General Chat

I too have the noises in the ear, I worked in various cotton mills, and especially the card room, which was a very noisy place, a week ago I had to have laser treatment on my eyes, later in the week I suddenley noticed the noise had gone, it was clear for a while sadly it is back... I remember watching the t.v. prog
the Barefoot Doctor who showed excersises to do, hard to describe,but you covered both ears with your hands like a cup shape, at the same time click index and second finger against your head for a count of 50, It worked and lasted a day the idea is to do it every time the noise gets bad...hope you can understand me,

I have just happend upon this thread and after reading decided to contribute.
I have had Tininitus since being a child, I used to scratch the pillow in order to get to sleep at night.
Over the years I got used to it and found I could zone in and out of it, sounds strange but I would zone in on the 'pitch' when my brother was making annoying noises and the like, or zone out by concentrating on the noise that was the faintest in order to lessen the 'pitch'

Recently I've noticed that I can't hear so well, in fact I'm quite good at lip-reading.
I was referred to a consultant, who could find nothing wrong with my hearing!! However, he did think my tinnitus was caused by head trauma, of which there has been plenty, and he felt that as a result I could have broken the small bones inside the ear which form part of your listening mechanism, the upshot of which is nothing can be done.
Still I think myself lucky having had it from being a child, your far more adaptble then, for those who find its sudden onset unbearable you have my sincere empathy and would urge you to see your GP for a referral to a hearing clinic so you can learn the techniques that will help you lessen the 'pitch' and
improve your quality of life.

Best wishes Tracey

The sound in my right ear is like the humming of a fridge or freezer.I get the occassional high pitch noise that will go after a few minutes.I notice it more in bed .If I lie on my left ear ,I hear the humm in my right ,but when I turn over it is quiet.I don't know if this is tinnitus.

Hi Hula
Like you I have had tinnitis virtually all my life,but until 3 1/2 years I could get by without hardly knowing it was there, its only been the last few weeks that its be come a real problem.

I have a constant high pitched whistle, but my hearing doesn't seem to be affected other than slightly in the right ear which has a tendency to "pop".

If I don't think about it , it just becomes a background noise which is ignored.

The cause might be the hours I spend riding the motorbike.

I wear a hearing aid in my right ear and have tinnitus in my left.
I had not heard that syringing could cause it, I ahve to have my right ear syringed as with the aid it makes more wax (being a foreign body in the ear).
Huila I have a behind the ear aid and don't have a problem with my glasses, but my glasses have very thin wire bits over the ears.
Bob have you got digital aids?

Ann
glos

Thats interesting to read it is associated with loss of hearing. When I was a young child, I actually went to the Deaf Association for tests as I could not hear in the classroom. They syringed my ears and so things improved. I also believe that syringing ears can cause or bring on tinnitus too.

I worked with a lady whose daughter was stone deaf from birth but suffered dreadfully from tinnitus.

Great thread - amazing how many of us have it too.

Tina xx

I have had tinnitis virtually all my life. I must have had it for at least 60 years. I used to think that everybody had the noise in their ears until my older sister mentioned that she had discovered that she had it when she commented to visitors about the locusts singing late in the evening. She would have been about 55 at the time.
I am also a little hard of hearing and have hearing aids but I am a naughty girl and dont wear them very often, mainly because they dont want to stay behind my ears when my glasses are on. I should have chosen in-the-ear aids, but I was told they have problems with moisture.
Huia.
edit: it was cicadas my sister thought she heard singing, not locusts.

That must be frustrating for you Bob,so if we ever meet I'll stand well back,
are you OK hearing one person close up?

Although my hearing was OK when tested with headphones on,
in day to day life its like listening through cotton wool,everything seam muffled.

A friend of mine suffers with this and has been given a hearing aid thingy to counteract the tinitus, like any thing takes time to get used to it, but she wears it less and less.

I have had tinnitus for many years, and my hearing has gone downhill rapidly over the last couple of years.
I spent 26 years working on maintenance in an engine building factory and also in the test shop.....and yes I DID wear ear defenders. but sadly methinks the damage is done......
so not only am I a bit shortish, fattish, Hairy ish wear glasses I now have two hearing aids, which appear to amplify ALL the available sounds......but unfortunately I still dont hear voices any clearer
I can hear voices from 100feet away, but conversation in a crowded room.........deffo a struggle
Bob

Goodnight all thanks for listening (so to speak )
going to scratch the pillow now till I fall asleep.

Hi Bob,
I had a hearing test at the Hospital,the hearing on left was slightly down but nothing to be concerned about.

I was told, or read womewhere that the brain is listening to the sounds that the follicles in the ear should be hearing as normal.
as the deafness increases due to these follicles not working, the brain introduces the sound signals which are missing....... TINNITUS!
any thoughts on that?
Bob

I did see my doc a while ago but he wasn't much help. I think I may go and see him again as I think the tinnitus is worse than it was.

Sue
x

Sue,
Until this last few weeks it seamed to be louder in my left ear and my right ear felt like it needed to pop.
now its still in my left ear but the right ear has gone even louder and the whistle has gone higher pitched,
I know it sounds mad but sometimes it feels like someone has slapped me across the face/ear that numb/hot/swollan feeling you would get.

Sue have you mentioned this to your Doctor, it would seem that hearing problems run in your family and tiniutus can be symptomatic of hearing loss, sorry to be a gloomy gus but better checked than ignored..xx

I have a constant and really unpleasant high whistle in my left ear. I think I have it to a lesser extent in the right ear but I can't be sure because the whistle drowns it out.

I can forget it while watching something interesting on the TV and it isn't so obvious when I am outside but some nights trying to get to sleep is difficult.

I do worry a bit because both my maternal grandfather and my mother were partially deaf. My mother eventually was totally deaf in one ear and had only about 30% in the other but she told me she still heard tinnitus all the time.

Sue

Oh well, it was just a thought lol I am just lucky then that mine has either gone for now or is being very nice to me and being quiet! lol

I have it in my right ear and I hear with that ear more than my left or it might be that that ear is extra-sensative as I am always telling OH to turn the TV sound down as it affects that ear more than the left.

Tina xx

Janet, yours sounds like mine although I have two different pitches on sound. I mentioned to my specialist that my two sounds were always in tune, like a major third or a fifth, and I never have a minor third. He just laughed at me. I know that some people are driven to distraction with this complaint and I wonder if some of them have a dischord ringing in their ears.
By the way, I don't use salt and I don't like Cola but in my youth I was involved with the band scene and would have been subjected to loud music.