Happy and Joking to Acute Tinnitus in Minutes

[guy]

Hello,

I'm posting here on behalf of my mother in law. She has had chronic tinnitus for over ten years with awful sleepless nights.

She has low blood pressure and a slow heart beat but does not take medication. She is prone to bloodshot eyes and nose bleeds.

The reason why I've listed these things is because she had a recent episode that was out of the ordinary. She was a passenger in car travelling on the motorway. They witnessed an accident in the overtaking lane, it happened a few cars in front. At the time she was reading a funny part of the paper out loud and was pretty relaxed. A few moments after witnessing the accident, her tinnitus was literally screaming.

My question to the group relates to the potential influence of blood flow. Presumably, the accident raised the heart rate? I read a small bit about pulsatile tinnitus and wanted to ask you if you knew anything to help when speaking to doctors - recommended tests etc. She says her tinnitus is continuous, it does not have a rhythm and does get worse if stressed. Doctors she has seen over the last decade have been less than helpful and said there is nothing that can be done. However, no mention or tests seem to have been conducted in relation to the potential influence of blood flow.

Or, do you think it could be something else that triggered the severe symptoms so soon after witnessing the accident?

She is seeing a another doctor in a weeks time, are there any questions you think she should ask in light of above.

Sincere thanks for your time. I know she is extremely grateful too.

Best wishes,

g

 

[Karen]

Hi, Guy, and welcome!
I'm so sorry your mother-in-law is going through this, and truly hope that her tinnitus comes down in volume soon.
It is possible that this has been a temporary spike, and that it will go back down to baseline level in a few weeks.

I am no expert, but I do have pulsatile tinnitus, and I may be in the same age range as your mother-in-law. (I'm 67). I had tinnitus for over 25 years, and it was not bothersome, until I took blood pressure medicine for the first time. I had a bad reaction to the medicine, and it made my blood pressure spike, which was very traumatic. Then, after that, my tinnitus got much, much worse --- it was roaring for awhile. Also, not long after that, the pulsating tinnitus began. I speculate that it was caused by trauma, and your mother-in-law's spike could be caused by a similar reaction to traumatic circumstances.

If she does go back to the doctor, there are tests to ask for that may show abnormalities in the blood vessels. An MRI of the head and neck area, with contrast, could help. There are also tests that can be given at the same time as the MRI; they are called an MRV (veins) and/or MRA (arteries). These tests might help to determine if there is any structural problem within the veins or arteries. Another test that doctors often request is a CT scan with contrast dye. Her doctor would have to order these tests, and since she does not have a rhythm to her tinnitus, he may not think they are necessary.

Has she had her heart rate checked? Her blood pressure? And has she had an audiogram (hearing test) to determine if she has some hearing loss? You might want to ask about these things, and whether they might have influenced her condition in any way.

If I can think of anything else, I'll add an additional post. Perhaps others on this forum will have additional suggestions.

Your mother-in-law is very lucky to have a caring son-in-law like you!