Tinnitus

My tinnitus started during my second round of chemotherapy, the most likely cause was determined to be the Cisplatin I was receiving. Having such success with the treatment and my 9cm tumor shrinking to just about nothing, I was hesitant to stop when my oncologist and I discussed the possibility of ceasing treatment due to the tinnitus symptoms. I was only two weeks until the Cisplatin finished so I chose to continue to the end. I deal with tinnitus everyday and it is just something I have to live with. That is really the only way to deal with having it. I don't know if it will go away and I am certain life would be better without it, but I am happy to have survived! It bothers me mostly at night if I am lying in the dark trying to sleep. Sometimes I have to put music or the TV on and then I am quickly distracted. I am extremely sensitive to pots and corningware banging together and gum cracking loudly, so the family has been warned! Out in public it doesn't seem to bother me as much, because I guess I am again, distracted. I still hope it will go away or at least lessen, but the important thing is that I am healthy and here! My tinnitus started during my second round of chemotherapy, the most likely cause was determined to be the Cisplatin I was receiving. Having such success with the treatment and my 9cm tumor shrinking to just about nothing, I was hesitant to stop when my oncologist and I discussed the possibility of ceasing treatment due to the tinnitus symptoms. I was only two weeks until the Cisplatin finished so I chose to continue to the end. I deal with tinnitus everyday and it is just something I have to live with. That is really the only way to deal with having it. I don't know if it will go away and I am certain life would be better without it, but I am happy to have survived! It bothers me mostly at night if I am lying in the dark trying to sleep. Sometimes I have to put music or the TV on and then I am quickly distracted. I am extremely sensitive to pots and corningware banging together and gum cracking loudly, so the family has been warned! Out in public it doesn't seem to bother me as much, because I guess I am again, distracted. I still hope it will go away or at least lessen, but the important thing is that I am healthy and here!

As a morse intercept operator for the US ARMY, we intercepted morse code messages through lots of interference. Several of my cohorts have mentioned tinnitus, and at least one was diagnosed at a VA Clinic and they prescribed a hearing aid which reduces the ringing. My own tinnitus is aggravating, but not to the extent to where I would want to wear a hearing aid. It sounds like you have tinnitus, a high pitched ringing or pulsating ringing, in the ears. It is common after hearing continuous loud noises like a concert, during pregnancy and is often a result of having a brain tumor. It is not known for sure what the cause for tinnitus is, but there is speculation that due to hearing loss the brain makes up for lack of noise by creating a high pitched sound. It is not curable but here are some things hat may help:

Having white noise in the room with you, such as a fan, can help ease the disturbance of the ringing in the ear.

No (or limited) alcohol, coffee, tea and chocolate, as the caffeine in these products aggravates the situation. Large doses of aspirin also increase tinnitus.

Sleeping on the ear affected by tinnitus can lessen the ringing while you sleep.

Anti-anxiety and ant-depressants can sometimes lessen the intensity of the sound.

Some hearing aids provide a white-noise effect and can help drown out the tinnitus.

Biofeedback - in which you are connected to electrical sensors and perform certain tasks to learn how to control your body. Here is a good explanation: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/biofeedback/MY01072

Here the Anti-Tinnitus Association website http://www.ata.org/