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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Tinnitus / April 2006Sharing my story
Hi all, Just wanted to share my story. It happens intermittently since 2003 but this time time round, it stuck around much longer. a) The first thing I did was to undergo an agonizing MRI session. I would think that these machines would be quiet as a church mouse , given the technological leap. Nothing negative turned up but the loud thumping noise made the noise worse. b) I tried both oriental and western medicines - you name it , I tried it. Western : A combo of Duxaril and Merislon - took that for a couple of weeks but to no avail. Was on Gingko for a period of time but it did not work as well Oriental : Tried acupuncture and some herbal concoction and that did not prove effective c) Tried physiotherapy and was told that I needed to work out the stiff neck muscles with some basic daily exercises. Still doing that and yet to see any improvement d) I was so desperate that I tried hypnotherapy and that obviously did not take me very far. d) Masking : Tried a couple of ENTs and I was told there was nothing they could do. One of them actually gave me a "Sound of Nature" CD for the elusive restful sleep. That was kind of him e) Sleep : I am SERIOUSLY trying to avoid taking Ambien ( or Stilnox as they are known here) but the lack of sleep is making things worse , I think. I don't want to get hooked on it but there's not much alternative .... Has anyone experienced worsened episode of tinnitus with prolonged usage of Ambien? Still fighting the batttle.. may wanna try another acupuncturist... Well, wish me luck Regards, Brandon > e) Sleep : I am SERIOUSLY trying to avoid taking Ambien ( or Stilnox as > they are known here) but the lack of sleep is making things worse , I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Still fighting the batttle.. may wanna try another acupuncturist... > Well, wish me luck Hi, Brandon. I used to use Ambien much more regularly, sometimes for consecutive weeks, and it never worsened my T. Eating high salicylate does, being exhausted or ill does, though. My T is of infectious origin and responds to antibiotic treatment. Wishing you luck, Susan Thanks Susan.That's good to know. I am in the IT industry and spent long hours hunched over the computer . I am contemplating trying a chiropractor and wonder whether anyone has luck with it. > Thanks Susan.That's good to know. I am in the IT industry and spent > long hours hunched over the computer . I hope you remember to take an hourly stretch and walk around a bit? And don't stick to the Tech Diet of Coke and fast food takeout at your work station? I am contemplating trying a > chiropractor and wonder whether anyone has luck with it. If you haven't already, a complete medical eval by an internal medicine doc, with special attention to infectious diseases is in order first. My own T was intermittent for many years, and its cause is tick borne diseases, central nervous system infection. Antibiotics helped a lot, after initially cranking it up. So does lower salicylates for some, and low carb for some. Susan x-no-archive: yes >> Thanks Susan.That's good to know. I am in the IT industry and spent >> long hours hunched over the computer . [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Susan And thyroid dysregulation should be looked for. Susan Susan, > If you haven't already, a complete medical eval by an internal medicine > doc, with special attention to infectious diseases is in order first. > My own T was intermittent for many years, and its cause is tick borne > diseases, central nervous system infection. Antibiotics helped a lot, > after initially cranking it up. So does lower salicylates for some, and > low carb for some. Any particular name to your disease- I may wanna to take this up with a specialist on this..What examination did you do to nail down the cause?Did you experience any other symptoms? Thanks > Any particular name to your disease- I may wanna to take this up with a > specialist on this..What examination did you do to nail down the > cause?Did you experience any other symptoms? Thanks It's hard to say completely, because the serological tests are very inaccurate and unreliable, but after many years of illness, I tested positive for Lyme disease and two strains of ehrlichiosis (HGE and HME). My child had Lyme and babesiosis and the T and hyperacusis (which I also have) cleared up on antibiotics for good. LOTS of other symptoms, mostly neurological. I was totally bedridden for months at a time years ago. Susan Wow.. Sorry to hear that you had to go thru that... It's unlikely I have an internal-related disease ... had a health screen done recently and was given a clean bill of health... > Wow.. Sorry to hear that you had to go thru that... It's unlikely I > have an internal-related disease ... had a health screen done recently > and was given a clean bill of health... Just one potential avenue. If you're not having any other symptoms, like fatigue, achiness, dizziness, etc. that certainly makes it less likely. Susan Oh boy. There lies your problem. Posture. I chiropractor is a good place to start. Ask him if you have any tension in your neck and back muscles. When he says YES then you need to address that problem as a chiro is only a start. Start reading here: http://eebee.net/TinnitusIsaPainintheNeck.shtml Elly's Tinnitus Resources http://eebee.net/ >Thanks Susan.That's good to know. I am in the IT industry and spent >long hours hunched over the computer . I am contemplating trying a >chiropractor and wonder whether anyone has luck with it. Thanks. Elly. Will look into that. Now,last night i took 10mg of Ambien, something weird happened - the tinnitus sounded much more pronounced / intensified while my central nervous system is being numbed by the chemicals. That means that the rest that I had was really not deep sleep - part of the bring was tranquilised while that other parts were still picking up strong signals from the buzzing, high pitched sound of Mr T.. Time to look for another alternative Elly, I will be trying this guy out at http://www.osteopath.com.sg/. Any comments on his qualifications and his services... > Thanks. Elly. Will look into that. Now,last night i took 10mg of > Ambien, something weird happened - the tinnitus sounded much more [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > parts were still picking up strong signals from the buzzing, high > pitched sound of Mr T.. Time to look for another alternative I get better sleep on Ativan than on Ambien, Brandon, and many folks take Xanax to reduce the loudness of their T. You might want to ask the doc about trying that instead. Susan I can't give an official recommendation on his qualifications, but his webpage looks impressive. He has good exercises for back and neck. And also a page on office posture. Unfortunately the link to the neck exercises