Tinnitus treatments

[8710]

@humble_hills_farm Thank you so much for offering your insight into my tinnitus. I appreciate you taking time to write all that out. My tinnitus has been better lately, and now I have some clues as to why.

-It is summer and the upstairs bedrooms in our old farmhouse get hot. I have found that a fan at night helps me get to sleep, both for the air movement and the noise. On nice summer months, with the windows open, the outdoor noises of country living seem to help lull me to sleep also.
-I have been limiting my caffeine intake for health reasons and I think that is helping also.
-I never really cooked with much salt, it was always the last seasoning to be added and always just to taste. With the Covid-19 issues, we are not eating out as often and I am cooking more. I find restaurant food to be over-salted most of the time, so cooking at home means less sodium also.
- I have noticed that my hearing is not as good as it used to be. Not bad enough to need a hearing aid yet, but I think that day is coming.My DH can't believe that I don't hear the dog whine to go outside at night, but that my be deep sleep as well as hearing issues. I think that the hearing in my right ear is worse than the left ear, and the tinnitus sometimes seems worse in the right ear than the left.
- The tinnitus is less or barely noticeable when I stay hydrated. I do have a problem with making sure I drink enough water every day, but I am working on it. Staying hydrated also helps me avoid headaches, go figure.
- working on minimizing stress also. It is hard to do when I am told by my boss that unless she finds more work, I will be laid-off again. I was laid off for 3 weeks in July.

Glad to hear it is improving! To comment on eating out less, we already limited our take out to maybe 2-3 times a month, but now it's been unavailable of course. We finally got brave and ordered some takeout a few days ago and wowza was it salty. I chronically under salt food while cooking, and add it last. Interestingly enough, they say food tastes saltier when the salt is on top of the food instead of cooked with it.

If you ever get to the point you feel you need a hearing aid, or need advice, or whatnot, I'd be happy to point you in the right direction. Unfortunately there are places that sell hearing aids purely for the money and not to genuinely help others, but there are far more good places than bad.

As for the stress, unfortunately for most of us these days some things are out of our control. I hope things start looking up on the job front for you. I was fortunately to keep job, but since I wasn't selling as many hearing aids, I was threatened to be laid off several times which was nerve wracking of course.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Is it normal to loose the higher pitched sounds first? I can hear the low throb of the semis going down the highway a mile away all night, but sometimes have to really concentrate to hear the high pitched song of the spring peepers (frogs out in the wetlands all around us).
Sometimes it is worse than others. I still hear people talking, but sometimes I have to be looking at them to understand exactly what they are saying. lol. Not very often, but especially if there is a lot of noise around us.

 

[8710]

Is it normal to loose the higher pitched sounds first? I can hear the low throb of the semis going down the highway a mile away all night, but sometimes have to really concentrate to hear the high pitched song of the spring peepers (frogs out in the wetlands all around us).
Sometimes it is worse than others. I still hear people talking, but sometimes I have to be looking at them to understand exactly what they are saying. lol. Not very often, but especially if there is a lot of noise around us.

Yes it's common to lose the high pitches first, which explain exactly what you are experiencing. It is the high pitches which make speech sound clear and includes many of the consonant sounds like "ss" voiceless "th", "fff", but then you can hear the vowel sounds just fine. You can hear people are talking, but as you said, need visuals to understand them better. Most noise is concentrated in the lower pitches, so when you are trying to hear speech, and all you can make out is the vowel sounds, the noise will mask out the vowels. The high pitches are what makes us understand in background noise, so if you can't hear them as well as you used to, it makes hearing in noise a challenge.

It does sound like you have have some problems. Perhaps you don't need help just yet, but it's never a bad idea to get a hearing test so you at least have a better idea of where you stand.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Thank yo so much for your advice. I think you just pushed me to make an appointment to have a hearing test. Like you said, if nothing else I will have a better idea of where I stand right now.
I sure don't want to end up like my Dad, he is so hard to have a conversation with because of his bad hearing. But, he won't go get a hearing test and hearing aids because they are too expensive. Last time I visited I see Mom bought him those "TV Ears", the As-See-On-TV Product for listening to the TV without having to turn it up too loud.

 

[8710]

Thank yo so much for your advice. I think you just pushed me to make an appointment to have a hearing test. Like you said, if nothing else I will have a better idea of where I stand right now.
I sure don't want to end up like my Dad, he is so hard to have a conversation with because of his bad hearing. But, he won't go get a hearing test and hearing aids because they are too expensive. Last time I visited I see Mom bought him those "TV Ears", the As-See-On-TV Product for listening to the TV without having to turn it up too loud.

Our house has TV Ears just so one person can read while another watches TV. Call your health insurance and see if they have hearing aid coverage before your appointment (just in case you decide by the end you did want to give them a try).

 

[TexasLisa]

Thank yo so much for your advice. I think you just pushed me to make an appointment to have a hearing test. Like you said, if nothing else I will have a better idea of where I stand right now.
I sure don't want to end up like my Dad, he is so hard to have a conversation with because of his bad hearing. But, he won't go get a hearing test and hearing aids because they are too expensive. Last time I visited I see Mom bought him those "TV Ears", the As-See-On-TV Product for listening to the TV without having to turn it up too loud.

Does your Dad have caption turned on for his programs? That really helps me out.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

IS YOUR DAD A VETERAN?

 

[wyoDreamer]

My Dad was in the marines and he was in stationed in Okinawa during the end of the war, but never saw action.
He is very stubborn and very "frugal". He hates to spend money on non-essential things - like hearing aids, a comfortable mattress, hip replacement surgery, ... you know, non-essential things.
He confessed that his old chair had a broken spring in the seat that poked him every time he sat down. That confession was after we bought him a lift chair for his 80th birthday.

 

[8710]

My Dad was in the marines and he was in stationed in Okinawa during the end of the war, but never saw action.
He is very stubborn and very "frugal". He hates to spend money on non-essential things - like hearing aids, a comfortable mattress, hip replacement surgery, ... you know, non-essential things.
He confessed that his old chair had a broken spring in the seat that poked him every time he sat down. That confession was after we bought him a lift chair for his 80th birthday.

They were asking if he was a veteran because if he receives VA services, he is eligible for free hearing aids! And they are the BEST hearing aids you can get! Their follow-up services are kind of sub-par, but still not bad for getting free hearing aids.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

HHF, I am fighting with the VA right now to get my 95 y.o. dad's medical needs met by the VA. I can say that their audiology services here are about the only thing I can speak positively about. Question for you: Dad has ongoing headaches associated with L ear pain. Exam shows no signs of infection. I've noted that he has a lot of dry flaky skin in his ears, though audiologist stated that his ears were as clean as a whistle when she saw him on Wed. this week. He's had course of ?steroid drops, and most recently PO Amoxycillin and ciprofloxacin drops. No real changes. I've asked audiologist if there is something I can put in his ears, just to soothe, that won't be an issue for his hearing aides. She refers me back to his PCP, who then tells me I must ask the audiologist! I'm wondering if a bit of olive oil, or other oil might be helpful, but don't want to put anything in there that would mess with hearing aides.