Tinnitus treatments

[Boobalacka]

I never do get cramps. My husband does. Durned if I know why, he puts salt on salt, drinks pickle juice when he gets cramps, takes his vitamins.

Maybe he should up his magnesium intake. We increased ours and the leg cramps dissipate

 

[Britesea]

I have it too. Never found anything that helped.

 

[tortoise]

Try antihistamine for occasional tinnitus. Mild congestion can cause it.

Blood pressure fluctuations can cause it too.

 

[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.

 

[8710]

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.

He probably has some type of dermatitis in the ear canal. Its pretty common in older men, but a ear wax also acts as a moisturizer, so if he doesn't produce a lot of wax, that can also cause dry flaky skin. I usually recommend using hydrocortisone cream. Put a tiny dab on a finger or Qtip if the ear canal is smaller, and go around the opening of the canal, not too deep. If he wears hearing aids, only do this at night before bed after he's removed his hearing aids for the night. Hydrocortisone cream will moisturize, and of course is an anti-itch as well.

Why was he on antibiotic ear drops if he didn't have an infection??? For the dry skin?

 

[Lazy Gardener]

He was placed on the Amoxycillin and the cipro gtts. as a last ditch effort... "nothing else is working... so... let's try this." He may have had signs of infection at the time. I honestly don't remember. But, at the last "look see" after the course of Amoxycillin and cipro, there were no signs of infection.

 

[8710]

I can say that dealing with the VA services in Maine is totally over the top a bang head on brick wall experience.

I live in a "VA Desert" so to speak. One is an hour and a half into Pittsburgh, the other is an hour and a half into WV. The WV VA is atrocious.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Dad, with pace maker, frequent dizziness, low blood pressure, was forced to wear a mask for 3 hours. They treated his dizziness during that time with 3 juice packs and a pack of crackers since I'd kept him NPO for blood work, all while his O2 sats were 88%, AND HIS FASTING BS WAS HIGH. Dr. refused to let him remove the mask, and told me that I couldn't have a meter and strips to test his blood sugar at home b/c he's only a type II diabetic. This is just the tip of the iceburg.

 

[Britesea]

Dad, with pace maker, frequent dizziness, low blood pressure, was forced to wear a mask for 3 hours. They treated his dizziness during that time with 3 juice packs and a pack of crackers since I'd kept him NPO for blood work, all while his O2 sats were 88%, AND HIS FASTING BS WAS HIGH. Dr. refused to let him remove the mask, and told me that I couldn't have a meter and strips to test his blood sugar at home b/c he's only a type II diabetic. This is just the tip of the iceburg.

They tried that business with me for my diabetes. They told me I only needed to test twice a week since my diabetes was "under control." But I worked on my primary doctor and pointed out that if I test my blood sugar on Wednesday and Saturday, for instance, and the readings are acceptable, then I won't be aware that something I ate on Thursday caused my blood sugar to shoot through the roof. She agreed that people react differently to different foods-- I discovered by testing frequently that my body can tolerate small amounts of corn, whereas rice always causes high readings. Other people have found the opposite.
So anyway, she finally agreed to write a prescription for daily blood sugar checks. I've given this advice to other people and they've been able to get the same results. The VA is just counting on lots of people meekly accepting what they say-- they save a lot of money that way.

 

[tortoise]

@wyoDreamer I wrote about increasing sodium, but I dont think that applies to you. You note that your tinnitus is improved with low sodium diet and high water consumption - which "washes out" electrolytes and can reduce blood sodium levels if one drinks very much water. Funny that the same symptom in 2 people is improved by exactly opposite interventions! I love seeing the diversity in people, its fascinating!