Your not alone JT, I have ringing in my ears and I am on 2000mg of Diamox. Also I have a sensation of water dripping in my head. I go to the neuro today. You might need an LP your pressure is up. When do you go and see your neuro?

2 more weeks before I'm scheduled to see him again. Maybe I'll try to get in there sooner. I feel like I'm starting to be a pain in the ass patient though if I call the office again!

JT,
I totaly understand goign crazy over your ears. since my surgery the wooshing has gotten better, i still have days that are worse than others. the main prob i have is going up in elevation, it doesnt so much hurt as it drives me nuts, my ears are pluged like im in a plane and i cant hear much over the noise. my family is alwyas repeating themselves, i had my ears checked and clinically i have great hearing, yeah sure if you put the sound right in my ear im gonna hear it, but why is it that i cant understand the tv or radio unless its blaring so loud the neighbors hear it?
well my point here was that it will get better when the drs decide to raise your dose or (god forbid) do the surgery. I hope they figure it out for you soon. good luck.

I have to tell you, two years later, and the swooshing is my biggest complaint! Okay, not my biggest, but I HATE IT! It's changed now with the shunt. My last two shunt surgeries are in the right side towards the back of my head and the swooshing sound now sounds like the inside of a mechanical room. I kid you not! When my pressure it up really high, it's really loud and the sound is only on my left side. The ringing is constant and on my right. Go figure. I want to tell you "You'll get used to it!" But I haven't yet. Just don't start talking to it like me! lol

I definitely think Diamox makes the tinnitus (ringing in ears) worse. I already had tinnitus from something else but after starting diamox the ringing has become so loud! It bothered me so much I went to see my ENT. There are several meds you can try to reduce tininitus, there are noise aids and other options for treatment. The ENT may not be able to make it go away but they can help reduce it.

EE

do you know what the meds are? I have never heard of meds for tinitus so please share this info with us. For me sometimes the tinnitus is worse than anyother part of this illnes and if a drug helps I would love to know what it is.

Thanks.

TJ

The tinnitus is probably the worse part for me too. It has gotten so bad that I haven't been able to hear conversation over it and have even had to have my fiance sleep in the other room because I have to sleep with the TV blaring just to drown it out enough that I can get some sleep.

I went to an audiologist and he told me I could try melatonin or amitriptyline. Over on the tinnitus board a lot of people think amitriptyline helps a lot but I have wondered if it would with us PTC people because I have read studies that it can cause water retention.

Just my two cents.

I don't have ringing (yet), just the pulsatile (whooshing sound).

After 3 days on the increased dosage, the whooshing seems to have stopped. (crossing my fingers so I don't jinx it.) Yay!!!!

However, the jump from 500 to 1000mg has left me exhausted, dopey, and my GERD is back with a vengence. Once again no appetite and I'm extremely weepy and irritable.

Gotta love the trade-offs. These meds are like my Mother-in-law. Can't do something nice for you without expecting your soul in return. :)

I know what you mean. I never had the wooshing sounds. I seemed to skip that part and go straight to ringing ears. Sometimes it is not too noticeable and other times it drives me crazy.

I am sure there are more meds than this, my ENT listed off like a million.

This is from the MAYO clinic's site

"Medications to Reduce Tinnitus

Drugs can't cure tinnitus, but in some cases they may help reduce the severity of symptoms or complications. Possible medications include:

Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline, have been used with some success. However, these medications are generally only used for severe tinnitus, as they can cause troublesome side effects, including dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation and heart problems.

Alprazolam (Niravam, Xanax) may help reduce tinnitus symptoms, but side effects can include drowsiness and nausea. It also has the potential to become habit-forming.

Acamprosate (Campral), a drug used to treat alcoholism, is effective in relieving tinnitus for some people. However, more research is needed to determine how well it works for tinnitus."

I have had the wooshing sound which drives me crazy. I wake up with it when my pressure is the worst. Sometimes the wooshing turns to the ringing.

I have been on Amitryptaline before as a trial for migraine treatment. The med is ok but it did make me agressive, irritable, and exhausted. The first 2 side effects is why I stopped taking it.

Orchid, can I ask how much od the Amitrypatilne you were taking?
My neuro started me on this in Feb, to stop break thru pain, which was waking me up every night. I was on 25mgs but she has put it up to 50mgs now, cause I started to wake again. It does help to regulate my sleep pattern which was all over the place for years.
But I find it hard to shake off once I am up. You? Cath.

Does anyone feel like their ears are jammed with cotton? The whooshing has gone away, but my ears just feel really full like they need to pop and my hearing is muffled. It's scaring me.

Yes, I get that as well. I hold my nose closed and blow, like you would when a plane takes off. It relives it for awhile, but not really all tht much. I also get blocked sinuses.Like hay fever.I dont have hay fever or problems with sinus but you would thik I do. It is always much worse when the weather is heavy and ,or my pressure is on the rise.

Try not to be scared JT. I hate to say but this is all normal with IIH. Another bummer symptom! There is nothing wrong with your hearing or your ears, it just the intracranial pressure building up.Not sure what you can do about it tho. i have learned to just put up with it.Cath.

Maybe you should something more natural. I went to nativeremedies.com and will be trying verti free. I hope this helps because the ringing, vertigo and whooshing feeling is driving me crazy. Is anyone annoyed by the chirping of crickets, like me?