Ringing from Singapore

Hi guys,

You don't know how glad I am to have found this site and you guys here. It gives me so much insight and the experiences shared with regards to T.

I'm 42 years old and reside over in Singapore.

I got T on 22 Sep 2014. After sitting on the sofa watching a re-run of Star Trek for 1 hr, I suddenly got some sort of a deafening feeling on my left ear (my best description of it is the feeling of your ear when it is exposed to sudden loud noise) then followed by a loud ringing (tone like) and it has been ringing ever since till now. By 27 Sep 2014, my right ear also started hearing the same tone. For 2 weeks it greatly affected my sleep, I had been drifting in and out of sleep every couple of hours only. The ringing on a couple of nights was so unbearably loud, I tought I would go crazy. I went to an ENT specialist and they told me they couldn't do a thing about it and gave me some vitamin B and asked me to go for a MRI scan (which I am still skeptical about).

I have some thoughts about the origins of my T which I want to share to see if any one else experienced the same thing as me - About 2 months prior in Jul 2014, I started to have fainting symptoms which progressed to a few bouts of vertigo. I noticed every time I get vertigo, it will be followed by the deafening feeling of my ears followed by the ringing, but always lasted for a while only (15 mins tops). I went to the ENT specialist and they gave me Merislon (anti vertigo pills). It worked well whenever I get vertigo. But things took a turn for the worst on 22 Sep when I started to have T.

Another thing is that I noticed my T started out as a lower tone of 6khz (but loud) and seems to progress to a higher tone (and also slowly getting softer) on an almost daily basis. Now the tone is around 10khz. If by some sheer luck it continues like this and goes past 14khz, my T won't be a problem anymore since I can't hear frequencies beyond that : )

I read some of the medicines you guys have been taking and it offered me some hope, however as I am on heart medications (irregular heartbeat), things like Retigabin might have some adverse effect on me. But I'll try to talk to my doctor about it as I really want to try this out.

This almost 1 month of living with T had been very nerve racking for me. The feeling of sleeplessness and helplessness, not knowing how my T came about and worse is not knowing how to treat or prevent it. I cannot imagine how some of you guys live with it for years! For a newbie like me, I can only offer my empathy and admiration to you guys who have been suffering for years. It may not sound like much, but please hang in there!

Patrick

 

@Patrick@SG I can only relate my sorry. I have 'T' for 24 years. Never vertigo until I awoke May 22, 2014. My ringing was louder than ever and the room was spinning. I saw an ENT who gave anti-vert and steroids. It helped after 4 weeks vertigo was gone but ringing still loud as of today. The ENT suspect a virus. I also believe his protocol helped me recover from the vertigo. Now it is just wait and habituate. Good luck. Ken

 

Welcome to TT @Patrick@SG . Here you will find fellow sufferers and lots of good information.
I noticed you mentioned vertigo and then i googled Merislon. I have to mention Meniere´s Disease here.
Did your doctor say anything about it?

 

Michael,

The ENT specialist did suspect that I have Meniere's Disease but the only thing I don't have is constant deafness which is one of the symptoms. They recommended I got for a MRI scan to confirm it.

 

are u on plavix or beta blockers..??

 

Ken,

24 yrs with T? My hats off to you. I can't even take it only after 1 month. It nothing can be done, I guess I have no choice but to habituate

 

As for sleep if ur blood pressure is not low or have orthostatic pressue issues try melatonin from gnc or guardian, they have melatonin lozenge, It will help you to sleep.

 

nogood,

Not that I know of. The medicines that I am taking is for my irregular heartbeat, one of which is an ACE Inhibitor the rest are not beta blockers. Anyway, I have been taking these medicines for a couple of years now but did not develop T only until recently

 

nogood,

I am currently taking a blood thinning medicine called Wafarin and it would have some interactions with melatonin. I guess I can't take it, much that I want to.

 

Blood thinners seems to have some relation with T, plavix is another blood thinner. They have lots of side effects. Melatonin does not interact with blood thinner directly , but it does lowers the blood pressure slightly, blood thinners also has the similar effect of lowering the blood pressure.

other option is to go for benzos for sleep.

I got my T from indirect sideeffect of plavix, which i only took for one month or so.

 

MRI pic must be taken, yes. This is a good article about MD, all the basics are there. I hope you dont have Meniere´s. With T there is just enough problems to live with. I have Certain Meniere´s Disease.
We have been writing about MD in this thread.

