Before I get into a long, sad story about mine :), just a quick question.

Have you recently started any new prescription drug?

I've had tinnitus since I was young (as in, I can remember having bad episodes when I was around 6 or 7 years old). There are some treatments which do help some people but not really any "cure". Make sure you see an ENT specialist and have your hearing checked, etc. It can also be aggravated by TMJ.

The American Tinnitus Association has some good resources and references.

I've read something about supplements for it, though don't remember the details. Maybe try some googling. You might check out what Dr. Weil says about it, too.

Be sure to see a doctor about possible causes and recent changes in your body that might have triggered it, even though there may not be any real or effective treatments available at this point. For example, things that thin your blood, such as aspirin, can have an effect like that. Are you bruising any more easily?

I had bronchitis in January and took generic Cipro. That could have caused it - I don't know for sure. No other medications. I went to the ENT and was told "get used to it honey, it doesn't go away." No TMJ, no loud concerts, don't use headphones, no loud music , etc.
I changed my diet to see if it was that. I have cut out caffeine, sugar, diary, red meat, etc.
Upped my vitamins, going to an acupuncturist, I walk every day, started yoga, get weekly massgaes and NOTHING helps.
What can I do so my brain just gets used to it and I can live with it? I am constantly hearing it and it really is driving me bonkers! Mine sounds like a outside electrical transformer going bad. It used to sound like crickets in the beginning.
My DH has it too and has had it for years and he never told me. But, it doesn't bother him.

I don't use aspirin.
I have surfed every possible website and stopped because I got more frustrated.
Now, I'm looking into a sound generator to take on vacation next month - 'cause I can't sleep in a quite room anymore.

I do notice that my nerves makes it worse. I have always been a nervous person. I am taking Xanax for that - and that is what calmed me down. (The panic attacks were caused by the Tinnitus and I had to go on Xanax.)

There's a biofeedback technique that seems to have pretty good success and sounds like it might be the way to go for you. It doesn't so much eliminate the tinnitus as it does give you ways to ignore it / set it aside. The ATA website has some referrals for that.

The supplement mentioned above is lipo-flavinoid. There is much anecdotal evidence that it works for many but no conclusive studies yet.

I'd also look at getting another ENT. That's not very helpful advice.

Here is a link that might be useful: ATA main website.

There was an article in the New Yorker a few months ago about tinnitus. One theory is that it is caused by hearing loss and some interaction between the brain and nerves in the ears, IIRC. The author of the article has it, and he got fitted with special hearing aids that caused it to vanish as soon as he put them on.

Aha! I found it online -- see the link. Maybe you'll find something in there that will help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tinnitus

Have had it nonstop for as long as I can remember, since I was a very small child. For a long time as a kid I thought EVERYONE heard that same high-pitched pulsing whine I did - almost, but not quite, like a cross between a gnat in your ear and a car needing a new fan belt, changing pitch very slightly in time with my pulse and varying in volume for the most part at random although certain things will trigger an increase in volume. My stepmother was a nurse and totally blew it off when I complained as a tween and teen - my father was seriously ill for my whole life and everything was compared to his level of illness, tinnitus certainly didn't "measure up" to things like dialysis. I saw ENTs for it when I was in my mid-twenties and again in my early thirties when I was going through complete neurological workups. Long story short, I eventually had to learn to live with/around it (it's frustrating and a big PITA but it kind of gets eclipsed by all the other nasties I live with, but I'm sure if I didn't have the other nasties the tinnitus would be much harder to handle). There are a whole slew of different treatments that really help many people, ranging from medications to sound masking devices to hypnotherapy. Ironically it unpredictably either interferes with hearing quiet things, like soft conversations, OR I get hyperacuity (which means I'm often growling at DH "do you HAVE to have the TV turned up so loud?" LOL)... combined with the auditory/speech processing dysfunction from CFS (where your ears function just fine but the brain doesn't make sense of what it's getting) can make life, errrr, interesting. It bothers me most when I'm trying to sleep - I wear earplugs because DH snores like a frickin freight train and that isolates me with the noise in my head. Grrrrr.

