Tinnitus starting in non-AN Ear I'm worried

[Mei Mei]

Last week I had one incident of tinnitus for a few seconds in the non-AN ear and it happened a few weeks earlier.   It's now happened twice.   I never noticed it on the AN side, it just happened to me gradually, but now I am very sensitive to tinnitus and what it could me to me.  I am seeing the ENT surgeon for a follow up on the 14th and will ask about this for sure.

Has anyone had this happen to them?

Mei Mei   very worried

[CHD63]

Yup, but mine did not start happening in the non-AN ear until about a year post-op.  I never had tinnitus pre-surgery.  Post-surgery I had it almost immediately, along with hyperacusis, in the AN ear only.  Now I have it in both ears, although it is much louder in the AN ear.  Most of the time I can successfully refocus on something else ..... except when I am in a noisy environment (loud restaurants, in a crowd, the crowd noise of a ballgame on TV, etc.).  When it gets too bad, I try to remove myself from the offending environment whenever possible.  My husband is finally clued in to the fact that when I become irritable, it is almost always because I cannot get out of the situation easily and he will assist me in finding ways out (mute the TV .....  ).

Since I have partial hearing in my AN ear, I have found that when I wear my hearing aid on a regular basis, it seems to calm the tinnitus.  I've had some issues with fluid behind the eardrum the past month so unable to wear it and the tinnitus has cranked up way too much!

There are treatments to reduce tinnitus, but I do not know of any guaranteed to get rid of it.  If anyone has any ideas, we'd all like to hear them!

Clarice

[Mei Mei]

Thank you for answering me so quickly.   Then you didn't pursue finding out if you were getting another AN?   I thought it was a sign of an AN like my other ear.

Mei Mei

[CHD63]

My two year MRI (February, 2010) was essentially the same as the one year MRI.  I have an "area of increased enhancement consistent with residual tumor" ..... the one year MRI said it could be residual tumor or scar tissue.  Since it did not change, I am going with scar tissue.  I refuse to let myself be chained to the fear of a recurrent tumor (all of our nightmares, I think).  Since my neurosurgeon is not concerned, I am believing that.  Next MRI is not due until February, 2011.  Obviously I would not let alarming symptoms go unchecked ..... but I think the tinnitus is rather normal.  My ENT and audiologist are aware of it and do not seem unduly concerned.

If you have other troubling symptoms, by all means you should check with your doctor and mention this.

Best thoughts.

Clarice

[Syl]

Mei Mei:

Remember as we get older, it's normal to lose our hearing & along with that, we often get tinnitus. I get it occasionally on my good ear & especially when I get really bad headaches. But I'm not worried about having an AN on that side. Relax.

Syl

[Tumbleweed]

I have a couple friends who have tinnitus and MRIs showed they do not have an AN.Tinnitus can be caused by other things; for example, exposure to loud noise. So don't worry yourself about having an AN on your good side. It's not likely.

Best wishes,
TW

[kenneth_k]

Hi Mei Mei.

I have tinnitus in both my ears, but I only had one AN. I agree, that you shouldn' worry to much.

Best regards, Kenneth

[Cheryl R]

Mei Mei,    My husband has tinnitus.      I was to an open house event at a friends Sat and in telling someone about my NF2 also found she has it.    Then the daughter of the friend also told us she has it.         Probably more people than we think have it.
    Not fun to have though!         I can't remember if I had it before we found the good side AN as has been awhile.  I possibly did a little.                                                   Cheryl R

[bell]

My Tinnitus has always seemed to be on the good side, hardly ever on An removal side, strange.  I am SSD and the doctors seem not to be concerned.  It does seem to have gotton better with botox, either coincedence, time is healing, or I am getting use to it. It really has not been an issue, my issue is headaches and head soreness still at 1 1/2 years post-op.  I would not worry to much.
Bell

[Jim Scott]

Mei Mei ~

For what its worth: I've had mild tinnitus in both ears for years.  After my AN surgery and subsequent FSR treatments, nothing really changed.  I still have about the same (low) level of tinnitus in both ears.  I'm able to ignore it about 98% of the time and it doesn't impact my lifestyle in any substantive way.  I'm not a doctor and I can only speculate but I have to doubt that bilateral tinnitus indicates another AN.

Jim

[Mickey]

I have had my tinnitus for 30+ years now. I`ve tried every method possible with only one giving me minor relief called neuromonics. I`ve been so used to having this that its part of my "being " now and I probably would have to get used to complete quiet. I sure would like to see what it feels like and am definately on top of any recent developments with American Tinnitus Association. Still W+W 3 years with AN and going good. Best wishes, Mickey

[Mei Mei]

Thanks everybody for your input on Tinnitus.   I really appreciate it.   The tinnitus in the good ear hasn't come back again this week so I'm glad.   By the way Mickey what is W + W ?   I haven't seen the term before.   I'll check out the American Tinnitus Association.

Take care,
Mei Mei

[saralynn143]

It stands for watch & wait, Mei Mei.

Sara

[Mei Mei]

Oh, Good Morning Sarah Lynn...Thanks for pointing that out to me.   It takes a while to catch on to the lingo here.

Mei Mei