Ringing in ears

Tinnitus is more often a sign of perfect hearing. I assume that your Doctor wasn't stupid enough NOT to examine your ears. I also assume that, like me, you got a 'can't see anything wrong'. I would avoid putting yourself to a hearing test, and all that it entails, or wasting NHS resources, unless your Doctor recommends it OR you can identify any frequency of sound that you can't detect, bearing in mind that our hearing can be very badly affected by ambient noise levels.

As you rightly identify, all of our senses are supersensitive. Do you particularly associate your increased awareness of tinnitus with a general increase in your stress and anxiety levels? Generaly feeling anxious, without particularly knowing what's causing it (which, ironicaly, adds to the anxiety!) is a general experience amongst us.

I've had it always, and interestingly I had a type that sounds like the low growl of a lorry going uphill. My Doctor was most concerned as she said this is a type of tinnitus commonly associated with high stress. It turnmed out that, at that time, my blood pressure was at a life-threatening level whch she immediately treated (wouldn't let me leave surgery untill she'd got a dose inside me) and I haven't had that type since then. I've always had the high-pitched variety too, it's been with me for so long that I mostly ignore it. It's happening as I write - a mixture of medium and high pitched whistle that sounds like a chord rather than a single note. If it bothers me, I'll put the headphones on and listen to some music.

My own tinnitus is worst when, for instance, my shoulder muscles are tense, and they tense when I get irked by something, for example some of the idiot comments you'll see in threads on here. So my answer to your final two questions is yes.

My start point with medication, after much futile and frustrating experience, is that pills don't work. This too is a common experience and opinion on here. Unless you feel that you particularly need something, you should avoid them, but don't ignore the temporary help that you CAN get at certain times. This is very much your own judgement to make, because only you know where you are at any given time.

I can recommend an occasional tot of 18 year old Bunnahabhain (pronounced bunner-have-an, an expensive but delicious birthday gift from a loving son!) before bedtime, for a good night's sleep! Other malts are available, so are other sons...

Tinnitus is more often a sign of perfect hearing. I assume that your Doctor wasn't stupid enough NOT to examine your ears. I also assume that, like me, you got a 'can't see anything wrong'. I would avoid putting yourself to a hearing test, and all that it entails, or wasting NHS resources, unless your Doctor recommends it OR you can identify any frequency of sound that you can't detect, bearing in mind that our hearing can be very badly affected by ambient noise levels.

As you rightly identify, all of our senses are supersensitive. Do you particularly associate your increased awareness of tinnitus with a general increase in your stress and anxiety levels? Generaly feeling anxious, without particularly knowing what's causing it (which, ironicaly, adds to the anxiety!) is a general experience amongst us.

I've had it always, and interestingly I had a type that sounds like the low growl of a lorry going uphill. My Doctor was most concerned as she said this is a type of tinnitus commonly associated with high stress. It turnmed out that, at that time, my blood pressure was at a life-threatening level whch she immediately treated (wouldn't let me leave surgery untill she'd got a dose inside me) and I haven't had that type since then. I've always had the high-pitched variety too, it's been with me for so long that I mostly ignore it. It's happening as I write - a mixture of medium and high pitched whistle that sounds like a chord rather than a single note. If it bothers me, I'll put the headphones on and listen to some music.

My own tinnitus is worst when, for instance, my shoulder muscles are tense, and they tense when I get irked by something, for example some of the idiot comments you'll see in threads on here. So my answer to your final two questions is yes.

My start point with medication, after much futile and frustrating experience, is that pills don't work. This too is a common experience and opinion on here. Unless you feel that you particularly need something, you should avoid them, but don't ignore the temporary help that you CAN get at certain times. This is very much your own judgement to make, because only you know where you are at any given time.

I can recommend an occasional tot of 18 year old Bunnahabhain (pronounced bunner-have-an, an expensive but delicious birthday gift from a loving son!) before bedtime, for a good night's sleep! Other malts are available, so are other sons...