Hi there, I've had tinnitus since April 2017 in my left ear. I did notice it after self syringing my ear. I visited the GP who referred me to Lewisham ear nose and throat department - afraid I found them useless, went back to the GP, and asked to be referred to the Royal Throat, Nose Ear hospital at King's Cross - they were excellent, sent me for an MRI - all good there. I was prescribed hearing aids, which I find do make a difference, as I'm finding with the tinnitus, I'm also suffering hearing loss. I'm ok in quite situations, but in the street, and loud noises, I'm finding my speech to others is muted slightly.
The TNE hospital also provide a meditation, mindfulness group, that is one day a week for 8 weeks. I've put my name down for that, so we'll see..
Anyway, the main point of this post - is that I swim a lot, and when underwater with ear plugs, I notice my tinnitus disappears, I have total silence? Just wonder why this is,. as if it's from the brain, then surly I should still hear it?
On another note, I do find playing natural noise at night helps, I have Alexa, and ask her to play natural sounds in the rainforest. However I have to be careful now - as on a couple of night, I've been woken up at 2am, thinking I'm in the bloody forest, after hearing the shriek of a cockatoo!!!!!!
I do notice my tinnitus every day, and sometimes it is unbearable, but I find that treating it with humour and trying to remain calm - helps - easier said than done I know.
I'm in London SE1 area, and if anyone local wants to get in touch, maybe we can help each others with tips etc.
Dan.
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What an interesting post , which I was drawn to when I read 'swimming ' .
I have a constant battle with tinnitus and hearing loss ,but definitely attitude/mindset is the road to survival. When I pluck up the courage to swim again ( have been waiting for hole to heal on eardrum) I will endeavor
to experiment with the underwater test .
I also play mindful sounds on the iPod to help me sleep , ( I get what you mean about the bird in the forest 😉) the other night I had rain sounds ,I woke in the night so excited thinking it was actually raining ...fool !!
Hi Dan, I got a similar tinnitus since 9 months and I also notice that when I swim, I hardly hear it. Sometimes not even hear it. I think water has a calming effect. My TRT audiologist advised me first to take frequents baths and it helped. I dont waar hearing aids, but play Amazon nature/whitenoise on my smartphone 24/7....I Did neuromodulation in the Antwerp University hospital in Belgium. It Did Not lower the loudness, but I have now more calmer moments.
Hi, Thanks so much for posting, it is nice to hear from someone who is suffering but keeping their sense of humour, It can be tough! 😊 But I had a thought about the swimming... My doctor said that our ears are exceptionally sensitive to pressure change, so I wonder if there is something in that? I will be going underwater asap to test the theory!
Hi Dan very interesting post,thank you.I love swimming and body boarding.I have had tinnitus for 10 years,probably occupational all the banging and drilling having been a builder now retired.
I habituated quite well to my original tinnitus and carried on my life as usual.3 years ago i developed pulsatile tinnitus that is so loud and intrusive,it has pretty much destroyed a normal life for me,every day is like waking up in a torture chamber.
I try to get back to doing everything i was and would love to get back swimming.I wear hearing aids.
I wonder if you could recommend the ear plugs you use.My ears tend to wax up very quickly so i try to avoid getting water in them.
I stopped using wax earplugs, as I felt sometimes the residue from the wax, could enter my ear...
I use the blue rib shaped ones from Boots - but basically any earplugs apart from wax should be ok -even the silicone clear ones... the key for me, is swimming a little fully underwater - the tinnitus seems so stop... Ver odd...
Good luck Eddie, the pulsating you mention sounds horrendous - I’m so sorry...
Dan, Has any Doctor told you why swimming might improve it? I have the same one side issue and just figured out that swimming or a good dunk in my walk in tub to wash my hair and beard does the same thing.
Like you have pulsatile tinnitus. Made worse by just having had a pacemaker fitted. If it gets really bad I find breathing in and out slowly and deeply helps.
I've had tinnitus for 4 yrs now. Started as chirping in one ear, then a solid ring, then to the other ear. I'm considering hearing aids because it's getting unbearable at times. I find relief with this notch therapy. I use it at work sometimes when I am alone in my office and at night and it helps alot. I also swim and experience the same reduction in sound. Swimming is very calming to me and therapeutic. Sometimes I wonder why we dont see stories of people jabbing their ears out because I consider myself a pretty stable person and its intolerable at times. No one in my family understands how loud it is. Here is a link to the notch therapy.