does not work. You might tell him that when you see him. His feedback page is not good either. There is no room to put a comment. Elly's Tinnitus Resources http://eebee.net/ >Thanks. Elly. Will look into that. Now,last night i took 10mg of >Ambien, something weird happened - the tinnitus sounded much more [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >Elly, I will be trying this guy out at http://www.osteopath.com.sg/. >Any comments on his qualifications and his services... -I did a cranial osteopathy and sadly, the tinnitus is still there ..I was told by the physician that if I am not cured after a few sessions, there's nothing else he can do . That's reassuring !! - In the meantime, I am taking valerian + melatonin for my insomnia... any issues in the long term Did you ask the man questions? Did you ask him about muscle tension? Did he massge you back and back? Cranial massage is pretty useless in my opinion. Now what about this? > I am in the IT industry and spent >long hours hunched over the computer . I am contemplating trying a >chiropractor and wonder whether anyone has luck with it. Are you correcting this situation? If you are expecting other people to fix your problem while you go on doing the same old thing - noting will change. "Tinnitus wont get better unless the victim wakes up and starts to face the fact that unless he makes the effort, not much will change." Elly's Tinnitus Resources http://eebee.net/ >-I did a cranial osteopathy and sadly, the tinnitus is still there ..I >was told by the physician that if I am not cured after a few sessions, >there's nothing else he can do . That's reassuring !! > >- In the meantime, I am taking valerian + melatonin for my insomnia... >any issues in the long term Elly, Question for you : if I can vary the pitch of the ringing sound by various neck rotation exercises , what does that mean? How can I rectify the situation ? I actually swim quite a fair bit and use a lot of neck movements during the breast strokes- does it mean I should stop doing it ? I was told that swimming is good for relaxation of the neck muscles.... Posturewise, I have stopped slouching in my chair - not sure what else I can do ? It means that there is a muscular component to your tinnitus. Swimming is great. But please make sure that after exercise of any sort you do some stretching exercises as well. Some years ago I started swimming and I found the breast stroke quite difficult for my neck. So I ended up doing 3 laps backstroke (Easier on the neck) and 1 lap breast stroke. But it improved after a while. Great that you stopped slouching. Are there other things you might need to do? Have a look here: http://www.healthycomputing.com/articles/best_sitting_posture.htm Elly's Tinnitus Resources http://eebee.net/ >Elly, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >Posturewise, I have stopped slouching in my chair - not sure what else >I can do ? I have had a flare up with my tinnitus that I think is induced by jetlag. The pharmacist recommended melatonin and I think that it is helping with the jetlag, and also maybe the tinnitus as well. There have been some studies with melatonin which indicate it might be helpful. Anyways, it seems to do more for me than Ginko Balboa. > -I did a cranial osteopathy and sadly, the tinnitus is still there ..I > was told by the physician that if I am not cured after a few sessions, > there's nothing else he can do . That's reassuring !! > > - In the meantime, I am taking valerian + melatonin for my insomnia... > any issues in the long term Mr. Y, What dose of melatonin do you take? Eric >I have had a flare up with my tinnitus that I think is induced by jetlag. >The pharmacist recommended melatonin and I think that it is helping with [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> - In the meantime, I am taking valerian + melatonin for my insomnia... >> any issues in the long term My acupuncturist told me that I told my tinnitus as a result of sitting in front of a pc with improper head gesture. By all means try a chiro. But remember, even if you do all the right things, it still takes a few months before a more tangible improvement is felt. Francis, Did you have regular bouts of imbalances or dizziness , accompanying your tinnitus? I have tried various accupuncturists and they would attempt different areas of my body with limited results. What areas worked for you in the end ? Also, I am vacillating between Chinese Traditional Medicine and Western ones. This is my observation :On nights that I have the western drug (sibelium), I would have a restful rest and the tinnitus would be much subdued and I attribute this to the sedative effects of the drugs. However, the opposites occur for the Chinese drug : restless sleep, heightened pitch, lack of concentration. What's your experience earlier between Chinese and Western medication ? I have the right mind to abandon the Chinese ones though I was told that the Chinese ones would take time to kick in and one would feel worse before it gets better... BTW, I am having weekly sessions of TuiNa ( Mandarin for Osteopathy) for the neck/spine , coupled with accupuncture sessions. It's still early days ..hoping to beat the damned beast one of these days.. Regards, Brandon Tan > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > given the technological leap. Nothing negative turned up but the loud > thumping noise made the noise worse. I don't think the sound of the MRI machine can be a cause. If you really mean the noise was agonizing (ie it was causing you pain) then there must be a medical problem somewhere. If you justy mean being in that tube caused severe anxiety, then I understand the problem, but I think it just proves you are under a lot of stress. > b) I tried both oriental and western medicines - you name it , I tried > it. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > neck muscles with some basic daily exercises. Still doing that and yet > to see any improvement I was treated this way, too, but my MRI showed calcification in my neck, so I have to do the exercises whether they help the tinnitus or not. I thinkthey have not helped the tinnitus, but the pain in the neck has decreased markedly. What has worked for me, in fact the only thing, is swimming. Whenever I swim for a half hour in the morning, the tinnitus is completely gone for the rest of the day. It returns during the night, which leads me to believe my bed is a contributing cause, although it feels comfortable, and I have no trouble falling asleep. > d) I was so desperate that I tried hypnotherapy and that obviously did > not take me very far. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Still fighting the batttle.. may wanna try another acupuncturist... > Well, wish me luck From what you've written, I think stress is a big problem. It may not be the cause, but at least it is something you know you can reduce.
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