effects of the medication.
White noise can help you to distract from the noise. Go to YouTube and look fron tinnitus isotonic sound and find the best for your pitch of noise.
Take care!

 

Just wondering - who can still use over-the-ear headphones? Are these acceptable if an earplug is put in when using them?

 

That worked for me. I have realized that mirtapax, clonopil and/or xanax get worse the dry eye.. in my case.

 

I use them regularly. I just keep the volume reasonable.