Tinnitus... Who has this BS?

How it works:

The most likely mechanism of action is that you inhibited the muscle fibers of the suboccipital musculature, causing them to relax and reduce tension on the back of your head. Common causes of tinnitus (and headaches/migraines) are due to tight, painful suboccipital muscles. These muscles are basically always on because they are working along with the muscles of the neck to keep our heads upright against gravity. In recent years, these muscles are getting taxed more and more as humans spend the majority of their time in front of a computer at work and adjusting constantly to look at a tablet or phone when at home at night. Muscles that are always contracted are short & painful. This is the source of pain for a lot of people who have tinnitus or headaches. Muscles that are overstretched are long and weak.

Tapping a muscle belly or tendon quickly is a good way to facilitate the muscle to contract. This happens when you go to the doctor and your reflexes get tested. Continual tapping or constant pressure provide the opposite effect: they overload the muscle, causing it to burn up all of it's electrolytes and ATP and other resources it needs to activate and contract on a regular basis. When muscle cells get depleted, they turn off and once enough cells turn off, the muscle as a whole relaxes and you feel instant pain relief.

Look up trigger point therapy and myofascial release which are some techniques to use constant pressure at common locations of tightness (including the suboccipital muscles are the base of the skill) to reduce muscle tension for headache relief.

TL;dr - Constant tapping turns off the overworked muscles at the base of your skull that are a common source of pain for people with tinnitus and headaches.

 

If it works, don't thank me, thank Reddit

https://np.reddit.com/r/WTF/comment...ghting_a_mortar_shell_in_their_garage/cv3474n

 

Go see your local ENT doc. One option is hearing aids. They have several versions that address this issue by producing just enough "white noise" that the ringing (or whatever form yours takes) pretty much disappears. I've hunted all my life, not to mention target practice, shooting over a million rounds of skeet (enough to wear out two progressive reloads) and such. And nobody mentioned hearing protectors as I grew up. So my low frequency hearing took a beating, and as I passed 60 the tinnitus started to act up as well. With hearing aids I hear better, and the beeping/ringing/etc sounds are no longer noticeable...

 

Wow just tried that and so far it works

 

Add me to the list. i assume gun fire did it. constant ringing in my left ear. some days its worse than others, but normally it doesnt bother me too much. if i think about it, itll drive me mad. if i ignore it, it might as well not be there.

 

had it my whole life. used to get crazy ear infections when I was an infant, constantly took medicine for them. i think that was the overall cause if not sitting in the same room as my brothers when they would play guitar.... realized a couple years ago that the (see video in link) "cricket chirping sound" I used to hear when I was a child wasnt really crickets. they were the sound I would hear from tinitus. now it's just a long straight pitch that starts at about 16.5khz and doesn't change when going any higher. go here http://onlinetonegenerator.com/ and put in 16500 and hit play. that's what I hear ALL THE TIME at very low volume.

since then I learned its best to have white noise in the background to help me sleep. usually an oscillating fan or music on the lowest volume/speed is enough to drown out the high pitch noise. I also found out when I was suffering form panic attacks that ativan made it almost completely go away while it was in effect. I also found some hearing aid type devices that will give you an artificial white noise to help. they pretty much are hearing aids but they don't increase any volumes. perhaps something like this?

 

Glad it helps!

 

Tinnitus is a difficult problem to have. It can be caused by so many reasons doctors don't know how to treat it. Don't give up or even think about being one of them that goes offing themselves because it's so annoying. There's always someone off worse than you that put up with so much more and difficult challenges that manage or over come. I'm sure you done some research...but it can be from hearing damage, physical trauma to body neck/spine, or chemical and finally combination of it all. As you get older...it can be from lack of blood flow. Lack of sleep and caffeine can also trigger it. Ear plugs won't help... but you can try ambient noise such as water or music to help you unless you have it real bad where it's sounds like a jet engine.

Another thing you can try is find a good dentist...it's very difficult to find a good dentist that is trained to deal with TMJ and other medical condition that can trigger Tinnitus. Look up Condylar Centering Orthotic if you have malocclusion or you may not even know it. A bad bite can wreak havoc on your whole body. It can stress the jaw muscle that leads to the neck and ears.

You being in the military, don't know if you have been in combat or been around heavy equipment that can damage your hearing...but if you haven't try to be proactive such as start working out again and getting the blood pressure down. Don't eat garbage and stay away from caffeine. Get 8 or more hours of sleep...I don't do that...but it helps a lot. If you can't sleep, don't get addicted on sleeping pills, but there are some natural supplements or flog the dolphin or do what you need to get get tired to get some sleep. If you are on certain medications...find out if it's a trigger for your tinnitus. There's no guarantees any of this will work, but it should help. I do know if you eat a lot of chocolate or caffeine and only get a few hours of sleep... your ears may ring. Good luck.