I have had panic attacks for decades although nothing to do with the tinnitus - they run in my family - I haven't had one in a while *knock on wood*. Better living through chemistry, I gotta say. (BTW, if you're trying to stop a panic attack in its tracks, let your Xanax melt under your tongue rather than swallowing it. It goes directly into your bloodstream through the mucous membranes under the tongue rather than needing to be digested and absorbed in the small intestine, and so works much, much faster. My psychiatrist told me that trick.)

Definitely see an audiologist or ENT, as well as your primary care doctor for a thorough general physical.

Thanks, everyone.
I had a physical including a thyroid and hearing test. Everything seems fine. I feel fine except for this darn noise. I just wish I knew why it came back so loud after it had subsided last week.
Mari - have you tried sleeping with soft music playing or a sound generator? I have used a fan and music and that helps in falling asleep (of course, I also drink calming tea, take 2 LunaSom pm, and .25mg Xanax). I wasn't sleeping well for weeks.

My tinnitus improved when I started taking kelp supplements (ask your doctor first if you have a thyroid problem as the iodine can be a problem). The kelp helps with my sinus problems and headaches, too.

I also take magnesium (not too much or it can be a laxative) because of mitral valve problems and that supplement is also supposed to help tinnitus. My husband, a musician who has played and heard too much loud music is suffering terribly right now with it. The kelp isn't helping him, but he just started magnesium a few days ago and says it's helping some.

We go to sleep every night to the sound of ocean waves sound setting on a clock/radio.

Magnesium helps with headaches, too, along with 80mg aspirin; current doc suggested B12. My osteopath had also prescribed magnesium along with calcium for headaches.

Just checked, as I thought it was zinc I was remembering. Simple and benign enough to try without complications:

Zinc & Tinnitus

Dr. Weil has a good short article on it, linked.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Weil on Tinnitus

I have had tinnitus for about 15 years now, got it when I was 25. I had a terribly painful ear infection, went to the doctor, took the antibiotic they prescribed, and went to sleep with the pain. Woke up, the pain was gone, my ears were ringing, and they have never stopped.

I didn't think I could live with it. My husband tells me he thought I would never be the same happy person again. It took me several years to adjust. I cannot explain the absolute panic I would feel when I would try to get away from the sounds in my head and I couldn't. Even now if I think about it while in a quiet room, I can feel the "flight or fight" feeling cropping up. I have to ignore it completely, otherwise I feel very sorry for myself. No doctor has been able to help, I get told to "live with it" every single time.

I cope by sleeping with a hepa air filter on one of the louder settings at night, plus we run a ceiling fan for the air movement. A nightmare for me would be a perfectly silent room, something which would be bliss for most people. My hubby is used to the sounds of the air filter now, and he turns it on even when I am not going to bed at the same time. I think he is addicted to the sound now as much as I am. With the air filter, my tinnitus is mostly a non issue as long as I refuse to give in to self pity.

Like Mari mentioned, I need noise to be comfortable, but at the same time, often noise seems too loud or too sharp or something, I am always having to adjust my husband's or a friend's radio or the TV. I hate being a whiner but sound can be painful. One of my dog's bark is so high pitched that I feel like it's wrecking my ears just to be near her when she is excited.

Because it's not an actual noise, I am very fearful of losing my hearing, as then all I will hear is the ringing and be completely trapped. I couldn't watch the film "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" because that was horrific to me to imagine myself in that position with my ears ringing and nothing to diminish it. My husband swears that if I am ever in a coma or unable to respond, he will bring my air filter and have it on nonstop :-)

Listening to the radio doesn't help, because then I can't sleep. I also don't like the ocean sounds, rainforest sounds, as they are too varied for me. I need steady whooshing sounds, like a wall air conditioner, a fan, the swish of a washing machine, or the air filter I run (which has the added benefit of making my bedroom one of the nicest smelling rooms in the house :-). I bought a white noise CD of an air conditioner hum, it's a godsend on vacations when I can't have my air filter.

