My T keeps getting worse...month after month it reaches new highs. I am now having moments where I go completely deaf in my right ear, my tinnitus goes 10x higher. This lasts for 1 min at a time, my hearing comes back, my T comes down, but not completely...The hearing comes back about 90 percent and the tinnitus drops about 90 percent back to baseline. I am left with ear pain after the episode as well. I haven't taken any new drugs, been exposed to noise, nothing I can link this to. No matter what I do this just keeps progressing. I have to get my hearing tested again, I'm sure I am going deaf, or deafer. These attacks get closer and closer together. I have had 3 in the last 24 hours. My T started with ototoxic drugs, are the hair cells still dying??? After 9 months? I am trying to keep it together but am really coming undone here. Any advise?
You can try this and see if it makes a difference. Acupressure Press your finger on the soft spot next to the ear flap. You don't have to close the ear flap, just feel for a small soft spot. Hold the pressure for over 30 seconds or so. This works for me when I get this sudden screech in the non-T side. The tone subsides in a minute or so. If it doesn't work, at least you feel like you have some control and tried something out!
I'm also interested in this information as mine is from antibiotics and mine also seems to be getting worse
Hey telis sorry your no doing well man, the only i thing i can say is what you describe sounds a lot like fleeting T. My hearing gets dull, T gets loud and after a minute or so it goes back to normal. Could it be it is coming back to baseline but since youve just began going through it is freaks you out and you focus on your t even more. I dont mean to undermine your suffering but it could be an explanation. Ofcourse if you say its getting worse ill take your word for it, the only i would suggest is to go for another hearing test, see if your hearing really has changed at all. I have episodes of fleeting t still and it rmeiinds me of that. Good luck man.
I agree with @cullenbohannon You might want to get a new hearing test. I would also schedule something with an ENT or, better yet, a neurotologist. Most likely, nothing has changed; tinnitus is unpredictable and is often worsened by stress. Since your tinnitus is so severe, I'm sure you're under a lot of stress. This stress may be worsening your tinnitus; it's a vicious circle. I know this explanation is not satisfying. That's why you should also see people in the medical community to make sure nothing worse is happening. I might also try some NAC, 600 mg, 3x a day. It's helping me (I'm taking 600 mg, 2x a day), and NAC is known to be otoprotective. As such, if you've had additional damage, the NAC might help limit it and speed your healing. Anyway, the drug should not hurt you. Be sure to take it with meals. There's lots on this supplement on the following thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/n-acetylcysteine-nac.395/ Keep us informed and good luck!
Shit Telis, not good! Saying I feel sorry is just sounds like empty words, but I have always sensed that you are an ace of a guy and thus it's an even bigger bummer that you have this kukka going on. My dad did not say a helluva lot (and we kids were too busy catching the plethora of animals and critters around us to worry about grown-ups), but I often think of one indelible sentence in situations like this. Words to the effect of: "Why is that the good guys got zapped, yet the ne'er-do-wells and general free-loaders kept sailing along missing all the flak?" He was talking quietly to my uncle who was a pilot who survived the Battle of Britain. Not sure why that is coming to mind right now but probably because I often feel like all this health stuff and the massive impact of being under assault from intense T and H is like 'being at war'. We are fighting for our lives in our own bodies. It is combat and survival on a 24/7 basis at times...At many times. (Yeah sometimes I don't sleep for days so it can be "24") It sounds like you are 'front line' big time right now. And I know that place. And it's a place that is not understood very well by those who have not been there, so I hope to hell you have some buddies close at hand to help you out. Also I hope you have had an MRI to see if there is some other stuff going on that may explain why this is happening. T rarely happens in a vacuum. Plus this sounds like more than T. I re-checked your "Profile" to remind myself what kind of T you have and how you got it, and there is nothing there. So I checked the "Introduce Yourself" page and did a Telis search, and there is nothing there either...So apologies if you have explained all that somewhere and I missed it, or have forgotten it in the flood of info over these past months...but that lack of knowledge leaves me feeling a bit helpless as to any ideas of where you may go with this. Which ototoxic drug for instance? And from my knowledge and experience with same, 'no' it should not still be affecting you and making you worse unless it is some form of occult exposure (think lead pipes in the old days, or radiation in the new days) or successive toxicity - but for sure you are not still taking whatever you took! Sheeeesh.....Something goofy is going on here with you, and being a 'guy' I would like to offer ways to 'fix it' but feel so helpless. Not sure if this somewhat disjointed ramble is helpful or not Telis, but all I can say is "I know this place"...Hang in there!!! Best, Zimichael
:-/ trivial suggestion but.. anything triggering ur T to get worst or any medical condition you might have over looked ?? there should be some sort of trigger causing u this, try to figure it out. Take off from what ever u are doing and spend some time relaxing and healing, off from work/studies, good diet, de-stress, a vocation - i know its not easy but its worth the shot.
