New here. I've browsed this site before but finally decided to register. I wanted to share some information.
I moved into my girlfriend's house in 2014. She and her ex bought it in 2003, and it was built in 1984. The house I left was built in 1948 and had its issues, but her house is a mess, environmentally speaking. I owned and operated a home inspection company for 25 years, just me, myself, and Irene. I closed up shop three years ago because I couldn't risk exposing myself to more toxins, especially mold. I was a code-certified inspector with over 5,000 inspections under my belt.
We got hit hard by hidden mold that even I couldn't find. Zero smell, absolutely zero visible growth on any surface in the basement. For a 1984 house, the drainage is significantly better than average, and I've improved it since. We have dehumidifiers in the upstairs hall and two in the basement or garage.
In the fall of 2016, my sinuses completely closed up. I couldn't blow my nose because there was nothing to blow. After a week of this, I almost lost my mind. I had zero ability to breathe through my nose and couldn't sleep. I ended up buying a snorkel and cutting off the tube so I could have a mouthpiece to keep my mouth open and get more than 45 minutes of sleep at a time. The sandpaper throat and tongue, bone-dry teeth, constant drinking due to dehydration, waking up every hour, and having to use the bathroom every few hours from all the water. It was absolute living hell.
I tore the house apart and found crazy levels of mold in the flexible ductwork, as opposed to rigid metal ducts. We replaced the entire HVAC system, which gave temporary relief. It turned out that mold was also in the exterior wall cavities and under the attic insulation around leaky supply boots. The so-called environmental "expert" HVAC company ignored that problem and caused us even more suffering for years. I'm still furious about that, but it wasn't the only issue.
Being the research king that I am, my studies led me to the guy who invented ZymeAway, an enzymatic mold-killing product. His name is Nick Martello from Ohio, a Vietnam vet who owned a remediation company for years. He was incredibly kind and spoke to me for an hour on the phone, giving advice.
Here's where it becomes relevant. Nick told me that after speaking with other experienced remediators, he discovered they all had tinnitus. After researching, he advised the state of Ohio (I believe at the state level) to include earplugs in remediation protocols. It was such a "duh" moment for me. Most remediators know that mycotoxins can enter the body through the skin and other obvious routes, and PPE is usually hazmat level, but for some reason, no one thinks about the ears. As Nick put it, "It's a giant hole directly into your head," which is absolutely true.
So how does this help everyone? My tinnitus has gotten pretty bad. While we identified and removed mold in several wall cavities, we ran out of money and are now hanging on financially by the skin of our teeth. Over the last four years, my tinnitus has worsened. We clearly still have serious mold issues but can't afford to fix them. I've been researching treatments, and DMSO seems the most promising. Yes, I've read that some people here didn't have success with it, but the few studies that exist are the only ones showing that some people experienced relief. More on that in my next post.
The main point, aside from my recommendation to try DMSO, is that mold is a far bigger issue in this country than most people realize. The irony is that I saved hundreds of buyers from purchasing mold filled disasters, but the scary thing is that even an expert cannot detect hidden mold. Since we know hidden mold can cause tinnitus, that's a big clue.
Many people exposed to mold could drastically improve their indoor air quality (IAQ), which could potentially reduce or even eliminate tinnitus. How? Over 25 years, I've found that the overwhelming majority of heat pumps have mold growing on the heat exchanger fins. I was stunned when I found one that didn't. The same goes for the condensate drip tray and blower compartment. In a heat pump, the blower compartment sits above the coil, so it also gets very cold. Since filtration is poor in almost every case, condensation forms, dust sticks to damp surfaces, and mold is guaranteed.
Even with the best filters, some dust bypasses them because air goes around the filters or enters through gaps after them. I used to put my flashlight under the furnace, open the blower door, turn the lights off, and show clients all the gaps where light came through. Mold eats dust. No dust means no mold. Super tight filtration and zero gaps mean exponentially less mold growth. Mold can grow on any surface that gets wet and collects dust, including steel and concrete. Those materials don't feed mold themselves, but the particles on them do.
If you have a heat pump, take off the small screws, use a nut driver or cordless screwdriver, and inspect the blower compartment. You can usually see the heat exchanger fins just by removing the filter. Have an HVAC company clean everything thoroughly, or learn how to do it yourself on YouTube. Seal every gap in your furnace cabinet, and replace the flimsy metal filter slot cover with metallic tape (like Nashua brand foil tape) for an airtight seal, which is required by the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) anyway.
It's less common, but I've also found mold growth in gas furnace blower compartments. I recommend everyone turn their gas furnaces on once a month during the summer for five minutes, with windows open, to burn off anything that might have accumulated on the cooling coil.
Get a small bucket of mastic and cover any gaps you find using the flashlight trick. If you live in an apartment, use foil tape and make sure your filter is tightly sealed at the edges so that all air passes through the filter.
If there's interest, I can post photos from my phone or desktop later. I just wanted to share this because I think it could help many people.
If this helps any wealthy readers, please help me out so I can save my family from this mess. I want to raise awareness about mold and the devastating mental illnesses it causes. Dr. Shoemaker discovered this decades ago, yet almost no one knows about it. He and his team identified which mycotoxins cause which psychiatric disorders, but almost no doctor or psychiatrist is aware of it. That's disgusting.
So there you go. I bet at least some people with tinnitus could reduce its intensity by checking for mold, especially those with heat pumps. If you have leaky flexible ducts, replace them. They're almost impossible to clean properly, and replacement is often the best solution.
I'll discuss DMSO application techniques in my next post.
