"Ringey Dingey"

Does anyone have ringing in their ears? Is that a part of pacemaker syndrome? I know the throbbing in the neck and chest can be but what about that high pitched ringing in the ears? Anybody know? Hope all are well.

sistermary7

5 Comments

hi mary

by jessie - 2008-03-18 10:03:16

jessie here. my husband has had severe ringing in the ears since 1985. it is really terrible for him. nothing can be done. may people are sufferers of this condition which is tinnitus. i have never heard it could be caused form a pacemaker but then again anything i suppose is possible mary. my husband copes with it by background noise when he sleeps to reduce the ringing noise or mask it. john , my husband has done very well to cope with this. he is still working and has worked in many positions all over the world which since i retired early i was able to go and live in other countries. it helps him to keep busy. talk to your doctor to find out the reason. a friend visited to-day and she has ringing but not as severe as john's hers is from a condition called minier's syndrome. jessie

Ringing

by ela-girl - 2008-03-18 11:03:35

Hi, sistermary7.

Ringing in the ears can also be an effect of Vertigo (an inner ear disorder--my mom has this) or even an effect of high blood pressure. Actually, depending on how long your ears ring etc. you could have a specific type of tinnitus. You can go to www.webmd.com and look up "ringing in the ears" for some more information.

Feel better!
ela-girl

Ringing

by Jules - 2008-03-19 02:03:43

Hi

Yes I have had tinnitus ever since I had this pacemaker put in.

Let me know if you find how to get rid of it.

Jules

More info for " Ringey Dingey "

by Stepford_Wife - 2008-03-19 02:03:53

Here is the last part of the article I found from the Mayo Clinic on Tinnitus.
Since treatment questions have been raised, I hope this will enlighten the ones interested.
I have tinnitus as well, and I find ear plugs, and a fan running at night tend to quiet things a bit for me.
Best of luck to all in finding a method comfortable enough to work for you.

~ Dominique ~

Tinnitus
ARTICLE SECTIONS FROM THE MAYO CLINIC.
Continued....

* Screening and diagnosis
* Treatment
* Coping skills

Screening and diagnosis

You and your doctor can discuss your signs and symptoms, when they started, their severity and what can make them worse. Also helpful to your doctor is information about your other health conditions, such as high blood pressure and whether you're taking any medications.

Your doctor will also examine your ears to see if an accumulation of earwax may be causing or contributing to the ringing in your ears. In addition, your doctor will attempt to hear noise with a stethoscope over the area of your head and neck around the ear. If damage to your inner ear is the cause of your tinnitus, you may have subjective tinnitus, meaning that only you can hear it. But if your doctor can hear noise from a vascular disorder, you have objective or pulsatile tinnitus.

Treatment

Treatment of tinnitus depends on the cause.

If the ringing in your ears is due to age-related hearing loss or damage to your ears by exposure to excessive noise, no treatment can reduce the noise. Treatment consists mostly of managing the problem. Your doctor can discuss with you steps you can take every day to reduce the severity of the noise or to better cope with the noise.

If the ringing in your ears is due to another health condition, your doctor may be able to take steps that could reduce the noise, such as removing impacted earwax. Tinnitus resulting from a vascular condition often can be corrected by fixing the underlying problem. If a medication you're taking appears to be the cause of tinnitus, your doctor may recommend discontinuing the drug or switching to a different medication.

Varying success for medications
Many medications have been tried to relieve tinnitus with varying degrees of success. Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline, have been used with some success, but these medications have troublesome side effects, such as dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation.

Two recent clinical trials found that the migraine medications gabapentin (Neurontin) and acamprosate (Campral), a drug used to treat alcoholism, are effective in relieving tinnitus for some people.

Treatments with limited results
Some other treatments that have been tried, but which have had inconsistent results, are:

* Acupuncture
* Hypnosis
* The herb ginkgo
* Cochlear implant, an electronic hearing device
* Electrical stimulation
* Medications, such as benzodiazepines (nervous system depressants) and baclofen (a muscle relaxant)
* Hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a therapy to get a high level of oxygen in your blood
* Zinc

Coping skills

Sometimes symptoms of tinnitus improve with time. Improvement isn't the result of physical changes, because any damage that has occurred to your ears is permanent and irreversible. Instead, many people learn to make adjustments to lessen the symptoms.

