Hi, I have had brain damage from 4 different brain insults in the last ten years, including one that is now ongoing, although not Parkinson's. I have mild tinnitus and have noticed consistently that with each iinjury, I can accurately assess the degree of brain damage presently occurring, assessed by the symptoms I am getting at the moment of the damage, by the degree of tinnitus I am hearing, the louder, the more brain damage that is occurining. In fact my tinnitus loudness is stable unless brain damage is occuring, that is the only thing that raises the level of tinnitus.

If this is a universal finding, then it would be useful to people with Parkinson's to know what is helping them to slow down the Parkinson's caused brain damage and what is not workking, on a moment by moment basis. I would be interested in knowing if other people have or can make this correlation.

Steve Lord

I would

Wow! It sounds like you've had one heck of a decade! Thanks for the post, but you need to elaborate more because tinnitus is just one symptom, and nearly everyone suffers from tinnitus.

What do you mean by "brain insults"? Were you injured in an accident or contract some sort of disease? What exactly are you are diagnosed with? What other symptoms are you having?

Tinnitus often fluctuates. It is dependent not only on what is going on inside your body, but also the environment around you. People working in noisy environments rarely notice tinnitus, but when they are in a quiet area their tinnitus might seem disturbingly loud. I have suffered with tinnitus my whole life, and nearly everyone I know has suffered some degree of tinnitus. Tinnitus can result from damage to the inner ear, the nerves connecting the inner ear to the brain, or from the area of the brain those nerves connect to. It seems like there is still a lot we can learn about this condition.

It is probably unhealthy for you to assume that you are getting brain damage whenever your ears are ringing. It's unnecessary stress and anxiety that you are putting yourself through. Hypertension can contribute to tinnitus so whenever you start worrying about it you're probably going to notice it more and aggravate the condition.

I would recommend getting your mind off of it as much as possible. Go for a walk with a friend or listen to some music to help cover it up and try to forget about the drone. If your brain really is being damaged there's no reason to let it ruin your day.

It is possible that you have a Herpes infection. Herpes virus can attach to cranial nerves and to the nerves within the inner ear. Herpes infections can remain latent for long periods of time. When the infection becomes active it irritates the structures surrounding it. You don't need to have sores to have Herpes, so a lot of people suffer from Herpes symptoms never realizing why.

You may want to see an ENT (Otolaryngologist) for your tinnitus and also get tested for Herpes virus. If you do have Herpes, a medicine like Valtrex might help to reduce or eliminate your symptoms. If it's something else maybe a ENT can help address and reduce the tinnitus you are suffering from.

Best of luck,

Hmmm, I guess I didnt make this clear. I always have tinnitus from an allergic reaction that affected my hearing tissues. The level of the tinnitus is raised only when I am doing something that causes brain damage. One thing that I believe is probably universal that causes brain damage, and thus increases my tiinnitus , is to get cold. When I get very cold for a prolonged period, the brain damage is great enough to caused a prolonged fuzziness, ill feeling in my brain which feels like I have a scar across it, that takes up to a day to feel normal again. My dopamine is lessened at this time so perhaps it is affecting the dopamine secreting tissues. I have had the thought that that may be why Parkinsons is more prevalent at higher latitudes.

Steve Lord