Newly diagnosed as Polycythaemia, possibly relative.

[janeandsamsmith]

Hi, Does anyone know if this condition causes tinnitus and increasing deafness? Each attack of a severe bout of tinnitus would cause my hearing to drop and never recover back to previous hearing levels. Doctors have no idea what is causing this and called it ideopathic loss. Thank you.

[Cathy426]

Hi it’s funny you mention tinnitus because I have been experiencing drumming/vibrating sound in my ear. I am on aspirin twice daily. According to research

Subjective Tinnitus

Subjective tinnitus is by far the most common type of tinnitus. It can be induced in almost anyone by taking a great deal of aspirin. It is also something that most of us have experienced after being around a very loud noise for a while, such as a concert or shooting a gun. This is due to a temporary shift in our hearing. If our hearing was measured at this time, it would also be diminished. Fortunately, in most cases, this is a temporary problem that resolves, and the tinnitus goes away. We all lose some of our hearing as we get older, and, as they get older and lose some hearing, most people experience tinnitus as well. Hearing loss from being around loud noises is also often accompanied by tinnitus. For most people the tinnitus or noise is not a great bother. Masking the noise the ear makes with other noises such as having a radio, television, or fan on will mask over the noise the ear makes. This is usually satisfactory. In some cases, however, the tinnitus can be very severe and bothersome, and there are some people in which the tinnitus can be debilitating.

Most people notice the tinnitus early in their hearing loss, and often times it comes on abruptly. It is believed that this is due to a threshold of hearing nerves being affected. As with anything new in the body, this is very annoying and bothersome at first. However, it usually becomes less notice able as time goes on, much as the sensation of wearing eyeglasses, a watch, or ring becomes less noticeable as time goes on.

Some medications can exacerbate or even cause tinnitus. Many of the anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin or Ibuprofen and other medicines in that class can cause tinnitus or make it worse. Medications that induce hearing loss such as some strong antibiotics or chemotherapeutic agents can also induce tinnitus.

Rarely, one can have a disorder of the brain that causes tinnitus. The area of the brain that receives input from the ears can have seizure-like activity and produce tinnitus.

A rare but serious condition that can cause tinnitus is a growth on the hearing nerve known as an acoustic neuroma. The presenting symptom of acoustic neuroma is tinnitus in one ear. As the tumor grows, it causes hearing loss in addition to tinnitus, and eventually grows into the brain, giving it the potential to cause serious problems. For this reason, we are quick to order an MRI scan or other tests to look for an acoustic neuroma in the case of unilateral tinnitus.

[ChrisAnnSen in reply to Cathy426]

I have a rushing noise in my ears too. It has been put down to the aspirin I've been taking for about 5 years. Sometimes it is intrusive but generally I can forget it's there as the noise is in time with my heart beat so is rhythmic. It can become more noticeable when trying to sleep or if I insert ear plugs to cut out the 'throbbing noise' from the bed beside me.

[Inca in reply to ChrisAnnSen]

I have the rushing noise in my ears,it was one of the symptoms ,with the others of course that led to my P V diagnosis 8yrs ago.....I do not hear as well as I did either,but guess that is with age!