Nicotines Contribution to Tinnitus?

[Premium Parrots]

I know there are lot of members on this site that are younger. Let this thread be somewhat of a warning. I never heard this term before and I think you all should be aware and be carefull. Many of us here have lifestyles that are condusive to obtaining this affliction. PLEASE check into Tinnitus. There are several causes of this affliction and nicotine is on the list. Today I was diagnosed with this ringing of the ears. Its bad and not likely to go away. The doctor says there is no real cure and that I will have to live every waking minute with this huge distraction. IT sucks big time. Its so loud and its driving me crazy. My past and current lifestyle has contributed to my problem. And now its here for ever. Nicotine is just one of the MANY causes of tinnitus for me. Check the links below to find all the causes and protect your hearing PLEASE. Take heed.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tinnitus/DS00365

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/r...topic-overview

http://www.tinnitus.asn.au/tinnitus.htm

I just was diaganosed today and am now learning about this. If anyone here has any input I would appreciate hearing from you. Nicotine wouldn't be the root problem but is a contributor. However, I hadn't noticed any ringing untill I started snusing alot, like 10-12 portions daily, instead of just 3-5 portions a day that I used a year ago. ****

It remains to be seen if I will stop nicotine and if stopping will help in my case. Soon I will try to quit nicotine for a week to see what happens. As soon as I order and receive some nic-free snus. I will have some major lifestyle changes, from my music, nicotine, several medications that I take, stress and fatigue. Oh the list goes on in my case........****. :cry:


Anyone want to purchase a pair of vintage Klipsch Corner Horns? I have the original, largest most powerfull speakers that Klipsch ever made and they have to go. Its a sad day.........****



Tinnitus is the lastest of many health problems that I will have to live with FOREVER now that I'm older. So my advice to you all is "don't get old". Sadly, the alternative to getting old is even more severe.
****

[mwood72]

Did your doctor offer you any medication to help with the symtoms?

I remember being prescribed anti motion sickness drugs for a bout I had a while back. I think they helped a bit.

[bakerbarber]

what!?!

WHAT?!?

Ok, so that's not funny, but I couldn't resist.

My dad has hearing loss from working in steel mills most of his life. He primarily lost the higher frequencies though. No ringing ears that I know of.

I've had the rings after concerts before. They say that's when you know you've done irreversible damage.

PP, I hope you sort out by the process of elimination what causes it for you. Hopefully not snus, or anything else vital to your enjoyment of life. I love me some loud music.

[ponysoprano]

Parrots, sad to hear about this. I myself have had a slew of medical probs in my short life. I suffer some minor hearing loss and occasional ringing; probably from playing in punk bands from ages 15-25, sans earplugs. I wised up when I started playing with my buddies again and for the duration of my tenure with the most recent band I wore very hardcore, expensive earplugs. I also started doubling up on ears at the gun range or rapid-firing pistols. We'll cross our fingers and hope that your condition is not snus related. Could it be occupation related? I mean, have you been around birds that are particularly frequent, high pitch, loud sqwakers? I'm not joking either, I wonder if that could contribute?
Keep us posted and take care.

[bmwgsa]

I've had it for as long as I can remember - all the way back to 1st grade.

Back then, I don't think they really had a name for it, no one talked about it. If you told someone you had "ringing in your ears" it was more considered a mental problem than a medical problem.

The hardest thing is tuning it out - it can be LOUD!

I just concentrate on silence and it will taper down some, but it's always there (I'm ringing as I type this).

There's a few voodoo cures out there, but from what I've read on it - they don't work. No one knows what causes it and it varies from person to person.

[Premium Parrots]

Thanks guys. This is permanant hearing loss in the upper frequencies. Usually when this happens there is a feedback effect which is the ringing, so says the Doctor. While the hearing cannot be brought back I might be able to lessen the ringing. Its really loud now. I just learned what was wrong yesterday and last night I did alittle research and found that there are actually several reasons why I have this ringing besides the hearing loss. Stress, fatique, my meds, nicotine, heriditary, age, etc. So if I can adjust my life I might get this ringing to lessen somewhat. Hopefully I can. This affliction is something that can drive you crazy, literally. Or drive you to end it all. Its going to be difficult to live with this, espically knowing its there till the end. If I can get it to lessen I think I could live with it. Like I said before....the alternative isn't great either.

The cause is most certainly loud music. When I was young I had several bands and I played lead guitar, banjo, mandelin. Also, I have a killer stereo [literally]. Thats the Mcintosch amp and preamp with the Klipsch Corner Horns. It can break windows under certain circumstances. I recently had a phone conversation with RobME about stereo equipment and I did mention I was considering selling my Klipsch horns. Now its a definate. They are for sale. It will be a sad day when they go. But they were probably a major contributor to this crap. My dad had hearing problems, I take several meds for my heart, arthritis, ect. that contribute, and my life is stressfull [hell everyones life is].

I started with snus about 2 years ago and used a couple of portions a day. For the last few months I have been useing aprox 10-12 during the day and night. Also at night I use nasal snuff, herb [yes herb can contribute to this problem too] and once in awhile I'll have a cigar at night. All at the same time. So nasal snuff and the cigars have to go and I will be trying to cut back on the snus. That sucks big time. But this loud ringing drives me beserk at times. It will be a matter of trial and error I guess.

