
Chronic pain and tinnitus may share a common source - buserror
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/now-we-know-what-causes-tinnitus-that-never-ending-ringing-in-your-ears
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Zikes
For anyone here that suffers from tinnitus, a relief method was posted on
Reddit recently that is apparently fairly successful:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/3l3uri/slug/cv3474n](https://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/3l3uri/slug/cv3474n)

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viggity
what. the. fuck. I'm without words. I used to have tinnitus when I was a kids,
but as far as I know, don't now. But my mom has Meniere's disease and that
causes hearing loss and tinnitus so I was curious. I tried it myself and it is
absolutely crazy. AFAICT, I've had a very low hum in my ears (usually thought
of tinnitus as being high pitched) for a long , long time because after I do
this, I can hear silence. it is fucking crazy.

eager to tell my mom. thank you!

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ebt
[http://www.ata.org/](http://www.ata.org/) is an excellent resource.

In particular: [http://www.ata.org/understanding-
facts/symptoms](http://www.ata.org/understanding-facts/symptoms)

It's weird, I listened to the first couple of samples on my PC speakers, not
loud, and the volume of my tinnitus dropped noticeably. Everything else (TV,
fan, chair squeaking) sound the same.

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PhasmaFelis
Some tinnitus can be caused by sinus issues, and may clear up with medication.
My physician inspected my nose and ears and then recommended over-the-counter
pseudoephedrine, loratadine, and fluticasone, which have improved things
greatly. It's certainly not the most common cause, but it might be worth a
doctor visit.

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buserror
I've had a 'frequency' in my left ear for YEARS. It's not painful, and doesn't
seem to affect my hearing or ability to concentrate (I learned to 'blank' it)
but it's definitely 'there'.

Of course I know there's no real fix, but having studies trying to find one is
nice!

~~~
dazc
Do you notice any difference when you are stressed or anxious?

My tinnitus is fairly mild but when I'm stressed it seems much worse.

I'm also very sensitive to certain noises - a single dog bark, for instance,
can leave me feeling very anxious for a period of an hour or more.

~~~
derefr
Anecdote: I get tinnitus—just random short bursts of it, the ringing appearing
from nowhere and lasting about a minute.

I also have ADHD, but wasn't aware of that for the longest time. When I
started treatment for it, the tinnitus went away.

If I stop taking my ADHD medication for any length of time, the random bursts
of tinnitus-noise come back.

I mention this because an interesting thing about the dopaminergic system is
that stress makes dopamine run out faster, because your body needs to convert
it into adrenaline. Tyrosine, a dopamine precursor nutrient, is often marketed
in pill form as "for coping with stress, lack of sleep, or prolonged cold",
because these are all things that make you use up dopamine.

The question being: is tinnitus symptomatic of low dopamine?

There are alternate explanations, of course. ADHD medications usually have the
side-effect of being vasoconstrictors; vasoconstrictors, along with their
effect on the diameter of your circulatory system, also seem to fiddle with
the diameter of your lymph channels and sinuses, including your ear canal.
Decongestant drugs (which are also vasoconstrictors) frequently carry a
warning that, in rare cases, they can cause sudden and permanent deafness!

~~~
dazc
The short bursts, lasting a minute or so are reminiscent of my childhood
(early teens) experience. As I got older I thought it was something I'd grown
of but then in my 30's it came back. Short bursts again at first but now
permanent.

I think that tinnitus is one of those ailments with many causes but the low
dopamine theory is an interesting one I've not come across before.

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amelius
Here is another approach: [1]

I'm not sure if it really works, though, or if it is safe.

[1] [http://www.microtransponder.com/technology/how-it-
works/](http://www.microtransponder.com/technology/how-it-works/)

