The varied world of T.

[RobWG]

Hi all.

Just reading Raneen's post on the sensation of fluttering ear and it got me thinking about my list of symptoms. Thought I'd list them here as it might be of interest, excuse the detail but I've found it useful to run through.

I'm approaching two years since i noticed my T. I can't stress enough how much this forum and your contributions help.

1 Tinnitus - constant very loud high pitched whine / hiss in left ear. Pitch & volume vary. intermittent and to a lesser degree in right ear.

2 Sense of pressure in ears - Constant to varying degree, worse when i get a spike in T.

3 Ear Fluttering - Very intermittent and normally when lying down

4 Pressure around temples and in front of ears - Constant to varying degree.

5 Pressure soreness in Jaw / TMJ? - This varies from being not noticeable to quite significant.

6 Head sensations - Intermittent, a spell will last days / weeks then weeks without it. Very strange sensations in various places in head from temples to top and back. Very hard to describe but almost as if there are wires running through my head being pulled tight. Also a feeling that if i turn my head there is a ball rolling around inside that takes a while stop. I find this the most unpleasant of the symptoms. It is not a feeling of dizziness though and i never get headaches.

7 Tingling in Face - Very intermittent. In cheek area on left and slightly lower on right Again intermittent and varied. Have to say unpleasant.

8 Pressure Swap - Another odd one, hard to describe, its almost as if the sensation in point 2 very quickly flicks between the two ears. Seems to happen in small clusters. intermittent and not had it for weeks.

Treatment - The T as in the noise I think I've habitualised to quite well (though to be clear i still hate it). I'm lucky that i seem able to sleep.

My partner / family are very understanding as i know the above at times makes me a little grumpy at times. They do read this forum which has been helpful.

As to treatment, two scans showed nothing untoward, hearing tests showed some loss in left ear but not enough to warrant a hearing aid. Currently getting a bite guard made to see if that helps with the potential TMJ and a new GP has been interested and has prescribed steroid nasal drops and a course of antibiotics for point 6 though he suspects they will not do much, more a process of elimination.

At his suggestion I'm also logging my symptoms using a form on my phone.

Excuse the ramble but its been useful for me to write as a review process.

Rgds

Rob

[Happyrosie]

Thanks for this, Rob. It could be that your symptoms are nothing to do with T (I’m not a medic, I don’t know….). Just a random part of life’s rich pattern maybe.

[Fridays_Child_62]

Very interesting. It seems that tinnitus sufferers often have a whole repertoire of ear-related or head-related symptoms. I've had T for twenty-odd years but it's only in the past three years that I've really started to suffer from these other things (and my T has also deteriorated). To some extent or other, I guess I experience your symptoms 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7.

From your description, your T is quite similar to mine. I am now finding that the texture varies quite widely and periodically between hissy and whiny. It is when it has an abrasive, metallic quality (that I would liken my ears being scratched with wire wool) that it is most disturbing. I find that texture counts perhaps as much as loudness in how tolerable my T is.

(2) I've had occasional episodes of ear pressure. (3) The ear fluttering/twitching is also, fortunately, intermittent but can sometimes be provoked by tilting my head down or bending over. I also have ear flutters and/or pain provoked by certain sounds, with the human voice being a particular culprit, which is quite inconvenient. (4) I went through a period of daily tension at the side of my head, in and around my ears, but that seemed to go away when I started wearing hearing aids (for mild-to-moderate hearing loss) but can come back when I have a day of not wearing them. Lying down eases that tension for me. (7) Tingling in the face is something I very occasionally get above my top lip and on my tongue. It might be unrelated to my ear issues, although the facial nerve could be a common factor. I get the impression that all my head issues could be related to the nervous system and/or blood flow.

I wonder whether anyone has ever conducted a statistical survey into the different types of tinnitus to see whether there is any correlation with other conditions the T sufferers have, and therefore to identify the likely root causes.

[1966366]

Great post 👍. I thoroughly enjoyed it, perhaps because I can relate to your issues with the dreadful "T".

[Gregorianne]

I have found a book called Living with Tinnitus and Hyperacusis by Laurence McKenna, David Baguley and Don McFerran (2021 edition Sheldon Press) very helpful in answering some of the questions posed above. Describing, for example, medical conditions associated with tinnitus, as well as considering stress arousal and how it interacts with tinnitus.