Tinnitus - can you hear that as well

Its worth getting it checked out because occasionally there is a physical cause

I've had tinnitus for 25 years.  Mine is due to noise damage.  Most of the time it does not bother me but it does vary

Yup, push my jaw forward it get's worse. Had it since I was a kid.

I've had tinnitus in my left ear for 30 years (54yo now btw). It was always a high pitched whistling noise, but since having chemotherapy, it's also now developed an overlapping noise that sounds like a motor whirring away in the background.

My advice is to get it checked out and then forget about it. Don't talk about it, don't think about it, don't post about it... Just learn to ignore it.
It's something that, although difficult at first, is possible to ignore.
Additionally, protect your ears from noise exposure and maybe have a radio on in the background of it's driving you crackers. Although that goes against my "ignore it" advice!

Had exactly this a few years back. Cracking jaw, tinnitus (and some fuzziness), no pain. After numerous oils (olive and foaming stuff), pills (pseudoephedrine) and diagnoses they said it was an infection and gave me antibiotics and a nurse jetwashed me. Now get periodic tinnitus which I know is getting worse when I can hear my blood whooshing at night.

Worth getting checked out if you can't think of anything dumb you did to cause it. A lot of people develop tinnitus to some extent as they get older. Americans pronounce it funny. Common among alien abductees, apparently.

I have had it for years. Doesn't bother me at all it's the price for seeing live music with no protection. Radio 4 all day in background gives me something to concentrate on.

Get it checked out as I m sure I read of its on one side only can mean something more serious.

Common among alien abductees, apparently.

Thanks, Will add that to my CV

Aliens, that explains quite a lot.

What?

I've got the exact same symptoms. When I'm in work put 1 earbud in with radio/music/podcast/any old shite on and it drowns it out while allowing me to hear what else is going on around me. Apparently ear wax removal can help so I'm going to try that soon.

Ear wax.

I actually have very recently had mine removed. Spoonfuls! Made no difference to me.

Off topic. I had it removed because I was getting measured for moulded ear plugs to compete with snoring wife. And they are ace. Really pleased. The tinnitus started way before getting de-waxed though so no connection there.

Yeah, I get quite badly in my right ear. Possibly from lots of gigs in my younger days or years of driving many, many miles with the window open.

A friend of mine with really bad tinnitus was struggling to get it looked at, until it was affecting his mental health. Turns out it he was starting to go deaf.
He has hearing aids now and says the silence is awesome.
Which sounds counter intuitive.

He has hearing aids now and says the silence is awesome.
Which sounds counter intuitive.

I can see the logic, I think. My hypothesis is that if your ears aren't picking up much external sound, the brain amplifies everything because it thinks it's quiet, and it amplifies the tinnitus too. Once the hearing aids boost the external, the internal amplification drops away, taking the tinnitus with it. Maybe.

OP.
Mine was almost unnoticeable until you posted that thread title, ya Bar Steward. 😠 🤣

I found searching online, reading, and watching YouTube vidoes made it more acute. It happened after going to a techno gig in Manchester. For a few days it sounded like there was a washing machine in my left ear. I was partially deaf after the club. It was very scary and I was furious at myself as I normally take ear plugs, but forgot that time. The sound system given the dimensions of the room was clearly well above legal levels. The first few months were hard as I was in a stage of "mourning" that I'd never hear silence again.

I found spending time in nature helped, as I couldn't hear it, even when kayaking along quiet rivers or whatever. When I was anxious, it got worse, becoming more acute, which increased my anxiety, then becomming quite unbearable at times. After 1.5 years I guess I just came to accept it, mitigating it when needed by listening to white noise at night, or music during i the day. Then, it just sort of disappeared. It comes back now and again, but it's not an issue at all although I do live in a noisy apartment atm, so maybe it's just that.

Basically, there's no cure; it might go by itself or it might not but I think for all but the most accute cases of it you'll learn to live with it, and then your brain will gradually filter it out. CBT and mindfulness might be an option if you're really struggling but it's certainly the case that the more you obsess over it the worse it gets.

Good luck, I had a really hard time with it

PS. It's worth getting it checked out as tinnitius can be symptomatic of other problems. Wax buildup can also cause it, so get them checked and maybe vaccumed out. Private clincis for it for around 80 quid.

Had it for years, gets worse when I think about it but it’s manageable. Worth knowing that a large part of the treatment is often psychological. It may improve when I get hearing aids, my hearing ain’t great (family trait and years of bass/guitar/angle grinder etc..)
It’s much worse if I’m somewhere silent … like in a Forrest on a day with no wind. I just try to ignore it, it’s all I can do really

I'm on 31 years now, since I very first went to a night club (of sorts) at 16. My ears are becoming increasingly sensitive in recent years, so loud noises easily make it worse and the base level to which it subsides is getting worse / louder.

