I'm 39, and a little less than a year ago I started suffering from tinnitus.
Slightly stronger in the right ear then the left, but overall, it seems more
central than specific to either ear.   It comes and goes, maybe 6 times a
day, sometimes a lot louder than others.

I can't seem to see any pattern to when it happens.   Sometimes it seems to
get more intense after I eat or drink, but I don't detect any specific food
or drink causing it.     Sometimes it seems to get worse when I lie down,
although maybe it's just quiet then and i notice it more.

I went to my general physician, got a full physical.    No problems found.

At roughly the same time the tinnitus started I was having a lot of skin
problems...rashes, itching, etc... that seemed to be leftovers from a large
number of chigger bites I got while hiking last summer.     I don't really
think this is connected to the tinnitus, but I just mention it for
completeness.

I have other vague symptoms....mild fatigue, generally feeling out of
sorts... but really, I don't know that I'd think twice about this stuff it
wasn't for the tinnitus.      I'm trying to avoid being a hypochondriac, but
when your ears are ringing so often, it gets easy to get paranoid about
other small things.

The general physician sent me to an ENT, who did a variety of tests...
hearing is fine, no nerve damage, etc.        He said I have blockage in my
ears..... recommended sudafed....    and I have a deviated septum.    And he
felt the fatigue could be sleep apnia, which I'm pretty skeptical about, I'm
not overweight, not a big snorer, etc..       But when I asked if any of the
above was causing the tinnitus, he said no, so, I really felt this was the
wrong tangent...     go to the car mechanic and he finds 3 other things
wrong except the clanking noise you came in about.

He eventually sent me to get an MRI, and, though the radiologist's initial
report was rather alarming, a followup visit to a neurologist seemed to
quash that, he said the MRI was fine.

Now I'm sort of stuck on a next step.     I just don't see that going back
to my general physician or this ENT is productive for finding out what's
causing the tinnitus.

There's a local tinnitus center where I live, but from their webpage, they
seem more about helping you deal with your tinnitus, not finding out what's
causing it.

Reading through this messagebase, it seems like my situation is fairly
common...    apparently it's hard to find the cause of tinnitus.       Any
suggestions for my next step?

Somebody recommended this stuff called Liboflavanoid, which just seems to be
a crammed-full-of-vitamins pill.