 

nogood,

Thanks for the insights. I'd be inclined to try out melatonin as its readily available in the pharmacies here. Probably start off on a smaller dosage and see if it helps me to sleep better. Any recommendations on the dosage?

I have a (non-medical layman) theory, that is running through my head now (or it could be that I am just desperate to find a cause), as to how I may have gotten T - Just last week I went for my bi-annual heart checkup and realised that my Wafarin dosage has become too high, which means my blood has become too thin. As I did not have any drastic changes to my diet, I am puzzled as to why my blood has become such, but my guesstimate for the change in my blood was probably 1-1.5 months back when I noticed cuts take a much longer time to heal. This could have trigger my T (fingers crossed). Anyway I am going back to re-adjust my Wafarin to optimal levels, hopefully once that happens, my T would be gone? I will keep you guys posted on it.

 

MichaelM,

Thanks for the links. It gave me a much better idea on MD, but it also gave me another new angle of fear, as it may also be possible I have MD. I guess all this is too much for me to take at one go, but I know I have to face reality if it were really true. Like the other guys here, I also have a loving wife and a 3 year old son and my T is causing my mood to be bad and I don't want my family to be unduly affected by me. It would break my heart to see them suffering because of me.

Anyway, I am truly sorry to hear you have MD also, my thoughts go out to you and I hope you are coping fine.

 

Hello Patrick ,glad you've found TT ,fair few of us on TT have balance issues running along with T ,certainly no fun in ones day .
I've had the balance 3 years ,but it's gotten worse pass year ,there are exercises you can give a try ,may help you..
I've not got Menieres as they say you feel queezey,I've now been on a site Veda ,that's just mainly for balance issues,this site was passed on to me by a UK site ,end of the day ,were all on sites trying to help each other ,with whatever we got going on and needing help with .
Hope to that you've looked at the TT threads .Good luck Patrick

 

Fyi i am in sg too...
Same thing happened for me too.. they said i would not survive long if i stop plavix.. need to be stented..
99% block in lad .... i declined to be stented at the aed after having an heart attack.. it took me 4 hrs to decide to go aed.. another 4 hrs for doctors to find out.. it was an heart attack..fortunately block cleared on its own but plavix left its damage behind.
I suffered from low pressure low pulse rate and brain fog and dizziness. . I finally convinced doctors to take me off all medications. . They still advice me to be on asprin and statins.. i dont take them also.. switched to proper diet and regular exercise and slowly everything returned to almost normal.. T and high frequency hearing loss is permant damaged left behind..
U can buy 3mg candy types for 30$ or so in gnc or gurdian stores .
I just worry in terms of blood pressure it can drop very low if blood is too thin. .
I strongly suggest to watch ur diet.. it helps 99%.
But ur case is different cause u have other issues with heart..but in relation to blood thinners its really shld not be long term medication. . The side effects just doesn't justify its long term usage unless ur body doesn't really can't maintain proper consistency.

 

Thanks Marlene

 

nogood,

You are from Singapore too? That's good hear (Not for the T I mean).

I have been on Wafarin and the other heart medicines since 2009. I suffered several Angina attacks in 2008 and went for an Angiogram but fortunately there wasn't much blockage to my arteries but I have an irregular heartbeat and that might greatly increase the risk of a stroke. Since then I have been taking the doctor's advice to stop smoking, started some brisk walking on alternate days, but I have to admit I haven't been too regimental on my diet.

I would rule out the heart medicines causing my T, as if it did, I would have developed T soon after I started taking the medicines since 2009? It is only recently that I developed it and the only changes I can think off is my Wafarin level has become too high for me and also the Vertigo spells. Anyway I am hypothesizing too much I guess.

Please take care of yourself, especially after your heart attack, also take extra precautions regarding your blood thinning level. We DO NOT want to have a stroke as it is irreversible and the consequences is worst than T.

 

thank you for ur caring. i am doing considerably well.
i am off all medications, against doctors advice. i do occupationally take aspirin very low dose if i am going on long hikes or jogging, that is about it.
Other thing i take is serrapeptase which is supposed to help eat way all the dead cells. it helped with ETD caused by ear infection and i noticed that my leg pain from very old injury does not show as often it used to be. the other day i was cycling 4 hrs plus in pulaubin my gf said .. hey u are not complaining about ur leg pain.. also noticed that some of scars did almost gone. also read that serrapetase can help stop formation of scar tissues in heart, i can it could very well be true.

