For those with tinnitus please explain what yours is like. [Archive]

AngelHeart

11-01-12, 20:50

Just wondering what everyone tinnitus is like please?

Is it a hissing, whoosing, machine, hum sound or goes with the beat of your heart?

How often do you get it?

Is it quiet or soft?

Do you get it more when your stressed or anxious?

Is it in one ear or both or head?

What do you do to calm it down?

Thank you so much xxx

Zee

11-01-12, 21:08

Is it a hissing, whoosing, machine, hum sound or goes with the beat of your heart?....generally mine is a background hum...right ear only

How often do you get it?....most nights, more noticeable though when quiet

Is it quiet or soft?....yes

Do you get it more when your stressed or anxious?...I have monitored and get it mostly after overuse of pc and/or mobile phone. I only get the tinitus in right ear and thats the one I hold the Mobile to so am wondering??

Is it in one ear or both or head?..Just right ear

What do you do to calm it down?...I either lie on the right side which dampens it down or try thinking about something to distract.

AngelHeart

11-01-12, 21:21

Thanks Zee, mine is a backgound hum too which is constantly there but I also hear my heartbeat in my ear too which sounds like a machine :( Its awful and my Dr said its because I have conductive hearing loss ( I wear hearing aids ) but it unsettles and worries me all the time. Thanks for your reply xx

November

11-01-12, 22:10

Hi

Mines a constant high pitched ring/buzz that is sometimes louder then others when I get a bad episode of it coming on my hearing gets drastically worse and the loud buzzing starts. I also get pulsating tinitus that's in time and sounds like my heartbeat but never really worried me too much. I get this in both ears but it's worse in my left I assume because my hearing loss is worse in my left. I am currently waiting on my first hearing aid fitting (which seems to be taking forever). I find the more I pay attention to the buzzing the louder it is so try my best to distract myself.

eva82

12-01-12, 02:05

I get mine on and off throughout the day. It's mostly a low ringing in my left ear, although it does happen occasionally in my right ear also. I have also had a thumping sensation in my ears which at first scared me, but doctor didn't seem concerned. I have TMJ which i believe causes the ringing and sensations in my ears. It is quite annoying!!!

ZenPit

12-01-12, 04:56

Mine is a low ringing in both my ears, and mainly in my left ear but I do hear it in both at times. I've been dealing with this the last three years, and it wasn't until recently I was able to some what subdue this annoying sound.

A friend's father gave me some Piracetam, to help me focus in schooling and to stimulate my brain (Robotics Engineering major, whooooow). I've been taking it for like 3 months, but about a month in a half in I began noticing that I wasn't hearing the ringing sound like I had been. Currently I rarely hear the sound at all, it's actually really nice. I couldn't figure out why it had just disappeared, but after about 5 minutes of research I found out that Piracetam has been clinically shown to help ease Acute Tinnitus (and a lot of other stuff too lol). I've been getting the Piracetem from www.smartdrugsforthought.com (since this is where my friend's father gets his and they use kosher approved vegetation capsules, and as a vegan I really appreciate/need that versus the gel caps). I hope this helps you, I know it has helped me!

:)

Danath

12-01-12, 05:26

like grasshoppers but the one i had passed, was due to loud machinery at work.

lef me looking for grasshoppers fo a while though i must admit

AngelHeart

14-01-12, 21:16

Thank you everyone and Zenpit, I will look that up, thanks very much :) xxx

Leisurelydinner

15-01-12, 07:36

AngelHeart

17-01-12, 04:15

Thank you, interesting to know that the ones with hearing loss get pulsitile xx

bettykitten

17-01-12, 13:48

Mine is pulsatile in my right ear. It only really bothers me at night, when it's really quiet. It started after an episode of bad sinusitis that is just dying down, so hopefully the tinnitus will go too eventually.

Em84

20-01-12, 11:37

I have this constantly, it's very quiet in the morning and as thenday goes on it gets louder and more annoying, it's a constant low tone humming sound i guess. Everyone I tell my doctor he pulls an odd face and goes 'mmmmmmmm'
I've had my hearing checked which is bad but not terrible...I'm 27!
I have tried cutting caffiene down but I do smoke also. Not sure how to get rid of it but wish I could, drives me mad!

anon475

21-01-12, 10:18

I have tinnitus in my left ear. It's a constant tone that fluctuates in intensity, a bit like Morse code. Almost like a whistling sound actually. I can hear it any time it's quiet and I'm not concentrating on anything. It sounds like it comes from just inside my ear canal, but consciously I know that it doesn't

jade1978

21-01-12, 16:52

I get it on and off throughout the day, its just a high pitched sound in my right ear, very annoying. I just try to ignore it and it goes off only to return later in the day.

