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Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

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Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#321

Post by dahart »

avsteele wrote: post #250

I developed tinnitus during a bout of COVID last week. On about the third day I had an earache in one ear. Earache went away after about a day but now I have pretty strong tinnitus in that ear. COVID symptoms long gone now but tinnitus remains. 'Volume' is negligible when I wake up but increases over the day. I still feel some 'pressure' in that ear (maybe residual sinus infection?) so I'm hoping it will heal on its…

I’ve heard of lots of people first noticing tinnitus while being sick, as well as like the sibling comment, right after getting a vaccine (flu, covid, etc.) It seems like inflammation generally makes the symptoms worse, and I’d bet that most of the time inflammation is causing latent existing tinnitus to cross a threshold and become noticeable and reach your consciousness. I distinctly remember that the first time I consciously noticed my tinnitus, I knew I’d actually been hearing the sound very quietly for some time and not recognizing what it was… I don’t know how long I had tinnitus before I knew I had tinnitus.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#322

Post by dj_mc_merlin »

technothrasher wrote: post #249
localghost3000 wrote: post #22

I've got multiple tones in both ears. Most of the time I don't notice it but sometimes... well it's hard not to panic when you realize you can't escape it. I would very much like to experience life without the ringing again before I kick the bucket. I'd honestly probably cry.

I've had it for as long as I can remember, I suspect it's been there since birth. As a small child, I thought it was normal and that it was what the Simon & Garfunkel song "The Sound of Silence" was talking about. Anyway, I think I may be lucky in that I've never experienced not having it, so it doesn't bother me at all. It's just there.

Same here. The sound's always been there and it's the only thing I can control my attention towards perfectly. Kind of like how you can't not think about pink elephants but through a lifetime of practice I can do it with this one specific thing.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#323

Post by dahart »

collyw wrote: post #230
Gare wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prolonged exposure to loud sounds, short extremely loud sounds (explosions), ototoxic drugs (some antibiotics, chemo..) and substances (toluene..) and viral infections that spread into inner ear can all cause cochlear damage and therefore tinnitus.

Covid vaccines as well. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8788157/ I know, I am a heretic for drawing any negative attention to our savior from the deadly pandemic.

Covid vaccines do sometimes lead to increased tinnitus symptoms. But you can’t draw any conclusions from that, because getting COVID often leads to increased tinnitus. I’m not sure whether it’s known yet, but it very well may be that on balance there are fewer cases of tinnitus associated with the vaccine than with the virus. Also, BTW, flu vaccines and catching the flu both have reports of tinnitus increase. My theory: any inflammation event may be likely to increase tinnitus symptoms.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#324

Post by meindnoch »

w4ffl35 wrote: post #277
almostnormal wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Click is from pressure gradient when opening/tightening the eustachian tube. If I switch to open I can hear myself breathing. Partially covering the outer ear makes the flow of blood audible. That's not tinnitus-related.

I've been able to do it my whole life, chatgpt tells me it's this: Hearing a crackling sound when you flex your ears is quite common. This noise typically results from the movement of small muscles around your ear, particularly the tensor tympani muscle in your middle ear. These muscles contract to dampen certain sounds, like chewing, but can also be voluntarily or involuntarily activated when you move your ears. Thi…

Another example why you shouldn't take ChatGPT at face value.

The clicking sound is the opening of the Eustachian tube. Flexing the tensor tympani sounds like a deep rumbling.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#325

Post by meindnoch »

matsemann wrote: post #207
cjsme wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ditto! Very useful for relieving ear pressure at altitude.

I think it's two different things. When using it to equalize ears hands free, it's the tensor veli palatini (tvp) you're contracting to open the eustachian tube. Of course, one might not be able to distinguish what muscles one is contracting, so it might be that most people actually tense both the tvp and the tympani at the same time, getting both the roaring sound from the tympani and the clicking sound from the tvp…

This is the correct answer.

tensor tympani rumble = deep continuous rumbling sound you may hear when yawning

Eustachian tube clicking = a single slightly wet click you hear when you move your soft palate to block off your nasal cavity from your throat (via the tensor veli palatini muscle)

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#326

Post by financltravsty »

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…

Try putting your fingers in your ears and massaging around. I've found it gives me complete relief for about 10 seconds.

I think mine might be related to stress, hypertension, and an all-around lack of relaxation.

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#327

Post by polishdude20 »

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…

My ears ring when I yawn. Does anyone else get that?

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#328

Post by jaxr »

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…

Exact same experience here! particularly, if I move my jaw backwards with my jaw muscles, the tinnitus would get worse. Never better, though. I do feel the same sometimes, that doctors are not listening hard enough to what we are saying. I've been suffering tinnitus for 20 years now, and it seems to be getting even worse. I really hope a viable treatment is found in my lifetime. It would improve my quality of life so much!

Re: Tinnitus linked to undetected auditory nerve damage

#329

Post by jmckib »

polishdude20 wrote: post #327
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…

My ears ring when I yawn. Does anyone else get that?

Yep same here, and I don’t have tinnitus. Sometimes I seem to get it temporarily though, for unclear reasons.
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