New to Tinnitus

[Tom2013]

Hello everyone! I'm really glad to have found this site and have read much in the past few days. My tinnitus started back in late November 2012 and basically only in the left ear. It started shortly after a hike when my ears got real cold. My doctor gave me a nasal decongestant and had me take an over the counter antihistamine. This went on for about a month with no improvement. My ENT did a MRI and optical nasal scope and found that all was clear. A hearing test showed loss in the left ear, but not enough to need a hearing aid. However, I cannot hear a wrist watch tic in that ear, so it's noticeable for sure. This is really frustrating. The tinnitus can now be in both ears and be very loud! I'm currently waiting for results of some blood tests. I heard that Lymes Disease can cause tinnitus so that test was included. Sometimes it's quiet enough that it's not too noticeable during a conversation, but always present. It's funny that when it's real loud, there is a slight feeling of pressure in the ears.
My ENT said that there is no remedy and basically have to live with it. He suggested a machine to make background noise. I purchase a MP3 of rain and going to try that. Some people suggest mixing white noise with music and were wondering if anyone had any experience with that kind of therapy.
Thanks for any help!!
Tom

 

[just1morething]

Hi Tom,
I am not one of the staff here, just a fellow member. How loud 1-10, & annoying is your T right now ?

 

[Tom2013]

Hi, I would say that it's about as loud as it's ever been maybe a 5. If I play music and do other things, I don't notice it as much. It's in the backgrand while working in the computer or programming and that can be a problem trying to concentrate. I just try to block it out. Music helps me get to sleep.
Thanks
Tom

 

[just1morething]

Do you think your music had anything to do with your T? Is ringing high pitched or low?

 

[calin]

Welcome... belated! I see you were a member for some weeks before you posted this.

I love the picture of you on the bridge in fall weather. I was born in Ohio, but have lived on the west coast a good deal of my life. I do miss the season changes!

You may want to have some background noise going all the time - like when you are on the computer. My computer fan makes enough "white noise" to help me not notice the tinnitus.

I also got an mp3 for rain/thunder and I listen to it at night. I have however started listening to a cd as well and the looped mp3 of rain. The cd is more of a subliminal exercise without the subliminal science on the track. HUH? Yep, I said that!

Interesting... hike and the association with lyme disease. Good test then to have. I bet it comes out negative. Just a hunch. Not fun to have Lymes.

Taking any meds? That could be a source.

 

[just1morething]

Thanks calin for taking over, as I have to go anyway. Good luck Tom!

 

[Tom2013]

The only meds I take is Lisinopril for blood pressure. Of course I have to take the normal vitamins C, B, and D. I hope the Lymes comes out negative too! But in Wyoming during a summer class 1982, I was bit by a tick and had the characteristic expanding circular rash for Lymes, but the tick that carries it is not suppose to be in that state.
My T is generally high pitched and sometimes can be very loud 10 or 30 seconds at a time several times a day. It is so strange. I really feel like it's a sinus infection when it spikes and have sinus pain, but all that was ruled out by my doctor. I really think it has something to do with my ears getting cold a few days before it started.
My music volume is low as I have always been sensitive to loud noises. Back in the 70's while operating a chain saw I developed vertigo that they said was due to the noise. That just lasted a few weeks and went away. But who knows, maybe it's related.
I'm getting some nature cd's to play in the background. That's a good idea. Thanks Calin.

