Tinnitus

I was diagnosed with tinnitus last year! The sound I heard was a cricket noise! Just last week I developed another different noise in my ear, a heartbeat sound, it's a low whistling sound.  My ENT said it wasn't pulsitile  tinnitus and wants me to do a sleep study and allergy testing? My family doctor wants me to repeat carotid artery tests, I have an appointment on Jan 6 for carotid artery test.   Last year the same test said I was at less than 50% blockage and recently my cholesterol and weight have come down with diet and more exercise! Do  you have tinnitus? I'm wondering if the pacemaker is causing the pulsing in my ear? 


8 Comments

Tinnitus

by benedeni - 2022-12-23 12:40:44

I am sorry you have developed tinnitus but I doubt your pacemaker is the cause.  I've had tinnitus for many years, perhaps 25 to 30, and I'm constantly experiencing different pitch levels and changing sounds.  There is apparently no cure and I've learned to just put it out of my mind which works most of the time.  I've had my pacemaker since 2019 so the tinnitis was definitely not pacemaker caused.  Good luck to you!

Pulsatile tinnitis

by AgentX86 - 2022-12-23 13:31:06

I've had pulsatile tinnitis for thirty years or more and I also have a high-pitched ringing. Like marybird, it doesn't bother me.  In fact, unless I think about it (thanks, a lot!). It's just there.

My cardiologist heard a carotiid bruit and because I'd had bypass surgery, he wanted to check the carotids. As I've said here before.  My vascular surgeon ordered ultrasounds and then a CT-A (cat-scan angiogram) that indicated 70-80% blockages. He was going to stent them. Once he got in there he found that the one was only 20% blocked so there was nothing to stent. I have an ultrasound every year to make sure they don't change.

I don't think it's anything to worry about right no. Though you are doing the right thing by trying to track it down.

Huh? 👂🏻

by Lavender - 2022-12-23 15:19:43

Yep I have tinnitus not related to pacemaker. Mine was caused by high dose Zantac (300) prescribed by a gastroenterologist PA. UGH made me so angry! So I have had it since about 2018. Crickets sound, humming swirling ringing really all kinds of background cacophony. Sometimes it's louder than the TV😵‍💫

I ignore it. Sometimes I listen to it as I sleep and try and zone out envisioning a creek with frogs singing in it. 

My ear, nose n throat guy said HE has it too. Nothing can be done about it. 

Tinnitus

by RogerK - 2022-12-23 20:37:30

I have had tinnitus for years.  My PM is only 6 weeks old.  The tinnitus was many years before the PM.  I have hearing aids that can play different sounds to mask the tinnitus sound.  Most of the time it is just 'white noise' for me though it definitely impacts my hearing.

 

tinnitus

by new to pace.... - 2022-12-23 21:20:13

i was told it is my brain creating sounds since i do not hear in my left ear.  

new to pace

Tinnitus

by Dixie Chick 65 - 2022-12-23 22:07:21

I also have tinnitus and saw an ENT about it. As I hear a lot these days, he said , it is part of the aging process in some people. Cricket like sounds, at various levels, is what I hear. 
I can tune it out most of the time and I have used a " sound" machine at night if its particlarly loud. Mine isn't related to my pacemaker.

TINNITUS - A common issue

by Good Dog - 2022-12-24 08:18:51

Frankly, I am surprised so many people in our club have it. I have had it for about 20 years now. It started at least 15 years after I got my PM. Whistling at various pitches and sometimes it is pulsatile. I gave-up trying to figure-out what caused it. Doesn't matter. There is no cure. Don't waste your time and money trying to find one. If a "real" cure comes along, you'll know it. Sometimes the whistling seems to go away, but I think it is more likely that I am just distracted and don't notice it. And it is definitely louder some days than others. There is no doubt (in my mind) that it is coming from my brain. Seems like the very center of my head. Not from my ears! There are devices that would allow me to mask it with just the right pitch/frequency sound, but my wife gave me a better solution. She had it long before I did. "It can drive you crazy if you allow it, so don't allow it!" "There is no cure, so just make it your friend." "Resign yourself to the fact that it is here to stay and it is just part of your being."  It is just part of who I am. And here again that old saying is true: what doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I have had tinnitus for about 20 years now and gave-up worrying about it over 19 years ago! There are a lot more important things to occupy my time and deal with!

Sincerely,

Dave

tinnitus - ringing in the ears.

by Ahilltopper - 2022-12-26 20:35:03

I had tinnitus ( continuous) before getting a PM implant last year. Tinnitus is a common condition that generally  increases with age, has multiple causes including hearing loss, but has nothing to do with PM implant. There is no cure - getting used to it or developing coping skills is the answer. 
 

Do go see an audiologist and get your hearing checked. I found out I have moderate hearing loss in one ear, which is unusual. They did an MRI to check for an aural nerve tumor; test was negative. But hearing loss is a common condition, and many of us will need hearing aids at some point.

You know you're wired when...

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