Ringing ears

jskinner · Post by **jskinner** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:02 pm

I've been off CPAP for a few weeks now (only 5 more days until surgery. Sure hope it works)

One thing that has returned (in addition to all the other nasty apnea symptoms) is ringing ears at night. I had forgotten all about this and hadn't really connected it to apnea. I had some ringing ears problem for years and it mostly went away once I started on CPAP

Has anyone else experienced ringing ears as a side effect of untreated apnea? Anyone have a theory of whats causes this? I don't I recall ever seeing it in the any apnea symptoms list.

DeltaSeeker · Post by **DeltaSeeker** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:04 pm

I don't recall seeing it either, but it may be as a result of the pressure not being there on the opposite side of the ears anymore and an adjustment of the eardrum and pressure in your ears.

Not a medical opinion, just a guess I know how that can drive you nuts!

Good luck on your surgery!!!!!

Linda

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:05 pm

I have tinnitus and notice that there is a correlation between the loudness and my blood pressure ... when BP goes up, ringing gets louder.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:10 pm

I have a friend who has ringing in her ears, and her doc said hers is caused by high blood pressure.

Best wishes for a successful surgery and a record recovery time.

Kathy

bluegrassfan · Post by **bluegrassfan** » Sat May 05, 2007 9:29 pm

I've had tinnitus for quite a few years...one of my docs said there are some little nerves in your ears, almost like hairs, and when they start going bad, they create a noise like ringing. Nothing you can do about it that I know of. Some days/nights mine is worse than others....lately in addition I can now hear my pulse in my ears and I think that is tied to BP. My internist said there is a little artery (or big) that goes right behind your ear and sometimes people can hear their pulse. I can even hear when my heart skips a beat...slight electrical prob...not one my cardiologist is concerned about. More of a nuisance.

PeaceSleeper · Post by **PeaceSleeper** » Sun May 06, 2007 3:24 am

Have you had any barotrauma lately? Like flying on multiple flights or something like that? I have big problems with tinnitus when I fly a couple of long flights and it takes a few days to resolve. Very, very annoying, but I am fortunate that it goes away.

RosemaryB · Post by **RosemaryB** » Sun May 06, 2007 4:42 am

I've had ringing in my ears for years. I've only been on therapy for about a week, so it's too soon to tell if it's gone away, but I did notice it seemed less, this is during the day. I have mild hearing loss at the high ranges and I was told by the audiologist that this is causing my tinnitus. However, there are other things that are associated with it, too.

So here are some theories of mine:

A person notices it more at night because it is quiet then. It is partly related to how the brain interprets sound. However, having other sounds, like the radio on or white noise, will obscure it, so the sound of a CPAP machine or loud mask might make it appear to go away, but if a person stopped using them it would come back.

One thing that will cause it for sure for me is drinking any caffeinated beverages. Of course, these raise my blood pressure quite a bit (20 pts systolic and diastolic for a small can of coke), so this could be related. Are you drinking coffee/tea/colas to stay awake while you are off the machine?

I also took erythromyacin (sp?), an antibiotic, and the ringing got horrible. Some medications are oto-toxic and I was told this was the case with this one. Are you on any new medications prior to your surgery?

Good luck with your surgery.

_________________

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OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:22 am

I've had tinnitus for years, and have noticed that it seems to be much louder when I'm sleep-deprived. As a frequent insomniac (like this morning), I hear it quite a lot. CPAP seems to have helped a bit, but not much.

OCO

bluegrassfan · Post by **bluegrassfan** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:27 am

That's right JSkinner...good luck with the surgery and back to the mask..

pedroski · Post by **pedroski** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:06 am

I've had tinnitus for about 18 months and I also think it's related to high blood pressure. CPAP doesn't seem to have made any difference.

Peter

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:14 am

I should add that I have had tinnitus for the past 30 years and my hypertension for only about the last 5 years. So just to clarify, I'm pretty sure that the high BP does NOT cause tinnitus (at least not mine) ... it just makes the ringing louder when the BP goes up. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my tinnitus was caused by the Ted Nugent "Cat Scratch Fever" tour concert I went to about 30 years ago.

bookwrm63 · Post by **bookwrm63** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:23 am

Roberto,

You have made me laugh so much these past few weeks!! Can I blame the ringing in my ears on my 1st concert 30 yrs. ago also or on my kids yelling at each other? In any event, I can't blame high BP because mine is always low. I only notice it when I read these posts about it.

James, good luck with the surgery and feel better soon!

Mary

tomjax · Post by **tomjax** » Sun May 06, 2007 8:34 am

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears happen about 1 in 5 people to varying degrees.
Some pathologies are clearly linked to it and it could be a sign of varying seriousness.
This is one link that may be helpful:

http://www.bixby.org/faq/tinnitus/discover.html

I remember one patient in my pharmacy who was almost driven crazy by it, but her doc explained to her that she was probably hyperfocusing on it. I think many people do.

For those who do have it, I would suggest making a sign and posting it in the bathroom mirror. "ARE MY EARS RINGING?"

When you look at it, you will probalby notice that they are ringing and were before you thought about it.
Ask a person to occasionally ask you and test it this way.

When I read the question or topic heading, I noticed mine were ringing and now I am focusing on it.
I will soon not focus on it, but it will still be there till I focus on it again.

Our minds play strange tricks on us.

Try it.

tom

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sun May 06, 2007 10:17 am

Good luck, James!

BlueGrassFan, not to be an alarmist or anything but one of the symptoms my mother's doctor latched on to was her hearing the blood flowing or pulsing in her head especially when she laiy down. She had a benign menagioma on her pituitary.

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Sun May 06, 2007 10:26 am

Good luck on your surgery!

Something I don't see mentioned for ringing in the ears is deficiency. Maybe some will be inclined to try this:

http://intomyhealth.com/tinnitus/

Ringing ears

Ringing ears

Ringing In Ears

Maybe barotrauma?

tinnitus

Mask

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