Worried About Rumbling Sound

The thing that scares me is this low rumbling that I have in some degree almost always lately. I don't have hearing loss, yet anyways. (Well, in my T ear. I'm deaf in the other one.). I keep thinking that this means that I am going to go deaf and/or have Meniere's.

Can you have this rumbling indefinitely without anything more serious happening? Anyone had this for a really long time? Seems like something really bad must be going on in my inner ear. Thanks for reading this.

 

The rumbling noise came to visit me a few weeks ago and I thought it was here to stay after hearing it for a few days in a row, but then it went away.
I'm not sure what it means actually, since the low frequencies are handled by the apex of the cochlea.

 

Maybe you just have it because you have low frequency hearing loss. Mine is so loud today. The higher one that's between 1000 and 2000 Hz is super loud too. It sounds like it's all just going to explode. I don't know what else it could be besides Hydrops. No one else responded, so I'm guessing this does mean something even worse is going to eventually happen here.

 

I don't know - my audiogram doesn't show losses in the low frequencies, but who knows, maybe there's some hidden losses.

 

Oh, I thought you did. My other thought was that it's some kind of nerve damage.

 

I did prior to my surgery. Now the lows are within "normal range".

 

I spoke for half an hour to the top menieres researcher in Australia, Dr. Daniel Brown in regards to this.

His thoughts are you cannot diagnose menieres without low frequency hearing loss and/or vertigo. He did however believe that this very low frequency rumbling/pulsating not in line with my heartbeat is hydrops related and this does generally progress to menieres.

He did advise menieres has a wide severity range, and it is unusual for it to start with just tinnitus as a primary symptom, although low frequency tinnitus is less common than high frequency tinnitus to begin with. I guess I'm trying to come to terms with the fact this is therefore likely hydrops related and there will not be an easy fix.

I just wish it was a sound that was easier to mask. Ultra low frequencies are similar in that way to ultra high frequencies, there is not really any natural sounds that can mask it.

 

Great. By generally, I assume he means almost always. Well, that's it. I'm officially screwed. I should start picking out my Cochlear implant now. How long do I have left here?

Meniere's has different causes. Some can easily be corrected. In your case, if you change your diet and lose weight you will most likely get rid of your symptoms. This means that you won't get Meniere's if you do what you need to do. I only wish I had a way of getting rid of this. What else did he say? I think I need to know.

 

Jkph75, I appreciate how upset you are, I am upset too. There is no guarantee by losing weight or changing my diet I will get better. There are tonnes of obese people in the world who do not suffer from tinnitus.

I would not rush out to look at cochlear implants etc. You have no idea of how severe your hydrops if that's what you have will be. Some people get a few attacks of vertigo and then go into remission, others suffer every second day. It is what it is. I was at an otologist a few years ago and a lady had walked in losing all her hearing overnight. It never came back and she had to get cochlear implants. This can happen to anyone at anytime, and there is no guarantee for anyone on this board or off it that they will never need cochlear implants either.

I really do sympathise with you, as tinnitus sucks and I hate it. Just don't automatically assume you will be in the 5% or so people with menieres who suffer very badly. Many people suffer to far lesser degrees.

 

Have you measured the frequency of your tinnitus by any chance? Mine is below 100HZ and tends to pulsate or rumble.

 

Your don't have t in your deaf ear but do in your good ear?

 

I suppose nothing is a guarantee but if you fix what caused the problem then you will likely get rid of the problem. No every obese person does not get Meniere's. Some get heart disease or diabetes. You got Meniere's...but not yet. I know I sound like I am being harsh, but I want you to understand that you really can do something about this. It isn't a guarantee but it's pretty darn close. The more damage that is done the harder it is to fix. You can do this!

For me, I am already deaf in one ear, so I'm not being overly dramatic. I really will need a Cochlear implant.

 

@Paulie87

I haven't measured it but it sounds like yours. Sounds like thunder or a fog horn when it really gets going. I have a million other sounds going too.

 

Yeah. Go figure. Didn't happen until after I had my daughter a year ago.

 

I appreciate what you are saying, and I agree that getting myself in good shape will help me regardless as it is not good to be in poor shape.

You have no idea how your condition will progress though. You may lose a lot of hearing or very little. You don't even know definitely that what you are dealing with is definitely hydrops. In terms of cochlear inplants, I don't understand why people have an issue with them. Of course I would rather my own natural ears worked, but I would take a cochlear implant in a second if I needed one. Thankfully people actually have a choice in this day and age to be deaf or not.

Maybe it's just me, but I find tinnitus far worse than the prospect of being deaf, I would gladly have my ear removed and have a cochlear implant installed to have peace, but as we all know this likely wouldn't help.

I do always wonder why doctors wont remove hearing for people with severe hyperacusis though? Surely life with cochlear implants is better than people going through the hell that is severe hyperacusis.

