JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Off To See The Blizzard! Good News, I thought!

Edit: Post of results down below. Here's the original post:

Waited a month to get to Penn U for my ear problems and wouldn't you know it? Blizzard moving in, with near peak being around when we have to leave here, at 7 in the morning! Over the bridge to Philly! (I'm putting cans in the trunk so the car doesn't get blown off the thing!

I'll walk there is I have to. I think hearing might be important for music and piano tuning. (Bach being the exception, in more ways than me). Eval only tomorrow, I assume. (Who knows,,,,if I'm the only one to show up, I could have the whole day!).

Nervous? No. Wondering? Yes. Scared? Shitless!

The ringing is now bonkers. A piercing 15 to 17,000HZ or there abouts frequency that sometimes "feels" like it's there, not just heard, unless LOTS of other noises are going on. Laying down is the worse. I used to like our bed. Now it's a torture chamber until I fall asleep,,,,,Unless! Ha!

I will post as I know things, for all else who said they have a similar condition.

Got to get my dog sled ready.

John

Good luck John. Be careful.

MAB

The snow plows are running steady outside. Hopefully, they'll have the streets ready for travel in the morning. They know how important this is!

Safe journey John, "off to see the blizzard" loved that! I hope you have an "Oz" experience and the great wizard can not only correctly diagnose this "earitating" problem, but also provide you with a plan of "earidication" of this ringing issue.

Best,
Lynn

All the luck in the world to ya, John.

Johnook of the North dons his Mucklucks and steers his Dogsled North, in search of hearing ! ! Sounds like the adventure channel ! !

I hope you made it ok. It is the same storm that passed through Nebraska two days ago. Fortunately we only got 4".

Tom

Hey thanks Marc, Jim, Lynn and John M, Herbie and Tom !

University of Penn! Wow,,,what a place!

Well, the condition was what I suspected, Tinnitus. BUT that's not bad news for everything else told to me.

My hearing test results showed I have far beyond good hearing for any age! Said I was hearing frequencies not usually heard, (of all tones), so although I have been experiencing hearing loss in my right ear, that ear is most likely better than most of yours!

No nerve damage too, (great news). NO fluid behind the ear drums, (great news, for no operation is needed). They would have gone behind the ear and have to remove a tiny bone to get to the Eustachian Tube to insert shunts. NOT Needed!

Playing in the band? Got the OK,,,,really great news! Just should use the ETY-20's I already got. (The Doc likes them). Good, for at 12 bucks, that's better than the $120 ones that would need to be fitted.

For the Tinnitus: Doctor Ruckenstein said the brain, (without my thought involved), doesn't want to hear it either! And after about 4 months, it may start to not put out the same volume as is now. He said the MAIN THING to do to assist that process, is to ALWAYS have some sounds around me. Quiet is not good. The brain needs other sounds to focus on, which will in time push back the output of the tinnitus signal. It also works for the reason of our thoughts of the tinnitus sound becoming desensitized. A combo of natural occurrence, and our thoughts, or perception of how bad it is. The more we worry about it, the worse it seems to be. (All about focus, and time to allow thr natural process to occur).

It wont go away, but could become less bothersome and less noticeable. he said he has it, and goes to bed with the TV on at 30 perfect volume. If that's too loud for a partner, he said to use an I-pod or I-pod like headphones to plug into the TV, to a sound machine for nature sounds, or the radio. (Whatever one finds they like to sleep to).

Cindy was with me hearing all the info, and seemed relieved as me. I think she was worried I would need surgery, or that it was something worse.

I still might get an MRI, to rule out some things, but the Doctor said I shouldn't think of those possibilities as being of any concern. Pressure and hearing tests, and the history of me being around bands and piano tuning, along with the specific sound I described, had him confident of a natural, and most common caused Tinnitus.

40 million Americans have it, (reported). Many more I guess too.

