Tinnitus Initially Caused by Chiropractic Treatment — I Always Liked My Quiet

Hi, I'm Leila from Germany. I've been suffering from tinnitus since 2015 and have accumulated three different noises over the course of the years.

The first one was a ringing sound I got after a physiotherapist decided to set my head without telling me what it was he was intending to do. Half a second later my right ear started to ring in a very high pitched frequency in my right ear that hasn't stopped since then. Surprisingly, I've gotten used to the high frequency and it is the one noise I can actually live with without masking.

The second noise (also in my right ear) is of a very low frequency and I just kind of woke up with it about 3 years ago and it, too, never went away. This is when I got a noiser and it helped me a lot.

The third noise, too, is of a very low frequency and I woke up with it about 4 days ago. It is in my left ear and a lot louder than the other two noises. It is slowly driving me crazy because it is so loud that I have to listen to some kind of noise 24/7 because else I'll end up banging my head against the wall in hope of relief.

But having to listen to something 24/7 whether it's my tinnitus noises or the radio or some masking sound is exhausting me. I'm a person who has always liked her quiet and not getting a minute of silence a day is hell. I'm really upset at the moment because I don't know how to go on if the ringing stays at the level it is at the moment.

Thank you for reading this and listening to my worries.
Leila

 

Hi @Leila,

It might be a good idea to be seen at ENT for tests, just to make sure there is no underlying medical problem that could be making the tinnitus so intrusive. If nothing untoward is found, a referral to an Audiologist specialising in tinnitus management might be helpful. Counselling and some medications as well as sound therapy, including white noise generators can often help. White noise generators used correctly provide sound enrichment not masking. The idea is to set the white noise below the level of the tinnitus so it's not competing with it.

Think about my suggestions. If you haven't been seen at ENT for a while it's a good idea to go, then see an Audiologist.

Hope you are able to get some help soon.
All the best

Michael

 

@Leila, so sorry you have to deal with this. I always enjoyed being in quiet too.

 

Hello Michael,

Thank you very much for your kind words and your helpful advice. I've already made arrangements to see an ENT this coming week, so I've got to hold on until then.

I think my "noiser" is what you call a white noise generator - sometimes we Germans like to give things English names that already have perfectly good names in English just to make life a little more confusing - it's like a hearing aid but instead of amplifying my hearing it plays a wave like sound that almost blocks out the noises in my right ear.

As for counselling if the ringing remains I'll definitely have to look into finding a good counselor. And as for medication, the last time I talked to my ENT he told me there wasn't anything that was scientifically proven to help with tinnitus he'd prefer not to prescribe anything to me. If you have come across something that has helped you, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know, so that I can talk to him about it when I see him next week / or just try it for myself.

Thank you very much again,
Leila

 

The noiser (I like the name), I have two and yes they look like hearing aids. Mine have a volume control so I can set them below the level of my tinnitus so it doesn't mask or block it out. The idea is not to block-out the tinnitus as this makes it more difficult for the brain to habituate to it. I don't need to wear my white noise generators all the time as I have variable tinnitus, that can be: silent, mild, moderate, severe or very severe.

I disagree with your ENT as there are medications that can help a person to manage their tinnitus better, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a strong dosage. Tinnitus can be very debilitating and for a health professional to say, they'd rather not prescribe anything proves to me, this person knows nothing about tinnitus and the way it can affect a person's mental and emotional wellbeing.

Your ENT doctor may be an excellent physician and knows all about the anatomy of the ear, nose and throat. He is able to treat underlying medical conditions within it and if they are causing the tinnitus treat them medically or surgically. However, this does not make him a tinnitus specialist which is an entirely different thing. The only way to understand tinnitus is to have the condition and this is the reason, I suggested after you are seen at ENT for tests, and you get the all clear - see an Audiologist that specialises in tinnitus as this is their area of expertise not an ENT. Most Audiologists that specialise is tinnitus also have the condition. They were either born with it or acquired it at some time in their life. They will be able to understand and empathise with what your going through, in a way that most ENT don't know. ENT doctors are physicians.

