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Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

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Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#181

Post by bradley13 »

Reading the comments, it seems pretty obvious that there are multiple causes.

To add my own anecdote (because I don't see it mentioned otherwise): I have very specific hearing loss (40dB) in one frequency range frequency (4khz). That is also the frequency of my tinnitus. The cause is almost certainly bored neurons making stuff up: there is never input at that frequency, so they produce their own.

Maybe fixing the auditory nerve will help some people. Other folk will need a different cure...

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#182

Post by carrozo »

nsxwolf wrote: post #97
jader201 wrote: post #96

I don’t know if this is a clue, but I can do muscle movements in my head/face/jaw to make the tinnitus worse (only as I make the movements, immediately reverting back to “normal” tinnitus as soon as I relax). Some examples: - jutting my jaw forwards - moving my ears back with my face muscles - pushing downward on the top of my head with my hands Another possible clue: this has been true since I can remember — even as…

Interesting. I can “play my eardrums”, which I describe as the ability to consciously control something in my ears that causes a loud fluttering, ringing sound that is something like wind entering my ear canals combined with a bell. After some research I’ve found some people can control something called the “tensor tympani” and generate sounds described as a “roar” but being a subjective experience I am not certain t…

There’s a whole subreddit dedicated to this, which they call “ear rumbling”:

https://www.reddit.com/r/earrumblersassemble/

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#183

Post by htamas »

adamddev1 wrote: post #163
htamas wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I told my doctor about this effect of yawning and he said that’s just a reflex, unrelated. However my tinnitus started when they removed my wisdom teeth and that’s also when my TMJ started, so I’m pretty sure they are somehow related, and my tinnitus is generated by some kind of a bone/ligament alignment issue. It’s very interesting what you said about ostheopathy, I would try it out except I’m afraid it can just as…

Ya I also have had wisdom teeth removed and TMJ issues for a long time, and it also seems related. The nice thing about Osteopathy is that it's very gentle so it shouldn't be as dangerous as more aggressive or invasive treatments. Some Osteopaths are especially experienced with ear-related things. I've had very, very good results from it personally. For me the biggest help has been that as well as general physio/exer…

Could you link a video or something on the exercises you do? Not sure what eccentric means in that context.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#184

Post by Solvency »

nobrains wrote: post #167
painted-now wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It took me a long while to figure out that I can make my tinnitus better by pushing by jaw backwards (using my hands). As I understood it, the ear and the jaw muscle are delicately close. "Pressure" on the ear can somehow cause the nerves to send such signals. I got prescribed some special training to relax the muscles in the neck and jaw area; still need to start it. I read that being able to modulate the tinnitus t…

My symptoms started along with my jaw crackling. So it seems they are related. Putting my symptoms here: - Constant noise in ear - Also seems like noise / tingling sensation in the brain - Is higher just when I wake up - Started along with an infection that went to the ear. Infection cleared up. Tinnitus didn't. - Been on for a year and a half. - Its terribly unbearable. Not suicidal level but very close to it.

I bet you have a tongue tie. Go get a frenectomy. Do tongue stretches. Get some facial massages.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#185

Post by doodlebugging »

thfuran wrote: post #149
doodlebugging wrote: post #30

I recently bought a couple of audiomoths for monitoring or tracking birds passing through my area. It records up to 192kHz I think so it can pick up ultrasonic chirps from bats. Anyway while passing the recorded data into Audacity to search for bird calls I was able to finally nail down the bandwidth where my tinnitus overwhelms all other signal and to begin to understand the depth of my work-related hearing loss. I…

The frequency response of a healthy ear isn't flat across all audible frequencies, so you'd need to reference normal hearing to determine the extent of damage rather than just looking at minimum audible db at various frequencies. >I am not sure I can inverse filter the tinnitus-related noise since it is random intensity though a notch filter could be an option since it is narrow band. Are you talking about basically…

>The frequency response of a healthy ear isn't flat across all audible frequencies, so you'd need to reference normal hearing...

Isn't the normal frequency response of a healthy ear dependent on the shape of the ear cartilage and the configuration of the ear canal and the ear drum? It would be different for every individual. Kinda like how Mom could always hear everything we did and said after bedtime while Dad, without even using his selective hearing, wouldn't even know we were still awake.

>Are you talking about basically using active noise canceling to silence tinitus?