So, if you have been evaluated for it, don't be in quiet places. Even when reading, have some sound machine on, or a fan, or anything! Doesn't have to be loud. Just there. If walking outside in a quiet place, bring an I pod to play some music or whatever. Best to have other sounds ALL THE TIME. He said that is "critical" in achieving any relief, Tinnitus sound wise and mentally as well.

Meditation can also be done with sound affects with the ear phones, which cold actually help the process if the right relaxing sounds.

I knew I could always hear flies fart, but I didn't think they would give me the Tinnitus!

Marnie,,,,,still use brushes! That snare is TOO LOUD with sticks, for practice up here! Told you it hurt! (My over sensitive hearing, as it turns out to be).

Thanks again for all your concerns and thoughts towards me. Meant and means a lot.

John Daubert

Hi John,

I realize I am late to this...but I just wanted you to know that my Mom had tinnitis...and it WENT AWAY of its own accord after about a year!! She was a school teacher...and believe me, her pupils knew that she could hear them do ANYTHING wrong. Me, I always figured she had ears AND eyes in the back of her head. She also taught piano. Wonder if that had something to do with it?

Bless you!! I hope your condition goes away like Mom's did.

Hugs,
Bobbie

PS...you HAVE to write that song...We're off to see the blizzard. That is hysterical!!

LOL - sounds like you went to the Doc and he told you to listen to more music.

I want him for my doc.

Glad the news was mostly good, John!

Scott

Good to hear .....

Tom

Hey John,
Good to hear things went well for you. My wife told me for a long time to go get my hearing checked since I was not hearing things that she had been telling me for years Well, after about 30 minutes in the sound booth, pressing buttons when I heard certain sounds, I was told by my doctor that I had loss of hearing in both my ears but more in my right ear. Now, that made sense because I was always to the left of the bass and drums for the many years that I played in my former bands. Well, he told me that the damage was isolated to the sounds from small children and women. I did make him sign a statement to that to bring home. Now, I do try to remember to use my ear plugs but, I do need to be better about it. Everyone, please take care of your hearing.

Seems like manageable good news John. I'm thrilled for ya!...Got a friend who has it...She calls it her "frequency drone"...Now, she's an odd one, but she tries to ignore it most of the day, and then actually tries to tune it a bit & use it as background when she meditates....Go figure.

Midnite

It became louder as the night went on. Maybe the tests got it stirred up more?

There are two types of treatment for the 5 to 10% that find it distressful. (Loud, and not able to mask it often, or at all). La night was the first night where no matter how I had the radio or TV or the sound machine, the "noise" was still dominant.

I will maybe see if I can get some info on the trial treatments if this continues.

Yesterday was like two days. Thrilled at not having to have an operation and to have good hearing still, but now leat with a louder than before ringing. ?????

Maybe it will subside in a few days. If not, I'll just call back and see what he says.

Some brains transmit the signal coming to it from a defective hair, for example, in different ways. Some get a low rumbling sound. Others some chirping. This is a high piercing sound. When it gets bumped up volume as it did last night and has stayed now, (with this radio.com playing at 40% volume, it's still difficult to ignore and to not be in a weird sense of discomfort.

I may need the two forms of treatment if it keeps up.

Still good news for what I first reported on. So, I'm going to focus on those points. I hope to handle this of course.

Thanks all for all the great replies! Really enjoyed them all, and have read them over and over.

John

That's great News John,
I've got a friend that has it in both ears, the problem is that the two notes are different, ... drives him nuts, says it's worse in a room full of people.
Is the doc sure it wasn't just a mosquito stuck in the era wax, did you ask him to check for that?..
Tom

Ha!!! he stuck the mosquito finder rod deep in and even up my nose down to the back of my throat! NO sqeeters!

Two different tones?!!! Have him get checked. Does he have vertigo with it?

Worse with a room full of people?!!! Should be less heard when other noise is going on. Something weird about that! Have him get checked twice!

Now that the dust settled, I wish they would have found an operative treatment to end this piercing noise. No fluid meant no immediate treatment, but it also means no relief.