Hi Telis! This is the stuff Im talking about, and what I find so darn interesting! Ive had it many times as well, except that my tinnitus doesnt change afterwards, and if it does, its more to the better. I believe that this is not related to the inner ear or auditory nerve pathways but rather the middle ear. It reminds me an aweful lot about the acoustic reflex. I suspect that this intermittent tinnitus is the result of muscle activity directly or indirectly related to the middle ear. Based upon my own experience, I believe the acoustic reflex can produce two types of tinnitus, a solid tone and a hiss and a temporarily hearing loss (I believe some refer this to a temporarily threshold shift) as a result of stiffening of the ossicular chain. Either because of the malleus being pulled towards the middle ear (by tensor tympani), or the stapes being pulled away from the oval window (by stapedius) or both. Stapedius stiffens the ossicular chain by pulling the stapes of the middle ear away from the oval window of the cochlea. Tensor tympani muscle stiffens the ossicular chain by loading the eardrum when it pulls the malleus in toward the middle ear. I have read that even vocalization-induced stapedius reflex results in an approximate 20 dB reduction in transduction to the inner ear. It could be that the root cause of what we experience is related to the following: 1. Tensor tympani is not able to keep the correct tension to the tympanic membrane. 2. Ossicle chain disruption 3. Central and/or the peripheral nervous system (I doubt this is the case with me though). I really dont think this is related to the eustachian tube, as I cant see the logic and relation behind it (but who knows). Altough I believe that eustachian tube dysfunction might make one more susceptible to a perilymph fistula because of barotrauma or anything that would increase the barometric pressure inside the middle ear. I think number one (1) can have multiple causes and result in multiple types of dysfunction, and those below could be a few of them: a) Muscles that are attached in close proximity to the ear (neck muscles, jaw muscles, suprahyoid muscles etc) has the ability to create additional tension on the tympanic membrane, and in time stretch it. A danish ENT found that tension in the neck and jaw area directly affects how the tympanic membrane reflects light and could by that tell if neck and jaw muscles were tensed in his patients. b) Irritation or damage of the nerves that innervates any of the muscles in the ear, especially tensor tympani in this case. c) Related to elasticity of the tympanic membrane, or blood flow through the tympanic membrane. I think for example eczema could be one cause out of many. d) Loud noise exposure, phonophobia, hyperacusis (as it would result in heavy load on the tympanic membrane caused by tensor tympani) or that the tensor tympani has reached some state of fatigue (not sure if that is possible, as it seem like the muscle is able to contract fast and is fatigue-resistant, but I wouldnt be surprised if this muscle could reach a state of fatigue as well). And for number two (2): a) A network of muscles are needed to keep the correct alignment of the middle ear ossicles. If they fail, stapedius and/or tensor tympani will try to adjust the ossicles and by that result in a temporarily hearing loss and an intermittent tinnitus by stiffening the ossicular chain by pulling the stapes away from the oval window. (I even read that stapedius is involved in the healing process of a perilymph fistula?). I also read that the SCM muscle alone was able to misalign the middle ear ossicles, affecting how they tap eachother in the process of transmission of vibrational energy to cochlea. b) Ossicular chain disruption because of inflammatory disease, ear infection etc.. Other than that, I guess you have the obvious stuff that should be ruled out first, like perforated eardrum, sinus problems etc.. ------ For me, its hard to believe that its related to the inner ear, as I can feel movements in my middle ear and occasional pain that could remind of something similar to tendonitis right behind my eardrum. And when I experience intermittent tinnitus, it feels like some muscles are stretching something in and around my ear. (but that is the case with me though, and you might have something different). Im no doctor, and I cant say anything for sure, and the stuff above is only based on information I have read and my own gut feeling and I share it in hope that you will find it somehow useful
@Telis I'm very interested about you are saying about the hair cells dying - my T (both ringing and motor) is also ototoxic and I thought the hair cells were damaged forever but never heard before they were dying - are you sure it's like that?
