Hearing aid and ringing in ear?

Geo-TH,In

Well-known Member
I have Dizziness, Lightheadedness and Ringing in ears. ENT Dr said it's caused by floating crystals in inner ear, nothing can be done about it. Other Dr's say the same thing.

I can hear just fine and ignore the ringing when there is no background noise. But when there are many people talking, a loud background noises, I can't separate a person talking from the other sounds.

Does anyone have this problem and will hearing aids help with ignoring background sounds, cancel out the ringing and allowing me to hear someone talking, selective hearing?
 
I have ear ringing pretty bad. Can't stand to be in a crowd of people talking. Loud music and loud talking is unbearable.
I can usually ignore the ringing when just out doing things on my own. Getting difficult to understand what is said on TV. Don't watch much TV anyway.
A good friend eastern TN found a hearing specialist in Knoxville that got him fixed up with a set of hearing aids that helped eliminate the ringing in his ears and much improved his hearing.
The specialist told my friend that most hearing aids are junk.
I will probably go to Knoxville before too long and check it out myself.
Richard in NW SC
 
I had a bit of ringing(?) in my right ear some years back. Come to find out, my ear was full of hair and wax. Boy, that's a sight you don't wanna see every day!
 
Nope. I have gone through several sets and paid big bucks (out of pocket) for the latest technology. They are great at picking up background noises and bugging the xxxx out of you with something sticking in your ear all the time. When you are deaf, they don't help understanding conversations where words just all jam together. You have to wait till you hear the whole sentence to understand/try to understand what you heard. Sometimes you get the talker to slowly repeat what they said and after you understand it the second time, you realize what you heard the first time.

Outside or in your truck with the window down the wind noises drive you nuts. I was -90 dB normal the last time I was checked which was around 2000 or thereabouts. Dr. said that the best the best of the aids could do was + 30 dB which left me still 60 dB below normal. I prefer to do without. I have noises come and go in my ears, different kinds of noises. Don't know why they occur and don't know why they leave. Used to be a drumming sound that was with me constantly. Today no noises. I do wear ear and now eye protection (Optometrist said sunglasses reduce occurrence of cataracts) to save what I have left.
 
Nope. I have gone through several sets and paid big bucks (out of pocket) for the latest technology. They are great at picking up background noises and bugging you with something sticking in your ear all the time. When you are deaf, they don't help understanding conversations where words just all jam together. You have to wait till you hear the whole sentence to understand/try to understand what you heard. Sometimes you get the talker to slowly repeat what they said and after you understand it the second time, you realize what you heard the first time.

Outside or in your truck with the window down the wind noises drive you nuts. I was -90 dB normal the last time I was checked which was around 2000 or thereabouts. Dr. said that the best the best of the aids could do was + 30 dB which left me still 60 dB below normal. I prefer to do without. I have noises come and go in my ears, different kinds of noises. Don't know why they occur and don't know why they leave. Used to be a drumming sound that was with me constantly. Today no noises. I do wear ear and now eye protection (Optometrist said sunglasses reduce occurrence of cataracts) to save what I have left.
 
I've had tinnitus for years but not the dizziness. From industrial noise and chronic ear infections caused by wearing ear plugs. Some days worse than others but it's always there. I find the hearing aids mask most of it because I hear background noise so it's not as noticeable. I would worry more about the dizziness.
 
I had a episode of dizziness when changing positions a few years ago. It was also caused by the floating crystal issue. Mine was brought on by a serious fall I took, which also broke a vertebrae in my lower back. My ENT successfully treated it.

This info was cut from a website and is what was done to me.
One maneuver that is used for the most common location and type of BPPV is called the Epley maneuver. However, that will not work for all presentations of BPPV. Often people have tried the Epley maneuver themselves or had it performed on them without success. Later assessment reveals that it is actually a different maneuver that should have been used, or that it is not BPPV at all. This is why caution should be used with self-treatment or with being treated by someone who is not fully trained in identifying the many different variants of BPPV and respective treatment maneuvers. Additionally, before testing or treating for BPPV, the healthcare provider should perform a careful neurological scan, evaluation of the neck, and other safety-related investigations to determine if certain elements of the procedure need to be modified or avoided. This is another strong reason for caution with self-treatment or treatment by a minimally trained healthcare provider.

The ringing may not due to this, as a lot of people have that.

My symptoms where mostly dizziness/loss of balance when getting out of bed. If I stood still for several seconds to a minute, it passed when the crystals stopped moving.

I'd get a second opinion .
 
Sorry that nothing can be done about the dizziness, George. That's a grim diagnosis. If nothing can be done to correct the cause, can anything be done to counter the effects?