 

From what this Dr told you, it sounds like I definitely have Hydrops. Then he said that it leads to Meniere's. You lose at least half of your hearing in one ear if you have Meniere's. That would mean that I would not be able to hear. Hearing with a Cochlear implant is not hearing at all. You can get worse tinnitus and balance problems. Any hearing is better than that. The worst possible tinnitus is better. I don't even care about the tinnitus. The vertigo and hearing loss is the real problem. I wish I could figure out anything to do to get rid of this. My kids are so little.

 

Glynis would be able to give alot of information to you but she's in the hospital now. Maybe try messaging her.

 

I thought the tinnitus is what was really getting to you at the moment? If you don't have severe vertigo yet, don't worry about if or when it ever comes. I know this is easier said than done, and I have my own worries, but the doctor spoke to me over the phone, he did not examine me, and at the end of the day even the best menieres researchers in the world still know very little about the condition. There is no way of knowing this is definitely what you have.

Are you located in Australia Jkph75? If you are, what I did was email Dr. Daniel Brown at his Sydney Uni email address and asked if he could call me back when he was free on my mobile. He was kind enough to do this on the same day and actually spent a fair bit of time talking to me and let me pick his head.

 

Poor Glynis, she has this so severely and yet is so positive and always wanting to help others. I hope she is ok.

 

Glynis is one hell of a strong woman, she has helped me so so much. She is a inspiration to me and others I'm sure. Nothing can take the positivity away from that woman.

 

You are right she is inspiring. She shows that no matter what this stupid condition does, it cannot kill you. Only you can do and think that way.

It is irritating, it is frustrating, however all the talk of suicide on parts of this site (including by me when I'm down) is not helpful. Both because suicide goes against basic human nature of trying to stay alive, and reinforces to people they are living with a condition that has taken away any enjoyment they have ever had, and the only way out is suicide. Glynis embodies what a support group should be, people trying to help others when they are down and getting help from others when they need it.

 

Do you have any Balance or dizzy issues having only one good ear?
Jkph75

 

The sound is maddening, but what really bothers me is that the sound indicates that there is something really wrong with my ear, like Meniere's. If everyone with this sound usually has Meniere's eventually then there's not much else to wonder about. Prednisone takes care of my dizziness and improves my hearing. When I was off of it, I was dizzy and nauseous most of the time. I felt off balance. It would get 100xs worse when I got in a car. I couldn't drive. Then they put me back on at a lower dose and it eventually went away. I never had rotational vertigo though. Then, a couple months ago my hearing started going and they bumped my dose up. Now my hearing is better. My hearing has never left the normal range so getting a diagnosis has been hard. They also don't seem to understand why the Prednisone would help so much either.

I don't live in Australia, but this time of year I certainly wish I did So, you just emailed this guy and he talked to you? Did he charge you anything?

 

I disagree with you here. It's important for people who feel suicidal to express how they are feeling. Those who seek support are less likely to complete suicide. Most people can't understand how a noise can affect you so much. I would think that people who have tinnitus and are feeling suicidal might only feel comfortable expressing themselves here.

 

I never had any issues with balance or dizziness. I never even gave a second thought to being deaf in one ear. It literally didn't affect me. Since I got T, I have been reading about single sided deafness and learned that a lot of people with this also have balance issues. I had no idea. So strange that I never had those problems and now have this.

 

I don't mean any offence. I feel suicidal myself sometimes too, and I don't mean to say people who do shouldn't call out for help, they should. We should all try and lift eachother up. I think it's a bit different when there are a few people who post links about people committing suicide and frequently go into other people's threads talking about it when other people need help. They are few and far between, but they are here. When people are down and need help, people should do their best to be positive and try to lift them up, as there is a life with this as horrible as it can be. We all have our days.

2 days ago on Sunday I was at the beach and it was overcast and I looked at my baby and he smiled back at me looking into my eyes. I as a 29 year old male started crying as I was so depressed that day, and kept thinking about suicide, and when I looked at him, I thought I just can't leave him. I can't have him grow up without a dad and ever think I wasn't around due to something he did.

 

The guy didn't charge me and he spoke to me for a while. He called me back after I emailed him. Nice bloke.

 

There are people who have rumbling sounds for years without any further problems. I have had a loud hum for 7 months now pretty much non stop without hearing loss or other issues. Doesn't mean I won't get vertigo or deafness at some point but worrying about it is self-defeating.

 

This is the reason I created a new thread to get an idea of peoples pitch types. It'll be interesting to know how many people have bass sounds and thunder type rumbling without further issues.

Many people will say they have low frequency tinnitus and then describe it as being like a shhhhhhhhhhhhh type noise. This is very different to low frequency humming, thunder etc and not really very low frequency noise.

 

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Your little boy does need you. Having my kids is what led me to my ear problems, but no matter what happens they are worth all of it