NAC everyday and maybe round of prednisone. And Magnesium can help a lot. Avoid of too much calcium in supplements. Too much calcium may make T worse. But remember, with natural calcium (cheese, milk, meat) you can not overdose.
Keep strong Telis even though it's hard...If somebody can deal with it I think it's you. I'm using TONE at the moment and for some reason ... it works...it lowers my T ...or at least I do not feel the fullness anymore and it's 50% less noisy. http://www.gezondheidswebwinkel.nl/health/homeopathie/new-nordic/tone-new-nordic.html It's say's it should work after 2 months but the moment I took it...it helped....I don't know why and I don't care...so perhaps you can try that m8 ...again stay strong and we are all here for you. PS that is also the reason why I was not on this forum this week....I didn't want to post that Tone realy works for me and wanted to wait if it stays this way, but scr3w that....if this perhaps might help you than I share it early. Good luck !!
@ampumpkin Here's a link to a good brand: http://www.iherb.com/Jarrow-Formulas-N-A-C-Sustain-N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine-600-mg-100-Tablets/135 They ship internationally.
I've had positive results with NAC. It helps with the production of Glutathione and when taken in conjunction with magnesium and alpha lipoic acid . selenium and vitamin e and c . Hold strong my friend. Thank you again for your kind message earlier. PS. I like the NOW Formula NAC 600 mg with selenium and molybdenum
Hey Zimichael, Wow...I have to admit, some of your posts get me a little emotional! My tinnitus started with me obsessively trying to pop my ears using the valsalva maneuver, my right ear felt blocked. The discomfort of my right ear being muffled and blocked was bothering me (felt out of balance). I could pop my left non stop but my right did not clear, so what did I do, I tried harder. That's when I noticed a slight ring in the blocked ear. I was convinced the ringing was from a blocked Eustachian tube, I then tried even harder to to clear! I proceeded to the hospital as now I was getting concerned, I was put on steriods, had a MRI (all clear). I was also given adivan which I will admit to abusing, I couldn't sleep, I took too much. One night about a week later I woke up with this sound now in both my ears (left one as well). I proceeded back to a doctor, this time to a clinic. The doc told me my ears looked swollen and to try some antibiotic ear drops, this is when things got nuts....My tinnitus that was easily masked went to a 8-9 level. The stupid thing is I kept up with the drops, I could feel the burning pain as they went in my ears. I thought this was getting at the potential infection and helping me. Now, looking back... seems like I was just frying my fairly healthy ears (although I'm sure slightly damaged from all the pressure I was putting on them). The next time things took a turn for the worse was when I abruptly quit taking adivan. Even though I was only on this drug for a few weeks, I went through serious withdrawal, whole body twitching, zero sleep for the weeks that followed. In the process my T seemed to jump another up notch to a 10. I spent Christmas and a couple of months into the new year laying in my parents front room, I would not get up or eat. I lost about 50 pounds and had become totally suicidal. Basically I had someone watching over me 24/7. Never in my life had I even really had anxiety, now I was faced with this terror of tinnitus absolutely taking control of me. I was terrified, if I nodded off for 5 min, I would awake quickly gasping for air and feeling like I was going to have a heart attack. I laid and stared at the ceiling for months with all the life sucked out of me. Anyway, long story sort, I have, over the months tried to get back to life in some capacity. I no longer work or really do much that involves the rest of the world. I go for walks with my mom and dog, try and play some sports here and there, but for the most part I have lost about 99% of my life to T. Anyway, there you go, that's how I got tinnitus! Sorry about the long story! Telis