I recently marshalled at a bike race and spent 2/3 hours banging a saucepan with a wooden spoon. Got home that night and my ears were terrible, hasn't really subsided much.

Look after your ears!

Look after your ears!

Good god, this!!!

Had some tinnitus since my clubbing days in the 90s, but since last September's Covid, it's become far more frequent. Almost a constant thing.

I've got it too. As mentioned above your brain is trying to fill in the "holes". The more you think about it the louder it gets. This was explained to me by a specialist and if I stop thinking about it the ringing goes.

It sounds like I'm stood next to the M62 now BTW. Thanks.

Yes, I think I got it but it not ringing type of noise but more like high pitch Cicada insect noise. Sometime more obvious but sometime not if I am concentrating on something else. It's like a background noice but can be loud at times if I have blocked nose/sinus.

Mine sound like Sound 2 & 4. On a bad day it is 4 otherwise 2 most of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6vAm9sj72yU

Look after your ears!

I got mine after an infection killed off a number of cilla.  I have a high pitched whine in my left ear and I'm functional deaf [in my left ear] I have tried aids, but honestly they just made the tinnitus worse and the world was very tinny all of a sudden - awful. I'm told that it takes your brain some time to get used to it, so I'm presuming at some point I'll have to try again.

Pretty sure mine’s not related to noise, or earwax. Not been near any noise for a good month or so, woke up one night last week with white noise in left ear. No docs appnts available so tried wax drops, which didn’t work. Ear felt blocked and gradually hearing became worse, so I booked into a clinic. She poked a cam in my ears - no wax. Called 111 who did a survey and sent me to the urgent treatment centre. The paramedic wasn’t sure, but did tests. Got a spray, which I think is sorting it. Noise comes and goes, but is a high pitched whine at the moment. At least I can hear now!

Mine never stops, worse in my left ear, the audiologist basically said I've got to learn to live with it, it's like a whistling kettle constantly, sometimes very loud, sometimes just loud, always really annoying, I find being out on the bike helps as the wind noise drowns it out a bit. Became much more prominent after I had Covid in March 2021.

Oh theres a site - tinnitus.org for advice and info

Yup, covid (2020) turned mine up to 11,a super high pitched whine.

I've had it for a few years now. Varies from really annoying to barely noticeable. Can go away for a few days but always returns.

Mine gets worse with increased stress levels.

had it for 38 years. started in my teens when i worked as a shotblaster. health and safety was pretty lax back then.
some nights it is unbearable, i use a ipod with quiet music. seems to work, other times it is unoticed.

I don't describe myself as having tinnitus but in quiet environments I can hear a hissing which increases as I think of it and disappears when I don't. I just tried pushing my jaw forward and yes, it increased. I've got loads of hissing sounds going on now but as soon as I start reading my book (Pat Nevin, very good, rushing to finish it because I've got Bob Mortimer next) it'll go away.

Tinnitus has been reported lasting for months after a covid infection. My wife currently has it about a month later. So that is another possible cause, and if so, it may not be permanent.

Some medication can cause it as a side effect so if you've recently changed drugs you use regularly it could be that.

Insulin resistance , diabetes , high blood sugar levels can have an effect on the blood vessels and on tinnitus.

I've had it since 2007 thanks to a couple of awful ear infections. It's only gotten worse along with really bad hyperacusis, which in turn makes the tinnitus worse too. It absolutely sucks and all the doctors I went to just shrugged their shoulders and told me to deal with it. Unfortunately it's significantly impacted my quality of life for the last 15 or so years and I even have to wear ear plugs while out on my MTB now because if I ride with people who have Hope brakes (it's always Hope, always) they're so squeaky it feels like knives in my ears unless I wear ear plugs.

A constant high pitched sort of electrical whine for me, which only intrudes when I think about it. White noise or some variant thereof, or a recording of waves lapping the shore can help if my sleep is getting affected.

In general my hearing is becoming oversensitive, any harsh sounds make me flinch these days, yet a quiet background noise seems to de-sensitise it. The best sleep happens in summer with a big pedestal fan blasting away - bliss!

Had it for years but it does come and go. Like it's been mentioned above it's worse when there's no background noise and especially at work when I have ear plugs in. This last week there's been something new though, my left ear has a low droning noise and when I'm watching TV or listening to the radio it almost sounds like I'm on the phone to someone and they have the radio or TV on in the background.

It started with me during the 1st lockdown. I've had on or off since then.

What really helps is putting your palms over your ears with your fingers in the depression on the back of your head, then tapping quickly with your fingers for about a minute. Try it.