Ringing in the Ears!

[PamO]

Mike's had this ringing in his left ear for a few weeks. I'm in a chamber of commerce group and one member is a cardiologist so I asked him what could be causing it. He told me that it was inactivity! Mike's been a couch potato lately so I'm wondering if this is true. He has an appointment with our cardiologist beginning of April.

Has anyone else heard that inactivity can cause this? I know quite a few people have had this.

 

[Christina L]

Well, that's a new one

Well, that's a new one

to me - ringing in the ears due to lack of exercise! However, it could be true. Who knows!! So, guess Mike should start to do some moderate walking outside or on a treadmill but don't overdo anything until you see his cardio. Let us know what his opinion is.

I think ringing in the ears can happen for a lot of reasons - most of them benign. AND you live pretty high in elevation so that could be a factor also.

Christina L

 

[Superbob]

Clueless

Clueless

That cardiologist is purely guessing. It's my experience that most doctors don't have a clue what causes ringing in the ears (nor do they want to be bothered about it). The medicines they prescribe can be one cause, but they never seem to want to admit that. I've never heard "inactivity" as a guess. Maybe that would be true if one was inactive in the sense of listening to loud music through headphones all long. But the noise -- not the inactivity -- would be the real cause.

 

[PamO]

What this cardio said to me was that the valve "...isn't working hard enough and that's what's causing the ringing in the ears." Didn't make much sense to me but he said this without knowing that Mike's been pretty sedentary for a few months (golf season isn't what it used to be in Colorado in the winter). I thought it was a little coincidental, but posted it here anyway - maybe someone's been told this before.

 

[hensylee]

Bosh! Ringing in the ears can be caused by many things, but I doubt it's lack of exercise. Medicines often cause it - lots of aspirin will do it, leg cramp medicine (quinine) will do it - exercise? Well, you'll settle this one for us when he goes for his appointment.

Why not go to Google and type in tinnitus. You might get some answers there.

 

[aussigal]

Tinnitus was my first thoughts too...

I have had this "ringing-ears" my entire life , the noise of it changes often from very annoying to hardly noticeable but its almost constantly with me.

At night I can hear the blood rushing past in time with my heart-beat...quite awesome & weird to listen to actually! I have had ear problems my entire life too...I suppose its all connected...

 

[PamO]

That's what I'm going to wait for. In the meantime, I told Mike that, in addition to the "honey do" list he now has (the boy is doing laundry!), to get out and hike around the property at least once a day to see if anything changes.

I didn't take much stock in what this other cardio said...he also told me that Mike going with a mechanical was the "dumbest thing he could have done." Uh, okay...whatever. He thought that someone who's 38 has no business being on Coumadin. Again, the ignorance of AC management from a cardio! Oi vey!

 

[Superbob]

Cardio Cut-Up

Cardio Cut-Up

Geez, Pam, I really have to wonder about that cardio now. I gather he's just an acquaintance from the Chamber but sounds like he has a penchant for saying stupid things. I have a tissue valve but I chose it primarily because of my age. Had I been Mike's age, I probably would have gone mechanical to lessen the chances of multiple repeat surgeries over a lifetime. And as so many folks have testified so well on vr.com, Coumadin is not necessarily that big a deal. In any event, I cannot fathom a cardio dissing anyone's valve choice after the fact.

Furthermore, although I am an avid advocate of exercise, I see nothing in all the medical literature I have read linking lack of exercise to ringing in the ears. What research does that cardio cite in dispensing that dubious "wisdom"? Overuse of aspirin and certain other medications, exposure to loud noises, fluid in an ear, or simply the effects of advancing age are some of the documented causes.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[PamO]

Bob - tell me about it!

This is why I love this site - being educated on these issues makes spotting those "foot in mouthers" in both the private and professional sector easier. I personally think he had one too many cocktails...a pretty obnoxious fellow with a holier than thou attitude. It was the first time I'd seen him a chamber meeting and now I know, if he's at one again, to sit on the OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM!

 

[DavesMom]

Hi,

I also have very bad tinnitus and the doctor doesn't seem to know why. The odd thing is that I also hear my heart beating all the time in my right ear. I guess this is benign but it sure would be nice to understand what causes it!

Hope everyone is well.

Cheers,
Michelle

 

[alan_delac]

Hi,

About 5-6 weeks after my surgery I had a period with vertigo when I was changing my position in bed or going from siting to laying position. This was associated with tinnitus. After a while the vertigo was gone but tinnitus is still here (after 9 months). It could be connected with some inner ear disturbance and damage to hearing nerves. There isn?t much hope to fix it. Sometimes it just disappears. There are some treatments that claim to be useful by retraining patient?s brain to filter this high pitch signal. You have to be careful with many claims of simple cures (internet), according to tinnitus forums none of them work.

 

[Ross]

That cardiologist is purely guessing. It's my experience that most doctors don't have a clue what causes ringing in the ears (nor do they want to be bothered about it). The medicines they prescribe can be one cause, but they never seem to want to admit that. I've never heard "inactivity" as a guess. Maybe that would be true if one was inactive in the sense of listening to loud music through headphones all long. But the noise -- not the inactivity -- would be the real cause.

Exactly! I asked mine about mine and he said age. I don't believe that either since I never had it this bad until after surgery. I asked an Uncle of mine that is a Doctor and he said it could have been the anesthesia or the Vancomycin they used to treat my Staph infection. Drugs, baby, drugs cause it.

 

[hensylee]

as a wee child I haD Ear infections, weakening the ear drum. Then at 18 y.o. I had an ear drum burst while diving - the hole is still there. Left me with constant 'sound'. Like listening to a conch seashell. You get used to it after awhile unless you listen for it. Accidents/injuries can cause it, too.

 

[csutherland]

Jerry & I both have tinnitus, but his is worse. He has had near deafness in one ear since childhood, and pretty severe hearing loss in the other. Recently, after a head cold, he came up with tinnitus (in one ear) in sync with his heartbeat. I and my trusty search engine came up with Pulsatile Tinnitus, which can be something serious and is easier to diagnose than "regular" tinnitus.

Long story short, this past Mon we saw his ENT who immediately saw fluid behind both eardrums. She said she could drain it now or wait and it would eventually clear on its own. She was very busy and he wasn't in the mood to wait, so it didn't happen. She prescribed Flonase ($65 for generic, yikes!) and it's already better. Incidentally, the hearing loss in the "good" ear was also much worse and is now better.

That's my 2 cents worth!

 

[PamO]

Mike has an appointment with an ENT in two weeks - earliest we could get him in. I wonder if he's got fluid behind that eardrum - he had a fairly bad headcold towards the end of February. Hmm...

 

[PamO]

Well...Ross...you and Mike have something else in common!

After all kinds of hearing tests, tubes stuck down his ears and both a regular MRI and a contrast (to rule out otosclerosis), absolutely NOTHING shows up!

Needless to say, he's frustrated and didn't take too kindly to the ENT telling him that this has driven people crazy.

Any suggestions on helping with this?

 

[hensylee]

he'll get so used to it he won't even know it.

Well, unless he goes crazy.

 

[Superbob]

Coping

Coping

Here is a link to a Mayo Clinic presentation on tinnitus. There are a variety of ways to cope with it, such as sleeping with a bedside machine that makes masking sounds (the ocean, rain, summer night's sounds, etc.) There are ways to put it out of mind, and it may clear up eventually on its own. No reason to let it get the best of you.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tinnitus/DS00365