Hey Dan. I was drawn to your underwater claim. Was watching a movie wherein the one of the show's characters claimed the same effect — googled the subject and there you were. I'm going to have to explore this. I think that Becaboo22 is on to something with her theory about air pressure, sounds logical. When I first developed my tinnitus, it literally happened over night. Woke up the that morning and there it was! A pulsating constant ring! I thought I was going to go mad to the point that it brought on a panic attack, which thankfully has not appeared again. What really saved me (and my sanity) was a trip to my sister's place in the desert in Arizona. It just so happened that they were experiencing more wind than usual for that time of year and it was constant. It never let up for a moment. Because it was sunny I spent all of my time outside and the wind was constantly whooshing through my ear canal. After a couple of days I didn't hear the tinnitus nearly as much when inside, and outside in the wind I would forget about it completely. It's been about 4 years now and although it does bug me, I have learned to accept it (this is key), and of course, can't wait to get back to Arizona every year! Also, along the same line of thought, I took up bicycling wherein I experience the same relief, due not only to the wind in my ears while riding, but also the intense exercise as well. Consequently, I may have tinnitus, but I'm in better shape than I have ever been in! Hang in there Dan. Acceptance is the cure. Best!
Yes, it's a series on Netflix called The OA. Interesting multidimensional travel / suspense plot. There isn't a lot of time spent on the tinnitus subject, just used in passing conversation. So, Studios222 . . . are you a designer?
I am watching The OA right now this minute. When the lady said sittting at the bottom of the pool can relieve tinnitus I googled it and landed here. Although it does not appear to be a thing as there are no other google hits.
Hey Dan and Tinitistic .. I am watching OA now and googled the pool thing and that's how I landed here too. I've had tinnitus for about 30 years now. I'm 51. I've done the rounds. There's no cure, and very little effective help for tinnitus. Argh. I have the extremely loud one now. Profound hearing loss on the top range. Hearing aids are in my future (in 2 weeks actually). Ive avoided them for a decade. Honestly though, I very rarely let it get to me. I ignore it. I don't even tell people I have it. Bit just every now and then I wish I could hear silence again. Or soft Birdsong. But... In the grand scheme of rubbish things that happen to our bodies.. Guess it could be worse. I once learned a meditation technique. It helps. "Listen for the quiet underneath the ringing" ..I cant explain how it works. Maybe it's a focus thing? When it sometimes gets too much, I listen for the quiet underneath".
Thanks for sharing you guys... I needed to connect somewhere, somehow today... I'm in Australia or id join the coffee for tinnitus club 🙂
No, not a designer - thanks for the info. will look out for it....
Hi,
I have had same experience with tinnitus essentially disappearing when I’m submerged in water! I was trying to look into why, and found this post. I had an air horn discharged near my left ear four years ago and struggled with no medical treatment being helpful. I found Veterans ‘ Administration technique of meditating and focusing on ringing somewhat helpful. (Used for GI’s exposed to mortar/shelling noise) I wanted to know why this happens in water, since I have been told it’s a cognitive distortion/therapy issue... I am glad someone else is out there with similar experience (although do not want people to know how maddening it can be) Thanks for posting!
I think some ringing or tinnitus is like an echoe from whats outside vibration"" wise so it relies on the air to carry. Water has a different acoustic so will not resonnate to skull ears blood brain inner tissues in same way. Ive noticed acute inner ronging in certain rooms of a building and not others. I believe it reflects higher acoustics due to internal walls concrete pipes etc metallic elements through air. It soinds complex bit really its a case of a kind of audio channel. Like a radio reveiver picking up certain frequencies which resonnate then through the structures of ear or head!!! So underwater will not carry sound in that way....!! A bath is close to the container which is surrounded by air and will be an amplifier in a different way...its a different setting. I get a sense my auditory experiences do correspond to externals but i guess theres different kinds of audio acuity and tinnitus. P.s.I think chlorine may exacerbate my sensitivity to certain sound phenomena... it is an irritant afterall.
I have also noticed my tinnitus disappears when I swim under water . Have to go about 1 meter down before it goes . I am wondering if pressure has anything to do with it .
I think that's possible. The eustachian tubes do the job of balancing pressure behind the ear drum. I read about this when I began having interesting 'hollow' sensations in my left ear. Info is available online: search 'eustachian tubes balancing ear pressure' and read on with a cup of tea. An olbas oil steam session (basin, hot water, a few drops of olbas oil in water and towel over head) for 10 mins each day is thought to help relieve a mucus blockage problem.
Also, it's recommended to drink water regularly; the swallowing action is beneficial - and hydration is a good thing in itself.
Bear in mind though; swimming can sometimes cause ear problems...…..