Yes. Model the tinnitus and design the inverse filter based on the bandwidth and inject that inverse filter to become an active subtraction of the tinnitus response. I know it probably isn't possible because the noise is variable and originates in the brain instead of external to the ear so it is not easily quantifiable therefore the inverse operator will not be exact, optimum, or anything else. However, if you can model the signal then you should be able to design the inverse operator. Since the signal is just a band-limited input there is no reason why you can't dink around until you have a close enough model to be able to design the inverse filter which you would then inject as an external input thru an earpiece or some other sound generator.

I'm a geophysicist with hearing problems, not an audiologist or otolaryngologist. It sounds reasonable to me. We deal with convolution/deconvolution and other signal processing as a regular part of the job process.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#187

Post by kitsune_ »

jader201 wrote: post #96

I don’t know if this is a clue, but I can do muscle movements in my head/face/jaw to make the tinnitus worse (only as I make the movements, immediately reverting back to “normal” tinnitus as soon as I relax). Some examples: - jutting my jaw forwards - moving my ears back with my face muscles - pushing downward on the top of my head with my hands Another possible clue: this has been true since I can remember — even as…

As a child my teeth were corrected by pulling my lower jaw back with elastic bands. Not only do I have a weak chin because of this, but in hindsight I think my tinnitus might be related to this as well.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#188

Post by doodlebugging »

thibaut_barrere wrote: post #180
doodlebugging wrote: post #30

I recently bought a couple of audiomoths for monitoring or tracking birds passing through my area. It records up to 192kHz I think so it can pick up ultrasonic chirps from bats. Anyway while passing the recorded data into Audacity to search for bird calls I was able to finally nail down the bandwidth where my tinnitus overwhelms all other signal and to begin to understand the depth of my work-related hearing loss. I…

It's a great idea - and a more detailed diagnosis compared to what some professionals do. I had no idea audiomoths were a thing by the way! Will look into that.

I'm really liking these audiomoths. Broadband recording at high fidelity with long, unattended recording possible. I'm trying to see whether I can identify individual crows among a family of pecan-stealers active in my area. I almost have them accustomed to checking my porch for raw peanuts as part of their regular rotation. I probably need cameras to be able match the bird to the call and identify individual birds and I don't yet have that but I will in time. For now I am getting familiar with all the normal noises out here and the frequencies they occupy so that I can visually separate bird calls at various frequencies from ambulances, airplanes, helicopters, automobiles, barking dogs, etc so I can spend more time analyzing interesting signals from the birds out here.

If you have time to acquire a new hobby, an audiomoth is a great tool.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#189

Post by mofeien »

nsxwolf wrote: post #97
jader201 wrote: post #96

I don’t know if this is a clue, but I can do muscle movements in my head/face/jaw to make the tinnitus worse (only as I make the movements, immediately reverting back to “normal” tinnitus as soon as I relax). Some examples: - jutting my jaw forwards - moving my ears back with my face muscles - pushing downward on the top of my head with my hands Another possible clue: this has been true since I can remember — even as…

Interesting. I can “play my eardrums”, which I describe as the ability to consciously control something in my ears that causes a loud fluttering, ringing sound that is something like wind entering my ear canals combined with a bell. After some research I’ve found some people can control something called the “tensor tympani” and generate sounds described as a “roar” but being a subjective experience I am not certain t…

To add another personal experience to that: I can do that as well, and for me it will make my tinnitus louder. It is very low pitched but more or less stable around 340Hz, and thus actually musically relevant to me as it gives me some kind of active, makeshift absolute pitch.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#190

Post by doodlebugging »

luplex wrote: post #129
doodlebugging wrote: post #30

I recently bought a couple of audiomoths for monitoring or tracking birds passing through my area. It records up to 192kHz I think so it can pick up ultrasonic chirps from bats. Anyway while passing the recorded data into Audacity to search for bird calls I was able to finally nail down the bandwidth where my tinnitus overwhelms all other signal and to begin to understand the depth of my work-related hearing loss. I…

Honestly you should probably just get a professional hearing aid, they do a hearing test and adjust its frequency response to your ears. The longer you wait with getting it, the harder it will be for your brain to adjust to processing the full corrected sounds.

I've been considering this more often lately. I was hoping for an inexpensive option since hearing aids are just earbuds with a custom tune.
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