Hey @Telis ...No apologies needed at all, that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! Man oh man, yeah, you are in the firing line for sure. And glad you have family at least around as being totally alone with this crap really sucks. OK, the "guy fix it thing"...and from a semi-idiot here, so just fishing OK. 1. Please tell me your antibiotic ear drops were not Neomycin based. Can you look at the label or scrip and tell me what the active ingredients are please. 2. Good that you got the MRI (hopefully not so loud to cause damage - or you had plugs in), as that rules out a bunch of left field "physical" stuff. 3. I'm no doc and not that well versed in ears actually, but "pressure" causing lasting damage like what you are describing c/o the overdoing it (maybe, maybe not) with Valsalva thing, does not particularly ring big bells with me. It was not exactly like the concussion from a "Daisy Cutter" (keeping the military analogy) or IED, etc. so should have healed on it's own in a short while. IMHO. Thus I would suspect the ear drops or the Benzo playing an integral part...unless you were playing with street drugs, or other unknowns. (We humans are complicated ) 4. Losing 50 pounds and having those kind of withdrawal symptoms after just two weeks of Ativan seems extremely extreme!!! Hell sounds like PTSD, or major depression, or???...Just too much for what you took. So question or two... ~ How are your detox pathways?...Liver panel OK? Kidneys OK? ~ Have you any history of depression before this or family history of it? ~ Any sleep apnea type issues before (or after)? Someone listening to you while you sleep, or taping yourself, is easy way to find out. If you wake up choking or gasping for breath = a big red flag...and it can cause ALL YOUR SYMPTOMS, ...well maybe not the T, but all the other stuff, and be a major T contributor too. OK, I've run dry on ideas here, but please know that at core you are a solid sounding guy and something is off the rails here. I can just sense it. Anyway, hang in there Telis and I hope you don't find my questions intrusive or bad form...just trying to help. Take care, Zimichael
Holy f**k that sounds exactly like me of what I went thru etc. Except mine was purely noise induced. I wonder if your ear drops contained Gentamycin. If you feel you are actually losing hearing, you need to get hearing tests done, they are free.
I have no words for what @Zimichael wrote... he is such a kind and generous person, always takes time to write long messages filled with great advice... @Telis I also do have a feeling that something is wrong with your general health. Have you had a complete blood work? Also, if you don't mind asking, were you overweight before you lost 50 pounds? On your avatar, you seem so slim... Did you have an hearing test done at the beginning? what were the results of that? I believe neomycin is the worst ototoxic antibiotics outhere! I took a -mycin antibiotics that is supposed to be ototoxic when given intraveinously... I haven't found a case of permanent T following a course of clarithromycin given orally...and yet...here I am
Mr. Cartman WOW!! I'm amazed; I never thought of this part of the auditory system from this point of view and in such workable detail -- very informative/insightful. Thanx so much! I'm saving this text off for later reference and I would like to research along these lines -- very relevant to my situation. Thanx Again!! Mark
Thank you so much for your kind words! I think that we should not forget about the conductive part, even though the sensorineural part is highly relevant as well
Hey @ampumpkin ...you may scare me off with embarrassment, but thank you. Not sure if that's me you are talking about!? However, I sure can relate to where Telis is at and feel for him. Also agree with @Mark McDill ...that @Mr. Cartman ...did a fantastic job of that physical detail auditory system info. I will also use it for reference and looked up more on the graphics c/o Google. Lots of nice pics to see all the little parts. Hopefully will also be of use to Telis depending on which direction this is all going to go in for him. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey hi Telis too!...Keep us in the loop OK, but at your own pace! You don't need any 'obligations' you can't deal with at present. Just putting one foot in front of another is a sufficient accomplishment for the day. Take care... Zimichael