Wuboo

21-01-12, 18:31

This is exactly what mine sounds like - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HIfqyHbKgY

Podshell

02-02-12, 18:31

I don't know what mine is , I haven't been diagnosed with anything and it has only just started happening in the last year or so, like this anyway.

It usually happens when in bed, night and morning, feels as if back of head is becoming hollow, feels as if the brain is somewhat spongey and low decibel but high pitch noise is being squeezed out.

There is also something similar but not sure if it is related that happens between sleep and waking some days, this usually follws after OBE type dreams, or hearing voices or music .

I have had other noises in ears , similar but not the same thing. more in the ears themselves rather than the head.

ClaireW

03-02-12, 15:54

Mine is pulsatile at night when all is quiet, rest of day is constant high pitched hiss.I also have blocked ear and dizziness so, naturally, am convinced is a brain tumour but as I have |Dr phobia I just sit and worry

Magic

03-02-12, 16:26

I used to have what I think was tinnitus. I only had it at night when trying to get to sleep. I use to get up at night to listen to what i thought was a lorry with the engine running,but it was my ears. I was talking to some one about it and she said you want be able to get anything to treat it.
Anyway it got to the point when I went to see my GP, I felt a bit of a fool really,but he gave me some tablets, I took them and the noise went---and I have not had it since (touch wood). I cannot recall the name of the tablets--they had no after effects papers, just in a bottle.
I'm sure there must be something to help with this problem. Claire I would see your Gp. I have a GP phobia as well,but I would not suffer that awful noise and the dizzinesss
All the best

xtremx

03-02-12, 16:48

Mine's a constant loud high pitched squealing 24/7, like the squeal a microphone makes. Impossible to mask even when listening to music. I've had it for around 2 years now, one day I just woke up with it and it hasn't stopped since.

Mine is the same as this, not had it to long but it is driving me nuts.

---------- Post added at 16:48 ---------- Previous post was at 16:42 ----------

Mine is pulsatile at night when all is quiet, rest of day is constant high pitched hiss.I also have blocked ear and dizziness so, naturally, am convinced is a brain tumour but as I have |Dr phobia I just sit and worry

Hi Claire, I would not worry to much about it being a brain tumour. As i had a head/brain MRI in december last year (for other reasons) but it was all clear.

1 in 10 people suffer from tinnitus at some stage in life and 1 in 100 (some sites say 1 in 200) suffer severe tinnitus so is a very common thing.

Just wish I could shake it

eva82

03-02-12, 21:26

I just pored about this in the health anxiety section because I've been getting more of the pullsatile-like tinnitus in my left ear, but it does not go in rhythm with my heartbeat. It's more random and fluttering type of sensation that comes and goes for a few seconds to a minute at a time. Someone posted that their doctor said it was the ear drum having spasms which seems common especially for those who have TMJ (like myself).

Tero

13-03-12, 00:58

blueangel

13-03-12, 13:25

As someone else has already said, tinnitus is very common indeed and there are a number of different causes for it, including earwax(!) and ear infections.

I've had it for about 20 years - for me it developed when I had a flu virus. Mine is central, which for me sounds as though it is coming from the inside of my head, rather than one ear, which means that mine is a result of damage to my inner ear (my ex-husband is an audiologist so I learnt a lot of useful information about it from him).

My tinnitus usually sounds a bit like a whistling kettle and is pitched at about 2MHz, which can interfere slightly with my hearing of high-pitched sounds. It always gets worse when I get a cold or sinusitis, and I'm more aware of it when I'm stressed. If you have inner ear tinnitus, it often doesn't go away, but you tend to get less aware of it. However, for people who have really severe tinnitus, you can get what is called a tinnitus masker - it's basically a hearing aid that plays white noise into your ear to give you some relief from the other noise.

Hope this helps.

Ingenious

13-03-12, 22:58

Interesting thread, so many different sounds! Mine too is like morse code, in one ear only, I only notice it at night. It's much worse if I blow my nose or if I have just listened to loud music on my earphones in bed.

