CPAP and Tinnitus

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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49er
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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by 49er » Sat Aug 20, 2016 5:14 am

razz96@aol.com wrote:I have recently started using a CPAP machine for my sleep apnea. The first 3 months were wonderful. In the beginning of my 4th month I started to experience tinnitus in both ears. My doctor told me to use Clartin D to help with the inflammation that is probably causing the problem. Well that worked one night. The second night the ringing is back with a vengeance. I have never experienced tinnitus before using a CPAP machine. Very frustrating and I would hate to have to stop using my machine. Any suggestions?
Are you taking any meds besides Claritan D as certain ones can have tinnitus as a side effect? That can also included OTC ones like aspirin.

Additionally, analyze your current lifestyle to make sure you aren't exposed to loud noises as that can definitely can tinnitus. Even constant short exposures can cause it if you have sensitive ears.

If neither factor is an issue, then I would go back to your doctor assuming he/she is an ENT and get a more thorough evaluation to rule out other factors that may be causing the condition. As far as I know, there is absolutely no evidence linking the use of the CPAP machine to tinnitus. So I would definitely not stop using your machine and put your health at risk.

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VRNCL

Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by VRNCL » Sat Apr 01, 2017 6:17 pm

After 3 nights on CPAP started with tinnitus, stopped using CPAP it eased. Hospital said no link. Started a nasal mask & hey presto tinnitus back. Stopped using & its easing again. I believe there is a link. As I already have sight loss I'm not prepared to lose hearing also if I don't have to. My apnea is severe & I am exhausted & fall asleep involuntarily.

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Julie
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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by Julie » Sat Apr 01, 2017 7:19 pm

Have you seen an ENT doctor? Your tinnitus could be coincidental and not a Cpap/OSA problem, but even if it is, it's best to see what a specialist thinks (hopefully one familiar with Cpap).

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Apr 01, 2017 9:05 pm

Just a reminder: it is STILL April first.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by Physician » Sun Apr 02, 2017 12:22 am

Magicdave wrote:Yes seen audiologist and ENT consultant. I have only very slight high end hearing loss consistent with age, but otherwise everything else is fine. It just seems odd that the Tinnitus is intermittent (some days have nothing at all) and other days it follows this pattern of developing during the day. At least trying a few nights without the machine will confirm if it is connected.

What you are experiencing is common with idiopathic (cause unknown) tinnitus. It is associated with high frequency hearing loss and accentuation of the mid-range frequencies (hyperacusis), so that you will think many people talk too loudly. Bet you'll have it intermittently for years but chances are it will improve. There are poor treatments and distractions which might help.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by 49er » Sun Apr 02, 2017 2:22 am

Julie wrote:Have you seen an ENT doctor? Your tinnitus could be coincidental and not a Cpap/OSA problem, but even if it is, it's best to see what a specialist thinks (hopefully one familiar with Cpap).
VRNCL,

Please follow Julie's advice. I know from personal experience, it is easy to think A causes B when that might not necessarily be the case. Especially, when it is a very frustrating situation as I know tinnitus can be since I have had it for several years.

To help out the ENT that you see, you might want to keep a log of when it occurs vs. when it doesn't. Other things to discuss are medications, prescription and OTC drugs because many of them can cause the condition.

https://www.google.com/#q=drugs+that+cause+tinnitus&*

Best of luck.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by chunkyfrog » Sun Apr 02, 2017 1:37 pm

Bear in mind that when faced with a conundrum, doctors with insufficient experience will often "pull something out of a hat".
Often your only solution is a BETTER DOCTOR. Try a teaching hospital or research facility.
I took my tinnitus to Barkley Center at the University of Nebraska.
They had more information, better equipment, and were on top of everything current.
I bought my instruments from them a couple times.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by bwexler » Sun Apr 02, 2017 9:06 pm

I have had inner ear problems since I was a child.
I can't remember how many decades I have had tinnitus.
I have been using CPAP for 6.5 years.

I find if I focus on the tinnitus it gets worse. If I am focused on other things I don't notice it. The tinnitus affects my hearing in mid frequencies. It is most annoying when I am watching TV and cant hear the dialogue, especially female voices and whispering.

I do have hearing aids and it seams the box I keep them in has much improved hearing. On the rare occaisions that I find them in my ears they seem to help me hear a bit better too.

I have found no connection between tinnitus and CPAP. I do believe life might be more fun without either, but seems unlikely.

I have Minimum pressure of 7.0 Maximum of 25.0. I often see pressure upto 14-16 range and occasionally up to 20.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by DreamStalker » Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:26 am

chunkyfrog wrote:Bear in mind that when faced with a conundrum, doctors with insufficient experience will often "pull something out of a hat".
Often your only solution is a BETTER DOCTOR. Try a teaching hospital or research facility.
I took my tinnitus to Barkley Center at the University of Nebraska.
They had more information, better equipment, and were on top of everything current.
I bought my instruments from them a couple times.
So uhhhh ... "hat" is the new "ass" huh?

