I’ve had a very slight ringing in my right ear for about 30 years, think it was probably caused by noise from shooting but it’s not caused me any grief to be fair, however in the last few weeks I’ve now got a louder ringing from the left ear which is getting to be a pain when I’m in a quiet environment.

My question is has anyone had tinnitus and managed to get rid of it? I’m going to try and get an appointment at the doctors but the last time I tried it took me 6 weeks before I managed to get to see someone. Tia.

Occasionally there is a functional cause that can be treated but most of the time there is not and there is no cure and no effective treatments. Sorry

Ive had tinnitus for 30 years.

Yep. Went to see a specialist who told me that it couldn’t be cured, but he gave me a great tip for coping. Basically, you need to ignore it. The more you notice it the louder it gets. Apparently the brain is trying to fill in for the bits that are missing and if you concentrate on it the volume goes up.

It works for me, or it did until I opened this thread and now it sounds like I’m stood on a motorway bridge!

Me too Harry – mine is now louder than its been for ages
CBT can help I’m told

Aye cogglepin, you’ve just reminded me and now the white noise is deafening! I’ve had it for 20 years, usually just zone it out, doesn’t bother me too much. Gets worse if I have a cold or similar virus.

Bugger, that’s what I was thinking. Anyway I shall try and get an appointment to put my mind at rest. Thanks chaps.

Had it most of my life, and as others have said, get’s worse if unwell.

Stress and alcohol makes it worse as well

Had mine since clubbing days in the 90s, but it’s been so much worse since Covid in late September. Quite common after effect, or so I believe.

it’s worse in my left ear too, it’s a constant, sometimes louder, sometimes less so, but it’s always there and pretty tiresome–it’s louder than the listening vol I have the TV on at, I went to the GP, got referred to an audiologist who basically recommended listening to some app at night but after two months of no change I gave up on it.

the only time I really generally don’t notice the ringing in my ears is when I am out on my bike…

it’s otherwise very tedious and can get to me.

Bloody awful thing. I blame Motörhead for mine.

Bloody awful thing. I blame Motörhead for mine.

+1

Saw them regularly in the 80s and had tinnitus ever since!

I look about at different objects around the room, some far away, some near, only keeping my gaze on it long enough to focus, then onto the next. I feel the brain processing all the different object focal points makes the tinnitus fade into the background. Which it does. It’s always there but very slight and occasionally becomes very strong, which can last for a number of days.

I suppose its much like the expert says, concentrating on other things helps it to fade out.

yep, had it 30 years. used to be a shotblaster in the 80’s and PPE was not so fashionable.
i wear earpods on a night and play quiet music.it helps me drop off.

I’ve had it for as long as I can remember, both ears. Unless there’s something ‘me hanical’ or medical causing it there’s no way of getting rid of it. Odd as it sounds I never thought about it for years until I was at the docs for balance issues and he asked if I had it. Boom – started noticing it again. It’s worse of stressed/tired etc. the only time it really bugs me is on a summit where I’m struck with wonder and fancy some absolute silence to take it in. Not a chance!

Mine sounds like a flash on a camera charging up and sometimes it is accompanied by wooshing sounds as well.

Tinnitus seems to run in my family. My grandfather, my Mum, me and my teenage daughter suffer from it.

It’s not pleasant, but not as annoying as the road noise from the road at the back of my noise, that drives me nuts!

I know what you mean about missing silence. On holiday last year we rented a house where there was no sound and I couldn’t sleep because my ears where whistling. Had to open the window so that I could concentrate on the sound of the sea which worked a treat.

I developed it during the covid period. The specialist reckoned it was because I was spending too much time in a quiet/silent house. The brain starts to listen harder and harder and the ringing noise is it vibrating the ear bits harder. Solution was to always have background noise even when asleep. It made a significant difference, although I do have relapses. Supposedly there is a limited period where you can permanently address it before another part of the brain takes over and locks it in.

Annoyingly I was using Spotify sleep playlists but for some reason it’s begun to stop playing after 2 hours, they must have introduced a battery saver or something.

Edit – it can be caused by a non-malignant tumor squeezing the nerve, so certainly worth getting an appointment to check that.

I’ve had it for 35 years. Luckily I first noticed it when very tired but content so there’s a positive association i.e. being up for 48 hours to fix a problem successfully, Mine probably comes from aircraft and firearms. I continue to reinforce the positive aspect and also play background noise when I’m in bed – listening to Radio 4 and now podcasts,

Not so much ringing, more like there’s an AC unit running nearby (there isn’t – I checked).

Mines a constant high pitched hiss all the time with a midrange wooshing added in when its bad and when its really bad I get a bassline rumble as well

Ringing in the left, less than frequent popping in the right. Cheers MOD. I’ve learned to live with it, have a hearing aid which helps when it’s really bad.

There’s advance in treatment options, but trials are still ongoing. One day maybe.

Check out https://www.tinnitus.org.uk/

Me too u just live with it. Radio 4 all day for me, I thought to mask the noise but the above posts suggest it’s distraction and concentrating on something else. I find r4 I actually concentrate on, not passive noise.

Too many gigs, safer now of course.

I ain’t no expert,but as I said on another thread,Covid cranked mine up to 11.
It would be interesting to hear(see what I did there) if this is being presented more to GPs since Covid.

I blame Motörhead for mine.

I can genuinely blame Phil Lynott for mine, when he played the greatly missed Golddiggers in Chippenham. I was stood right at the front by the right-hand speaker stack, and they were bloody loud! Mine is a gentle whistle/ringing louder in the right than the left.

Much more recently I’ve started to get an odd sort of gurgling/crackling sound in my right ear, that comes and goes. It can last for ages, then disappear, only to reappear again. I can hear the slight dining/whistling sound in my left ear at the moment, while I’m watching Antiques Roadshow, but nothing in my right at the moment. I sometimes wonder if it might be a wax buildup acting against the eardrum – I recently had a health checkup at work, including an ear examination, and that recorded my hearing as being excellent for my age, and no obvious obstruction or other issues.

I just ignore both and get on with things, the arthritis in my right knee and the carpal tunnel issues in my wrists is far more distracting and uncomfortable. The cataracts I’ve been suffering from have also been far more worrying, but one has been done, and I’m expecting notification for the other one to be done soon, so a bit of ringing in the background is nothing that bothers me

I’ve had it for 35 years…the only way I xan get rid of it is to put in my hearing aids
I’ve had a range of different sounds from it from , whistling, wind rushing like I’m in a airplane and also…classical music…sort of violin rhythm
At one point the tinnitus was so loud I couldn’t hear people properly

I blame the rave years and me Djing