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Author Topic: Tinnitus  (Read 10731 times)

Offline Slowbrew

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #15 on: November 30, 2011, 03:09:43 pm »
A burst eardrum is usually an ear infection gone mad.  If you had an infection before you left and took a plane it probably got worse very fast.  Air travel can really accelerate an infection.  
How does air travel accelerate an infection?

Probably from the cabin pressure exerted on the inner ear. But, I could be wrong.
I can see that too, but that's not an acceleration of the infection.

Sorry about your ear - I've got nothing.  Not that kind of doctor. ;)

I should have stated that a bit differently than I did.

I have had minor irritations become really nasty issues to deal with immediately following flights.  Many others I know say the same thing.  Very anecdotal but the closed cabins, the extra dry air, the strange pressure changes and the recirculation of the air for several hours just seems to make infections harder to deal with.

Paul
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #16 on: November 30, 2011, 03:21:15 pm »
I should have stated that a bit differently than I did.

I have had minor irritations become really nasty issues to deal with immediately following flights.  Many others I know say the same thing.  Very anecdotal but the closed cabins, the extra dry air, the strange pressure changes and the recirculation of the air for several hours just seems to make infections harder to deal with.
I have no problems picturing worsening symptoms. :)

Sorry to be pedantic, I can't help it.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline beersk

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #17 on: November 30, 2011, 03:37:04 pm »
In the early 90's I flew back from France with a bad case of allergies and nasal congestion.  My eardrum burst as we landed in Houston which meant I still had to take one more flight, a flight I wouldn't wish on some of my worst enemies.  that time I had extreme dzziness-I tilted to the right when I walked and the doctors told me I had permanent nerve damage to my left ear and would be deaf in it forever.  Forever lasted 6 months until my ear popped and everything was cool.  For a couple of days I tilted to the left until I got equilibrium back. I've had problems with the left ear, sometimes both, off and on ever since but never anything like this time.   Thus my utter lack of faith in the medical/industrial complex to help me this time.

I had something similar happen, not nearly as bad, but quite painful.  I was developing a cold and on my flight home my ears just would not pop on the descents.  And at one point the pain was so bad I almost screamed out.  My ears didn't pop open for weeks.  Made me never want to fly again.
But I also have mild ringing in my ears all the time from drumming for the last 13+ years.  I've pretty much always worn ear plugs, but sometimes that isn't enough when you play loud.  I have to sleep with a fan on at night or else it's difficult to get to sleep.
Jesse

Offline bluesman

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #18 on: November 30, 2011, 03:53:41 pm »
I find it to be the worst in the morning when I'm lying in bed as I awake. I can really hear it whern there is complete silence. For the most part, I have learned to ignore it except when I'm actually thinking about it like right now. At least it doesn't involve physical pain.  ;)
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Offline weithman5

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #19 on: November 30, 2011, 03:54:09 pm »

  I was developing a cold and on my flight home my ears just would not pop on the descents.  And at one point the pain was so bad I almost screamed out. .

it is usually the descents that cause the problems.  as i mentioned i have a lot of patients take sudafed about an hour before landing and then sometime after landing for a time.  (as long as there is no reason they can't take the sudafed)
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jaybeerman

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #20 on: November 30, 2011, 03:56:29 pm »
One of my first childhood memories is trying to figure out what that high pitched noise was. Wasn't till I got a bit older I realized I have tinitus. It's so bad, it often keeps me awake at night. Many, many times, I literally cannot hear people talking to me. I know there is noise coming out of their mouth, but have no idea what the words are. There is pretty much nothing to cure it.

For me, the best thing is to have some sort of noise on all the time. Radio, tv, whatever. (I have the BN on right now) I have a white noise machine I use at night when its really bad.

+1 same here, luckily they removed my adnoids and put in eartubes so that my ears could drain

corky, you have to find what works for you.  I've found that using a neti pot regularly helps to diminish my symptoms and I've heard others say that they like nasal irrigation.  Of course, this does nothing for my wife and she ended up having to get white noise hearing aids, which she wears when it gets unbearable.   Hope yours gets a little more tolerable.

Mine is usually an industrial low-end noise (also tinnitus) and very rarely a high pitch.  It's itermitant so I won't notice it for a week, but in the meantime it has just worn me out.

Offline tubercle

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #21 on: November 30, 2011, 04:07:33 pm »
I've had this high pitch thing going on in my left ear pretty much all my life and now the right ear is starting. Like Bluesman, A Les Paul and 100w Peavy hasn't helped much over the years. That and hours and hours on the firing range and dove hunting and messing around with race cars and go carts.

One of my first childhood memories is trying to figure out what that high pitched noise was. Wasn't till I got a bit older I realized I have tinitus. It's so bad, it often keeps me awake at night. Many, many times, I literally cannot hear people talking to me. I know there is noise coming out of their mouth, but have no idea what the words are. The is pretty much nothing to cure it. IF you go to a health food / vitamin store, you can buy a supplement called Ringstop. It might help, it might not. Takes a good month or better to work, if it;s gonna. For me, the best thing is to have some sort of noise on all the time. Radio, tv, whatever. (I have the BN on right now) I have a white noise machine I use at night when its really bad. The spring peeper works best for me. You can also turn your radio on static. That kinda helps drown it out. I really feel for dude! IT SUCKS!!! Hopefully, yours is just temporary.

^^^and exactly like all of that!!!^^^^

 I can't understand anything hardly and I have to stand sideways with my right ear toward someone to have any chance of a conversation. TV is especially bad, I'm constantly asking Ms. Tubercle "what did they say"? Any background noise during a conversation and I hear words but can't understand them.

