Tinnitus, Deafness and Ear Problems Support Group
This group is for those coping with Tinnitus (ringing ears or ear noise), hearing loss, and all ear issues. Join to find support and get advice from others.
I am curious to know how many people in the group have high frequency hearing loss. I had my hearing tested when I saw the ENt last summer and the audiologist said that I have a little high frequency loss in my right ear, but said that it is very slight. I know that some doctors say that hearing loss causes tinnitus, but I am curious as to why there are people who have hearing loss, but no Tinnitus. I feel that my Tinnitus is more of a nervous system thing. I blame it on the neurontin that I was taking for nerve pain. I was fine on the Neurontin, but the withdrawal from it caused the Tinnitus to get worse. I was never warned that this could happen and I had other bad withdrawal symptoms. I notice that first thing in the morning I am usually better and toward the evening I get worse. I also got Hyperacusis from the Neurontin withdrawal and that has gotten somewhat better, but the more noise I am exposed to during the day the worse the Tinnitus is. I had a rough time over Xmas due to the big get togethers that get really noisy. I am noticing more now that alot of environments are very noisy like my gym, the mall etc. It is no wonder many people have hearing loss. I get depressed at times as I have had to alter my lifestyle somewhat. I am afraid to go to the movies now because they are so loud. It seems that many situations now bother my ears where as before they didn't. I guess I am just venting as this condition is hard to deal with. I just wish that they would find some medications that would help or a cure. I do find Ativan helps, but try to limit my use to only when the T is really bothering me.
April
April
Don is a Corrections Officer, the Dr said he has to wear earplugs in a noisy enviorment, well that's the whole jail. Now the jail says he can't come back to work wearing ear plugs, so it looks like he is now also out of a job.
I am just guessing that people are more likely to be aware of their tinnitus when they have high frequency hearing loss at around 4000 hz and up. My tone sounds about 7000 hz. I think the lower the frequencies are of your hearing loss the less noticeable it is. But for us hf folks it screams. It would be interesting to see audiograms of others and compare tones and frequency loss to validate my guess. I know my hearing dips 30 db at 3000 hz and a little more as I go up the scale. Not enough for hearing aids yet, but frequently I hear words without consonants and will guess as to what the word is. I know everything sounds louder too. I have 90-95 ldl's for hyperacusis, which are considered borderline, thankfully so. I can function but always have regular and musician earplugs standing by. I recently discovered that highway driving causes spikes so I use them for that. It's a good thing the movies aren't as good as they use to be so I can wait for the dvd. I certainly understand you wanting to vent though because we all understand. Take heart knowing that milllions of dollars and many years of research are going on to help us. I bet before the end of this new decade we will be celebrating happier days!
Best wishes,
Mark
So now I am concused.
How many mgs of Neurontin were you on? And for how long?
I do have sound sensitivity like winderbridge, but they call mine a reactive T. which I found out is fairly rare. Nothing masks it because the sounds of the maskers makes the noise worse. I too would suggest you get the musician ear plugs, and I hope you get better as time goes on.
My husband has T too, but his is the opposite, noise makes his better. And he has no hearing loss.
Big hug,
Sandy
I have read that Neurontin can help Tinnitus. I was on 1,200 - 1,500 milligrams for 10 months. I know that this sounds high but isn't for nerve pain and many people I know that take it for this take at least 1,800 milligrams. I started noticing the T got worse when I stopped the Neurontin. It was like it messed up my nervous system or something. It also caused the Hyperacusis. I was fine on the Neurontin, but once I stopped I started having problems. How much were you on for the nerve pain? 300 mg. is a low dose. I am glad that it helps you. By the way noise makes my T worse, especially louder noise.
April
When I need ralief from the ear pain i use ear plugs the ones that are soft are the best i have a set in the car/home/work / garage. When the ear pain comes in go the ear plugs. IT is also helpful at the movies or anyhwere it is loud! I also tooo am hagin some issues with i guess at this point worry about the problem. This is why i have been doing research and came across thsi www site. I found that if I theink about it too much and the problems it creates ,,,, it gets to me. If I get into something, fgoing outside, working on something ,,,, refusing to think about it,,, it seems to help for the time being. I hope this helps you!