Low Hum in Right Ear

[23_Tauri]

I’ve had a low frequency hum in my right ear for over a year and it’s recently become louder and more continuous. It has a two-tone character, varying in tone if I move my head. It also stops for a second or two if I move my head and then starts up again. It’s not so much in my ear as such, but deep within the right side of my brain. I’m particularly aware of the hum at quiet times, late at night and early in the morning. It’s become so loud that it’s become annoying when I’m trying to get to sleep.

I found this website where others are complaining of identical symptoms.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/forums/ear-nose-throat/ear-infections/108084

Posters on the above site who also have classic tinnitus say that it’s nothing like tinnitus. It’s described as “like Darth Vadar’s light saber” and "seems to come from the rear top portion of my brain".

I can’t find any scientific literature on this phenomenon, which in the light of anecdotal material online, seems to be becoming more common.

My questions are:
1. Does anyone else suffer from this low humming in either ear?
2. Is there anyone within the medical establishment doing research on this phenomenon?
3. Is this humming acknowledged by the medical profession at all and if so, it is accepted as being distincty different from tinnitus?

For the record, there are websites proclaiming a woo explanation, based on the rising frequency of the Earth, 2012 etc. For obvious reasons I think I’ll avoid going down that avenue for now.

 

[Travis]

My dad had something similar in both ears. He had it checked out and it was determined to be from operating loud heavy machinery with no hearing protection but his doctor said that if it is one ear only it's sometimes a sign of a tumor. You might want to see an ears, nose and throat specialist.

 

[Rolfe]

It probably is ordinary tinnitus, which can take a number of different forms. When mine started up, I was adamant that it was something different, and it took a Harley Street specialist quite a lot of effort to get me sorted out.

We've discussed this on a few other threads, and my main advice is to find out about the Jastreboff theory of tinnitus persistence, and work on the retraining therapy to consign it to the meaningless background of your auditpry spectrum.

Go look at www.tinnitus.org.

Rolfe.

 

[Sammus]

This is interesting. I was just about to start a topic where I tell about this persistant tone in my left ear (which, by now, exhibits most signs of function) but I took a look and the "simulation"tones are very diffrent from the one I experience (a or more sharp, high tones). Could this be caused by the same thing?

 

[ddt]

My dad had something similar in both ears. He had it checked out and it was determined to be from operating loud heavy machinery with no hearing protection but his doctor said that if it is one ear only it's sometimes a sign of a tumor. You might want to see an ears, nose and throat specialist.

For instance, a Vestibular schwannoma. In a minority of cases, tinnitus has an objective cause which can be treated. So yes, you should see an ENT specialist first.

 

[Brown]

I have tinnitus, and to me, it doesn't sound like ringing. It sounds more like high-pitched whistling, with at least two distinct tones. Sometimes the sound is "loud" and sometimes it's "quiet," but it is always there. I have learned to ignore it... mostly.

My ENT advised me that there is no treatment. He also said (if I remember right) that high-frequency tinnitus is more common than the low-frequency kind.

Also (if I remember right), there was a famous composer who had tinnitus in the mid-ranges and who simply couldn't stand it. I can understand how the condition could make some people a bit loopy.

 

[Trent Wray]

I have Ménière's disease, which is somewhat of a generic label to place on a combination of vertigo, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and other symptoms. Mine has progressively gotten worse over time. In general, IIRC, it's tossed onto symptoms when other causes have been ruled out. One thing I don't have, is what you're describing as a light-saber like hum or something. I can't ever remember experiencing that.

As others have suggested, you might want to get an MRI to rule out a tumor and/or other causes.

 

[Sammus]

The idea and hope of getting rid of it is still very much alive. Even tried some woo-therapy of which I've seen some mentioning on this forum, but it actually brought quite some relief. It helped improve my hearing significantly for a little while (a few weeks) but has reverted back to its whiny tjirp...
Still though, perhaps only a placebo effect, it's hard to support it wasn't.

 

[LibraryLady]

Do not turn to your internet friends for medical advice. Please go to a doctor.

 

[ddt]

I have Ménière's disease, which is somewhat of a generic label to place on a combination of vertigo, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and other symptoms. Mine has progressively gotten worse over time. In general, IIRC, it's tossed onto symptoms when other causes have been ruled out.