I have tinnitus all the time. It's much worse some times than it is normally, but it never goes away completely. Some things make it especially loud: Eating a lot of fat is one thing, and taking ibuprofen is another. I once asked my regular doctor if those things could really increase tinnitus. He took out a sheet of paper which had hundreds of things on it which people have found worsened their tinnitus. Clearly, people experience it differently. For me, and for many others, as I understand it, regular sounds replace the tinnitus. What I mean is, my hearing does not seem to have to compete with the tinnitus to hear other sounds. It is most noticeable in a perfectly quiet setting, and less so when there is a normal amount of background noise. Because tinnitus is this way for many people, some hearing aids offer a feature of constantly generating a low level of "white noise". Apparently, many people find this preferable to the annoyance of the ringing of tinnitus.

My hearing loss is mild in my left ear, and severe in my right. Good hearing aids don't just increase the volume of all sound for the wearer. They are adjusted to increase the volume of the frequencies in which your hearing is the lowest. I have relatively good hearing in the low frequencies, so I can hear motors running, thunder, etc. better than my wife can. What I'm missing is high frequency sound. Unfortunately, this is the range in which the initial consonants of words are spoken. So, like many people with hearing loss, I have trouble telling whether someone said bake, or cake, or take, etc. Without hearing aids I constantly have to ask people to repeat what they said---which some people (guess which ones) eventually find very annoying. With my hearing aids, I hear about as well as a person who has regular, but not keen, hearing. In other words, I hear about as well as the average old person who doesn't need hearing aids.

I'm a big fan of hearing aids. Mine changed my life---when I finally got good ones. They're fairly expensive, but I honestly can't think of any other thing where I've gotten better value for my money---although my hip replacement is about as good.

Stan
 
When I was in USAF, had an idiot come in the bunkroom one morning with a megaphone and give me a "WAKE UP CALL". Starting a few years ago, have had noticeable hearing loss in that ear. When he did it, I just doubled up and fell out of the bunk in pain. Not one of my finer moments serving my country!
 
I suspect my big reduction in hearing was due to loud noises while in the USAF.
I use the VA and they said I needed hearing aids, I didn't even ask. But I said OK, they are free!
 
I never needed the VA when younger. Now that I need them, can't get the help. *sigh* But then I stop and think about all the recently active duty personnel who came back from the Middle East and can't get help!
 
I have the same problem you do. Sometimes when I'm in a crowd I turn my hearing aids way down so I can understand the person I am talking to. So that explains it.
 
That explains what I had suspected, a hearing aid won't do me any good.

I wish a special hearing aid could pick up my ringing and use noise cancellation technology to cancel the ringing.

I have electronic ear protection for shooting range. I can hear people just fine and very little noise form shotgun.
 
Some states, Michigan for one, allow anyone to sell hearing aids, as long as they get a license from the state. Most people that do this are connected to a heating aid manufacture.
You will get much better help if you go to a true Audiologist.
I have gone to 2 different hearing aid sales places, and now I go to an Audiologist, who is more interested in what they can do to help me than sell hearing aids.

Dusty
 
George,
I had the same symptoms and the same diagnosis several years ago from an ENT. I spent several years trying to find hearing aids that would cancel the ringing, and I finally gave up. So, I'm still looking for something that will help and hoping I never have another episode of the vomiting caused by vertigo. Once was enough.
Butch
 
Go to your local Vetrans service office--Not the VA and apply for a service connected disability for the tinnitus. Almost automatic 10% and a little over a hundred dollars a month. They will have you go to a hearing test again not the VA and you might qualify for more. I did and have 50% hearing loss in both ears and 10% tinnitus (ring in my ears) caused by loud noise when in the Army. I didn't know about it and most vets don't. It's a benefit that they don't tell about. Keith
 
George, my wife was diagnosed by her ENT with meniere's disease. It causes dizziness and spinning. she has to sleep on her left side. At least once a year she has to go in and get a treatment where they lie her on a table with her head back and manipulate it to get the crystals back where they belong in the inner ear. When she gets a flair up, she cant get out of bed. Her hearing is not affected by it though.
Good luck with it.
 
A few comments ..
- I've had tinnitus for maybe ten years. Early on it bugged the @#$% out of me. But I've learned to mostly ignore it. Some people cannot ignore it and/or their's is worse than mine. Some people report good results with 'Lipoflavonoid' .. an herbal mix. I've not tried it.
- As another pointed out, there is a simple physical move that will, in some people, reposition the crystals in the inner ear and help with the dizziness. Worth a try. My daughter has had this a few times and the maneuver helped her big time.
- If interested in hearing aids, if you have a nearby Costco, go there for a free hearing test and try a variety of hearing aids on the spot. They have a Kirkland (Costco house brand) at about $1700 for two that have the features and quality of aids that cost two or more times that from other suppliers. They also have a multi-month time for you to evaluate and get used to the aids. You get your money back if you are not satisfied.
Good luck!
Gary
 
What?

Sorry I couldn't resist. I suffer from Tinnitus and my EMT said there are some devices that can cancel the noise depending on getting the correct frequency. Problem is that it is trial an error at your expense.
 
The most common cause of vertigo and vertigo-related dizziness is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

Dr said BPPV is what's wrong with my inner ear, which is the reason for my ringing.

It would be nice to cancel out the ringing, dizziness and vertigo. However, Dr said just live with it, no meds to stop it.
 

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