I try to remember what it was like to have a quiet head. I cannot. It must have been the most lovely thing. I am so sorry that you have it now, and I hope yours goes away. I wish I had better news for you. I am past the point of hope for me, after 15 years I believe I will have it for the rest of my life. But I have read online that some people have found things that work for them, so it wouldn't hurt to try and see if something helps you, like acupuncture or quitting caffeine.

Joanna

Yvette, I spaced that you said you already tried quitting caffeine and acupuncture. I tried all those too, and nothing worked for me, either. In fact, I had to stop reading online about it, because I got so frustrated that someone could just cut out coffee and miraculously the ear damage was fixed, when no specialists can offer me a working solution, other than to ignore it. Which might work for you eventually, but it's a really hard thing to hear in the beginning. Since yours did improve for a time, perhaps you will be one of the lucky ones.
Joanna

I have some lovely CDs for meditation and sleep, like the Delta Sleep System by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, but they're kind of pointless when you have a snorer roaring away next to you! (He's not apneic, he's just noisy, and noisy in every sleeping position. He wakes up perky and energetic, waiting at the gym doors when they open at 5 AM for a 2 hour workout before going to work. Disgustingly healthy - he's a walking, or rather running-stairclimbing-weightlifting-spinning slap in the face to those who say it's impossible to be big and fit at the same time!) So I use them for my afternoon naps/meditations, unless there is too much noise from outside. If I slept neatly on my back and didn't move I could wear those noise-blocking earphones with some nice music but the few times I've tried it I've darn near strangled myself with the cord or yanked one or both earphones out of my ear because I am ALL OVER the place when I sleep. LOL

I absolutely refuse to throw him out of bed to sleep in another room though. I know some couples swear by having separate bedrooms but that has extremely negative associations for me and I just won't do it. Even with the snoring and the inconvenience of earplugs (which I buy by the case!) and the phantom gnats and bad fanbelts :-) in my head when I'm wearing them I'm miserable trying to sleep without him there. It's brutal when he takes business trips, although thankfully since he changed jobs those are now extremely rare.

I take a combination of 3mg Klonopin, 6mg Zanaflex, and my new pain doc changed my pain meds to something that actually takes the pain down far enough for the other meds to be effective at all - that's been a godsend, the last couple of weeks I've actually slept more than an hour or two at a time because I wasn't being woken up by pain every time I moved. Every couple of months I switch out the Klonopin for 150mg of Benadryl (yes, that sounds like a lot but I have a doctor's OK on it, and the real maximum daily dosage is significantly higher) for a month or two to avoid developing tolerance to the benzos. I'm working with two doctors who both have lots of experience in medication "cocktails", one is a psychopharmacologist and that's what that specialty is all about.

I've never understood the appeal of white noise machines, electric fans, that sort of droning sound - I find it irritating and doing absolutely nothing to cover up or distract from other ambient noise. My last psychiatrist always had one of those "whooshing" ones going in his office and I would make him turn it off while I was in there because it just set my teeth on edge. When I have a fan or the AC going in the summer I have to turn the TV or stereo on too.

re: magnesium, taking calcium along with the magnesium makes the GI issues go away - calcium's constipating, magnesium's a laxative, they balance each other out nicely in that department, not to mention that having the two minerals in the wrong proportions can create a whole 'nother batch of problems. Usual proportion is 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium, and a tad of vitamin D in the mix improves absorption of both but especially with moving calcium into bones. Bonus is that calcium is often slightly sedating (the reasoning behind warm milk at bedtime *gag*).

I suppose in a weird way it's kind of a good thing that I've had this all my life and that I have so much other misbehaving-body-and-brain stuff to deal with because I haven't had to go through any panicking specifically regarding the tinnitus. It's just one more d@mn thing I have to suck it up and live with along with the rest of the mile-long list of "you're just going to have to learn to manage, there's nothing left we can do" stuff. :-/ (Not telling anyone else to suck it up, that's mean. I'm just talking about me.)

Mari, do you have any links on the auditory/speech processing dysfunction as related to CFS. Autoimmune problems are big, big, big in my family and me and now I have a son with autism with sensory processing disorder and my curiousity is definitely piqued.

