Weird form of Tinnitus

vtmarmot

vtmarmot

P Magoon, Livin' Free NH
I've had the classical high-pitched ringing form of tinnitus in both ears since my early twenties at least. I have serious, professionally acknowledged hearing loss. I'm not interested in masking devices for the tinnitus. I can live with it. About six months ago, in the night when the house is quiet, I started noticing a new form of tinnitus. It happens only in my left ear, which incidentally has the worst hearing loss. It is lower pitched and sounds like bugs are making whoopee on a tiny camp bed with noisy springs - squeegee, squeegee, squeegee etc. etc.. It is not perfectly consistent, varying slightly in duration and intensity. It is made worse by certain types of food, such as tomatoes or tomato sauce. When this came on, I had been on hiatus from shooting for over a year and had no changes in meds or anything else that might explain it.

Has anyone else had anything like this? I have an idea that it is related to circulation of blood in the ear.
 
Your assumption correct

Before my father passed from complications from parkinson's disease he developed the same sound. He called it squeaky wheels. He didn't have tinnitus at all. The ENT told us it was due to his overall cardiovascular health.
 
Check you blood pressure...if it's not out of whack you've just developed another sound in your ears. Incidentally, a few years ago I got a couple of hearing aids from Costco that reduced the tinnitus quite a bit. I don't know how that happened but it did!
 
I've always asked my doctor if he hears any whistling/gurgling/bubbling noises when he listens to my heart at my 6 month checkups. So far he says no, but for how long. Ask your doctor if changes in BP or blockages could cause that. I don't have BP issues (yet) but do have the ringing in the ears, sometimes/days it's louder than others.
 
I'm going to email my GP about this. My BP is usually around 125/80, with medication, which I take religiously. Last week I had it checked during an ortho visit and it was 133/75. I have another ortho visit this week and if it's still up I'll do something about it.

My dad also died of complications of Parkinsons. Funny, he never mentioned his hearing at all. He was a tanker in WWII and had lots of reasons to have tinnitus, including having a shell land right next to him when in a fox hole once.

An ENT once told me that some people can tolerate loud noises with less effects than others. People who have migraines have a greater chance of hearing loss, something to do with blood vessels putting pressure on the inner ear.

Apple skins and tomato for sure make my high-pitched tinnitus worse for a few hours. Spicy food makes the squeegee squeegee sound louder.

I have hearing aids, but don't use them because I end up hearing a bunch of crap that I don't want to, like other people's cell phone conversations. My wife and co-workers know that if they speak deliberately and clearly I will understand them fine. Being able to credibly plead deafness has also come in handy more than once.
 
Hearing loss

Although this may be a little off topic I thought I would bring the subject up. One of my cousins is an audiologists. During a conversation with her I mentioned ear muffs protecting our hearing from muzzle blasts. At one point she dropped a bombshell no pun intended. The most regular types of hearing protection will just block out the signals within our audible range. Gunfire can produce other frequencies which are not blocked or absorbed by conventional means which can be almost as damaging as those we can hear. When I asked what could be done her answer was the cheapest solution is not go near that activity. The next was to put a lot of time and money into developing protection for an application specific activity.
 
tinnitus

I think the noise of a diesel tractor without a cab, roaring 10 or 12 hours a day had as much to do with it in my case. Also no hearing protection when I was young on the tractor or shooting. Payin for it now.Whatd ya say? Doug
 
Wish I had discovered decent foam early plugs years sooner. For a long time, it seems like there were only the ones with open cell foam that look like they are stamped out. They are near useless because they won't stay in.

I used to think there was something magical about muff-type ear protectors. Never occurred to me to use both muffs and foam until maybe 15 years ago. I once ran a 90 pound jackhammer for three weeks inside a building busting up a machine base. I had muffs, but I'm sure lots of bad sounds got through. Oh, and then my fingernails fell off!
 
Was in Ortho today for a shoulder shot. My BP was 117/69. I don't recall seeing it that low ever. My weird tinnitus is almost gone.
 
Wilbur said:
Nailittus!
Click to expand...

Is that the sea shell kinds of tinnitus???....I got that. Constant something. Not a hum. Not a buzz, but something.
If it stops I wake up. Or maybe my heart stops and I wake up.

The worst wake up is the 20 person stare.....Did that once. Yes. I was in the operating room. At first......
 
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