Not for me; for my eighty-nine year old mother. Mom is doing pretty well overall, though has physically slowed down somewhat in the last year, and is on oxygen full-time. She’s mentally sharp, reads, cooks her own dinner, and can pretty much take care of herself. She lives with my sister, so she has backup help.
Several weeks ago, she had her ears cleaned at the ENT’s and since then has had awful tinnitus. Almost literally making her crazy. She saw a PA at the ENT’s and then the doc himself, and they don’t know why it started with the earwax cleaning but say there’s nothing in there to account for it. Gave her lipoflavonoid and sent her home.
This is literally making her crazy. She can’t concentrate, can’t sleep, is exhausted and depressed. My sister is researching possible ways to deal with it. I want her to see her regular primary who knows her well and may more empathize. I thought possibly anti-depressants; she’s losing her will to live. Its heartbreaking and happened so fast.
Hoping folks might have some ideas for cure or at least, to help her deal with this. TIA.
I googled the problem. It occurs WAY too often but “misery loves company” is not a solution for your mom.
Possible help if you find the right therapist…
The answer:(google user)…
“I was told at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic that 80% of tinnitus sufferers can modulate the tinnitus by neck or jaw movements, tightening of the throat, etc. For some people, physical therapy of the neck by someone trained for neck therapy may be helpful.”
This makes a LOT of sense to me that some physical therapy may work. I know that very small adjustments in throat or neck muscles can make some big adjustments in voice or hearing.
Notice it is “someone trained for neck therapy” (versus a PT without that specific training although local PT might point you to the best person to help you mom or be willing to research it).
Just curious, what does she hear? A high pitched noise, a ssshhhhh sound? I have it, but it’s a shhhh sound and I really don’t notice it much at all. I do know there are tinnitus white noise machines that help for sleeping, but I’ve never used one. I’m so sorry she has to be dealing with this and it’s become debilitating.
@conmama --she says it sounds like thunder. I wish it were more of a ssshhhing sound.
I will suggest white noise machine. I’ve also seen antidepressants suggested. She’s never needed any psych medications, but this is making her so upset and depressed it might help.
The neck movement thing sounds interesting, but she lives in rural PA and not sure we’d find that kind of expert.
“Like thunder”-- is she hearing her pulse? Pulsatile tinnitus is different from ordinary tinnitus. Ordinary tinnitus is subjective (only experienced by the patient), while pulsatile tinnitus is objective (it can be heard by another person using a stethoscope). Did her doctor check for it with a stethoscope?
Pulsatile tinnitus can have serious circulatory causes. But it can also just be caused by allergies.
It may only be a coincidence that it began after having her ears cleaned.
I used to work for an ENT. I remember her prescribing Elavil, which is an old school antidepressant, for tinnitus. She said that she prescribed it not for the antidepressant effect but because it had an actual therapeutic effect on tinnitus. This was 25 years ago so take it fwiw.
These are all excellent suggestions! But like one poster mentioned, caffeine will actually make mine worse and sound different. I don’t drink caffeine anymore of a different reason, so I had forgotten.
I will pass this all along to my sister to talk to mom (she doesn’t even want to get on the phone now because she says she can’t hear ). thank you for all these suggestions. Very helpful. @Himom --those hearing aids sound like a great idea.
@Conmama --she has one cup in the morning, so I’ll mention that. Thanks.
I’ve got something similar. I have found that mine worsens for a few reasons, including if I have fluid on my ears. And, if it gets really bad, I get vertigo. For me, I have found relief in a good antihistamine/decongestant (I use Zyrtec), some over-the-counter meclizine tablets (an active ingredient in Dramamine - but check the label because there are a couple of versions out there), and the neck exercises. I haven’t noticed much difference when I drink caffeine, but I have noticed it worsens when I have too much sugar. I also like having soft noise so that I don’t hear the pulses so much, but rather than a white noise machine I just put on soft music.
It sucks, so I feel for her. I hope you find a solution that works!
My husband wears hearing aids for it. It’s adjusted to the noise he hears so it gets canceled out. They were expensive but the difference in quality of life was astounding.
My tinnitus appeared during a severe bout of vertigo, 4.5 years ago. I hear a constant buzzing, insect like sound that drives me crazy. I haven’t found any relief, but will look into physical therapy for my neck. I hadn’t heard of that.
I have tinnitus. It’s exacerbated by a number of things. She can ask her doctor if any medications might cause her tinnitus. Zoloft, for example, is well known for it, as are other medications. My sister took Zoloft and tinnitus began the minute she started, and faded as soon as she stopped. Perhaps a medication she began recently is part of the trouble.
For me, any sinus congestion causes my tinnitus to worsen. Has she had a cold? I agree that a white noise machine is very helpful at night. There are free phone apps that work well. A fan in the room is good white noise. Or you can order a white noise machine. These are all inexpensive temporary solutions that will at least allow her to sleep at night.
My own tinnitus began with the onset of Meniere’s Disease. Luckily I take medication that controls it, and my tinnitus is currently not bothersome. In the beginning, my tinnitus sounded like a motor in my ear. Eventually it changed to a softer noise.
Also, please tell your mom that tinnitus can flare up, change “sound”, and calm down. It is likely that she will not hear it this loudly forever. I like the idea of PT for her neck, might help. I find destressing to be incredibly important and helpful. Your mom can use lavender, try deep breathing, meditation, and other tips for reducing stress. It makes a big difference in coping with tinnitus.
She should see her primary physician ASAP as well as a different ENT specialist. This occurred as a result of the ear wax cleaning regardless of what you have been told. Probably a burst blood vessel or nerve damage. She was fine until the ear wax cleaning. Seek other medical opinions because I suspect that you are not getting an accurate assessment from those who caused the problem.
P.S. Very important to take B-12 vitamin.
P.P.S. Also concerned that she lives in rural PA. If the hospital is located in central PA (Danville) & highly rated by US News, I urge you to get her to see a specialist in Philly or Pittsburgh.
I remember the day that I realized that I had tinnitus. A neighbor mentioned that her H was bothered by it. I instantly realized that I had it and had not even thought about it. Sounds crazy but I just had not stopped to listen so have no idea how long that had gone on. It has grown louder over the years. I do not know what caused your mom’s but just a thought that she may have noticed it after the cleaning. Once you pay attention to it you become super aware and it can take a lot of self talk to be calm about it. There are new programs that can teach the mind to interpret it differently.
So sorry for you mom–it must be very stressful for her. The sound of water --ocean, stream etc helps cancel it and is super helpful. A small indoor table top fountain might be something to try.
). thank you for all these suggestions. Very helpful.