Are your ears ringing?

[lightbeam]

I have very bad tinnitus, alongside being hypothyroid. Does anyone else have this? I hope it will subside. It's so piercing and distracting.

[JennaShi]

I have, have you by any chance checked your iron levels?

[lightbeam in reply to JennaShi]

Hello Jenna, I've had all kinds of tests. Ear specialist, brain scans with Neurologist, vitamin levels including B12 etc. Nothing apart from hypothyroid wrong with me. I'm hoping T3 supplementation will address all my symptoms, but I'm not very patient - I just want to feel well now! As, I am sure, we all do. Good luck with your symptoms I hope you feel better soon.

[JennaShi in reply to lightbeam]

I hear ya! And you are so right. We all just wanna feel better. If you do get a chance to do wuick search for tinitus. One of the things that comes up is Iron levels. For me personally, I find it goes away when I eat red meat and or supplement. Best of luck, praying you feel better soon!

[lightbeam in reply to JennaShi]

Awww that's so kind of you, thank you. I will give the iron levels a whirl and if it means I need to chomp down on a steak or two, then I'm up for that challenge! Good luck Jenna, and I just prayed for your good health too. x

[JennaShi in reply to lightbeam]

You are very welcome and thank you Lightbeam😃!

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to lightbeam]

What was your B12 level?

[lightbeam in reply to SeasideSusie]

It was ridiculously high. I'd been taking a supplement advised by a naturopath (as, at that time, all conventional doctors had taken to rolling their eyes at me and implying I was a loon). Subsequently, in desperation, I paid through nose to see private GP, who referred me to 2nd opinion endocrinologist, who bothered to do full tests instead of questioning my mental health, and lo and behold, discovered low T3. Then I got T3 and I felt a LOT better (and poorer - but who cares not me). I am now off B12 supps. Only tinnitus remains loud. Hoping it will calm down. Sorry for long post!

[Marz in reply to lightbeam]

If you were supplemeting B12 then that is why the result was over range. B12 is needed in the cells - not the blood. MMA & Homocysteine are good tests - if raised it could suggest low B12 in the cells.

Also obtain copies of all your test results - they could contain a shock or two 😊 Docs say fine - OK - Normal - when they mean in range .... where you are in the range is key for good health ....

[mb008 in reply to Marz]

Hi Marz, I've just found this post but noted your B12 response. Mine too was considerably over range and so, I stopped for while. My tinnitus has become significantly worse over the last couple of days and is affecting my sleep. Can you explain the point about B12 needed in the cells? If we are over-range does that mean that the measure may be over but the B12 is not getting to our cells? How do you get the MMA and Homocysteine tests?

Thanks so much for sharing your invaluable knowledge...

[Marz in reply to mb008]

Hi - I am far from being an expert. I just love to read and learn. The routine B12 test contains two types of B12 - bound and unbound. Only one sort - and I forget which - is available for transportation from the blood into the cells where it can be utilised. So only around 20% of the blood test result for B12 can be available for cellular use.

Sadly GP's are rarely asked to test Homocysteine and MMA - if both are raised it can indicate low B12 in the cells. I live in Crete so things are different here - they do not bat an eyelid when you ask for these tests.

Please let me know if I have not answered your question adequately - our Darling Dog passed away a week ago and I am all over the place .... one amazing Greek dog that taught us so much ...

[mb008 in reply to Marz]

I am really sorry to hear about your dog. I know from experience that it's a difficult time. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond and yes, you have answered my question.

[Marz in reply to mb008]

[SilverAvocado in reply to lightbeam]

Lightbeam, doctors will often tell you things are fine when they aren't. It's worth posting all the relevant results on the forum, and knowledgeable members will tell you whether they really are optimal levels.

[Clarrisa]

I have it too. It bothered me a lot at first but over time I managed to tune it out completely until I read this post! Even though I hear it again right now it does not bother me anymore. I've adapted to it well over time. I see a dietitian soon so will add this to my list of questions, i.e. eat more iron?

[lightbeam in reply to Clarrisa]

Good news Clarrisa, hope it goes well with dietician.

[humanbean]

Improving B12, iron and thyroid levels can help with tinnitus for a lucky few. But sadly most people, once they develop it, have it for life.