 

[calin]

The only meds I take is Lisinopril for blood pressure. Of course I have to take the normal vitamins C, B, and D. I hope the Lymes comes out negative too! But in Wyoming during a summer class 1982, I was bit by a tick and had the characteristic expanding circular rash for Lymes, but the tick that carries it is not suppose to be in that state.
My T is generally high pitched and sometimes can be very loud 10 or 30 seconds at a time several times a day. It is so strange. I really feel like it's a sinus infection when it spikes and have sinus pain, but all that was ruled out by my doctor. I really think it has something to do with my ears getting cold a few days before it started.
My music volume is low as I have always been sensitive to loud noises. Back in the 70's while operating a chain saw I developed vertigo that they said was due to the noise. That just lasted a few weeks and went away. But who knows, maybe it's related.
I'm getting some nature cd's to play in the background. That's a good idea. Thanks Calin.

hmmm.. Lisinopril

Check your side effects associated with this drug. I typed
Lisinopril and tinnitus to search and found the following... http://www.drugs.com/answers/is-there-a-connection-between-lisinopril-and-378902.html


On Feb, 16, 2013: 84,945 people reported to have side effects when taking Lisinopril. Among them, 344 people (0.40%) have Tinnitus. http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/lisinopril/tinnitus

http://www.medications.com/lisinopril/28889

There are more... just google.

I and others here suspect we got tinnitus from beta blockers, etc. (BP meds)

Good that you are getting background "noise" sounds to help take your focus away for the T. Anyting to keep the anxiety down is a good thing!

 

[Karen]

Hi, Tom, and welcome!

I'm sorry you're having so many problems with hearing and tinnitus. When I read your posts just now, the word "Lisinopril" jumped out at me! My severe tinnitus problems began almost 3 years ago, when my doctor put me on blood pressure meds for the first time. The first drug I took was, you guessed it, Lisinopril! I've been scouring the internet for other people who might have had a problem with Lisinopril, and I did find some others.

Some folks said their ringing started after taking Lisinopril. As for me, I had mild tinnitus before I took it, and the drug made mine a million times worse! I went back to the doctor complaining about my problems, and they put me on another drug, Propranolol, for blood pressure. Then, I was switched to Toprol XL, a beta blocker. I finally got myself off all those drugs, and am using natural supplements, exercise, and diet to control my blood pressure now.

My ringing is still there after getting off the Lisinopril, but it isn't as bad as it was. I wish you the best, and will be interested to hear about how the Lyme disease test results come out.

 

[calin]

The only meds I take is Lisinopril for blood pressure. Of course I have to take the normal vitamins C, B, and D. I hope the Lymes comes out negative too! But in Wyoming during a summer class 1982, I was bit by a tick and had the characteristic expanding circular rash for Lymes, but the tick that carries it is not suppose to be in that state.
My T is generally high pitched and sometimes can be very loud 10 or 30 seconds at a time several times a day. It is so strange. I really feel like it's a sinus infection when it spikes and have sinus pain, but all that was ruled out by my doctor. I really think it has something to do with my ears getting cold a few days before it started.
My music volume is low as I have always been sensitive to loud noises. Back in the 70's while operating a chain saw I developed vertigo that they said was due to the noise. That just lasted a few weeks and went away. But who knows, maybe it's related.
I'm getting some nature cd's to play in the background. That's a good idea. Thanks Calin.

My T is generally high pitched and sometimes can be very loud 10 or 30 seconds at a time several times a day. It is so strange.

This reminds me... I have a friend that gets a low volume tinnitus sound in one or two ears for a short period of time - minutes. Luckily it goes away. She takes Lisinopril too.

 

[carlover]

You know something I allways associated my T with badly breaking my nose playing football ,but at the same time I started taking Lisinipril and still am.

 

[Tom2013]

Thanks everone for all the help. I will check the Lisinopril information. In the past, I have been very irregular in taking the medicine. But when I started to have T in late November, I also noticed a spike in blood pressure 156/95. Since then I have been taking the Lisinopril regularly 10mg/day. So I will ask about it. And your right, stress makes it much worse. Come Summer, the stress levels are much less and the blood pressure comes down by it's self so I hope the T will decrease as well.

 

[calin]

Thanks everone for all the help. I will check the Lisinopril information. In the past, I have been very irregular in taking the medicine. But when I started to have T in late November, I also noticed a spike in blood pressure 156/95. Since then I have been taking the Lisinopril regularly 10mg/day. So I will ask about it. And your right, stress makes it much worse. Come Summer, the stress levels are much less and the blood pressure comes down by it's self so I hope the T will decrease as well.