Even with heart attack and 99% block my heart ef was at 50% only 5% less than normal EF, one cardio suggested that i might have developed additional arteries which are usually dormant, something they call natural bye pass.

my advice is that u watch ur diet 100% of the time. if u have bp issues i mean if its high drink beet root juice or ABC juice. they will help a lot. if u keep this up, and do regular check on blood, u will notice that u are healthy enough to the point u will not need blood thinners any more.
blood thinner are double edged sword, i personally feel they are not long term solution. so does use of statins.. regular intake of fish oil covers what blood thinner and statins do.

 

Got it. Here's hoping that our heart gets better and our T disappears!

 

Hi Patrick and Nogood ,sorry to hear you've both got this going along with T ,sad to read ,few in my family on warfarin ,the care you need to take now your on it .No way round it you've got to take it Patrick . I'm on BP tablet,that's bad enough for me ,my T stress keeps mine elevated .
Hey Patrick ,I lived in Singapore ,Serangoon ,then moved up to Sembawang . Oh that heat was a crippler
Lovely beaches out there ,lovely clear water .Nice memories .
You both takecare. And yes I drink beetroot juice ,excellent for BP ,my daughter in law. Senior heart nurse says they've had good reports on the juice .So take some ,I get the organic ,it's nice in taste . I take it like I would medicine .

 

Thank you for your thoughts. This is a struggle, i have to admit that. This is so much more than just a T.
Stay strong. If you feel like writing about MD to someone, send me a PM if you like. I know the all the feelings MD can create: fear, hate, despair, loneliness, disbelief... We just have to keep on going no matter how hard it is sometimes.

 

Thanks Marlene.
For me almost everything is normal except for this T...

 

Marlene

Nice to hear that you used to stay here. And yes its really hot. I was born here and I also can't take the humidity and heat most of the time : )

Thanks for the tip on the beetroot juice, will go check it out

 

Michael

Will do. I guess I'll go for the MRI to know for certain, then at least I'll have the facts to deal with it. Its better than guessing now. I'll keep in touch with you

 

Please go for that beetroot ,full of goodness alone . I drink carrot juice another good one to drink regular basis ,
Got our BBC news on ,Goverment here doing health checks on people wanting to enter UK at ports of entry ,2 dead in Spain ,it's now in Germany Italy and France ,Scary disease.
On happier note. Where in Singapore are you Patrick ? Made me smile when you say the humidity gets to you ,I loved the monsoon seasons best ,even that rain was like being in a warm shower.
Let's know how you go on ,think most have had an MRI ,whatever's offerered up medically do it .

 

@Marlene @Patrick Something to note on beetroot juice.. Its very cooling in nature suggest take a glass with some ginger juice in it.. They both go well..

 

Never tried it with ginger ,that may help with my rhinitis into the bargain ,always looking for the misery of rhinitis going along side by side with this damn T ,so good find Nogood .will get ginger from supermarket and juice that down . Good tip of my week thanks .

 

Marlene

I understand that Ibola is not airborne, so it may not spread so easily like SARS, but whichever the case, be extra cautious.

I'm staying over at the western side at Jurong. Not only is it hot and hazy now, I also get to all sorts of funny smells from the nearby industrial areas. Its a swell place to be : )

Yup, I'll be going for the MRI end of this month and see what the doctors say then (keeping my fingers crossed)

 

Nogood,

Noted on the beetroot juice. Thanks

 

Hi all,

Just an update,

1) I noticed consistently for 4 times already, whenever I sit down on my sofa watching TV for more than 1/2 hour, I will get a deafening feeling on my left ear and then followed by loud ringing which goes away only on the next day afternoon. This only happens whenever I sit on my sofa (cursed?) It doesn't happen when I sit anywhere else. Weird?!

2) The ringing tone has progressively gone up from 7-8khz to 12-13khz now, but more importantly it has become softer. I hope if it continues like that, and goes beyond 14-15khz, I'd might not be able to hear it anymore. (Fingers all crossed).

For the meantime, I'll just quit sitting on my sofa watching TV, I guess I'll be fine with no spikes in my T.

I hope you guys have better results with your diminishing T