My ear has been ringing...

[Rhah]

for like the past 4 weeks.

I used to have some bad ear wax and maybe every year or so, I'd go in get them flushed out and everything is fine. But this last time I went in, the Dr. said my ears were fine, could see the drums just fine and they were pink and the wax wasn't hard and black and dark and gross like normally in the past, it is just soft and fine.

Possible causes of ear ringing? Too much sodium lately in diet? High Blood Pressure? Stress?

Driving me crazy...

[OGC]

welcome to the club. My ears have been ringing at about 4khz for the last 35 years.

you get used to it after about 20

[CountryBob]

same here - thousands of dollars later - they just said tennitus.
Left ear been ringing since 1994 - only think of it when someone talks about ringing in ears - thanks!~

[Furtherman]

I see ads for pills that help quiet the ringing all the time - Flibo-something or other... Just saw an ad last night. But you can get it at the pharmacy without a prescription.

[NickyL0885]

I see ads for pills that help quiet the ringing all the time - Flibo-something or other... Just saw an ad last night. But you can get it at the pharmacy without a prescription.

Lipoflavonoid.

[OGC]

I see ads for pills that help quiet the ringing all the time - Flibo-something or other... Just saw an ad last night. But you can get it at the pharmacy without a prescription.

Or you can put your money in a neat pile and burn it.

Same chance at solving your ringing ear problem.

[Rhah]

I wish I would have listened to loud music as a kid or actually been a heavy metal musician, instead of getting ringing ears from doing nothing...

[cougarjake13]

So have u answered them yet ?

[jennysmurf]

So have u answered them yet ?

Oh you!:happy:

[Rhah]

So have u answered them yet ?

haha, still too busy chasing my refrigerator.

[Pitdoc]

1. Have you taken a lot aspirin lately? That could be a cause.
2. Have you been dizzy? Meniere's disease is a combination of tinnitus & dizziness. Try seeing if avoiding alcohol caffeine or tobacco, and see if that helps.

[Bob Impact]

I won't give the whole story, but this is basically how my slow descent into deafness started. (Thread here: http://ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=73042)

My symptoms started basically like yours, although they came on quickly about 3 years ago. After much testing they determined I have degenerative Sensorineural hearing loss stemming from damage to the Cranial VIII nerve as well as severe Tinnitus. I'm going deaf in my left ear, more and more each year. The specific type of SNHL I have isn't treatable or reversible and neither is Tinnitus.

I'm really not trying to throw a pity party for myself or convince you that you have the same issues, but to say that the one thing I regret is not going to the Ear Nose and Throat doctor earlier. They can't pin down a specific cause but the leading theory is that a sinus or viral infection damaged the nerve badly enough that it became symptomatic.

The hearing loss is pretty bad and the vertigo sucks but the worst part BY FAR is the Tinnitus. Suicide rates among those with Tinnitus is severely elevated, and while I personally have never been that far, I can understand those who do. Of course, I would be a liar if I said that there haven't been many nights over the last 3 years where I sat awake and cried for hours in frustration or anger or just self pity, or if I said that this hasn't put a strain on my personal & professional lives, it has.

http://books.google.com/books?id=OlK5vPFccvIC&pg=PA263&dq=psychological+management+of+tinnitus&hl=en&sa=X&ei=eq98T6vQKITX0QG_p4CaDA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=psychological%20management%20of%20tinnitus&f=false

Point is, there a TONS of reasons for ringing in your ears that are not Tinnitus, but you really should go see an ENT, and if it turns out that you're stuck with Tinnitus, there is help out there. I've personally found that just donating/becoming involved with the American Tinnitus Association (http://www.ata.org/) has given me some comfort, but I do know that they also have support groups out there, and they're a great resource to learn about doctors, treatments, etc.

Oh, and yes, mine definitely gets worse when I'm stressed out (I believe that's consistent for everyone with persistent Tinnitus) so try and relax!

[Bob Impact]

Oh, also, nobody USED to have Tinnitus. It's incurable and irreversible, if your ears rang for a month, you had ringing in your ears for a month, nothing more and nothing less. I know this is mostly people trying to relate, but it's insanely annoying... "Hey, you know that miserable thing you live with every second of every day of your life? I had that too for a month, I know just what you're going through!"

[Rhah]

Thanks for the advice all...I should probably talk to my physician and see about seeing ENT for it.