Tinnitus at extremes!

[Pooter]

Okay, so it's more of an annoyance and observation than an "issue" but I've noticed that if look to the extreme right or left, up or down, my tinnitus is worse then and at a different frequency.  I love being able to play songs that nobody else can hear but it's just weird to me.  When looking straight ahead, my tinnitus is at a manageable volume and frequency that I can barely notice it, but if I look to either side or up or down it makes itself known in a bigger way.  It's really bad when driving because I'm constantly shifting my eyes.

Has anyone else experienced this?  What's the cause?  Part of the healing process or just a fact of life after surgery?

Btw, HI EVERYONE!  I've been crazy busy at work and leading my camping group (we had 17 dads and 22 girls with our group at the last campout!)..But, you guys are in my thoughts regularly and I pop in to see what's going on occasionally even if I don't post.

Thanks!

Pooter...

[cindyj]

And "Hi" to you, Brian!!!  Good to see you! 

Sorry, I don't have any thoughts on your tinnitus question...that is interesting that you notice such a difference just from shifting your eyes.  I know the dizziness/nauseousness is an issue quite often for me when I shift my eyes, but haven't noticed a difference in the ever-present ringing...

Just really wanted to say hi.  Hope the job is going well, other than being crazy right now, and many, many brownie points for you for camping with 22 girls!  Know it is a blast for you, though.

Take care,

Cindy

[sgerrard]

Perhaps you mean "gaze-evoked tinnitus," as described here: http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14177808

Most of the patients in the study had acoustic neuromas removed. Here are some quotes:

"Objective: The authors describe symptoms and population characteristics in subjects who can modulate the loudness and/or pitch of their tinnitus by eye movements."

"Conclusions: It is likely that gaze-evoked tinnitus is a manifestation of functional reorganization. Gaze-evoked tinnitus could result from an unmasking of brain regions that respond to multiple stimulus/response modalities, and/or from anomalous cross-modality interactions, perhaps caused by collateral sprouting."

I hope the authors' conclusions are of some use to you. I myself have no idea what they are talking about.

And hello to you too, glad to hear your are busy and doing well.

Steve

[Joef]

Yep... several of us have it ....(myself included) ... I think it happens more on the larger AN... try googling it...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Gaze-evoked+Tinnitus&btnG=Search

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Brian:

I'm glad to see you're living your normal, active life again.  Very encouraging.   

Unfortunately, I have no experience with the phenomena of 'gaze-evoked tinnitus' and like Steve, I have no idea what the authors of the French report were talking about, other than the fact that 'gaze-evoked tinnitus', as you are experiencing, is more common in post-op AN patients than doctors realized and that there really isn't much the medical profession can do about it, other than to say "isn't that interesting".  I hope this is something you can eventually adjust to and/or that the medical profession will find some method of minimizing or eliminating.  Meanwhile, keep enjoying life!

Jim 

[Omaschwannoma]

Well guess I'm the lucky one with "touch evoked" tinnitus.  My tinnitus increases when I reach around with my hand to scratch the left side of my spine!  Go figure!? 

[HeadCase2]

Pooter,
  I have this same type of Tinitus.  It has come up in a few threads in this forum.  It's an ocasional anoyance, but I usually don't notice it. 
Regards,
  Rob

[vjgfamily]

After 20 years, I still have tinnitus...that's the bad news.   The good news is that I barely notice it anymore...I believe our bodies just get used to it, and block it out.  If I choose to concentrate on it, I hear it, big-time.  But, like a song you can't get out of your head, it eventually "goes away".

But, that's just me.

Thanks,
Verl

[Debbi]

Hey Brian-

Good to hear from you (pun intended!)  Can't comment on the tinnitis because that was a bullet I dodged.  Hope all's going well with the job and glad to hear about the camping outings.

Debbi

[Patti]

brian-i get it, too.  patti

[leapyrtwins]

Pooter -

I have no input on your tinnitus issue, just wanted to say hi 

Thanks for stopping in; I've been wondering how you're doing.