Regarding medications, you can try herbal St John's Wort or prescription antidepressants at low dosage. They can help your mood, so you don't feel too down because of the severity of the tinnitus. There is a medication that is proven to help some people with severe tinnitus and that is Clonazepam/Rivotril. It is a benzodiazepine and can help reduce tinnitus. It should not be taken too regularly as it can be addictive and have unpleasant side effects. It helped me immensely when my ENT doctor prescribed it 2010. I was advised to only take it when the tinnitus was severe and still have it on prescription today. I take it once or twice a month for one to two days and then stop. I haven't had a problem with this medication. As I've said, it shouldn't be taken too regularly but it's known to help some people with tinnitus. My post: My Experience with Tinnitus, below, explains more.

Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful.

All the best and take care
Michael

Tinnitus and Mental Health | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
My Experience with Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Hi @Leila
Can you say why you went to the physiotherapist?

Have you had X rays of the cervical spine - anteroposterior, lateral and anteroposterior odontoid peg views. The odontoid peg view should show the lateral masses of the atlanto-axial articulation. After exam is noted, warm or cool compresses may help.

CT myelography instead of MRI for assessment of ligamentous and disc injuries after getting X rays if trauma to the C spine is noted.

 

Thank you very much, Michael and Greg. You gave me a lot of helpful information to look into and talk over with my ENT and I also think I'll have to find somebody who is more of an expert when it comes to tinnitus. When my first tinnitus noise established and I went looking for help I felt as if I was bringing some rare and unheard of ailment to my doctors' offices. They were all happy to do tests but that was as far as it went. I eventually got my white noise generator because I read about it and after that insisted that I at least get a chance to try it out. It made a big difference to me and maybe the solution will be getting a second one. I guess, I'll have to see.

 

@annV - oh yes, I really, really, really miss my silence. I would love to read a book or just sit quietly and daydream without the buzzing of a sub woofer in my ears...

 

You are welcome @Leila

After you are seen at ENT for tests, a referral to an Audiologist that specialises in tinnitus management, I believe will be able to help you.

If you have any more questions at any time please feel free to ask.

Hope you'll be able to get some help soon.
Take care.

Michael

 

@Leila I agree that you should find someone that is more of an expect and that would be for examination of neck. You mention -

Now more so with second and third development of noise, I would consider an interventional radiologist to examine your neck. Tests that I mentioned in my post above. If you already had a CT or MRI and X rays, have them read by an interventional radiologist that specializes in vertebral, visceral and vascular compartments.

Hopefully some easy therapy would help and tinnitus with what is obvious to be the problem - your neck.

Wishing you the best.

 

Hallo, Leila! Welcome to the forums.

I am truly sorry to hear about the origins of your symptom. I personally visit a chiropractor myself, and I actually look forward to the setting of the neck as that tends to clear up strain I've been having due to my poor posture. It is terrible to hear that you've had an adverse effect of that, one that has persisted for over five years now. The fact that you were able to get used to it is great news all the same, though having these other tones appear over time is just beyond cruel.

While I am no expert in this subject at all, my knowledge of body-related forms of the symptom are even limited. It is great to see that @Greg Sacramento has reached out to you here in a knowledgeable form and that @Michael Leigh himself has extended both his support and advice. I certainly hope you are able to glean useful information from what you've read.

Regarding your last paragraph, I am absolutely with you there. Before my onset, I was one who used earplugs at night before bed to ensure I am not distracted by ambient noise, chirping birds, or loud persons downstairs. I often kept my room silent as I was browsing the web. Silence was not foreign to me, rather it was something I cherished. Now, I haven't heard it during waking hours for six weeks. It's devastating.

I had never considered health problems before that featured assaults on your senses. I am used to things like headaches. Stomachaches. Rashes. Stuffy noses. Things like that. I was not remotely aware there was an issue like persistent ringing in the ears before. My understanding of the ears was the worst you had to expect was noticeable hearing loss. It is incredible how little people know about this condition.

