If you get tinnitus, what conditions should be ruled out first? - Hearing Disorders Message Board

prostator · 03-29-2004, 07:00 PM

Hi everyone. I went to an ENT recently concerning ringing in my ears. He told me basically to wait and see what happens and if it does not go away there are such things as tinnitus retraining therapy and tinnitus maskers. But after seeing him I read that there can be some physical disorders of the ear that can cause tinnitus. The ENT didn't mention any of them, or order any tests. So am I missing anything here? What kind of tests should be done, what kinds of conditions should be ruled out when it comes to tinnitus? Thanks.

Greenman438 · 04-01-2004, 12:34 PM

Hi! I'm a long-time tinnitis sufferer, and I've done extensive research on the issue, so here goes...

As you know there are a bunch of different causes of tinnitis and you should rule out the obvious ones first. A lot of times, tinnitis is just a CNS response to non-specific hearing loss, it can just happen as you get older. The pitch that you hear in your ears is usually the same pitch as the hearing loss. In other words, hear a high ring, and thats where the loss is. So...easy ones first, worst ones last as usual...

Listen to alot of loud music? Were you in the army? Have a history of ear infections etc? Tinnitis from these is benign and you just gotta live with it.

Next, alot of tinnitis can be caused by negative reactions to drugs. Certain hi-power antibiotics come to mind, as well as a ton of other things. Examine your drug-taking history, then research the drug names against tinnitis and see what you find. In this case, the tinnitis could possibly improve over time, but again, something you just have to live with...

Next, have you been having balance problems? Bouts of crazy vertigo? accompanying the tinnitis? DOes the tinnitis come in attacks? Have low-frequency hearing loss or a feeling of fullness in the ear? If this is the case, then you should look into Meniere's disease. It iis an imbalance/out of wack of the fluid in the inner ear, surgery is possible, but usually only if the vertigo is debilitating. Again, nothing to really worry about unless it is seriously impacting your daily life.

Finally, the biggy, accoustic neuroma, a type of BENIGN brain tumor that grows off the auditory nerve. It is operable, but you usually lose hearing in the affected ear. Have constant headache on one side that doesn't go away, and is generally worse in the morning? Nasty tinnitis? Get an MRI or CT scan, that'll rule it out.

Also, tinnitis could possibly be caused by other nasty things like stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other tumours, but this is only teh VAST minority of cases, since about 1 in 10 people have tinnitis.

Hope this helps!

Antoniadante · 04-03-2004, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenman438

Hi! I'm a long-time tinnitis sufferer, and I've done extensive research on the issue, so here goes...

As you know there are a bunch of different causes of tinnitis and you should rule out the obvious ones first. A lot of times, tinnitis is just a CNS response to non-specific hearing loss, it can just happen as you get older. The pitch that you hear in your ears is usually the same pitch as the hearing loss. In other words, hear a high ring, and thats where the loss is. So...easy ones first, worst ones last as usual...

Listen to alot of loud music? Were you in the army? Have a history of ear infections etc? Tinnitis from these is benign and you just gotta live with it.

Next, alot of tinnitis can be caused by negative reactions to drugs. Certain hi-power antibiotics come to mind, as well as a ton of other things. Examine your drug-taking history, then research the drug names against tinnitis and see what you find. In this case, the tinnitis could possibly improve over time, but again, something you just have to live with...

Next, have you been having balance problems? Bouts of crazy vertigo? accompanying the tinnitis? DOes the tinnitis come in attacks? Have low-frequency hearing loss or a feeling of fullness in the ear? If this is the case, then you should look into Meniere's disease. It iis an imbalance/out of wack of the fluid in the inner ear, surgery is possible, but usually only if the vertigo is debilitating. Again, nothing to really worry about unless it is seriously impacting your daily life.

Finally, the biggy, accoustic neuroma, a type of BENIGN brain tumor that grows off the auditory nerve. It is operable, but you usually lose hearing in the affected ear. Have constant headache on one side that doesn't go away, and is generally worse in the morning? Nasty tinnitis? Get an MRI or CT scan, that'll rule it out.

Also, tinnitis could possibly be caused by other nasty things like stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other tumours, but this is only teh VAST minority of cases, since about 1 in 10 people have tinnitis.

Hope this helps!

Hi,

I find what you've written interesting, especially about the high ring in Tinnitus being associated with higher pitch sound loss. I've had constant Tinnitus for many years and hadn't heard about this association before, but it seems to make sense. My Tinnitus started with high pitch ringing, but over a period of years various lower sounds + vibration effects developed as well along with increased hearing loss.(I've written other posts referring to my particular case). I find that due to having Meniere's barometric pressure-changes can play havoc with the tinnitus. Another cause of tinnitus is Otosclerosis.

Antoniadante