Hypothyroidism

I just got a new doctor. He gave me a call because he got my blood results. Well it seems I have hypothyroidism. He said that might be causing my tinnitus. He is putting me on medication. Has anyone else heard about hypothyroidism and tinnitus?

 

There is a connection. I hope it helps you, but in my case, the thyroxine itself is the cause off my tinnitus - although I should stress that this is really rare.

My advice to you is that you need to obtain detailed thyroid results, that means free T3, free T4 and TSH, not just TSH which is what a lot of doctors work on. Also, they should really look for nutrient deficiencies as well, as imbalances in these can result in the thyroid gland struggling and an elevated TSH level. If you need help with interpreting anything, feel free to PM me.

 

I think this is my problem. When my tinnitus started I also got these pits in my fingernails which my wife said is part of this condition.

 

@JohnAdams I suffered from Hypo and Hyperthyroidism when I was younger. Shoot me a PM if you want me to go into detail.

Found this in another thread.

 

Before you get into the dangerous prescription meds with all kinds of side effects, try the natural way first.
Get Ashwaghanda, preferably the KSM 66 kind...

There is lot of garbage on the market these days, so one needs to be careful that you are getting your money's worth.

Ashwaghanda is a thyroid regulating power house amongst other things:

https://draxe.com/ashwagandha-benefits/

 

Ashwaghanda is also very dangerous and can have withdrawals if taken for a long period of time like you need to do if you have a thyroid condition. Not all pharmaceuticals are "dangerous".

 

Nothing should be taken for a very long term, but I would think that natural herbs are generally much safer, than powerful synthetic chemicals made by profit driven corporations.

Yes they will work fast compared to anything natural, but that speed could come with a price.

Why not play it safe first and only go to big pharma, when you absolutely have no other options left?

 

I agree, but I think she should talk with her doctor first about trying one over the other.

 

My wife said dietary changes can adjust thyroid problems.

 

Interesting, I don't know much about that but ill look into it.

 

Thyroxine is a supplement. I don't see how it's any different from taking a vitamin. You have a better chance of getting tinnitus from ginger and past tinnitus developments from it were from a bad formulation. There are no side effects of thyroxine (because it's a supplement) unless your doctor overprescribes and tips you into hyper.

 

Sorry I must have missed the part of OP's original post, in which he discussed Thyroxine.
Also... isn't Thyroxine a hormone by any chance?

http://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/thyroxine/

 

It is. The supplement's name is Levothyroxine. I should have specified that. The pill doesn't change any mechanisms in your body only add more of the hormone in which one lacks.

 

False...Levothyroxine is a "prescription only" synthetic drug, that can have some bad side effects:
https://www.healthline.com/health/levothyroxine-oral-tablet#highlights

I guess everyone's definition of "supplement" might be different.
To me, supplement is something that comes from nature and does not require prescription.

 

Mhmm. It's prescription only because you need to rely on a doctor's good judgment to give you the right amount of dosage. A doctor is a medical professional and still needs to adjust one's dosage over time to get it just right. Doing it yourself, probably not a medical professional, would be very dangerous.

As for it being synthetic, well...most vitamins and supplements are synthetic. ( http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Vitamin.html ) This means the majority do not come from nature.

Supplement:

noun
/ˈsəpləmənt/

1. 1.
   something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.
   "the handout is a supplement to the official manual"
   synonyms: addition, accessory, supplementation, supplementary, extra, add-on, adjunct, appendage; More
   
   
2. 2.
   GEOMETRY
   the amount by which an angle is less than 180°.

The side effects listed in your link are the symptoms of hyperthyroidism, as listed here https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperthyroidism/symptoms-causes/syc-20373659 . As I had previously stated.

 

Again... as I said earlier, everyone's definition of "supplement" might be different.
When I hear someone say "supplement", I mostly envision stuff like Fish oil, Valerian Root or Curcumin at the local health store.
You might envision doctor's prescription and a local pharmacy.

Yes I'm aware that some vitamins are synthetic...personally I try to stay away from stuff like that, but sometimes it is hard to avoid.

But back to the main argument.

Would OP be safer first trying the natural route and use a herb, which is known for its adaptogenic properties and has been safely used for centuries, or should he start popping prescription hormons, that have a list of side effect longer than my elbow?

I think the choice should be rather obvious.

 

I knew you were aware. I just wanted to remind that synthetic vitamins are still considered supplements in the market. But more for the knowledge of anyone reading that most are not derived from natural sources.

The side effects aren't long, most of them are mild, and they are temporary. The side effects are hyperthyroidism symptoms, which means they aren't being caused by a pill messing with your brain, but by fluctuating hormone levels that take time and effort from doctor consultations to get just right.

Levothyroxine is one of the safest prescriptions available and if you're worried about it, you may as well never take another otc or prescription medication ever again.