I want to believe there will be a solution for everyone at some point. The problem is that point is not known, nor exactly is the path that must be taken to get there. This is ultimately a waiting game that everyone is sick of playing, but it's a game that must be played.

Mach weiter so. You will make it.

 

It is what I've always felt, too, that the origin of my tinnitus is related to my neck. When I addressed this thought with my doctors and the person who tried setting my head (he was more of a physiotherapist than the chiropractor he advertised himself to be but that's something, too, I only found out after the deed had already been done) they were all quick to tell me that in no way were the move the man did the cause of my tinnitus and if I ever had considered that I might have gotten it anyway at this exact day and time. And when I insisted that I wasn't convinced it was strongly suggested that maybe the whole thing was all psychosomatic. I got very distrustful of doctors after that, which is also why, after 5 years, I haven't really the infrastructure I should probably have by now.

 

Hello @Drachen and vielen lieben Dank für deine freundlichen Worte! I guess nobody who hasn't experienced it for themselves will be able to understand what it really means to not get a second of silence over the course of a longer stretch of time. People laugh at me, when I compare it to psychological warfare but that's what it feels to me most days.

I'll try finding more specialised doctors as you and @Greg Sacramento and @Michael Leigh suggested and maybe even brave another chiropractor to see what they think.

Thanks again for reaching out to me! And I really, really hope that there'll come the day where you will get your minute of silence - bis dahin, nicht unterkriegen lassen!!!

 

Hi Leila,

I just got around to reading you story. Sorry about the tinnitus! You mentioned on some profile posts that you also struggled with hyperacusis but that it got better for you after a while. Could you tell me more about that?

 

Hi @CRGC.

Yes, hyperacusis hit me pretty hard during the early days of SARS-CoV-2. Initially, it was so bad that scratching my head, or chewing, or tapping my finger to any kind of surface caused me so much pain I was afraid to do anything but sit and breathe.

At first, I tried explaining my symptoms to my nearest and dearest but came to realise rather quick that hyperacusis can't be explained. And it didn't take long for people to hint "psychosomatic pain" which really made me angry because my pain was and is pretty damn real.

As a consequence I practiced social distancing to the extreme because it let me to get away with cutting myself off from the world. To me it felt weird that nobody called me neurotic because of this practice but my hyperacusis and the accompanying pain was a cause of concern.

Anyway, for the longest of times I didn't think I'd ever get my life back because all noises (and especially my own voice and the ones produced by a speaker) caused me so much pain that I gave up the source of it without a second thought. I stopped talking / refused to communicate in person or by phone / gave up music and watching TV and lived like a recluse.

It wasn't a very popular move but it was the only thing that helped.

It took about 3/4 of a year for my hyperacusis to calm down. It hasn't gone completely and mechanical noises or certain timbres are still very much a challenge. I can endure them for a certain amount of time but once that time is up I need to go / get away from their source and if people think that's weird, so be it.

I can't really offer a lot of advice since the only thing I've done is cut the thing(s) that caused me pain from my life. Fortunately, it worked for me. What I've learned from this experience is: if you are still doing things to be polite or in order to please others, you're obviously not experiencing enough pain. Because pain makes you selfish like that.

I hope this little insight in my hyperacusis journey will be of help to you.

Best regards,
Leila

 

Hi Leila,

Thanks so much for sharing your story. I can definitely relate to when you say that you can endure certain sounds for some time only, but that after a while it becomes too much. I experience that too these days. Hopefully our tolerance to those sounds can be rebuilt over time as well. Good luck with everything!

 

You are very welcome. I know that reading about somebody else's pains doesn't really make a difference and yet, in a way, it does. In this regard Tinnitus Talk and the courageous and strong people I've met here have been a great comfort to me.

I really, really hope so, or else it's going to be a very, very bleak however many years we've got left. And I reject this as an option!

Good luck to you, too, @CRGC, hopefully in a couple months' time our hyperacusis will have calmed down to the point it won't stand in the was of going about our life in a semi-normal way