Posted by yxibow on August 1, 2008, at 0:14:26
In reply to new member - question on tinnitus, posted by ricker on July 27, 2008, at 13:39:04
There is familial tinnitus on my father's side. When my somatoform disorder was worst, my tinnitus was worst also. Concentrating on tinnitus also causes a loop making it further worse. If you tell a tinnitus sufferer who has successfully managed to ignore it for years, oh, do you have tinnitus, they'll notice it again, and then it will slowly go away.
As for medication -- it is probably listed at 1% on just about every medication out there.
I'm sure some SSRIs can be a culprit -- on the other hand, one has to examine where the tinnitus is coming from.
Is it somatoform?
Is it familial?
Is it anxiety driven?
Is it medication caused/induced/exacerbated?
(the most common there are NSAIDs, aspirin, salicyclates, etc.)Some people as noted use those sleep machines that have train track rumbles and tropical showers and rain, etc. I have used them at some points, more just because I have sleep problems.
I'm sure my tinnitus still exists but I no longer go into silent rooms and "check" on it obsessively. Because that serves no purpose other than to antagonize oneself.
Yes, I worry I will get progressive nerve deafness (amplified tinnitus) like my father but up to 50% of the population will get it as they age to some degree, just like benign prostate problems.
Sometimes tinnitus sufferers advocate a small dose of Xanax -- people exist for years not noticing their tinnitus as much and being able to function much more.
Also the frequency can vary -- some people get high frequency tinnitus and some get low and some get both unfortunately.
There are tinnitus "hearing aid" like products, sort of like noise-cancellation headphones that if tinnitus-trained audiologists can figure out your spectrum, you may be able to eliminate it.
However that is usually for those people who cannot function doing their work without a lot of help because of their tinnitus, where it exceeds 50 or 60db or the average above-city noise/low conversation range.Still some clinics that you can fly out to claim to be able to retrain people, even those who are quite affected to not hear their tinnitus as much as they typically do. Whether that has any true value, I don't know.
As they say, always wear sunscreen -- and always wear earplugs when using loud equipment or going to concerts. I can't believe the number of young people going into bars or concerts where the db would easily exceed OSHA limits without earplugs. In fact, wearing them actually enables conversation to be easier.
-- tidingsJay
poster:yxibow
thread:842354
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080727/msgs/843409.html