I looked up Ashwaghanda on 4 sites. 1 of them mentioned that it might increase thyroid levels after it talked about the other benefits first. The 3 others didn't even mention it increasing thyroid levels.

I have Hypothyroidism and take levothyroxine. Please, @RingingMike or anyone else, feel free to ask me any questions.

 

Well I'm not quite sure what some websites are saying (or not saying) about Ashwaghanda, but I know for a fact that it fixed my mom's hypothyroidism after about 3 months of use....
The new blood test revealed, that all the troublesome numbers were back within the norm again.

As far as the Levothyroxine and other synthetic hormones, which are supposed to mimic the real thing (but fall short), here is an interesting read that makes a lot of sense:

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/...oid-actually-making-your-condition-worse.aspx

 

I have a lot of symptoms of hypothyroidism, but when I got a blood test my TSH came back at 3.17 which is apparently healthy... My dad has hypothyroidism though so I'm just confused, maybe it was just a good day? I'm not done looking into it.

 

If RingingMike wants to use ashwagandha then okay. But he should work with a doctor to make sure it falls into normal levels. Though I think that advice would be much better suited for @Zeneth and those who with mild Hypothyroidism. For them thyroid medication is not necessary.

I read that article with begrudging interest up until the author wrote these:

And then proceeded to push his book. I don't dislike the natural/organic/alternative medicine industry but I start getting annoyed when it is pushed to the exclusion of modern medicine. It's little more than groupthink and circlejerking. Eating healthy and getting rid of unnecessary harsh chemicals sounds like great advice. Getting rid of fluoride (have fun destroying your teeth!) and modern medicine isn't.

Anyway, this doctor talks about Synthroid possibly making thyroid problems worse but never actually says why. He mentions that taking thyroid medication alone may only result in partial improvement with the other half of a treatment being diet+exercise. (And that's fair) He explains that Synthroid only binds to T4 as opposed to additionslly T3 and seems to have it out for Synthroid specifically. (Not levothyroxine the actual ingredient) Instead he suggests a product called: Armour thyroid. Which has all the same potential side effects.

Maybe he's right. And maybe he's also trying to sell some products.

 

Just to mention, since it's connected to the title of this thread, it's well known that fluoride reduces thyroid activity. And it apparently doesn't take very much to do so. Back in 1950's, fluoride was often prescribed for people with hyperthyroidism. Also of note, there is apparently a VERY wide variation in how people respond to the same amount of fluoride.

I can't help but think that if somebody is concerned about their thyroid function, especially if they have hypothyroidism, they would want to scrupulously avoid fluoride in any form. If a person is really serious about improving their teeth and bone health, I think bonebroth, and other specific nutrients would do far better than fluoride, which is a known highly toxic substance. -- More toxic than lead, and slightly less toxic than arsenic.

 

Thyroid medication is not ototoxic. It won't make your tinnitus worse. You know what poses a very high risk of tinnitus worsening? Dental work. Which, avoiding fluoride will almost certainly lead to.

I'll take that bet on fluoride though. I'll keep using toothpaste that actually works, and you can brush your teeth with a proportional amount of lead. We'll see who develops health problems first.

Anything can be toxic in excess, but unlike lead, fluoride has a safe usage amount.

 

I didn't say thyroid medication was ototoxic. I said that fluoride can reduce thyroid function, leading to hypothyroidism--and there appears to be a connection between thyroid function and tinnitus in some people. So, again, I think it may be wise for people with hypothyroidism to consider avoiding fluoride altogether. After all, it is a potent toxin. -- As far as I know, fluoride is no longer used as a medication to suppress thyroid function for people who have hyperthyroidism. Below is a link to an article which references Harvard scientists being concerned about fluoridation toxicity.

53 STUDIES HAVE LINKED FLUORIDE WITH REDUCED IQ IN CHILDREN.

"After reviewing 27 of the human IQ studies, a team of Harvard scientists concluded that fluoride’s effect on the young brain should now be a “high research priority.”

 

I know you didn't say that. I'm just honestly surprised the conversation's gone where it has. On TT usually the topic is a straightforward "Will this medicine make my tinnitus worse?" I tend to think that the reason why so many TT members are into alternative medicine is because of how many drugs have ototoxicity as a risk factor (even if minute). So I'm a bit tripped up to find that, no, some of us are just really into alternative medicine.

Anyway, I read your link. Hm, 'Fluoride Alert'. Interesting name. It couldn't possibly have an agenda to push.

I too would like to post a link:

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/fluoride-lowers-your-iq-b.s.-headline-week/

Here's the most relevant part of the article:

I can't dispute that consuming excess amounts of fluoride might be bad for your health not unlike how consuming excess amounts of table salt can leave you permanently brain damaged. Fortunately, with only half a gram of fluoride in my entire tube of toothpaste, I think I will be rather safe.

