Hello! Glad I Found You All! Developed Tinnitus and Vision Issues Due to Nerve Damage

Hi! I’m K I’m in my 30’s and have had tinnitus for 9 months.

Back story, up until last summer I had zero hearing issues. In the summer of 2018 I had a baby. The anesthesiologist made many failed attempts causing me to get a spinal leak by puncturing my dura membrane in the spine. They “attempted” to repair it with blood patches twice but failed (when you leak spinal fluid you are unable to sit up because your brain is with little fluid and unable to hold itself up).

The hospital sent me home with a brand new baby and 3 others waiting for me. I had to lay flat because I needed the spinal fluid to go to the brain and when I stood up I would nearly faint from lack of fluid going to the brain.

A week into this ordeal, I developed tinnitus and vision issues due to nerve damage. Since then I have made it my focus to find help so I can go back to being a mom and wife and get back to my career.

As months went on, the tinnitus never went away. One day I came across an article from a world known CSF leak doctor who specializes in finding leaks other doctors miss on MRI’s. All my images showed “normal” but my symptoms were right in line with the leak (including tinnitus).

Last month I underwent a major back surgery showing a medium puncture which was causing all of my symptoms.

As of today, my tinnitus has NOT gone away. From what I’m told, the Acoustic nerve takes the longest to repair. This is my hope. In fact, before I knew I was leaking I used to read this forum every night as I cried myself to sleep.

Now, I read the success stories only so on a bad day I give myself hope. If you received a lumbar puncture and your imaging came back “normal” like mine doesnt mean that’s not the case. My imaging was normal but my Neurosurgeon found the leak and repaired it. Hold out hope. I know it’s easier said than done because I myself struggle.

I’m glad to now be a part of your group.

 

So have the doctors said anything about the nerve healing and your tinnitus go away?

 

He said “it should go away in 4-6 weeks but could be longer” because I guess that type of nerve damage takes quite a while to repair.

 

8 weeks in and the tinnitus remains the same. No improvement. Has anyone ever actually had tinnitus "go away" rather than just get used to living with it though?

 

Yes, many people have improved over time. It's very early days for you, so in your place I would be very hopeful.

Since your tinnitus has an identifiable cause (nerve damage), I suggest taking steps to promote nerve healing. For example, research diets that provide high levels of nutrients needed by nerves. I've found that starting my day with a salad of raw kale, spinach, broccoli and other brightly colored vegetables helps eliminate my restless leg symptoms. I also suggest researching a compound called nicotinamide riboside (NR) which is a form of vitamin B3. It's neuroprotective, at least according to the results of trials in mice and now in humans.

I'm not a doctor, so please review all of this with your physician. NR in particular is a fairly new thing, and many doctors are pretty uninformed about it. However, I've been taking it for a year and a half for noise-induced hearing loss, and it's been very effective at restoring my hearing.

I also suggest some non-traditional healing approaches such as mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is very helpful in allowing you to simply observe your tinnitus without getting emotionally involved with it. New tinnitus sufferers often go through a freak-out phase, and this can make the noise seem even louder. Anything you can do to avoid the freak-out will benefit you. And you don't have to spend a lot of time on mindfulness - just five minutes here and there will be helpful.