Testosterone and Tinnitus — Myelin Sheath / Nerves

Hi guys,

I know some people out there are into the science behind tinnitus beyond the usual 'loud noise exposure' reasoning you will get from most medicos.

The following is just something I observed and did a bit of research into. I don't think it has been mentioned or covered in any tinnitus treatments or discussions.

I was curious about testosterone and tinnitus from a nerve/bone/tissue regeneration standpoint. Since a lot of evidence points toward nerve cross-talk and the CNS picking up aberrant signals from surrounding nerves.

Obviously there are numerous reasons behind tinnitus and that's why everyone has their own description, symptoms etc. But a lot of somatosensory tinnitus might be related to myelin sheath and nerve damage from for example cervical spine degeneration etc.

Anyway here is an interesting read about testosterone and myelin sheath regeneration:

Unexpected central role of the androgen receptor in the spontaneous regeneration of myelin

It is interesting to note that in figure S4, GABAa receptors are also affected by the metabolism of testosterone which as most people know GABA is a CNS relaxant and is related to hyperactivity (and loudness of tinnitus) of the CNS.

So I guess what I am getting at is that in both men and woman hormones like testosterone most likely play a role in regeneration of tissues. These hormones can also be easily suppressed by depression, diet and many other factors too.

 

This is very interesting, because I am the living example of what are you talking about. When I got tinnitus I had low testosterone from cutting to a very low body fat (~7%). Well I still have low testosterone from that, trying to recover gainning a lot of muscle/weight (started to train seriously again in June), takes a lot of time.

 

Bump.

→ Circulating steroids negatively correlate with tinnitus

 

Maybe there is a correlation. I developed the Post Finasteride Syndrome years ago. Fortunately the sexual sides are mild now (took nearly 2 years to get better) but tinnitus is very loud. Mine is from noise exposure anyway...

 

This is an interesting read. When I first got my tinnitus, I was very underweight from an eating disorder. I've always wondered if that contributed to me getting tinnitus and if it prevented my ears/brain from healing.

 

So is Testosterone therapy good or bad with tinnitus?

 

My tinnitus started about 5 years ago. Also about 4 years ago, I started dosing Testosterone about 5 times per week for a low Testosterone condition. I also continue to work out 4-5 days per week. While I feel amazingly better, my tinnitus has not gone away. Interesting piece to read.

No idea if my low Testosterone had any relation to my onset of tinnitus. I know the Testosterone Replacement Therapy has not improved the condition.

 

Most likely no effect per se - they are looking at the gamut of steroids also I presume.