Abarth

14-03-12, 00:32

MrRedShirt

04-04-12, 18:01

I'll throw in my two penneth! Mine's a very high pitched hissing sound, coupled with a deep thrumming sound that I can almost feel as well as hear; very disconcerting and there most of the time, but particularly noticable at night.
Ant

That is a good description of mine!
Mine started in November (I'd been having anxiety and panic attacks since around September). I'd been on Sertraline for two weeks at the time and initially blamed that.. however it persisted after I stopped the Sertraline so I am now wondering if it would've happened anyway.

I've gone through phases of starting to deal with it, but having an anxiety disorder makes it very hard to not think of the sound as something 'threatening' and therefore easy to dismiss. It's currently really bothering me :(

WillyB

04-04-12, 23:27

Mines a constant high pitched ringing which often feel as though its actually in my head. And in my right ear I often get what sounds just like a propeller plane off in the distance, a humming, droning sound. When this became noticeable a few years ago I often got out of bed at night and opened the window to try locate this 'Plane' I could hear all night long.

Meewah

23-06-12, 08:41

Hi

Only just discovered this thread. I have had this humming on and off over the last few years. Sometimes I get the high pitch squeal which has a tendency to start in one ear then move to the other ear then it goes over about 10 seconds. Last Night I watched a film and after it had finished I got up and noticed a feeling like I had been in a landing plane and both ears pop and you loose hearing slightly. I have this low frequency humming now, I woke up with it again this morning. I suppose it feels like I could hold my nose and blow to release the pressure but I have tried this and no it doesn't. I also have a feeling of unsteadiness balance issue which I am relating to this but that may be anxiety created and so not reliable.

Great Thread, good to know I am not the only one.

Mee

Hugger-Mugger

28-06-12, 11:35

I too suffer from tinnitus for over 20 years. Mine is a constant buzz not too loud but can occasionally get louder. Have tried lots of things some which 'appear' to work. Hopi candles, a room purifier (for the pollen) and Kali Mur.

Mine is a result of Menieres disease, long term medication and illness. I also have a fan which is constantly on (even/especially at night) which masks the irritation beautifully.

MrRedShirt

28-06-12, 11:37

Hi, I have had a referral to a tinnitus clinic and am now on a waiting list. Hopefully, they'll provide me with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, or a modified version of it.

hanshan

28-06-12, 13:13

For me, a mix of ringing and whistling sounds. Sometimes it sounds like crickets in the background, sometimes like a tree full of birds chirping down the street a bit. I've had some form of tinnitus for as long as I can remember, but it seems louder now than when I was younger.

I just think of it as my internal music. It's always there if I focus on it, but I've learned to tune out most of the time, and I don't get worked up about it.

Meewah

02-07-12, 07:26

Hi, I have had a referral to a tinnitus clinic and am now on a waiting list. Hopefully, they'll provide me with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, or a modified version of it.

Sounds interesting, what do they do??

Mee

MrRedShirt

02-07-12, 10:58

TRT is pretty much the only game in town regarding treating tinnitus, from what I've found out. It's a long term treatment - about 12 - 18 months - but has a good success rate. It's more about retraining your reaction to the sounds and hopefully your perception of it will diminish as a result. That's the strict TRT method anyway, there are modified methods used today. Google it, it's quite interesting.

Anyway, until I get my appointment through, I have no idea what they'll do with me!

scaniajess

07-07-12, 23:02

Is it a hissing, whoosing, machine, hum sound or goes with the beat of your heart? Mine is whooshing to the sound of my heart beat (not good when im obsessed with my heart rate lol)

How often do you get it? Every single second of every damn day for the past 5 years.

Is it quiet or soft? Sometimes is bareable, other times its very very loud and I can hardly hear out of it.

Do you get it more when your stressed or anxious? Cant say i've noticed.

Is it in one ear or both or head? In my right year accompanied with vertigo when tiliting my head to the right.

What do you do to calm it down? Nothing I can do except to press on my neck to stop the blood flow which cant be good.

I have also seen an ENT specialist and had an MRI but nothing was found and no diagnosis given. I gave myself the diagnosis of Pulsatile Tinnitus.