Jan

[Boppie]

Okay Brian, Now that you asked I had to check.  I have ongoing tinnitus from all kinds of sounds, low, high loud and soft.  I noticed I get a sound from moving my right arm up and down at the shoulder.  I will assume the tinnitus from this movement is from a friction of the bones  in my arm or spine. Now that I've told you I'll just go back to not listening for it again.  Most of the time I just don't think about it.  My tolerance for the problem built over the three years since the surgery.  In the beginning the tinnitus was very bothersome.

[mallory]

Hey Pooter,

When my tinnitus first showed up, I noticed that if I tilted my head to certain angles it would either subside or the sounds would change. Definitely strange! Still haven't quite figured it out.

[Pooter]

Thanks to everyone who responded.  The good news is that I'm not alone.  The other good news is that 36% of those that were 8-20 months post-op had it, while only 19% of those 56-68 months post op had it.  Perhaps it will get better or go away after 4.6 years..*sigh*  For now, I just go on with being able to create songs in my head and chuckle while others wonder what I'm chuckling about.

For those that were curious about my job situation (not the best time to be unemployed), things are as busy as ever.  I've stayed on with the new company that one of the owers of the last company started.  I'm busy "tearing down" the old company's equipment while "building up" for the new.  I took a 50% pay reduction, but hopefully it will only be for the short run.  We don't have very much income coming in, but we all hope that will change soon.  We're begining a new campaign with mail for one dealership tomorrow and a campaign on the web with Motor Trend next week (it's manual now, but we're working towards it being a more seamless thing for us, but that's a month or so away).  Both have the potential to be really big for us, so we're hopeful.  The good news on that front is that I've had the opportunity to be intimately involved in ALL aspects of the company (marketing, technology, how all the pieces fit together, etc..) rather than sticking to only IT.  If nothing else, I can pad my resume a bit with everything that I'm doing.  The downside is that I get home at 7:30-8:00pm every night and I'm working tirelessly it seems for half the pay I'm used to.  And, the new company is working on getting us benefits (like medical, which I want and need) which hopefully will be very soon because I have an appointment with the doctor who did my surgery in about 3 weeks.

I'm going camping this weekend with my daughter and the group that I'm the "Chief" of..  We're REALLY strong, and that makes for a busy time too!  For example, our group is taking 18 dads and 30 girls (ranging from PreK - 3rd grade) for a total of *48* people!  Did I mention that we're cooking a group dinner Saturday night and group breakfast Sunday morning for everyone?  I'll see if I can get some pictures to share, because it's a sight to see with as many people that are with our group.

On the AN front, things are going swimmingly.  Aside from my "gaze-evoked tinnitus" (or whatever it is), VERY slight facial weakness still, and my bad a$$ scar (that you can see because I keep myself bald or almost bald by choice) you'd never know I had surgery.  I still have a LITTLE bit of balance problems primarily at night, but nothing really to write home about.  For all intents and purposes, I'm back to "normal" living a very productive, happy, yet VERY busy life.  The SSD still takes some getting used to, but I'm managing that.  All in all, life is finally good on that front again.  Thanks to everyone who has provided me support, kind words, information and has followed me through the ups and downs of my journey.  I would have gone crazy mad without all of you.  So, thank you!

More later.. I think that I've said enough for now..   

Regards,

Brian

[leapyrtwins]

For now, I just go on with being able to create songs in my head and chuckle while others wonder what I'm chuckling about.

Brian -

it sounds like you have the right attitude 

The job situation - aside from the pay reduction, which I hope is a temporary thing - doesn't sound as bad as it could have been.  And as you say, looking on the bright side, you are gaining some valuable experience that will definitely help your employability in the long-run.

Your camping skills amaze me.  What a wonderful thing to do with your daughter; the memories it is creating for her are priceless.  As for the cooking - that amazes me also.  Most days it's all I can do to cook for me and my two kids after working all day    In our house it's usually take out or something very fast and simple; you put me to shame 

It's very encouraging to read that things on the AN front are going so well and I'm very glad about that.

Don't be a stranger here; keep in touch.

Jan