Peace.
I moved into my girlfriend's house in 2014. She and her ex bought it in 2003, and it was built in 1984. The house I left was built in 1948 and had its issues, but her house is a mess, environmentally speaking. I owned and operated a home inspection company for 25 years, just me, myself, and Irene. I closed up shop three years ago because I couldn't risk exposing myself to more toxins, especially mold. I was a code-certified inspector with over 5,000 inspections under my belt.
We got hit hard by hidden mold that even I couldn't find. Zero smell, absolutely zero visible growth on any surface in the basement. For a 1984 house, the drainage is significantly better than average, and I've improved it since. We have dehumidifiers in the upstairs hall and two in the basement or garage.
In the fall of 2016, my sinuses completely closed up. I couldn't blow my nose because there was nothing to blow. After a week of this, I almost lost my mind. I had zero ability to breathe through my nose and couldn't sleep. I ended up buying a snorkel and cutting off the tube so I could have a mouthpiece to keep my mouth open and get more than 45 minutes of sleep at a time. The sandpaper throat and tongue, bone-dry teeth, constant drinking due to dehydration, waking up every hour, and having to use the bathroom every few hours from all the water. It was absolute living hell.
I tore the house apart and found crazy levels of mold in the flexible ductwork, as opposed to rigid metal ducts. We replaced the entire HVAC system, which gave temporary relief. It turned out that mold was also in the exterior wall cavities and under the attic insulation around leaky supply boots. The so-called environmental "expert" HVAC company ignored that problem and caused us even more suffering for years. I'm still furious about that, but it wasn't the only issue.
Being the research king that I am, my studies led me to the guy who invented ZymeAway, an enzymatic mold-killing product. His name is Nick Martello from Ohio, a Vietnam vet who owned a remediation company for years. He was incredibly kind and spoke to me for an hour on the phone, giving advice.
Here's where it becomes relevant. Nick told me that after speaking with other experienced remediators, he discovered they all had tinnitus. After researching, he advised the state of Ohio (I believe at the state level) to include earplugs in remediation protocols. It was such a "duh" moment for me. Most remediators know that mycotoxins can enter the body through the skin and other obvious routes, and PPE is usually hazmat level, but for some reason, no one thinks about the ears. As Nick put it, "It's a giant hole directly into your head," which is absolutely true.
So how does this help everyone? My tinnitus has gotten pretty bad. While we identified and removed mold in several wall cavities, we ran out of money and are now hanging on financially by the skin of our teeth. Over the last four years, my tinnitus has worsened. We clearly still have serious mold issues but can't afford to fix them. I've been researching treatments, and DMSO seems the most promising. Yes, I've read that some people here didn't have success with it, but the few studies that exist are the only ones showing that some people experienced relief. More on that in my next post.
The main point, aside from my recommendation to try DMSO, is that mold is a far bigger issue in this country than most people realize. The irony is that I saved hundreds of buyers from purchasing mold filled disasters, but the scary thing is that even an expert cannot detect hidden mold. Since we know hidden mold can cause tinnitus, that's a big clue.
Many people exposed to mold could drastically improve their indoor air quality (IAQ), which could potentially reduce or even eliminate tinnitus. How? Over 25 years, I've found that the overwhelming majority of heat pumps have mold growing on the heat exchanger fins. I was stunned when I found one that didn't. The same goes for the condensate drip tray and blower compartment. In a heat pump, the blower compartment sits above the coil, so it also gets very cold. Since filtration is poor in almost every case, condensation forms, dust sticks to damp surfaces, and mold is guaranteed.
Even with the best filters, some dust bypasses them because air goes around the filters or enters through gaps after them. I used to put my flashlight under the furnace, open the blower door, turn the lights off, and show clients all the gaps where light came through. Mold eats dust. No dust means no mold. Super tight filtration and zero gaps mean exponentially less mold growth. Mold can grow on any surface that gets wet and collects dust, including steel and concrete. Those materials don't feed mold themselves, but the particles on them do.
If you have a heat pump, take off the small screws, use a nut driver or cordless screwdriver, and inspect the blower compartment. You can usually see the heat exchanger fins just by removing the filter. Have an HVAC company clean everything thoroughly, or learn how to do it yourself on YouTube. Seal every gap in your furnace cabinet, and replace the flimsy metal filter slot cover with metallic tape (like Nashua brand foil tape) for an airtight seal, which is required by the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) anyway.
It's less common, but I've also found mold growth in gas furnace blower compartments. I recommend everyone turn their gas furnaces on once a month during the summer for five minutes, with windows open, to burn off anything that might have accumulated on the cooling coil.
Get a small bucket of mastic and cover any gaps you find using the flashlight trick. If you live in an apartment, use foil tape and make sure your filter is tightly sealed at the edges so that all air passes through the filter.
If there's interest, I can post photos from my phone or desktop later. I just wanted to share this because I think it could help many people.
If this helps any wealthy readers, please help me out so I can save my family from this mess. I want to raise awareness about mold and the devastating mental illnesses it causes. Dr. Shoemaker discovered this decades ago, yet almost no one knows about it. He and his team identified which mycotoxins cause which psychiatric disorders, but almost no doctor or psychiatrist is aware of it. That's disgusting.
So there you go. I bet at least some people with tinnitus could reduce its intensity by checking for mold, especially those with heat pumps. If you have leaky flexible ducts, replace them. They're almost impossible to clean properly, and replacement is often the best solution.
I'll discuss DMSO application techniques in my next post.
Peace.
