Tinnitus Question

[edbcar]

I have an AN on myright auditory nerve and quite a high pitched whine/hiss, bleeping and strangest of all chanting/ singing. Sometimes when reading it sounds as if the words are being repeated in my ear in the form of singing/ chanting this affects me greatly at night and causes sleeplesnes. Is anyone else affected by this singing/ chanting coz i think i am flipping sometimes.

[Tisha]

I haven't heard of that one yet.  I'm sorry, tinnitus is awful isn't it.  I didn't show any tinnitus in my AN ear until it was diagnosed (sort of makes me wonder about that).  Anyway, it was a two-tone bell tone, showing up at night and making it hard to sleep.  I also what sounds like a bathtub draining upstairs (very low and almost soothing).   I have given up caffeine, sweetners and watching salt-intake.  For some reason the bell-tones have stopped at night, I wonder if this helped.  You may want to try.   I also ordered a MARDAC (I think that is the name) white noise masker to sleep at night.  It hasn't come in yet, you can order from Amazon for $49.  Maybe that will help with sleep.  I also have tinnitus in my non-AN ear that is hearing impaired.  Is is the low static noise.

Tisha

[Sue]

I have heard, somewhere, that the brain tries to make sense of the sounds that, really, is of it's own making.  Sometimes these sounds get interpreted as voices/music.  Several times I thought the radio was on somewhere and I went searching.  I have heard the door bell ring, and no...it's not the door bell.  It's not unusual, and you are not crazy!  In fact, I wrote something about this here, which is in the spirit of fun, not in the spirit of actual information!!    We encourage developing your sense of humor around here. 

http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=6453.msg84591#msg84591

Sue in Vancouver USA

[Tumbleweed]

I have definitely noticed my tinnitus decreases (in both loudness and how often it becomes noticeable) when I stay away from cane sugar and very oily foods. Eating a lot of steamed leafy green vegies also seems to help greatly. Also, making sure I don't get dehydrated helps preclude the onset of tinnitus.

Dunno exactly why this is, but hey, it works for me. 

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed

[edbcar]

Thanks for the help i just wonderd is there a list somewhere of things to avoid eating and drinking? I have been given a sound generator by the NHS which plays a list of noises and sounds( white noise, rain, stream, birds singing, wind chimes, ect.) it has a timer bult in amd also can be set to slow the recording down over a period of time which is supposed to bring on sleep. Also you can conect a small speaker disk to put under your pillow so it wont disturb your partner, its called Sound oasis S-650 sound therapy system hope this may be of help. Used mine last night and helped a bit.
 Brooks

[Sue]

That sounds interesting.  I just use a fan in the bedroom.

Sue in Vancouver USA

[Tumbleweed]

Thanks for the help i just wonderd is there a list somewhere of things to avoid eating and drinking?  Brooks

If there is, I haven't seen it anywhere. I think tinnitus manifests itself subjectively so differently for lots of people, and its exact cause is largely mysterious. That's probably why there is no conclusive list of remedies for it.

I'll add one oddball thing to the list that I've noticed helps a lot: backpacking. For some reason, whenever I go backpacking, my tinnitus all but disappears. I don't know whether it's because I'm drinking a lot more water and sweating a lot, am enjoying a largely stress-free activity, am supercharging my body with oxygen by doing aerobic exercise all day, improving my circulation by exercising all day, or what else could be the reason. But it works for me every time.

Now if only I could figure out a way to backpack 365 days a year... 

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed

[rjbarker]

For a recent tinnitus treatment, check out: www.neuromonics.com.

[Alec]

I had an acoustic neuroma in 1993.  Mild tinnitus until a year and a half ago, when I was subject to loud noise.  It went, on a 0-10 scale, from 2 to an 8.  I have tried: acupuncture, supplements, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, energy healing, Emotional Freedom Technique, meditation, Fenugreek Seed Tea... . I tinnitus is now habituated.  I would still like to bring down the volume.  Good days and bad days.  I also have "musical tinnitus"!  A Christmas tune kicked in, before Christmas.  Doe-a-deer, a female deer (from the Sound of Music) "entertains" me from time to time. 
Alec

[Syl]

Alec:

Before my surgery, I used to hear the theme song from the Price is Right.

I just recently began wearing a hearing aid and found that it lowers the volume of my tinnitus, making it more bearable.
I used to have a drink every now and then on weekends, but I cut it out cause it was supposed to help my tinnitus--it didn't do a thing. Haven't had any luck eliminating caffeine from my diet.

Syl

[golden]

 
I can relate to the chanting/singing noise @ night. I have awoke swearing I hear people talking and I can't make out what they are saying. Sleep I don't know what that word is anymore. (I would give anything to get at least 5-8 hours of solid sleep) I even get up out of bed and stumble through the dark to see if someone lrft the T.V. on.
When I turn my head  or eyes from left to right or visa versa, The ringing in my ear gets higher and lower. It drives me crazy. Some days it also sounds like I have a conch(spelling) shell up to my ear and I can hear the ocean. Only thing is I don't have a shell to my ear and I still can hear the ocean

[Tumbleweed]

Golden:

I, too, have struggled at times with insomnia or trouble sleeping all the way through the night. What works for me is taking large doses of B vitamins daily and doing aerobic exercise (hiking or a brisk walk) outdoors at least every other day. When I do that, I sleep 8 to 9 hours like a rock.

I hope that helps you, too.

Best wishes,
Tumbleweed

[Tisha]

Golden,

I agree with Turmbleweed about the exercise.  Just make sure it's not 2 hours or more bedtime.  I also think it doesn't hurt every know and then to take a sleep aid like ambien or sonata to make sure you are not fatiguing yourself to the point of exhaustion.  Since they CAN be habit forming, I suggest taking every 3 nights or so for awhile.

When I'm on steroids I have insomina, like now.  I find I'm up at 4-5 hours.   Instead of laying in bed and tossing and turning, I go downstairs and read mainly, and it makes me sleepy.  I grab a pillow and blanket and can usually getin another 70 minutes or so until it's time to get up. 

Insomina is horrible.
Tisha

[Tumbleweed]

I thought of one other thing that keeps me sleeping long and peacefully. Eating lots of vegies. Dunno exactly why this is, but it's probably because they are alkalizing. My wife notices the same effect on her.

Another suggestion is yoga or any form of stretching right before bed. That's often effective dispersing tension and slowing my breathing enough to relax me to sleep.

Best,
TW