Pseudotumor Cerebri Support Group
Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is a neurological disorder that is characterized by increased intracranial pressure, in the absence of a tumor or other diseases affecting the brain or its lining. Diagnosis requires brain scans and lumbar puncture. Characteristic symptoms are headache, transient visual obscurations or transient visual loss in one or both eyes usually lasting...
And has it ever gone away or at least calmed down? I just had my hearing tested and my hearing is normal (although it's imperfect and kind of on the edge). But ringing won't seem to stop and it's very frustrating.
I can't hear people very well sometimes. I have the TV or white noise on most of the time to help cover it up. I don't think Diamox made it worse but it's hard to tell.
I have days once in awhile when the ringing completely disappears, as does most of the other symptoms. So I tend to think the IH is causing my tinnitus problems.
I'm only a newbie when it comes to Diamox, but an old hand when it comes to tinnitus.
Can't say I've noticed any new sort of ringing from Diamox, but then I guess it depends on which type of ringing we're talking about?
Most days I have the one low volume, high tone ringing that is fairly constant. Every now and then it will switch to a mid tone buzzing (a lot like an electrical buzz / humming) and then there's my personal favourite explosion which starts out as a loud snap, high volume ping which dissipates slowly in intensity and volume over the next minute or two and usually leaves me feeling quite disorientated / unbalanced. If you've ever been hit in the head by a basketball travelling at speed, then that's pretty much what I'd liken it to!
Something I've found which seems to help a little is prochlorperazine?
I know how irritating it can and hope it settles down for you soon!
I am so sorry you are having so much trouble! I know its so frustrating to be trying to find the answers when the condition is making life so tough!
Many people with IIH experience pulsatile tinnitus (whooshing) -this is classic high pressure and not due to the drugs. If you develop a non-pulsatile tinnitus (tone / ringing) only after starting diamox then you might have drug induced tinnitus. The diamox information leaflet lists this as an uncommon side effect (up to 1 in 1000).
However if you look at this link below you will see that there are other factors to tinnitus too. It is also likely that many of us who have experienced tinnitus for any length of time are over sensation to the noise and notice it more quickly then before. The page offers suggestions to combat this.
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/tinnitus-leaflet
and this page has a good picture of the inner ear
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Tinnitus/Pages/Causes.aspx
i didnt get ringing till well after i started diamox, but I am still on diamox and i only get ringing every so often - However someone else might answer our post who had severe drug induced tinnitus and say that once they came off the diamox the tinnitus settled down.
So best of luck with everything and i hope you find some relief!
Keren
My symptoms seem to match up to SeaSprite's somewhat. I have 2 different sounds in my head: the first being a classic, pulsatile rumbling sound on the left that's very loud (and has been described as vascular flow sounds) and the second is a right-side screeching -- both never stop, and both started before I was RX'd Diamox.
When my Diamox dose was increased past 1000 mg/day, the right side screeching increased a great deal. The rumbling on the left remained constant. As more and more Diamox was added, so did the right side tinnitus grow louder. Like Sea, I have to deploy white noise to try and "dilute" it.
Drives me bonkers. And, I do feel like my hearing is compromised completely.
Hope you find some answers and more importantly some relief -- SOON!
I hope it doesn't last forever for you....I would talk with your neurologist about it. Blessings, Aim
I haven't had problems with my ears ringing from the Diamox itself, per se, but I did talk to my son's ear doctor about the tinnitus when it got so loud it drove me nuts.
He said that people who have PTC (or IIH) are subject to tinnitus because of the excessive pressure that has been on our brains. Not only does the excess cerebral spinal fluid crush down on our brains, but everything that's in them, like our eyes, sinuses, nerves and so forth.
The tinnitus is caused because the nerves to our ears that help us hear have been partially destroyed by that "crushing" and pressure, and that's what's causing them to "ring" or "squeal" or sound louder. He said there are various ways we can try and ignore it ... using white noise like a radio or TV that's set to static, or a fan that constantly hums, things like that, concentrating on something (especially if you're watching TV) and not doing a second thing, like sewing, knitting, crossword puzzles, etc., just watch the TV and nothing else (the sound supposedly will be louder), or we can get hearing aids that can help block the noise.
He also said he could do a surgery to cut the nerves so they won't try and send messages to my brain anymore (which is what they're trying to do and not succeeding, which is why the noise is there constantly in the first place), but that can result in deafness, so I said I didn't think that was a good option at the time. There are some days, though....
Anyway, that's what's going on. Your nerves are trying to send the messages of sound to your brain from the ears and not succeeding, and that's tinnitus, and the more they try and send the messages, the louder the noise is in your head.
Hopefully some of those tricks will help you get rid of some of the noise. I sure HOPE it's not the Diamox that's causing it. i know I never, personally, experienced it happening to me because of Diamox.
I wish you the best, hon. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
wolfy (marge)
welcome to the group! you are always welcome to put in your 2, 3 4 or 4 cents!
We all know about the pulsating - whooshing tinnitus that we get when the pressure is up but many of us get the ringing / tone / whistle / bell as well and i had never head a satisfactory answer till now as to what actually caused it. There was this drug induced tinnitus - but it often didnt correlate.
It makes absolute sense now you say that once crushed the nerves will be damaged and you will have subsequent problems transmitting sound. :)