Hearing loss is part of the definition of Ménière, IIRC.

The most likely theory about Ménière today is that it has to do with the pressure in the inner ear. There are two compartments in the cochlea, the perilymph and the endolymph, which are both filled with fluid; these fluids are different though (mainly in the potassium level IIRC). The theory is that a build-up of pressure in one of them (caused by inadequate drainage) bursts the membrane between them and both fluids get mixed up.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Do not turn to your internet friends for medical advice. Please go to a doctor.

Hey, some of us are **** hot at internet diagnosis!

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155752

But noises in ears is not my speciality, so go ask a doctor.

 

[ddt]

Tinnitus ringing can wildly differ from person to person. If you feel the need to clarify to friends, family, doctor, etc., how your tinnitus sounds: the Dutch Association of Heard-of-Hearing has compiled a CD with 150 different sounds that occur, so you can pick the one that comes closest to your own.

Here's the webpage (in Dutch) where they describe the CD. They charge € 2.50 including shipping, but I don't know if they ship overseas or even abroad. Drop them an email if you'd like to find out. There's another page with a number of samples.

 

[Rolfe]

Do not turn to your internet friends for medical advice. Please go to a doctor.

Doctors can seriously make things worse, according to my specialist, if they don't understand the basic causes of tinnitus. I'll repeat my advice to look at www.tinnitus.org. That web site belongs to the consultant I saw (who has now retired, unfortunately), and explains things quite well. The retraining therapy is something you can actually do by yourself, without seeing a consultant, though there's no doubt seeing the specialist helps a lot.

Rolfe.

 

[23_Tauri]

Hi everyone and thank you very much for all your posts today. I'm touched by the thoughtful advice you have all offered. I will go and get it checked out with a doctor, and get referred to a specialist - like you say best to get these things checked.

I'm sorry that others here suffer tinnitus and appreciate you sharing your personal experiences. Thank you.

Rolfe, I'm off to read that website you recommend now.

That light saber sound.. maybe it is the Dark Side coming for me after all?

 

[roger]

I've had the same problem ever since the aliens implanted the tracking chips in my brain!

 

[Trent Wray]

Hi everyone and thank you very much for all your posts today. I'm touched by the thoughtful advice you have all offered. I will go and get it checked out with a doctor, and get referred to a specialist - like you say best to get these things checked.

I'm sorry that others here suffer tinnitus and appreciate you sharing your personal experiences. Thank you.

Rolfe, I'm off to read that website you recommend now.

That light saber sound.. maybe it is the Dark Side coming for me after all?

Resistance is futile.

 

[casebro]

Didn't we do a thread on this 3-4 years ago? Or was it within the thread about 'city sounds'? Melbourne?

Damn, I know my memory would work better if that light saber noise would stop and let me concentrate...

 

[ddt]

Hi everyone and thank you very much for all your posts today. I'm touched by the thoughtful advice you have all offered. I will go and get it checked out with a doctor, and get referred to a specialist - like you say best to get these things checked.

I'm sorry that others here suffer tinnitus and appreciate you sharing your personal experiences. Thank you.

Rolfe, I'm off to read that website you recommend now.

That light saber sound.. maybe it is the Dark Side coming for me after all?

Resistance is futile.

But you can cope with it. I'm sorry to hear of you, and others in this thread suffering from tinnitus. I don't, but as a text captioner, I've "subtitled" many lectures and meetings on it. The common theme is always that people who suffer from tinnitus go to the ENT specialist, who diagnoses tinnitus and then says: "I can't do anything for you", and the patient then feels let down by the system. The ENT doctor can't help you, but there are other care givers who can help you cope with it. Good luck and all the strength!

 

[Ivor the Engineer]

Have you checked for Bumblebees?

 

[Rolfe]

The common theme is always that people who suffer from tinnitus go to the ENT specialist, who diagnoses tinnitus and then says: "I can't do anything for you", and the patient then feels let down by the system. The ENT doctor can't help you, but there are other care givers who can help you cope with it. Good luck and all the strength!

That's what I meant by doctors making things worse if they don't understand. Jonathan Hazell is an ENT specialist who has made a particular speciality of tinnitus and hyperacusis. That's his web site I was linking to. He sorted me out and good. I really do recommend reading it, and preferably before you're on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Rolfe.