Tinnitus treatments

[Lazy Gardener]

I am anything but meek. They are finding that out. It's just a crying shame that I have to waste so much of my time fighting for basic care for this man, when I could actually be spending my time working on meeting his many other needs.

 

[Britesea]

My tinnitus and accompanying hearing loss appears to be genetic. My father had it, and so does my brother. The normal loss of hearing that most people experience as the age is greatly accelerated in us so that my hearing at age 69 is comparable to that of an 80 year old. I don't know if I will ever become profoundly deaf though- my father didn't. I find that my tinnitus gets worse if I'm dehydrated, so I try to drink plenty of fluids (I average about a gallon a day)

 

[CrealCritter]

IDK... I get tinnitus when I'm tired and every night before bed. I just figured it my body telling me it's time to sleep.

 

[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?