Must catch up to millennial youth linguistics.

Yeah I know this is a zombie thread but here are my 2 cents on the thread topic.

1) I too had inner infection ear issues as a kid -- with bursted eardrums, as a kid I used to be able to blow air bubbles our of my ears while under water in the swimming pool -- and as a young adult I went to lots of rock concerts and perhaps sitting in front of the main speakers at a Ted Nugent concert was not such a good idea at the time.

2) I've noticed that my tinnitus gets louder when my blood pressure is elevated than when it is lower.
President-pretender, J. Biden, said "the DNC has built the largest voter fraud organization in US history". Too bad they didn’t build the smartest voter fraud organization and got caught.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by Gerald? » Tue Apr 04, 2017 10:45 pm

Magicdave wrote:I'm not on any meds that might be causing tinnitus - have cut out coffee, salt and low dose aspirin (all of which might have been having an effect). My tinnitus is intermittent, accompanied by sinus pain and virus like symptoms and follows a definite pattern. I normally wake up with it, after an hour or so it lessens considerably (sometimes to the point of being not noticeable at all) then starts getting more noticeable during afternoon and evening. Discontinuing the CPAP treatment for a few days seems worthwhile even if just to eliminate it from the list of possible causes. BTW I've updated my equipment on my profile.
Being intermittent and that pattern is interesting, just wondering do you have blood pressure issues?

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by chunkyfrog » Wed Apr 05, 2017 9:29 pm

My tinnitus has been with me for around 14 years. [[[I wish it would go away for a while, even a little while.]]]
It NEVER stops. I have not experienced complete silence since it started.
The hearing aid helps a lot. It fills in the sounds I was missing, and distracts me from the annoying sound.
Before wearing a hearing aid, I was miserable until I made up a little fantasy about a tone-deaf angel
sitting on my shoulder, singing a song of love--but hopelessly off-key; and totally clueless.
I concentrated on this ridiculous image until I could find comfort in the sheer silliness of the idea.
When I take off my hearing aid, I keep the radio on, often until I wake later in the night.
Almost any sound is better than the squealing defective fluorescent ballast sound that never goes away.
I am grateful that it is relatively dim, and can be somewhat drowned out with music or voices.
I avoid places that are very, VERY quiet. They do not feel good.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by DreamStalker » Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:01 am

I don't wear a hearing aid ... yet. I know that I have some hearing loss from my right ear because the audiologist test said so and because I usually say "huh?" to people to the right of me who say something. When I listen to music, it's easy to drown out the tinnitus by cranking it up to live performance sound levels.

Sometimes I can become completely unaware of my tinnitus, so long as my other senses are stimulated -- even in quiet or semi-quiet places like in an art museum or out in the wilderness.
President-pretender, J. Biden, said "the DNC has built the largest voter fraud organization in US history". Too bad they didn’t build the smartest voter fraud organization and got caught.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by chunkyfrog » Thu Apr 06, 2017 10:33 am

My brother put off getting hearing aids for years, but my comments were enough for him to try them.
We both were blown away the first time outdoors with them. We both had Phonak instruments.
I could tell where the birds were, instead of just hearing their calls with my good ear,
and having no idea where to look for them.
My brother had his audiologist set one program just for hunting--muffling wind noise
so he could hear the quail hen calling her chicks, or the deer hiding in the thicket.
I was able to zero in on where our kitty was stranded--over a block away.

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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by DreamStalker » Thu Apr 06, 2017 12:05 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:My brother put off getting hearing aids for years, but my comments were enough for him to try them.
We both were blown away the first time outdoors with them. We both had Phonak instruments.
I could tell where the birds were, instead of just hearing their calls with my good ear,
and having no idea where to look for them.
My brother had his audiologist set one program just for hunting--muffling wind noise
so he could hear the quail hen calling her chicks, or the deer hiding in the thicket.
I was able to zero in on where our kitty was stranded--over a block away.
That might be cool to get hearing aids just for the bionic/programmable hearing technology.

I could spy and listen to what Trump is going to tweet on before anyone else.

Must research Phonak instruments.

What about crickets? My tinnitus sounds like a cricket chirp that got stuck with a constant nonstop pitch. Bad cricket! Bad bad ...
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Re: CPAP and Tinnitus

Post by SewTired » Fri Apr 07, 2017 11:18 am

bwexler wrote: I do have hearing aids and it seams the box I keep them in has much improved hearing. On the rare occaisions that I find them in my ears they seem to help me hear a bit better too.
This was so funny. To the OP: consider a different ENT - perhaps one at a teaching hospital. Cpap may not be causing it but cpap USE may be doing so by worsening something else. People can have small deformities that nobody ever notices unless something comes along to disturb it - perhaps this is your issue.

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