I'm genuinely concerned for anyone using fluoride-free toothpaste or relying on supplements for dental health. ( https://www.healthline.com/health-news/you-shouldnt-buy-fluoride-free-toothpaste#1 )

 

I will summarize my thoughts in relation to your above comment. If you do a google search on fluoride and tinnitus, you'll come up with a variety of information on the connection between the two. If simple things like a little coffee or sugar can dramatically spike tinnitus, it's not unreasonable to assume a toxic substance like fluoride can do the same.

I believe the same is true for amalgam fillings--they all outgass mercury. Since it's a known neurotoxin, I have to assume it can likely spike tinnitus as well. Despite the fact that some proponents of using this toxic hazardous dental material insist it is somehow "sequestered" within the filling itself, that is not the case. No science to prove it either--people can say anything they want, but it doesn't necessarily make it true. It's why the EPA requires dental offices to treat it as hazardous waste whenever it's removed from a patient's mouth. -- Same thing for EMFs, and other kinds of WiFi devices. It's commonly reported they cause or exacerbate tinnitus, even though vociferous claims are made that there's "no scientific proof" of that.

The reason I'm mentioning these things is I believe everybody with tinnitus would do well do closely examine literally everything in their environment, what they expose their body and ears to, and everything they put in their bodies to see if they can determine what kind of "secondary" causes are contributing to their tinnitus. I believe most to all people will be able to identify several contributing causes that if addressed adequately, have the potential to improve tinnitus severity--sometimes significantly. From what I can gather, rarely will doing just one thing make a huge difference.

BTW, I noticed a significant improvement in my oral health within a couple weeks after adding bone broth to my diet. Since it improves both tooth and bone health, I think this will be helpful for me in the long run to ameliorate the severity of my tinnitus, given that the three tiny bones in the middle ear can influence it. Healthy bones contribute to healthy ears. I believe nutritional support will go a lot farther in improving our overall health than using selected toxic substances to address a specific area--usually at a cost to other parts of our bodies. In the case of fluoride, though it may add an element of protection for teeth, it would seem to be at the cost of possible increased tinnitus severity, compromised thyroid function, and who knows what other glands in the body might be similarly affected?

Final tidbit: I consider western oriented conventional medicine to be the true alternative medicine, and not the other way around--most of the world's population don't use it or have access to it. And quite honestly, despite some of it's strengths, I have a disdain for much of what our conventional health system represents. That would include a lot of callous greed and distorted science to serve the interests of those who are thinking primarily about themselves, and far less about serving people's genuine health needs.

 

I googled 'fluoride and tinnitus' and got nothing but community type comments and questions on the matter, with TT among the top results. I was looking for some harder evidence.

Dentists disposing fluoride as hazardous waste isn't a damning thing to say. Where I work we have to mark all kinds of items as hazardous materials from protein shakes to shampoos to essential oils. It's bad for the environment and a danger otherwise. Those kinds of regulations need to be in place or you end up with...mentally affected children from China and India by toxic levels of fluoride, far beyond what anyone should consume.

I'll see about adding bone broth to my diet but not while skipping fluoride. As for the rest, I can't fault it if a person wants to go to such lengths to find out what spikes their tinnitus. And I'll agree to disagree on the topic of alternative medicine. Modern medicine is no angel and I don't actually like it so much but I dislike alternative medicine as well.

 

I hear what you're saying, and it's why I think we all need to learn to use discrimination in our health care choices, especially when trying to figure out the complexities of tinnitus and/or hyperacusis. Don't choose something just because it's conventionally accepted as scientific, and don't choose alternative, just because it's--well--alternative. Healing comes in all guises, and I'll take the best from wherever it might come from.

 

So, medication for hypothyroidism isn't ototoxic?

My TSH level is normal, but I might have Hashimoto thyroiditis.

• TSH 2014, 2016, 2017: around 4
  
• TSH 2018: 2
• Thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb): 398
• TPO microsomal antibody: >1300
• Antibodies to TSH receptors (TRAb): <0.1

My doctor wants me to start taking medication, probably for half a year. He says I'll probably develop a slight hyperthyroidism at first. Oh, and apparently a lymph node directly under my thyroid is too big and three doctors looked at it and said, "Yeah, that's a bit unusual".
I'm not too worried about the antibody levels above, I just don't want to make my tinnitus worse.

 

TSH levels should be under 3.0m IC/L. The key with medications for hypothyroidism is not to use more than needed.
Radiation I-131 is more likely to cause hearing loss.

 

I'm completely new to the topic of thyroid diseases and medications. My GP wants me to take 50mg of thyroxine every day for a few months, partly to see if the swollen lymph node will shrink and to give my thyroid a small break.

Is thyroxine dangerous?
Would it be dangerous to develop hyperthyroidism for a short while my thyroid gets used to the medication?