Anyone here had trouble with tinnitus?

My left ear's been bothering me for a week or so and this morning I was damned dizzy. Inner ear problem?

I've had it since about 1976. A dry rotted tire blew up on a tire machine. It sounded like a jet engine inside my ears as the air pressure from the sudden burst of air filled my inner ears and then had to escape. Both of my ears whine constantly. It drove me nuts at first but I got used to it.

Got it as well. Was cutting somthing off a SBC water pump and the torch went out. Filled the pump with gas. Re lut torch and started cutting again and the gas exploded causing the pump housing to separate. I was def for a couple days and slowly got hearing back but the constant ringing is always there. You get use to it.

Yes. Unmuffled guns, bikes and race cars make for a real problem. I mean, hearing loss I could deal with, but the constant sound of uncut gears at 13k? It's a thing. Try filling all silence with music or "some signal". You have a mic with a damaged membrane. If you can't tune it out - you have to input a greater signal. Sorry. I sleep with headphones that play music for a bit, then waves crashing all nite. The gulls are superfluous.

Tinnitus is a nearly life-long friend of mine. Don't really remember a time when there wasn't microphone feedback shrieking in my ears.

Yes, I've had it since a bad ear infection in high school...aggravated by years of loud music. Mine never really gets better or worse, I've just fortunately grown good at ignoring things.

Yep.

foxtrapper wrote: Tinnitus is a nearly life-long friend of mine. Don't really remember a time when there wasn't microphone feedback shrieking in my ears.

Me too; it's always been there. I also tend to tune it out with background music, though luckily sleep is not an issue. It's to the point where I just assume everyone must hear it too.

I've got it on my siren side. It's been pretty much constant for almost two years. I tried Lipoflavinoids but they're expensive and didn't seem to make a difference.

Yup. High frequency ringing noise. It's neat because you can see it as a dip on a hearing test. It's gotten better as I age, and I've never not had it.

Boy do I. Years of shooting guns as a child, followed by years of driving company vehicles with no AC (window down at 70 mph and no sound deadening) and a couple of summers working is a textile mill next to the chillers that shreaked all damn day. I think the chillers did the most damage.

Yep, 25+ years now. Scuba Diving incident. (Deep. How deep? Classified.) Led to damage, surgeries, infections, more surgeries and a ringing and "evening crickets" sound that has been there ever since. I am so used to it I hardly notice it and in my case, I am just grateful that the ear works at all. Surgeons can do amazing, tiny things.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

WHAT?

stroker wrote: My left ear's been bothering me for a week or so and this morning I was damned dizzy. Inner ear problem?

Not that I have this problem, but it does not seem as if you have the same tinnitus that most here have- they have the ringing, you have the additional dizziness.

I'd go to the doctor to see about the latter- that's messing with the fluid area in your ear that has to do with ballance. And it's carrying over into your hearing function.

But that's me- I went to the ER one night when the room just started to spin wildly. Scared the crap out of me. Nothing wrong, but scary.

Tinnitus and dizziness are not the same thing. Get that looked at.

I have a mild case. I have been playing drums (and other loud instruments) for 23 years of my 33 years. I almost always wear ear protection, but early on I didn't know better and that did some damage.

I always thought tinnitus was caused by chronic long term exposure.

Sounds like some of you are referencing an acute injury or incident.

Can it also be caused by an acute incident, or is that different?

SVreX wrote: I always thought tinnitus was caused by chronic long term exposure. Sounds like some of you are referencing an acute injury or incident. Can it also be caused by an acute incident, or is that different?

I'm not a doctor, but I'm 100% positive I got mine from a single day of shooting a rifle without earplugs.

My ears constantly squeal, like previously stated 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' all of the berkleying time. No relief, ever. Loud gujns, cars, music, windows down at 75mph, and convertibles for 51 years have likely been the culprits.

Mine had started before my ear infection, but it became much worse and continuous after. Exposure to loud music will make it worse short term, so I'm pretty good about wearing earplugs at band practice & shows.

SVreX wrote: I always thought tinnitus was caused by chronic long term exposure. Sounds like some of you are referencing an acute injury or incident. Can it also be caused by an acute incident, or is that different?

Mine was like that ever since I can remember.

Will wrote:

SVreX wrote: I always thought tinnitus was caused by chronic long term exposure. Sounds like some of you are referencing an acute injury or incident. Can it also be caused by an acute incident, or is that different?

I'm not a doctor, but I'm 100% positive I got mine from a single day of shooting a rifle without earplugs.

I don't doubt you.

I guess my question is whether that is tinnitus, or a different form of hearing damage.

Has yours been diagnosed as tinnitus?

In reply to SVreX:

No, never officially diagnosed. But when people describe tinnitus, it sounds exactly like what I experience.

Tinnitus is ear noise. I've had it off and on pretty much all my life, just learned to live with it. The chemo does make it worse; in fact it's listed as a side effect.

Tinnitus does NOT include dizziness. If that's happening it's something different and yes get it checked out.