Though little too late...when I go to nightclubs and such...I have ear plugs...folks thing it's stupid, but I don't care... I know it's smart because I want to protect what I got...wish I did it sooner. The small ear plugs most folks don't see and I don't have to deal with the ears ringing like most do after a concert or night club. When I work on tools...I have big ear plugs.

 

Mine is service connected since 09. Too much gunfire, mortars, rockets, IEDs is what the docs say. 10% is what they gave me. I probably could've claimed PTSD and got 60%+ but that wouldn't have been fair for my buddies missing limbs and really living worse off. I'll live with it and hearing aids until I have to learn to sign.

 

Have you been to an Ortolaryngology specialist? You should have your hearing tested and talk to them.

Hearing is a 'sensitive' thing and they don't know much about some conditions and/or can't fix them easily. Even if they knew how to fix it (outside of medications), they are reluctant to get in there (surgeries) because you can screw up the 'good' parts. The ear is a complex piece of equipment.

I've had a constant 'buzz, white noise, ticking, swirring' for as long as I can remember in my left ear. I have Otosclerosis in my left ear which was hereditary (my Mom had it, just not nearly as bad as I have it). I had a Stapedectomy about 12 years ago. That didn't do much for me - been wearing a regular hearing aide for 10 years. About 2 years ago, I woke up totally deaf in that ear. My local ENT did nothing and I got a 2nd opinion. Went to Baltimore at John Hopkins to see Dr. Jon Carey. Long story short.....I currently have a BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid). It helps, but not nearly as good as a regular hearing aide (which I can't use anymore).

Sorry for the rant.... The moral of this story... If you haven't already been to an Ortolaryngology specialist - DO IT!!! Do some research and find the BEST ENT you can find in your area. If there is an underlying condition - you'll want to catch it EARLY.

Good Luck!!

 

funny, just a few days after posting in here, I get an increased ringing in my left ear and a mild loss of hearing through the same ear. going on day 3 of this crap. it sure makes doing most anything super annoying since you cant tell where the damn noises are coming from.

 

I've had ringing (tinnitus) in my L/ear for 34 years and a result from listening to fighter jets taking off @ MCAS El Toro while I was active duty in the Marines . It's also possibly from shooting a Ma Duece without hearing protection

I'm a service connected disabled Vet but the VA still denies my claim for hearing loss

 

I hate to hear that man. that's kinda shitty. I mean, where else would you have gotten significant hearing damage besides firearms and fighter jets? I hate hearing stories like this. anyways, thanks for your service!

 

Of course this is a disgrace. But the VA (and Washington in general) has been a disgrace for many years. They talk about fixing the problems when the press brings them to light, but talk is cheap. And the government is cheap. Because the vets don't represent a very large block of votes, so they work on things to give away money to large groups to buy their votes for the next election cycle. Simple idea, very poor policy, but it is politics 101...

 

I have it but it comes and goes. Sometimes it's loud and it aggravates the hell out of me other times I either don't have it or its so mild I don't even notice.I've kept an informal journal recording what days I have it and a scale of 1-5 to record the severity. I seem to do well on weekends or during times when I can relax, when I'm stressed, especially at work, it seems worse. There may be no connection at all and maybe not the same for all, just what I observe.

By the way I'm 57...

 

Thanks to SPL competition I have it and it's annoying as hell. I have to listen to music all day and when I sleep to avoid the ringing. it sucks.

 

Wow, that helps a lot. Thanks for posting, even if it's temporary relief. I'm 43 years old and have had it 24/7 for about the last 10 years, but it's at a low grade. Most of the time I don't notice it unless I happen to think about it or it's really quiet.

 

I believe there is a connection between stress/blood pressure and tinnitus.
I have very slight tinnitus (likely from running heavy equipment and occasional shooting without hearing protection) that I can only hear in a very quiet room, however last week I cut myself pretty good with my pocket knife and for about 15 minutes after cutting myself I had very bad tinnitus, I know my pulse and blood pressure spiked when I cut myself and I still had higher than normal BP when I was at the clinic an hour later for stitches.

 

...^^^... I developed it from loud sounds in the military and I have no hearing problems. If you think your tinnitus may be service connected, the VA has some of the best tinnitus classes in the world.

Because there is NO drug or treatment for tinnitus ... the key is learning exercises to trick your brain ... this works most of the time ... but not 100%.

I keep small amounts of white noise (or a small fan on low at night) or music on during the daytime and this tricks your brain.

Tinnitus can drive you nuts IF you don't control it with your brain ... a super quiet room will make your super crazy ... especially when you are doing your tinnitus testing ... lol
.

 

Mine comes and goes. A Navy bud of mine, who's also a member here, has the hearing aids from the VA. He says they not only work, but are bluetooth lol.

Edit to add: Those sound proof hearing test rooms at medical were terrible. The silence was deafening, ears start ringing, not sure if the hearing test was going on or not.