It isn't all bad news though. With the right equipment you can learn how to make your brain ignore your tinnitus noises. There is lots of discussion of the kind of things people tried in this thread :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

A few years ago I developed such severe tinnitus that I was suicidal. I got help from the Audiology Clinic in my local hospital, and I also bought a "tinnitus relaxer" (described in that link I just posted) and pillow speakers. I'm rarely bothered by my tinnitus now (at least when it comes to falling asleep).

[lightbeam in reply to humanbean]

I hear you, humanbean. No one has any idea what it's like until they get it very badly, do they? I am glad you found help and you now find it easier. May it remain so, and get even better in future. Here's to you very good health.

[Nutripea1220]

I have it too _ I always have to a degree but it’s much worse now . Everything is fine, iron, ferritin, b12, D etc... absolutely everything is perfect —and I take 300mcg t3 only - that’s not a mistake! I don’t absorb it. And yet, still ringing. It drives me mad.

😣 I can tune it out during the day but at night when it’s quiet... not.

[rjb112]

Yes, I have very severe tinnitus, very very loud ringing in the ears, and also hypothyroid. My tinnitus is high pitched and as you described, so piercing. I just completed Class #1 of 4 taught by the Audiology department of the hospital I go to. I found a website that might be helpful: tinnitustalk.com/

[Fruitandnutcase]

I get tinnitus all the time but at the moment I have some sort of cold / flu like bug and the tinnitus is having a field day. When I’m not coughing, sneezing and sniffing I’m deaf in one ear. I’ve got a really high pitched whine all the time and when I lie down I hear what sounds like the noise of an engine so I’m constantly lifting my head to see if it’s a car outside! It is so annoying at the moment.

My iron and B12 are high, B12 over the upper limit. I figured it’s just that I have this blooming cold and that once I’m feeling healthier then it will go back to it’s former mild background whine. It is so annoying to live with.

[molliemdz]

Could tinnitus be the reason why my ears are hypersensitive to loud (& even minorly loudish) noises? I am terribly bothered by any sounds my children make that are above the level of a low voice (just above whisper range). My children are particularly noisy (by British standards), but my husband isn't anywhere near as disturbed by it as I am. It is often physically painful when one of them says something suddenly, or particularly clearly/sharply/ loudly.

I am hypo, but don’t know my vitamin/ mineral levels as it’s been years since I had any proper testing. I will follow the tinnitus link above and see what I can find out, but if anyone else has experience or knowledge of this, I’d love to know!

Thanks!

Mollie

[Little-legs]

I have it in one ear sometimes it can be to do with your teeth tell your dentist

[Hillwoman]

I feel for you. I've had tinnitus since my teens, the time when most of my health problems began. By my mid-late twenties it was driving me to despair, with all kinds of loud noises, one of them being a very shrill, high-pitched chirping sound. This and other sounds were so bad, I swear I could feel them as well as hear them.

At that time, I lived in the East Midlands and managed to get a referral to a specialist tinnitus research service at a hospital in the middle of Nottingham, that was linked to the university. There I saw a Prof Ross Coles, who I'll always remember as one of the kindest and most understanding doctors I've ever met. I was given a range of specialist hearing tests, which determined that I have poor hearing for voices, also partial deafness, and that my inner ear was producing very loud sounds itself. This is still a bizarre concept to me, but the sounds were actually measured while I sat in a soundproof booth! Most of the tinnitus was probably caused by damaged nerves in my neck and head that lead to the ear, and damage to the inner ear itself. It seemed likely at the time that the damage had been caused by having my ears 'boxed' many times while growing up.

Later, at age 30, I had my long delayed diagnosis of pernicious anaemia, and an additional cause of my tinnitus was uncovered. It eased up considerably after I started treatment, but it never went away. Later still, in my forties, going from levo treatment on to liothyronine monotherapy helped even more. Occasionally, it can get very bad again, but it's always been temporary (touch wood, etc.). My ears are full of noise, but it's a more bearable volume now and not the type of really piercing sound that is so shattering mentally. So, it seems that in my case at least, and perhaps in yours too, tinnitus can have more than one cause.

[thyroidquest]

Me too.. My story is similar to Lightbeam..hasn't gone yet