Swimming relaxes me and silences my tinnitus too. I play Spotify jazz, watersounds, kpop anything not in English so I can sleep. I also have iceman eaves setting on my HA..
My tinnitus symptoms started as post-Covid effect only recently. I also share that listening to nature sounds (fireplace, water for ex.) and music therapy are very helpful. I also swim and am wondering about swimming. And I'm finding taking magnesium baths is helpful. I was initially concerned to try bathing my ears so going underwater, then I noticed that the underwater bathing silenced my tinnitus.
I am so glad I've come across your post. I've been suffering with unilateral tinnitus since possibly damaging my vertebra in my neck in a cycling accident back in 2016. I was so surprised whilst swimming I heard the beautiful sound of silence for the first time in years.
I thought at first it was just getting masked out like white noise or crickets happily doing what they do best. The pool was almost empty and I smoothly swam doubting that it was really possible to rid my tinnitus as simply as that. I felt it was possibly something to do with pressure balance.
Hence this is why I came home and tried to find out why this is not mentioned anywhere else, bar on here.
I've had MRI Scans on my head and also my neck and shoulders after the accident checking out for issues, thankfully i was cleared of any tumours or bone disease. Nevertheless i think my spinal cord vertebrae T4 T5 had some slight crushing if I remember correctly.
If anyone has any feedback for me that would be fantastic. I only got onto this on Friday, I'm so exited that I have a way to hear the sound of silence, all be it temporary. Looking forward to going for a swim tomorrow to check it out once more. Fingers crossed.
Hey Toby, so sorry to hear about your cycling accident - but thankfully the MRI tests proved no tumours.
It really is odd swimming underwater and having silence, and I hope one day more research on this could be achieved…I swim regularly now…
I have learned to live with tinnitus, and for the most part it doesn’t bother me - I find that being calm and not letting stress get to you, really helps in dealing with it…
I wish you well with yours, and hope it doesn’t affect you too much and you’re able to enjoy life - if ever you want to chat, or it gets too bad, let me know….
Wishing you a lovely Christmas and happy new year…
Lol Dan I know this post is old but the cockatoo thing got me crying in laughter for change. I had tinnitus for 8 years now, first few months were absolute nightmare I was only 27 when I got it and I believe it was from a baby (not mine) crying/screaming in my ear for a brief moment. I felt the vibration in the ear followed by pain the next day and ringing.
I was so down and sad borderline depressed. I paid quite a pricey plane ticket to go home to see my mom just for 4 days. It did help because her and my sister and I kept spending time outside and it helped me not to think of it. Mom is amazing at comforting me and she sent me home with a few antidepressant tablets she had and she told me to only take half before bed if I feel anxious. I did and I felt great (keep in mind I am very aware they are addictive but I just needed to feel some peace while having the ringing. I took a tablet and a half all together and haven't touched them since. My tinnitus was somewhere in my head but I would only hear it if I focused or closed my ears and was silent for the past 7 or 8 years. But last week it has gotten worse, not sure but might be louder than the first time I got it. Have no clue what triggered it and it bothers me because I feel like I am back to square one with it. BTW I am a fellow Londoner (not originally) living in SE6. I hope you are doing well.
And BTW my GP at the time suggested me to attend steam rooms, saunas, and have baths. I did swim but without ear plugs. And it did help back then. Maybe just mentally but it did distract me.
Hi Dan. I have somatic T in my left ear and if I swim for say 45mins I can stop my T for up to 1.5 days. I believe it is down primarily to the neck and jaw exercise that swimming entails and water pressure. Interestingly I think air pressure also plays a part, because when I fly in a plane, my T stops for a few days after landing. In fact a long haul flight to NZ recently resulted in no T for a week!
My tinnitus started at age 66 two years ago and has been constant in my left side ( I do not say ear as I understand it is inside the head)- I noticed when I went swimming in Maui that it went away for some time. I have a walk in tub so use it to help my aches but when I put my head under water and then get finished, my tinnitus is much reduced and often gone for hours after - It always comes back with a vengeance, but that respite allows for some clear though without the clutter of the massive noise in the ear. So far the docs just laugh when I tell them- Would like to figure it out though,
I am hoping others like you and I can find answers as to Why when we swim ( or wash our hair submerged in a tub) the Tinnitus goes away for 3 to 4 hours... It does not work the same just showering and even putting water in the ear but only swimming and head submerged to wash it in my walk in tub. In your case you have plugs in, in my case, I do not but same net effect for a while. Mine if unilateral, so only left side. Doctors just laugh when I tell them.
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