@Telis ...Hey Telis, how's it going?????????????????????????????? Been a bit silent here on this thread though have seen your presence in a few places when I've been on the Forum. Yeah it's near midnight here but tapering off the Klonopin means I get totally tired but can't sleep. Hah, sort of like being on the Klonopin at normal dose!!! Kind of a bust. Anyway have been thinking of you and hoping you are going to elucidate on those questions previously (like what the 'antibiotic' was in the ear drops; if you had checked for sleep apnea; if you are detoxing properly (not "hippe dippie detoxing, like candy bars, or coffee, or the next baddie craze") but proper detoxing c/o liver and kidneys, etc. in case of limitations in metabolizing and excreting stuff, that then "bite back" if not dumped. The detoxing can be significant, like sleep...Gawd how ironic - here's the "Sleepless One" talking about sleep quality! Pitiful...Anyway, to be more specific I found out after taking Atovaquone/Mepron way back for Babesia suspicion (a tick-borne disease hitch-hiker) that I could tolerate the drug but my vision went yellow...vision, not eyes like with jaundice. Then went on a simple "methylation protocol" developed by the super hard core (as in: "really good and dedicated") Autistic community docs, that solved the problem. "Methylation" is one of the fundamental detox mechanisms that allow us to function without 'loading up' with crap like a river in China. Anyway, will be good to hear from you! best, Zimichael
Most changes, especially the sudden kind, seem to me to come without explanation. There's no rhyme nor reason why differences occur. They just do. Oh, sometimes a high salty meal will tend to peak the T that's been with me for forty years, but overall, I take the alternations as part of the package. Few ever stick around, after which the usual symphony returns to baseline. The less stress put into it, the better. Panic is not a nice place to be, so it is best you learn how to relax as quickly as possible. Your relaxation response can be quickened with practice, but you must be willing to learn what it is to "let go." David
It seems like a cruel random turn of events, but it seems like inflammatory reaction, what you should do is take NAC and dexamethasone and see how much it reduces your tinnitus, in the mean time accept that your situation is horrible and that it will probably be fixed by potassium channel modulators it is just important to remember to stay focused and deny this stupid illness your sanity. When I get horrible sound I punch stuff, I drink, I watch gore, I go do things that take the rage out. Since your tinnitus is capable of going down it is also possible to do things that will make it go away. It seems that you did not try to fix it asap so it should not be so surprising that it is not getting better. I know that the sound can be torture and that it seems that you cannot take it any more but you have to find something to do while it is worse. Since you CAN do stuff, maybe your mind is crazy from all the noise but there is still stuff that you can do while this torture is molesting you. Keep perspective that things can be worse, that it can be pulsatile or that you can have some other kind of disease, I know that it is hard to be positive about this but it actually looks like they may in next year or so have something that will make this shit disappear or become somewhat bearable.
Sorry that you are suffering so much, Telis. There are so many excellent posts from caring members. Hope you will find some improvement following some of their suggestions. T can be such a monster at times and our mind can just lose itself in anxiety and panic which fuel T to get worse due to the stress. I don't have any magic bullet for your situation except to encourage you to be patient with T. It takes time for T to settle to baseline and it takes time for the body to absorb in all these new alien sensations. Have you checked with ENTs on your hearing? I hope you won't face deafness. But if you do, heaven forbids, it is still livable. In my 5 years with T and posting at various forums, I have encountered some cases of people who are either completely deaf of semi deaf. Their T are unmaskable. One such example is a young pretty European girl called Zoe Cartwright, who at a young 15 became totally deaf. She said she had *#$%^&* loud T which is unmaskable. Yet she made the wise decision to stay calm to accept the reality of her T. She went on to university and there she made a tinnitus film as a project. Here is her film: Tinnitus Short Film - 24.7.52.10.Watch this video on YouTube So I hope you don't get too down on yourself. There are so many options of treatment you can try. Hope you will start gaining it instead of losing it. Try read up the Positivity Thread to try to stay more positive. It may not stop T but it can help lift your spirit.