It sounds terrible. I wish you luck with it. Keep searching. I would try following the blood type food groups lists. See if that helps. You can google it at "steve shapiro food lists" and find it. Good luck!

I feel for you guys, and Johnmari hope the pain guys keep doing well for you.
My DH has had tinnitus since a bout with spinal meningitis in the air national guard when he was 19. He lost hearing in both ears but the hearing eventually came back in his right. He has tinnitus in his bad ear- like a roaring jet engine. He seems to live with it pretty well. Lately he has become worried because it is starting in his good ear a little.
He doesn't need white noise or anything to sleep. The creep can fall asleep as his head hits his pillow.
I read about zinc when it started in his good ear and he is taking it daily. not sure if it helps much but it doesnt hurt either.
I think he is "ok" with it because the other two people in his flight died- he was the only one that lived and it was only serendipity.

Joanna - your story is my story. You have just described all that I have felt this past two months. The panic attacks were horrible. I did see that movie before I had T and it was upsetting then and just recalling makes me shudder.
What I do not get is why at times it is silent - I have awoken in the middle of the night and it was silent and on March 7th I had complete silence until 3:00pm - that was the happiest moment in my life. Sounds silly but it was. I had high hopes that this was temporary but my hopes are fading.
Thank you all for sharing your stories - I know I am not alone but this thing SUCKS!

I had sudden hearing loss in one ear about two months ago. The hearing has mostly come back after a round of heavy steroid treatment, but at times I have a "white noise" sound in the bad ear (generally when I have been in a noisy environment). I'm hoping it won't turn into tinnitus.

You should read the article I linked. It mentions some treatment centers and doctors by name. Might be worth a few phone calls or emails.

It's strange how such a small part of the body can wreak such havoc on how we function.

I have always had tinnitus and hyperacuity. I did not know that it was a condition until I became a health professional, I thought it was "normal"

The biggest adaptation I have made is to sleep with a fan or one of those white noise machines. This is one of those things that I think you can stop "listening to" or you can Let it drive you crazy.

I also have some neuralgia and paresthesia from an accident, and again, I think with the proper mindset you can either let it drive you crazy or adapt.

tishtoshnm, I'm sorry I don't have any links handy - pretty much all of the information I have is hardcopy, because I get several publications sifting the peer-reviewed materials in regards to CFS and fibromyalgia (man, that can be hard to chew through!) and even there there's not a huge amount of information. I don't know if it's anything whatsoever like the sensory disorders that people in the autistic spectrum often have since I admit I don't know Jack about autism. In CFS there is brain damage (detectable on MRI, SPECT and PET scans, not that you can get non-researcher doctors to do them!) that seems to be responsible for various cognitive dysfunctions, which vary from person to person - my personal opinion is that it takes small preexisting cognitive weaknesses such as in math or language processing or memory retention and jacks them way up - although researchers haven't figured out exactly why it's happening or what's causing the damage. I actually dropped 30 IQ points between 1991 and 1998, I'm kind of afraid to take the neurocognitive testing my psychiatrist has offered because my memory has gone further to crap in the last year or so. There's very little research in CFS going on in the US - it's mostly coming out of the UK, Australia/NZ, and Japan, where it has a more scientifically accurate and descriptive name, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and gets more respect and thus funding in the medical research community.

Did your ENT doctor get an MRI done on you? I developed a ringing in my ear out of the blue last year. I do have lots of allergy and sinus problems so I was surprised that he wanted the MRI. Only after it was done did he tell me that he was checking me for brain tumors! I don't want to scare you, but he told me that can be a cause of sudden tinnitus so he wanted to rule it out. Turns out my brain was fine, but the ringing continued. I ended up using a fan in my room because I just couldn't bear being in a silent room. The ringing did eventually go away--months later, but it does return occasionally. Either way I am now addicted to the fan and can't sleep without it. I'm actually heading back to the ENT because my sinus problems continue: 3 major colds this winter all of which turned into sinus infections. He said the test of choice to really look at the sinuses is a CAT scan, so I'm hoping my insurance will pay for it. It seems to me that the sinus pressure and infections have a relationship to the ringing ear--at least for me.

beache

"Because it's not an actual noise, I am very fearful of losing my hearing, as then all I will hear is the ringing and be completely trapped..."