Fk the rest I had written here.

Good idea!
That was quite a cryin' session.
Back off the coffee, Johnny! Hey, that might help....

Got more detailed info on my tests today, with findings of no inner ear hair or nerve damage. The Tinnitus is not cause by anything to do with my the ear, U of Penn said. (They are more than pleased with my hearing tests). BUT said to still use the ETY-20 ear plugs to prevent hearing loss more than expected from age.

They said the Tinnitus I have is being cause by my brain, for any number of reasons. MRI to be done. Ha! They'll find nothing there!

There's Cognitive training for the dealing with the sound. I guess giving similar and even louder sounds of it, to then have the real tinnitus sounds seem like nothing compared to the artificial sounds.

I'm dealing with the sound better now. More masking sounds, and just letting the focus of Tinnitus not be part of my hearing things. (Ignore it as best as possible, and like most things, they'll go away). (Upper hand and lip and all that)

Get tested if you have it.

John

WHAT??

Sorry John, just kidding. I've had tinitus for a long time. After I retired I wanted to get heavily involved with recording and other endeavors. I went back to school. In my sound class we tested the range of hearing in the class.

The prof sent signals of different freguencies through the classroom monitors. When he got to the higher freq's everyone in the room was scrunching up and making faces. I couldn't hear a thing. So, I kind of eliminated myself from being any kind of engineer. I couldn't hear anything over 13kHz. I wouldn't be able to hear feedback or overtones of higher freq's.

I appreciate the info that you passed on about the condition. I usually have something going on when I'm in bed so it doesn't bother me, but when its quiet...

Bragger!

That a way though! Keep it UP! LOL

I might pitch a tent in my daughter's backyard in a sense, (being one short block away from the Brigantine Beach in front of the Atlantic Ocean! At times, without background noise loud enough, I just want to rip off my head to stop the terrible sounds. Other times, I just go with them and figure I'm not in pain yet, so all is good. It's all how one thinks of them, or "NOT"! I'm trying to have them NOT be as big a factor as they were just a week ago. it's so mental.

I'm trying to not to think I have some brain tumor that can cause the type of ringing I have. Being told to get an MRI since it's not my ears that's the problem or cause is a little unsettling. But it could be something harmless too. Just at this point don't want to go through the MRI, the costs, or the knowledge of something it may be, with no real help for it anyway. Im assuming it's a brain nerve damage condition, or one of the other non life threatening conditions. As I said before though, I now wish it was something to do with my ears.

Hope I really get used to the noise through the rest of hearing!
I'm dealing with it better, which is good for Cindy, as well as for my sanity.

Mind over matter,,,,if we don't mind, it won't matter!

Just SHUT UP, NOISE!!!!!!

There, that feels better!

John

I am certainly not looking forward to that.
Ear problems and whatever else.
I hope it is not left up to a panel deciding what care is legitimate, or who may be legitimate for care.
But I think you may miss that deadline for now at least.

I have tried singing with a bad mouth, paying for all of my dental, which my policy does not cover.
It is either the right cutting off dental care or the left deciding who should get the care by a panel.
But I have 2 working arms and legs and could at least foot up some money for dental care.
I was told to take less work hours for coverage bud did'nt.
I can imagine though in bands or large recording means how the hearing could be affected.
I go "what?" more a little more with the bit I have done.


Wish you the best!

John...Should we forward this Post to Cindy? Nudge nudge, wink wink, hint hint?

Midnite

LOL!!!!

Na,,,I already gave her a fake prescription for that lotion, I mean motion,,,,I mean notion. And she thought she was complying to it when she went out and bought a Conair sound effects machine with ocean waves and other sounds of birds, lakes, ect.

I said,,,,,yeah honey,,,,,that's what the doctor ordered!
(Boo who)

I said "just your moaning would be good". ("The cart before the horse"s type of reverse psychology thing I thought I would try)!

Ha!!! She said,,,"I got your moan, right here!