[mrsmith]

After almost 11 months, I am finally feeling pretty good. Cognitive function seems to have returned to normal, rare headaches, no weird balance issues. But I still have this persistent ear ringing.

My question is, as I resume progression to normal activity, and my ear ringing increses, does this mean I am doing too much? I mean it also increases when I drink cold water, or wind blows in my ear, so I don't really know.

And honestly, I would not be surprised if I lived with ear ringing for the rest of my life. I remember having it semi-often before my impact, but now it is all the time.

I can live with it, but I just don't want to be continuing physical exertion if I am hurting myself.

[Mark in Idaho]

My tinnitus has been chronic for years. It gets better then worse. Drinking just about anything can cause it to increase.

There is no tried and true system for identifying cause and effect. It will be a personal effort on your part to figure it out. The tinnitus supplement treatments have very little positive track record so don't spend funds that you need.

My best to you.

[Nora3453]

I don't have any experience with ear ringing and I'm not a doctor, but there's a site called HealthTap where you should go to ask these questions and get it answered for free by doctors. It's always a good idea to get a second medical opinion on these things, especially after brain injury.

Here's an example of a question someone else asked about ear ringing *admin edit*


You should tailor your question and ask doctors on that forum to get a definite answer. Try it and let me know if it works for you. Good luck!

[OwlinFL84]

I had tinnitus prior to my accident, and I can tell you that simply focusing on it amplifies its effect. You should try to ignore it and use strategies to minimize its effect.

Leave fans on in quiet rooms. Sleep with a noise generator. When you hear it whirring away, try to listen to some music to distract your brain from the noise. For me, it wasn't anything more than the fact that I was paying more attention to it. I still have it, of course, but the mitigation strategies I used prior to my accident still help me today.

[Mokey]

It started when I had my accident and has not stopped! But it does get really loud after I have done too much.
I understand it can be more or less permanent after tbi.
Good you are feeling better!

[poetrymom]

I have some tinnitis in my left ear which is the side of my head that was hurt in the car accident.

My tinitis seemed to get a lot better with some acupunture and the skull pain I had was better too.

However, I that ear is very sensitive to noise and loud sounds. I think this is something I might have to live with. It could still heal but who knows.

The biggest favor you can do yourself is to reduce stress in your life.

Take care,

pm

[brokenbrilliant]

I've dealt with tinnitis since I was a teenager -- I had a pretty rough-and-tumble childhood, and got clunked in the head a bunch of times -- and now that I'm pushing 50 and it is still with me, it's pretty clear to me that it's not going away anytime soon.

I use that ringing in my ears as a barometer to see if I'm over-doing it. When I am not rested, when I've been pushing myself too hard, and I have not allowed enough recovery time or good nutrition, the ringing is deafening. It's more of a shrill whine, actually. "Ringing" makes it sound melodic, and what I've got is anything but that.

It used to drive me crazy, but now it's a useful tool. It keeps me honest and keeps me in line. Otherwise, I would have few obvious (to me) indicators that I'm not using my head about taking care of my head. Tinnitis can be a pain, but it's a useful pain.

Good luck.

[greenfrog]

My tinnitus and hyperacusis were significant for quite a while. Both symptoms have lessened a lot as I've recovered (over 2+ years). The tinnitus is still there, but at a low (or non-existent) level most of the time. For the most part I now find these symptoms inconsequential.

I still put in earplugs in noisy / overstimulating situations, which seems to help with whatever remains of these symptoms. I think gradually re-introducing exposure to normal noise levels and a range of sounds helped me adapt. That, and all the other good PCS-recovery habits, including keeping stress low as much as possible.