Welcome to MY world. Like palimpset, I have also always had tinnitus and hyperacuity. (radio absolutely sucks) I also never realized anything was wrong until I was 18 and had moved out of my parent's home; my friend's mother was an RN and after less than a week, had me get my hearing checked. I had a 75% loss. Looking back, I only wish I could hear that well again; I miss bird songs. The audiologist couldn't believe I'd just graduated mid term and never realized I couldn't hear, but eh, you adjust. It's like putting on your first pair of glasses; you never realize that trees are not just soft, fluffy green shapes, that other people can actually distinguish *leaves* on the branches. At least, not until you put on your glasses and walk outside.

Once it had been called to my attention, of course, I noticed not just what I couldn't hear, but the fact that I was hearing "something", a high pitched whine, sometimes accompanied by a roar. Jets flying overhead would alter the pitch, a lawnmower running down the street with cause another. (not that I can actually *hear* the lawnmower, or the jet, or the doorbell or the dog barking) These days, I've noticed that the tone in my head pulses in time with some cell towers. We discovered this by accident driving on I-40; I was dozing off in the seat as DD was driving. I could hear a very distinct whee whee whee and asked her if she could hear it too. She realized I was reacting at the same time as the cellphone tower was flashing. Odd, but true. Remember that tinnitus isn't about you not being able to hear, it's about your brain not being able to decipher the signal your damaged nerves are sending.

While I can hear some things, my hearing has continued to deteriorate. I've been lip reading for decades. As an aside, in a perverse way, it DOES help when people try to "speak up" when they know you can't hear, even if you can't process the sound of their voice. What happens is they speak slowly, and concentrate on enunciating. You'll find that if the damaged nerves causing the tinnitus are the ones that handle human speech, you will learn to lip read too, by default. I can still hear a little, but I'm learning sign language because I know that one day in the not to distant future, I will be unable to decipher any sounds at all.

One last odd thought; in over 30 years, I can only recall ONE time when I did not hear the ringing in my ears. I had just had four shots of lidocaine to numb my upper jaw to have both wisdom teeth removed. As the third shot went in, the roar and whine just shut down! Oh.my.Gawd. It was so quiet, it scared me. The Dr said I went pale and looked like I was going into shock. He though I was having a reaction to the lidocaine; I was, but not the one he thought. :^)

The effect lasted about three hours, and sister, let me tell you, silence really IS golden.

I sometimes hear what sounds like a snare drum beating in my ear; the effect is aggravated with body motion. It starts after airline flight. I discovered that antihistamines get rid of it. When it occurs, it drives me nuts.

I have it but I haven't posted anything here until now because I don't want to give it any energy. I just live with it, try to ignore it and say, "what did you say?" a lot. If I started focusing on it, I may well loose what little mind I have left.

Hi Yvette,
I guess I missed your post when it first came up because I was to busy doing research on my own tinnitus! I hope that by sharing some of what I learned I can help you. Yes, it is unbelievably annoying. I also had the "go home and live with it" response, which doctors should know by now only aggravates the problem. Grrrr.

Cipro is a known ototoxin (ear poison) and there are quite a few reports of it causing tinnitus. It is the most likely cause of the ringing in your ear. If your bronchitis was accompanied by an upper respiratory infection, you may have eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), another cause of tinnitus. That doesn't mean that you are doomed to live with tinnitus for the rest of your life! Most people have a least one bout with tinnitus, and it is not uncommon for it to resolve itself within a few months.

In the meantime, the most widely used drug to treat tinnitus is Xanax (Alprazolam.) It is a benzodiazepine, commonly used as a tranquilizer. It works for tinnitus by calming the nerves that cause the ringing. Generally it reduces the the noise and irritation, and makes it easier to sleep. You should ask your doctor about this ASAP. Your doctor will probably also want you to have a hearing test, and possibly an MRI. (There is a very rare benign tumor that causes tinnitus, and they might want to rule that out.) Also, avoid loud noises (wear ear plugs if you get an MRI.) Try not to sleep on the side that is ringing, as that will make it worse (easier said than done!)