Do you think the spike in BP is a result of the anxiety from the tinnitus?

Just an FYI and I am not suggesting you try this without doctor support, but both Karen and I stopped our BP meds and regulate the BP naturally. Of course we monitor our BP closely.

 

[mick]

Lyme disease - I too was bitten by a tick and developed a rash (though not bullseye shaped - mine looked more like a wide paintbrush stroke) shortly before my long string of medical problems started. Tinnitus is the latest issue to add to that list (it started in November of last year as well). At the time I was bitten I did not think much of it. I'd been bitten by many ticks and have had red splotches at the site of the bite without ill effects. My understanding of Lyme was that it caused joint pain, so I told myself to ignore it as long as I did not feel and joint pain. I also believed that the bullseye rash was supposed to be the real give away for Lyme. About 15 months later after suffering a multitude of health issues I asked to have the typical Lyme disease blood tests (ELISA and Western Blot) and they came back negative.

Depending on which faction of doctors you want to believe, Lyme may be a very tricky disease. Those that belong to ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Disease Society) believe Lyme can be difficult to detect - that the ELISA test misses Lyme 35% of the time and the Western blot misses it 20-30% of the time. They also say that while the bullseye rash is considered the classic dermatologic condition following a bite from a tick infected with Lyme, it is not the predominate one. Other types of rashes occur much more frequently, and sometimes no rash occurs at all.

The bacteria that causes Lyme is a spirochete that they say can exist in 3 different forms. Two of those forms (cyst and cell-wall deficient) are supposedly very immune to antibiotics. The ILADS docs also believe that Lyme like Syphilis - another spirochete - is the great immitator. It supposedly creates a multitude of symptoms that most doctors mistake for other things. The bulk of the rest of the medical community claims this is not true and that Lyme can be cured with 30 days of antibiotic.

The ILADS docs believe if the bacteria is not treated earlier it leads to something they call chronic Lyme which they treat with heavy doses of antibiotics over a long time period (maybe even years). There are great dangers with taking antibiotics for long periods of time simply because it can lead to certain bacteria that may be present in your body at low levels to become immune to the antibiotic and lead to a lethal infection. Hence, I've stayed away from looking into the chronic Lyme possibility, but I still wonder about it and wish there was more concrete evidence to support it as a real ailment. If you're interested in learning more about it you can Google "chronic lyme" and find gobs of info.

I had a neighbor who devleoped a bunch of medical problems including sporatic facial paralysis, limbs moving involuntarily, severe headaches, depression, anxiety, and tinnitus. She went to a dozen or so doctors, most of whom she said ignored her compaints. This went on for about 9 months. Finally her sister recommended she see a rheumotologist that she new who was supposed to be an outstanding diagnostician. This doctor took her seriously, went through all the results of the tests she already had, and asked her a ton of questions. Eventually he speculated that she contracted an infection from a water tick that bit her while on vacation. My neighbor did not know the name of the infection he believed she had (it was some Latin name), and he never did any blood tests to comfirm it. He just put her on what she said was strong antibiotics for a month, and all her problems went away except that she developed some intestinal issues because the antibiotic killed off all the friendly bacteria there.

Just food for thought -- and another example where finding the right doctor can be critical to your health. I've yet to find the right one for me. I wish I knew how. I tried to see the rheumotologist that my neighbor saw, but he is not taking on new patients.