I believe the major problem was from the loud music. And thats why I'm even mentioning my problem to you all. Keep the music down, espically if you use head phones. As much as I see younger people crankin their music up and useing head phones I'm starting to believe that there might be a whole generation of folks that will have hearing problems in the future.

There is no cure for this hearing loss and ear ringing. All anyone can do is try to tune it out. Or buy a bullet and rent a gun.

Oh what a world...what a world.......

Thanks to you all for your concern.
PP


I almost forgot. Yes these large birds get very loud too. They didn't help my condition either I'm sure. So now I have to wear hearing protection when I go into my facilities.

[Premium Parrots]

Oh bmwgsa I'm sorry you have had to live with this for so long. I will be checking into the voodoo cures also.

Ya know if this was my only health problem it wouldn't seems so bad. But I have so many health problems now that I have to live with that its very depressing. Most of my problems I would kind of expect if I were 15 years older. The quality of life is lessening all too quickly.

If I find a voodoo cure that helps me I'll let you know so you can try it. But sadly the Doctor says all I can do is live with it.
PP

[jamesstew]

Sad to hear the news PP, I occasionally get ringing in my ears and definitely hear better in one ear than the other. Hope nicotine won't make it worse.

[bmwgsa]

It's not such a big thing for me seeing as I've had it for so long.

But I do understand what you're going thru.

[Starcadia]

:cry: Damn, I'm sorry to hear about that, PP. Thanks for spreading the word about tinnitus. It really does sound awful. I've been living in headphones (really good ones - AKG K701 - and similar ones) for many years, and usually crank them. Your warning will help me turn them down a bit. I've heard of several studio musicians getting tinnitus, and I can't imagine what it's like to have a constant ringing in the ears.

Meanwhile, how much do you want for the Klipsches?

[Premium Parrots]

Thanks Star. I have to research what they are going for now. Its probably in the area of $3000 for the pair. But I'm not sure. Ya know I bought those speakers because they simply don't distort driving them with a Mac with power-guard. I always knew that distortion will quickly screw up you hearing so thats why I purchased them. I loved to crank them but only for certain songs or passages. They are incredible. I'm sure they are only a small portion to blame for my problem. I have been toying with selling them for 10 years or more but just couldn't part with them because theres hardly any speaker that preforms like them. Unless you want to spend $10,000 per speaker for another brand. I'll find some comps to help me figure out what they are worth. I did hear that they are discontinued but so far thats just a rumor. If this becomes fact then the price will go up somewhat. Let me do some research. Finding buyers are no problem for the corner horns. I can't ship them so they have to be picked up. Thanks

[snusjus]

According to the May Clinic website, Tinnitus effects one out of five people. I probably have this condition as well, since there is always a slight ringing noise in my ear. This was most likely caused by going to loud punk shows and not wearing ear plugs! I'm sure nicotine may contribute to the condition, but I'm sure it's very insignificant. How severe is your Tinnitus? I don't even notice unless I think about it.

[cocsp2002]

PP, so sorry to hear about your condition. As someone who depends on having top notch hearing to do his job, I'm very careful about any stimuli that might affect it.

Being in the Navy, almost everyone is a tobacco user, and many of my seniors are in their mid- to late 30's, even in to their 40's. I know that in the "normal people world" this isn't that old, but remember that these people have been living in a high-risk/high-stress environment for 18 or more years. No one in my field that I know has developed tinnitus from tobacco use (most are dippers, since we can't leave Sonar while on watch); in fact, many of them have noticed increased sensitivity in the midrange and low end of the hearing spectrum (say 20 Hz - 7 kHz). I hope that tobacco hasn't caused your condition (or irritated a preexisting one, perhaps), but I know that with the state of modern medicine, a doctor should be able to minimize its effect on your life.

[mercvrivs]

I hope that you find something to help diminish the discomfort man.

[Premium Parrots]

Yea loud concerts, useing a chainsaw alot, etc can and does cause a temporary form of tinnitus from what the doctor says. Its the bodys way of letting you know whats acceptable as far as volume goes. Mine is extremely loud. And has been for 2 months now. I originally noticed it in my left ear but 2 weeks ago I noticed it in my right ear also. Since then it has gotten louder in both. As I lose my hearing the feedback gets louder. I would say that if I listened to real loud music now that it would noticably make it worse. My ears aren't the same since I listened to my stereo more than a year ago. I noticed it immediately after shutting it down. Then again I noticed what seemed like immediate damage about 6 weeks ago after we drove to georgia to look for property in the jeep grand cherokee with the killer infinity stereo. I did crank it a few times during the trip. This ringing is loud in my head now and can only get worse. Also loud noises actually hurt my ears now. Sucks.........turn your headphones down now and when you go to concerts PLEASE take ear plugs. You won't notice the damage you do now untill later in life.

I didn't think this thread would bring so many posts. I just wanted to warn my friends here about this issue cuz I know so many young people nowadays crank their headphones. I also found it interesting that nicotine was a problem also and thought you all needed to know. Albiet not a big problem. Nicotine won't cause you to have hearing loss but can cause you to have tinnitus.