Tinnitus?

I’m on the railway. So I guess I may be similar to you - can hear the crucial frequencies such as a train whistle, or a Lookout’s horn.

do you mean you can't hear anything through your left ear?
Since going to the docs all these times for my tinnitus, one of them recommended I use one of these rubbers balls with a spout (Ohrenspritze) that shoots water into the ear. Did you ever try something like this? Now whenever I have a blocked ear (which is basically never now that I use these ear spritzers) I just lean over the sink and squirt away.

I have hearing in my left ear, but it’s noticeably not as good as my right ear such as when listening to a podcast in bed and laying on either side.

One of these things is probably worth a go!

I'd trust someone with a microscope and microsuction to remove anything from my ears rather than anything at home.

Doc recommended it to me...she said they were safe.

edit. safe after having examined my ears.

Not sure. I had a CT scan to evaluate mine. I had a retraction/pocket/collapsed drum, which amounted to a fair bit of damage to the ‘bones’ they attempted the first time to try and reconstruct it, which didn’t go well.

Obviously mine is a kind of worse case scenario. But it is important to get it checked out.

Left ear post op.

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Damn. Did something happen in the first place to cause the retraction/pocket/collapsed drum?

I’ve had tinnitus for about ten years now. From standing to close to speakers at clubs.

As soon as I became aware of it I bought cheap earplugs and wore them whenever amplified music was being played. If you put them in before you hear any music, it sounds just the same.

Last year I got some custom moulded earplugs made. They cost a fair bit but aren’t really any better than my £10 ones.

Both sets of earplugs means the tinnitus has not got worse over time. Which I’m happy about.

The most exciting thing about tinnitus treatment for me is, knowing how many people suffer, the market incentive to develop a good cure is huge.

Last year I got some custom moulded earplugs made. They cost a fair bit but aren’t really any better than my £10 ones.

This. Also got fancy moulded ones made for me at work (I used to fly in a helicopter a couple of years ago), with different replaceable filters etc but rarely used them as I found regular foam ones just as good and no worries if you lose them. Same at gigs, tried the fancy ones to see if the music sounded better but not really. Possibly because I mainly listen to noisy stuff like punk/metal and usually drink before and during gigs.

But, out of all the different foam plugs I've tried through the years I've found these to be a bit better than others. Low expansion pressure so not that uncomfortable even if worn for a long time.

I got some mid level ear plugs (30€) for gigs (hardcore/metal also) and actually found these to be better than foam ones. Foam ones seemed to block out too much

I've had tinnitus for a few years now, and it doesn't affect me too much, but I was just wondering what people's coping strategies were on the days when it is more noticeable/difficult to ignore.

For me it's worse at night trying to get to sleep, therefore I wear earbuds every night and listen to Audible or YouTube/Podcasts. That's the only way I can get any rest. I wake multiple times a night and re-start the timer on whatever I'm listening to

It’s when it gets louder during the day at seemingly random intervals that gets me.

Have just found that Mac o/s can play different ambient sounds so trying that today rather than music.

Also, my friend is getting hearing aids this week and also has tinnitus. The new hearing aids can play a constant sound as part of CBT.

The theory is that tinnitus is when there's hearing loss of certain frequencies, so your brain fills the gaps by creating the tinnitus noise. By playing a specific frequency/type of low-level noise via the hearing aids, you can train yourself to hear neither the tinnitus or the noise created by the hearing aids, but it takes time as part of CBT, and the right frequencies need to be selected.

I just got a set of the custom moulded musicians ear plugs from ACS and I found the opposite. All the other off the shelf ear plugs I've tried it's so obvious I'm wearing ear plug. All the treble gets lost and the sound is muffled and "fuzzy" but with these custom ones with the sound filters, it sounded exactly the same as not wearing them, just 20dB quieter.

Had it for few years, stopped using it after few month, maybe should start again to see if it does work. Mine is caused by a benign brain tumor which killed my hearing in one ear, had it zapped by Gamma Knife and thankfully started to actually shrink according to this year's MRI (have it every year).

White noise, running water sound, birds chirping sounds etc can potentially work, but everybody is different, so best to try all the options.

I've taken Ginkgo Biloba for a few months to see whether that makes any difference. Really difficult to track as there are so many things like stress that might cause tinnitus to be more noticeable. I recently ran out so I thought it would be a good opportunity to see whether stopping would make it worse. Unfortunately developed a minging head cold at the same time so it's really difficult to tell.

I have a set of custom ACS too. I've just purchased a set of Loop earplugs and they're really good too. With a (expensive extra) magnetic lanyard which is more useful out and about than potentially losing the ACS plugs

On the actual thread topic, I think I've been fortunate, I got tinnitus from a young age so I've just been used to it for so long. I can't imagine what it must be like getting it when you're a young adult. If you've got it a bit definitely protect your hearing as much as you can so it doesn't get worse.

I didn't and my tinnitus is really bad now, but at least it keeps me company.

What scares me is when the tinnitus stops for a split second and I lose all hearing in one ear and then it slowly comes back over a few seconds like someone's turning a fader up.

The audiologist casually mentioned that's usually a sign that I'm going to go completely deaf at some point, which was really comforting

Having high pitched ringing for the past 3-4 years, which had recently become more and more unbearable. Tried sleeping with earphones playing different white noise tracks which somewhat helped sleeping.

But recently tried a couple of hypnosis tracks and OMFG this one seems to have been successful to some degree for me... listened Saturday lunch and had the rest of Saturday virtually free. Listened Sunday morning and again this morning 10pm Monday evening and it's been quite all day except for a squeak that lasted a few seconds!

https://youtu.be/RgOfFf6M3hs?si=XkGqnsNhayKPX833

Just adding my 2p-worth here.
I lost most of the hearing in my left ear as a result of a viral infection about 5-6 years ago.
This left me partially deaf and with tinnitus.

I have a hearing aid and one of the benefits is that it really damps down the tinnitus. I don't know if it replays some anti-noise or something, but if does really help.

My tinnitus is high pitched, but I can tune it out easily enough, although loud noises make it come back at higher volume, sometimes accompanied by a rushing sound.

In case anyone is curious, the hearing loss started as a really bad bout of labyrinthitis, with symptoms of vomiting and disorientation for about 3 days. After that, I can only describe it as having one ear that felt as if it was full of water (as if I'd been for a swim and one ear hadn't cleared). This muffled sound and made it hard to follow conversations.

I had an MRI to rule out a brain tumour and then extensive hearing tests which revealed a loss of hearing on one side, with very good hearing on the other. In quiet environments, I don't need the hearing aid (for example, at home) but I wear it at work. It definitely does help with tinnitus though.

Disappointingly it returned, but a week without it was rather nice.

I had a course of CBT with a tinnitus specialist just after it started (it’s severe, had sudden onset and caused me some anxiety at first). It was very successful. I can recommend the practitioner if it helps anyone.