Sparkle1984

20-09-13, 22:27

I think I may have a mild version of this. I first noticed it when I was 10 (after getting some water stuck in my right ear when washing my hair) and I was really scared for weeks as I thought my hearing would be permanently damaged.

If you go to this video, it sounds like the sample sound between 15 and 18 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyMxwalVdBU It sounds a bit like a TV that has been left on (one of the old style cathode ray TVs). I think it's in both of my ears and it's constant, although I mainly only notice it when I'm in a quiet room or when I'm not concentrating on anything. For the first few weeks, it played on my mind a lot and I was terrified, but after a while I got used to it and it doesn't really bother me nowadays. I think many people have it far worse than I do.

One thing I have noticed (and this also started at around the same time as the tinnitus, when I was 10) is that sometimes when I'm listening to a male voice talking on my MP3 player (such as a relaxation/meditation track), I can hear my right ear drum vibrating. It doesn't happen when I'm listening to a female voice, and it also doesn't happen in my left ear. It's really strange.

xaosia

31-01-14, 21:14

I have pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear for one and a half year. It stops when I press on my neck but obviously I can't live in that position for the rest of my life! The doctor says that it's a common thing and there is nothing to do about it. I don't realise it when I'm out in public but at night it can drive me crazy. Sometimes I put myself to sleep listening to soft music with earphones.

I always find myself clenching my teeth and my jaw (anxiety must be the reason). That can be the reason of the tinnitus. Also I have sinus problems for ages. I don't know exactly its reason but I HOPE someday it will be gone eventually.

Emphyrio

31-01-14, 21:33

Mine is a high pitched whine. It generally doesn't bother me too much though. I was on citalopram last year and the tinnitus got worse though.

I also have visual snow that suddenly came on last May. I blame the citalopram but I've been off it since September and the visual snow is still there. Does anyone with tinnitus have this?

I also have the jaw clenching though I suspect that its medication related as well as being stress-related in my case.

Mark13

07-02-14, 18:22

I also have visual snow that suddenly came on last May. I blame the citalopram but I've been off it since September and the visual snow is still there. Does anyone with tinnitus have this?

I've had visual snow and high pitched constant tinnitus all my life.

I have hydrocephalus and had brain surgery as a child, plus I had another brain op at 40 and my tinnitus got worse.

So, for me, I've always considered it to be part of my condition, or the minor brain damage that comes with it.

That said, I've been on hydrocephalus website and few people have tinnitus, and no-one visual snow.

Whatever the reason, I've got used to both, never known any different :)

Dexterjames

08-02-14, 12:11

Mine is a constant hissing gets really loud sometimes there was a period in my life when i was a kid and got it had all the hearing tests and they came back normal but i can remember endless nights crying on my stairs because it was so loud i have been told every 1 gets it but people who are over sensitive hear it more or people who have damaged there ears with loud noises.

Mines just stated to come back when all my problems started 5 months ago
i find some meds make it worse.

---------- Post added at 12:11 ---------- Previous post was at 12:07 ----------

Mine is a high pitched whine. It generally doesn't bother me too much though. I was on citalopram last year and the tinnitus got worse though.

I also have visual snow that suddenly came on last May. I blame the citalopram but I've been off it since September and the visual snow is still there. Does anyone with tinnitus have this?

I also have the jaw clenching though I suspect that its medication related as well as being stress-related in my case.
I get visual snow as well this started 5 months ago when my life went down hill.Could be meds i am not sure.

bimmerfan

14-02-14, 21:42

So once or twice I randomly had one ear go totally deaf then start ringing immediately after and the ringing got quieter and quieter until normal sound faded back in again all this happened over 20 seconds maximum. But then I would have a severe panic attack feel faint dizzy start hyperventilating and come over weak and upset and with some reassurance from my partner I was fine within minutes just wanted to sleep it off. I also sometimes when its quiet like when laying in bed hear a faint ringing in both ears. I actually went to the doctors over this because it concerned me greatly. He checked my ears over looked Into them and said it was due to stress and anxiety. And touch wood since I haven't had it! And I have also had severe back pain due to stress and anxiety. I have recently started to recover (I think) and every single part of my body aches like hell because my muscles that have been clenched up tight for so many months are finally relaxing. Strange eh?.. Thing that helped me was not to focus to hard on symptoms try to push on through them and accept them. Once you do that you're hslf way there!

Best of luck hope this helps!