These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An individual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
Tinnitus
Question: I was diagnosed with Tinnitis several years ago. Recently, the noise
level has increased from being tolerable to very intolerable. I am an
American Retired living on the island of Cyprus with no help locally.
The noise level is a steady hissing noise. By pressing my hand on the
lower jaw and pressing upwards, pressing the right and left side of the
jaw and pressing hard on the forehead the noise level increases as
though I were turning a knob on a volume control up and down.
I am age 65 and have been in good health until now. Do you have any suggestions as to whom I
may contact for some advice on a remedy. I am taking no medication of any
kind and am otherwise healthy.
Answer: Tinnitus is one of the more frustrating diagnosis to try and treat. That is because only a few things are correctable. Usually, the person continues to have tinnitus without any treatment or diagnosis available. First, get your hearing checked. If it is basically OK and especially relatively symmetrical, the odds of a tumor, etc., are small. Second, check B12 levels (or start l mg a day as replacement) and get a thyroid check. I suspect you can find a lab which will do a profile (about twenty tests of renal, liver and etc. check). If these are normal there probably won’t be much anyone can do for your problem.
Tinnitus
Question: I am 30 years old and have been taking 20 mg of Prozac for 6 months for mild depression and anxiety. I have been experiencing ringing in both ears at night after I lay down to go to sleep. Is this a danger sign or something that just happens? Also, I do not take aspirin (which sometimes causes a ringing sound in your ears). I have TMJ and my jaws and ears “ache” (unlike an actual ear ache). Do any of these symptoms have anything in common?
Answer: Tinnitus is not a common symptom with Prozac. The only way to ascertain whether you are affected is to stop the drug for 4 or 5 days (after checking with your doctor). Tinnitus is occasionally caused by bruxism and TMJ syndrome, however we usually never find the cause and have few good treatments. In any case, your hearing needs to be assessed to rule out an acoustic neuroma and your ENT can assess you for TMJ at the same time.
Symptoms
Question: Ringing in ear. Live in dry desert climate. Vacationing in Europe sympton disappeared. Upon return condition worse than ever. Suggestions for cause and treatment?
Answer: Tinnitis is one of the most difficult problerns to treat. A complete hearing evaluation and ENT evaluation is necessary; but, these are generally non-productive. The nerve to the hearing apparatus is the highest charged nerve in the body and consequently very prone to damage. It is interesting that your tinnitus disappears during certain climatic conditions. I really have no idea why this should be; but, does make one believe that you might be one of the few with a correctable problem.