 

[Tom2013]

For many years I only took half my usual dose of BP medicine because I would fell light headed at 10mg. My doctor was fine with that as long as I would monitor my BP. But I'm afraid that I slack off now and then. I think that is a good idea to look into other more natural remedies. Originally when my BP spiked I thought the T would go away. But as the BP went down, the T stayed.
Thanks for all the information on Lyme. My rash was a narrow expanding wheel with a clear center. Not really a bull's-eye if I remember correctly. And I really never had any joint pain. The tick that bit me was fairly big. One of my fellow students pulled it off and it removed about a half centimeter of skin as well. That really surprised me. When the rash developed, I was sent to the hospital and they gave me some sort of ointment. They thought it was an allergic reaction from the bite.
A few years ago during the winter time, my fingers would become numb when cold. Even handling a cold drink would trigger numbness. They ran a rheumatoid blood panel and said that I tested borderline. I was supposed to come back for further tests but did not because it seemed to subside. I do notice my finger nails look a little bluish when it's cool at school. I can't wait till the warmer weather comes. I knew RA could be caused by Lyme, but my brother has it and he's younger than me so it may run in the family.
I just hope it doesn't get any louder. Right now, it's mainly in my left ear. But that can change. I will write what they find with the blood tests.

 

[Karen]

Tom,
Regarding blood pressure, I've heard that cooler temperatures tend to cause our blood pressure to go up, because the veins constrict more in colder weather. That might in part explain your blood pressure spike, plus the stress you were experiencing in the winter months.

Good luck on those Lyme disease blood tests, and I hope you find some answers!

 

[Tom2013]

Hi Karen,
I think that is a very good point. I know my blood pressure can drop 10 or 15 points before and after a hot shower. I know for me when it's warm out my BP goes down and of course I'm much more active outside which I think helps as well.

 

[Tom2013]

Well it's been over a month and my tinnitus has been going down a bit until Sunday when I was on my shop roof nailing down some aluminum roofing that has worked its way loose. I was only pounding in nails for 15 minutes or so and really did not think anything of it until that night and I noticed the tinnitus was much louder and very difficult to sleep. I'm most certainly going to wear ear protection next time. My worry now is that mowing the back field with the diesel was always a loud activity even with ear protection and I wonder how it might affect the tinnitus this summer. Once thing for sure, moving glass bottles around seems very loud which did not before. Always something new I guess. Someone told me I should try lipoflavonoid. Has anyone had any experience with it?

 

[calin]

Well it's been over a month and my tinnitus has been going down a bit until Sunday when I was on my shop roof nailing down some aluminum roofing that has worked its way loose. I was only pounding in nails for 15 minutes or so and really did not think anything of it until that night and I noticed the tinnitus was much louder and very difficult to sleep. I'm most certainly going to wear ear protection next time. My worry now is that mowing the back field with the diesel was always a loud activity even with ear protection and I wonder how it might affect the tinnitus this summer. Once thing for sure, moving glass bottles around seems very loud which did not before. Always something new I guess. Someone told me I should try lipoflavonoid. Has anyone had any experience with it?

Hey Tom!

I couldn't hurt to take lipoflavonoids!

Here is what they are...

Background

• Lipoflavonoids work to increase the circulation that goes to the inner ear. They are a natural nutritional supplement that is a multivitamin remedy for people dealing with the condition tinnitus. It works to both soothe and prevent ringing in the ears.

Ingredients

• Lipoflavonoids are composed of pigments that are extracted from citrus fruits, especially lemon. Lipoflavonoids are best when taken with any type of vitamin C. Lipoflavonoids consist of flavonols, hesperidin, flavones, eriocitrin, naringenin and naringen.

Read more: What Are Lipoflavonoids? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5050377_lipoflavonoids.html#ixzz2PzFq4xQL

 

[Tom2013]

Hi Calin,

I will give Lipoflavonoids a try. A lot of the tests I have had have come up negative so I bet it may be a vitamin deficiency. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health otherwise.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[calin]

Hi Calin,

I will give Lipoflavonoids a try. A lot of the tests I have had have come up negative so I bet it may be a vitamin deficiency. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health otherwise.

Thanks,
Tom

Congrats on a clean bill of health!!

Keep us posted Tom!

~~If you don't know your options, you don't have any~~