 It sucks.
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Offline weazletoe

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #22 on: November 30, 2011, 04:09:48 pm »
At least once a week, after Holly has repeated herself for the 100th time, she gets ticked, and yells, "What are you, deaf?!" YES for the millionth time I am deaf!!!  ::)
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Offline tubercle

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #23 on: November 30, 2011, 04:12:45 pm »
At least once a week, after Holly has repeated herself for the 100th time, she gets ticked, and yells, "What are you, deaf?!" YES for the millionth time I am deaf!!!  ::)

^^^and that too!!!^^^^ :D :D :D :D

EDIT: Not Holly ::) But Ms. Tubercle.

 
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Offline BrewingRover

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #24 on: November 30, 2011, 05:05:32 pm »
For the most part, I have learned to ignore it except when I'm actually thinking about it like right now. At least it doesn't involve physical pain.  ;)

That's how I am with mine. So of course I had to rad this thread and hear the noise come back  >:(
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.

Offline nicneufeld

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #25 on: November 30, 2011, 06:26:50 pm »
Yikes, blood on the pillow and everything?  My wife is a medically hypersenstive person in some ways so anything remotely that severe she'd have carted me off to any number of doctors immediately, regardless of protests.  Hope it gets better for you!

I was sure I'd get this eventually, because in my early 20s I was both cranking up tube amps until my guitar tone was appreciably saturated with power tube distortion (a lovely thing) and I was also in thrall to an enjoyable hobby of target shooting with rather noisy centerfire pistols.  But lately...I maybe shoot once every one or two years, and musically I've switched over to purely acoustic Indian music on the hobby side, where the volumes are very modest, and in the western music sphere I'm playing with in ear monitors and stage volume is much reduced.  It's nice when you pull a meend on a sitar and you, the player, have to hold your breath to hear the sustain and harmonics dying out, softly.  Nice on the eardrums too.

Offline bluesman

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #26 on: November 30, 2011, 06:50:04 pm »
At least once a week, after Holly has repeated herself for the 100th time, she gets ticked, and yells, "What are you, deaf?!" YES for the millionth time I am deaf!!!  ::)

+1

I've gotten that over the years from my wife....and my response is very similiar.

How quickly they forget.
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Offline corkybstewart

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #27 on: November 30, 2011, 07:26:36 pm »
I have an appointment with the ENT tomorrow. 
Right now I'm in agony, we just drove home from Las Cruces NM and had to drive through the Sacramento Mtns, I think the elevation at one point is around 9000'.  I have to downplay the misery for my wife, she'd have me at the ER immediately and that really does no good here.  Now my big worry is our flight to Alabama for Christmas.
Thanks for the sympathy and tips, I appreciate it.
Life is wonderful in sunny White Signal New Mexico

Offline MDixon

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #28 on: December 01, 2011, 06:22:29 am »
Sorry to be late to the party, but you are now on the right path, an ENT. I also find Nurse Practitioners are more skilled at ENT issues than most doctors. I've had 7 ear operations and once had to have a patch placed on my eardrum so it would heal. I still have ear infections at the rate of about one ever two years and so by my calcs and with the number I had as a child I'm at about 30+ infections. I can tell when they are coming and in many cases can hold my nose and pressurize to open the pathways which drain the inner ear. Often after an infection I lose my hearing in that ear for a month or more.

As far as planes, if your drainage pathways are not draining due to inflammation and fluid build up it can be EXTREMELY painful. Usually after my eardrum would rupture the pain would basically go away (not the infection pain, but the pressure pain).

If it is recurring and you can self diagnose, find yourself a doctor who will see you quickly at the onset of symptoms and you can generally take antibiotics and/or decongestants and get the ear draining again.

For those that have not had the issue, think about driving to higher elevations and your ear pops due to the pressure. Now imagine it will not pop and the pressure becomes so great you can barely hear, you have severe head and ear aches and life is generally miserable...now multiply that times about 10 and you will understand what it might feel like.  ;)
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Offline corkybstewart

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Re: Tinnitus
« Reply #29 on: December 01, 2011, 06:41:35 am »
Sorry to be late to the party, but you are now on the right path, an ENT. I also find Nurse Practitioners are more skilled at ENT issues than most doctors.
5 years ago I started having problems with this ear again and the NP insisted it was an ear wax problem, but there was none, so I wasted $175 on that treatment.  I went to 2 different ENTs, they both told me it was Menierre's Syndrome and I should cut back on caffeine and salt.  I drink 2 cups of coffee per day and very little salt so that wasn't the problem, but they were satisfied with their diagnosis and that was that..  One day I took a Sudafed for allergies and the ear was fixed.  I was out about $2000 and missed lots of work with no relief, and then I found the $5 cure.  But this time none of the OTC decongestants are helping, the NP gave me antibiotics which may have helped with an underlying infection, but haven't given me any relief of my symptoms.
Many doctors these days repay grant money(have it forgiven) by working 2 or 3 years in underserved rural markets-Carlsbad is one of those markets.  So we have doctors who come here for the required time period and then they go off to the big city.  About the time you establish a relationship with a doctor they take off and you have to start over.  I'm not anti-doctor, my dad is a retired physician, my wife and sister are RN's and my other sister is clinical director of a university based chain of ob-gyn clinics,but I just don't have much luck with our health care system.
Life is wonderful in sunny White Signal New Mexico