Case study: tinnitus with distortion • Hacker News Board

Re: Case study: tinnitus with distortion

#21

Post by mattmanser » Mon, Jul 13, 2015, 9:54 AM UTC

dazc wrote: post #9

mattmanser wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any more detail? I have had quite variable tinnitus for three years now on one side and am beginning to suspect it's related to muscle tension in that shoulder.

You should get this checked out as tinnitus in one side can be a symptom of acoustic neuroma. http://patient.info/health/acoustic-neuroma-leaflet

Yeah, I've had an MRI and was told there was nothing obvious and to habituate it, which by then I already had. However it varies quite a lot and am beginning to notice it tends to be a lot worse when I'm stressed or my shoulders feel tense.

Re: Case study: tinnitus with distortion

#22

Post by mattmanser » Mon, Jul 13, 2015, 9:54 AM UTC

paublyrne wrote: post #13

mattmanser wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any more detail? I have had quite variable tinnitus for three years now on one side and am beginning to suspect it's related to muscle tension in that shoulder.

As child comment mentions, do get this checked by an ENT who will check for a few things, including tumours. I went to two, neither of whom were able to help much, but it is important to check. Personally, there was mystery for a long time, but rather than trying to solve the mystery fully, I tried to be pragmatic and do what helped. I found that my range of motion turning my head one way was less than the other, hav…

Thanks for the info! I've been to the ENT and had an MRI to make sure it's not anything more than tinnitus. Most of the time I'm fine with it, but sometimes it gets quite loud and it tends to be when I'm stressed. Which makes me more stressed!

Re: Case study: tinnitus with distortion

#23

Post by dazc » Mon, Jul 13, 2015, 9:33 PM UTC

mattmanser wrote: post #21

dazc wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should get this checked out as tinnitus in one side can be a symptom of acoustic neuroma. http://patient.info/health/acoustic-neuroma-leaflet

Yeah, I've had an MRI and was told there was nothing obvious and to habituate it, which by then I already had. However it varies quite a lot and am beginning to notice it tends to be a lot worse when I'm stressed or my shoulders feel tense.

I have tinnitus and it is aggravated by stress. I have changed my lifestyle to avoid stressful situations but it isn't easy.

Sticking to a healthy diet and avoiding alcohol have been easy wins though.

Re: Case study: tinnitus with distortion

#24

Post by tim333 » Sun, Jul 19, 2015, 6:02 PM UTC

windytan wrote: post #20

tim333 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for posting. Googling elsewhere it seems only about 5% of tinnitus is objective as in being audible in a stethoscope or similar. Though it's remarkable how sensitive the ear is. Apparently at the threshold of human hearing the vibrations at the basilar membrane are of the order of 1/1000 of the width of an atom so I guess there could be stuff going on that you can't pick up with a microphone/stethoscope, perha…

Yes, it is indeed very rare and exceptional.

I did some more reading on how the ear works and I think my comment on there being positive feedback is wrong. Looking at how the bits are laid out and wired up it looks more like it uses amplified negative feedback in the manner of an op amp. The diagram I looked at is in Purves et al, Neuroscience 5th edition. I'm now thinking the tinnitus may be from the input maxing out when the negative feedback breaks. From a practical point I've found carrying wax earplugs helps my ears recover.