The best book I have found on tinnitus is "Tinnitus : questions and answers" by Jack A. Vernon and Barbara Tabachnick Sanders (2001). I wish they would do an updated version, but it is still very helpful.

Keep up the walking, yoga, etc. I find being busy to be the best medicine for me.

My tinnitus is caused by ETD (estachian tube dysfunction.)This happens when your tubes are full of mucus (sorry to be so gross.) It can be caused by use of antibiotics and/or antihistamines, which are very drying and don't allow the sinuses to drain freely. My ears feel full and I am unable to clear them. I also have the sensation when I am talking that I can hear my voice inside my head - very weird. In addition to tinnitus I have vertigo. Treatment for ETD is aggressive sinus rinsing (neti pot or similar)and guafinisen(Mucinex). I have experienced this every year for 1-6 months for the past 6 years, and was only told recently that this was the likely cause, so I can't report yet on my success. (In fact, I diagnosed this myself, presented it to my ENT and was told, "Oh yes, that is certainly your problem." Why am I paying this guy??) Anyhow, just *doing* something for it is making me feel better.

I hope you are already feeling better by the time you read this. If not, get the Xanax - and doing the neti pot will only do you good as well.

Best wishes and all my sympathy -
Amy

I am using Xanax. My doctor only gave me .25mg once a night. He won't give me more. That has reduced the panic attacks. I know I read that you need to take 3 Xanax daily for a few weeks but my doctor refused to listen to me and did not give me more. I think the Cipro was the cause of this thing. Now, does it ever go away if Cipro was the cause or am I doomed forever???? I have it only in the left ear and it sounds like a short circuit electrical charge going bunkers.

Can Xanax be taken long-term? As a tranquilizer, it's addictive which is probably why he's restricting it. Just be careful, as a lot of people develop addictions taking pain meds and such.

I wonder if any of the herbal relaxers would help. Maybe you can get a vacation with some lidocaine (story above).

I drink Tilo and Chamomile tea twice daily and Sleepy time tea at bedtime. Anything other suggestions?

Kava Kava had come to mind though I haven't tried it.

Googling:

Calcium, St John's Wart, Basil, Catnip Some herbs

Supplements, for example

Here is a link that might be useful: Calcium

Peppermint, carbs.

Lavendar aroma.

I smell lavender many times a day - increased intake of magnesium and vitamin B1 - B6 and B12. Heck, I have tried just about everything. Today the level is low but that happens - it goes up and down.

The connection to Cipro is interesting. Last May I'd ended up on Cipro for a urinary tract infection. At the end of May I started a bout of what turned out to be tinnitus. First, my GP thought it was an ear infection - I don't remember, but may have ended up with more Cipro. By July I went to an ENT - who diagnosed the tinnitus. I thought I was doomed - it sounded like an ocean running in my left ear. One day in September I woke up and it was GONE! Haven't had the problem since then, and hope to never have it again.

Helene

Helene,
You have given me hope...

Yvette,

I hope yours will disappear just like mine. Please keep us posted...we might be able to provide information for others out there.

Helene

Had it on and off throughout my life, and nonstop, loud, ever since I got high blood pressure. Even though I'm on meds to keep the BP somewhat manageably low, the ringing is *always* there. It does block out other sounds, unfortunately; my hearing is getting worse. I take zinc, magnesium, aspirin, nothing helps (I take them anyway). I have learned just to relax because after a heart attack that came out of *nowhere*, I've finally figured out that there's really nothing guaranteed to us in this life anyway...no reason why I should have some sort of contractual right to have silence in my head...other people have far worse things they live with (I have some of those too, but this isn't the worst). Things will only get worse until we all finally cross over anyway.

Sorry, it's late. Probably a bit too philosophical an answer, but it actually does help me come to peace with it and myriad other things I have to deal with on an ongoing basis.