Try these techniques for reducing the severity of the noise and increasing your tolerance to it:

* Avoid possible irritants. Tinnitus may be aggravated by loud noises, nicotine, caffeine, tonic water, which contains quinine (the same substance as the medication used to treat malaria), alcohol and excessive doses of aspirin. Nicotine and caffeine constrict your blood vessels, increasing the speed of blood flow through your veins and arteries. Alcohol increases the force of your blood by dilating your blood vessels, causing greater blood flow, especially in the inner ear area.
* Cover up the noise. In a quiet setting, a fan, soft music or low-volume radio static may help mask the noise from tinnitus. For some people, tinnitus maskers — devices similar in appearance to hearing aids that produce a pleasant noise — may help.
* Wear a hearing aid. If tinnitus is accompanied by hearing loss, hearing aids can amplify outside sounds, possibly making the tinnitus noise less obvious.
* Manage stress. Stress can make tinnitus worse. Stress management, whether through relaxation therapy, biofeedback or exercise, may provide some relief.

Tinnitus

by SMITTY - 2008-03-19 12:03:55

Hello Sistermary,

I have Tinnitus and I see I'm not alone, although I do not get much pleasure from that fact. I would not wish this pain in the rear on anyone. I do know mine is not caused by my pacemaker as I had it long before I ever thought of getting a pacemaker. I have tinnitus in both ears - left ear about twice as bad a right ear - and the only thing I have found that will bring it to a complete halt are my hearing aids. I have some hearing deficiency and got hearing aids several years ago. Mine have an adjustable volume and I can increase the volume to the point where background noise keeps me from hearing the Tinnitus. But, at that volume level I can go outside and listen to the grass growing. So I end up between a rock and a hard place.

Below is some information I have on the subject, most of which came from various articles on the Internet. What was really discouraging to me when I was looking for help was to learn that very little research is being done on this problem. Be that as it may, since there are so many tinnitus sufferers I'm sure we have more than the few that have commented and I am posting this for those interested.

To those of you that have this constant ringing of a dinner bell your head, you have my sympathy. If you ever come across a cure please don't forget me.

I wish you the best,

Smitty


"Tinnitus is the name for ringing in the ears, and these head noises are very common. Nearly 36 million Americans suffer from this discomfort. Tinnitus is the result of another underlying condition - and it is this underlying condition (such as hearing loss, stress, anxiety or sinus problems) that causes you to experience the ringing of the ears associated with tinnitus. One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. Advancing age is generally accompanied by a certain amount of hearing nerve impairment, and consequently tinnitus.

Today, loud noise exposure is a very common cause of tinnitus, and it often damages hearing as well. Unfortunately, many people are unconcerned about the harmful effects of excessively loud noise, firearms, and high intensity music. Some medications (for example, aspirin) and other diseases of the inner ear (Meniere's syndrome) can cause tinnitus. Tinnitus can in very rare situations be a symptom of such serious problems as an aneurysm or a brain tumor (acoustic tumor).

Tinnitus can arise in any of the four sections of the ear: the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner ear, and the brain. Some tinnitus or head noise is normal. If one goes into a sound proof booth and normal outside noise is diminished, one becomes aware of these normal sounds. We are usually not aware of these normal body sounds, because outside noise masks them. Anything, such as wax or a foreign body in the external ear, that blocks these background sounds will cause us to be more aware of our own head sounds. Fluid, infection, or disease of the middle ear bones or ear drum (tympanic membrane) can also cause tinnitus.
What is the treatment of tinnitus?

After a careful evaluation, your doctor MAY find an identifiable cause and be able to treat or make recommendations to treat the tinnitus. Once you have had a thorough evaluation, an essential part of treatment is your own understanding of the tinnitus (what has caused it, and your options for treatment).

In many cases, there is no specific treatment for tinnitus. It may simply go away on its own, or it may be a permanent disability that the patient will have to "live with." Some otolaryngologists have recommended niacin to treat tinnitus. However, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that niacin helps reduce tinnitus, and it may cause problems with skin flushing."


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I've seen many posts about people being concerned about exercise after having a device so thought I would let you know that yesterday I raced my first marathon since having my pacemaker fitted in fall 2004.