Comments on: Tinnitus Treatments + Therapies: 2017 Update

By: Pulsatile Tinnitus And Facial Numbness | My Tinnitus Wiki

Pulsatile Tinnitus And Facial Numbness | My Tinnitus Wiki — Fri, 25 Jan 2019 19:26:59 +0000

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By: Onion Soup

Onion Soup — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 23:43:00 +0000

Posting this in case it helps anybody else… TL;DR acoustic neuromas are rare, real and really shitty.
I recently went through a major hearing loss/tinnitus ordeal, and I have severely diminished hearing in my right ear – but it’s not uniform, it just severely dips at a certain frequency range. Unfortunately, human speech is entirely within the range of the dip, the frequencies that I still respond to are essentially useless functionally. My left ear, however, is absolutely normal.
After a bunch of doctors, audiograms, CT scans and other tests, nobody could figure out what could cause this kind of severe, specific and unilateral (one ear only) hearing loss. I was having a conversation with the technician who conducted my audiogram once, and she suggested I go in for an MRI. This was something that multiple doctors considered unnecessary, since CT scans and X-rays raised no concerns. I decided to do it anyways, because I wanted to cover all my bases, and I was desperately trying to get to the root cause of my hearing loss and was mostly just blaming myself for not having taken better care of my ears – which is really not something I should’ve been losing sleep over, because while I do attend the occasional gig (with earplugs!) and sometimes play small gigs (just a hobbyist DJ), my doctors agreed that my history didn’t add up to one where I was abusing my hearing to the point of putting it at risk. Also, if it was caused by over-exposure to loud sounds, there was no way it could be entirely unilateral, because again, my left ear is an exemplar of health.
The MRI initially did not reveal anything either, but when performed with galodinium(?) contrast it showed a very, very small tumor that resided right on the auditory nerve, which was creating physical pressure against the nerve on that ear, which was the cause for my hearing loss. The tragedy is that there is neither no known cause or cure for this – my doctors have recommended that I just monitor it regularly, and if it grows enough in size where it is creating additional problems, we can consider surgery.
BUT. Nothing can be done to reverse the hearing loss. And nothing can be done to stop that ear from eventually going deaf. I just have to adapt and live with it.

By: Bc8410

Bc8410 — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 15:58:00 +0000

In reply to Bc8410.

Update here.

Went to my first show in a while this weekend (on Friday), a farewell show for a band that is quite special to me and my significant other. I wore earplugs (the crappy foam ones) for most of the show, but I was incredibly annoyed because the foam plugs basically just block everything but the lows, so everything sounds muffled like you are listening underwater. This being a farewell show for a band that means a lot to me, I stupidly took the plugs out when the band I came to see went on and made my way to the front of the room. I had a blast. My ears were ringing after the show (normal), but then the next morning I woke up and they were still ringing, loudly. And it seemed like only lows were getting through to my naked ears. This scared me a little, but we got home late and woke up early, so I thought eh maybe it just hasn’t been long enough. About halfway through the day my left ear came back, but my right ear was still ringing loudly and I wasn’t hearing highs and mids properly, which was highlighted by the fact that I could now hear perfectly out of my other ear. When my right ear was still muffled on Sunday morning I really started to panic. There was a lot of self loathing for not just wearing the stupid plugs. Luckily, at about mid-day on Sunday, all of the sudden I hear the sound “pop” back in to my right ear out of nowhere–the ringing stopped and I could hear again.

I’m posting this as a cautionary tale–I got extremely lucky, and am even more lucky that it took this long for signs of hearing loss to set in in the first place, considering that I have been a weekend warrior since I was about 14 years old–and in those days I was going to some pretty grimy DIY shows standing right next to cabs that were feeding back all night.

I’ve ordered some high fidelity earplugs (2 different brands) and will report back on how well they work (i.e. how good a job they do at not compromising the music). I did a lot of research and ordered a set of Earaser Musician Plugs and a set of Etymotic ETY Plugs. both are “high fidelity” plugs that will supposedly still let through highs and mids but at safer levels. As I said, I’ll report back on how they work, and which I like better.

Seriously though, guys, protect your ears. I spent well over a decade not worrying about my ears and pushing my way to the front with no problems, but mark my words the effects will hit you out of nowhere one day and you might not be as lucky as me. I can’t describe the fear and guilt I felt when I thought my right ear was f***ed forever. Trust me, you’d rather keep listening to music than never be able to hear it again.

By: bebekashmir

bebekashmir — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 20:11:00 +0000

In reply to Daddy. "Cats" please explain. I've already cut out unicorns and staring directly at rainbows but am still looking for better results.

By: Jak folk

Jak folk — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 03:01:00 +0000

In reply to DWREK. The Article mentions Gingko Biloba as non effective. I have found the opposite. If I have bad episode after a few days to allow it to 'kick in' the levels diminish to a point where it is extremely manageable.

By: Jak folk

Jak folk — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 02:59:00 +0000

In reply to Ean Golden. A white noise app, a mechanical fan, music at low levels. All extremely beneficial for distraction.

By: Jak folk

Jak folk — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 02:58:00 +0000

In reply to Bc8410. Have the same thing.

By: Jak folk

Jak folk — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 02:56:00 +0000

In reply to DrüMünkey.

It is absolutely true about the CATS, but cannot miss my morning cup of Coffee. I use a method of ‘if it gets too noisy, cut back’
Take it in moderation.
But as I have mentioned elsewhere, I have accepted my Tinitus, have a coping system, so maybe I am in a better state than a lot of sufferers out there where CATS can affect them in very negative ways.