I just realized this morning that with that post last night, I have now turned into my late Ozarks grandmother, who used to say:

"Nothin' so bad it cain't be worse, from the day you're born 'til you ride the hearse"

Only difference: hers was catchier :)

Flyleft, so true! I just watched a show that I had taped from the Discovery Channel about triplets born blind and deaf. The randomness of luck, lot, and circumstance is mind boggling.

Joanna

I just found this thread about tinnitus -- thought I'd tell me story, in case some pieces of it may help someone else.

Mine started very suddenly and loudly in August 2000 while I was sitting in a room where there was a VERY LOUD collating machine working on our marketing mailing at work. The loud squealing sound in my ears did not quit that day, or the next day. I saw my internist, then an ENT. The hearing test indicated that I had not experienced any hearing loss, and I believe that to still be true. The only thing they had to offer was a special hearing aid to provide white noise. I didn't really like that option.

The following week I went to see my husband's chiropractor, even though I was very skeptical and basically a non-believer in chiropractic. I was desperate, so I decided to try it. He said he would know within two weeks whether he could help me. Just hours after the first adjustment, I was experiencing a change -- it was as though someone were taking a radio volume dial and changing it louder, quieter, louder, quieter, etc. It was awful, but I chose to think of it as a positive in that he had effected a change. I was hoping that change could end up being something more desirable. I had daily appointments that first week, and each day the volume decreased. The following week I only saw him three times, and the appointment frequency continued to gradually decrease. I currently see my chiropractor about once every three or four weeks. Sometimes by that time, I am hearing the squealing (much quieter now than originally -- usually I can even just ignore it), but sometimes I go just to stay ahead of it. It turns out that I have a spondylosis, complete with lower back stiffness, and the adjustments help. It may be noteworthy that my father also had tinnitus -- perhaps he had the spondylosis too.

If anyone thinks this might be an avenue worth checking, I strongly suggest finding a Gonstead chiropractor. (Gonstead = the gold standard of chiropractic -- and they are not likely to pressure you to sign up for the "lifetime program." Their motto is to find the problem, adjust it, and then leave it alone.)

I do find that exercising (walking, climbing stairs or using the elliptical) is helpful.

Hope this may be of some help to some of you.

My question for all of you -- do any of you also have:
- lower back stiffness?
- bad knees ? (I need to have two knee replacements, but I'm still in the putting-it-off mode)
- hips that are sometimes stiff or tight feeling?

I'd like to find out whether there is a common pattern to this. Thanks.

How's your tinnitus doing, Yvette? Any improvement or things that are helping?

Hi all,
Just came back from vacation and saw the latest posts.
I still have this darn thing - I see no hope in it going away. I have stopped experiencing moments of quite all together. The buzzing has been intense since I arrived May 30th. I try to ignore it and at times I forget about it. It is so sad that this will last until I die.
I will talk to my chiropractor and see what he thinks.
I guess life could be worse and I try to see the glass half full. I really did think it would go away but as time passes - faith diminishes.
No lower back pain -
My knees used to hurt going up and down stairs but somehow
they feel great now -
Hips are also better - used to have pain on my left side -
Arthritic fingers - that is also gone - cured myself by squeezing hard my joints every night (hurt like hell) but somehow the pain subsided.
I have no explanations for the above pains being gone.
Weird, eh?

Wow, that's great news about your various aches and pains! I bet some of your diet changes helped there. Have you lost any weight with your new diet? That helps too. I'm gonna have to read back up the thread what other things you've been doing, as well.

I think I, too, might have a mild case of tinnitus, though had never really paid too much attention until this thread. It almost sounds like the pc continuing to hum when all equipment is off. Sometimes if I close both ears by pressing hard with my index fingers, it stops. Hope it's just an adjustment from all the humming equipment noises during the day.

Well, I did blow my diet on vacation - maybe that's why the ringing is higher now. I really don't know - but, I did start eating like a darn rabbit again. Let's see what happens.
Squirrel - thanks for your concern - I have always been on the thin side (but of course, menopause has squared me all around). I gained some weight on the trip and still haven't resumed daily walking - it's so darn hot and humid -
Going to start yoga again soon.
ciao

Are you taking aspirin or an aspirin like drug? Those can also cause ringing in the ears.

I don't take aspirin.