Many people ask themselves that very question. The medical name is Tinnitus. Some say “Tin-nite-us” while others pronounce it “Tinni-Tus”. Both are correct. Usually Ear, Nose & Throat doctors will use the “Tinni-Tus” version. Tomaatooo — Tomauto! Either way it is an annoying sound that is in your head. It can be many things; a high pitched whistle or whine, clicking, thumping, crickets, rumbling, or hissing. I have a patient that hears Roger Miller songs, and a young man that hears a shop vac in his left ear at 80 decibels and a microwave “ding” in his other ear about every 20 seconds. Until he came to us last year he had gotten very little sleep since the tinnitus started about 3 years ago. (We are happy to report that both the “Roger Miller” patient and the young man with the “shop vac/microwave ding” have both gotten relief.). When we get a patient that reports tinnitus we perform special testing to determine what they are actually hearing and the intensity of that particular sounds. During the evaluation it is also necessary to rule out any medical issue that could possibly be causing the sounds.
The perception of these sounds can be constant or just show up unexpectedly. We have another patient that it occurs in, usually sometime in the middle of the night and wakes him up.. It’s very soft and after ruling out all medical possibilities he sleeps with a “sound machine” emitting a mellow “rain” so that when the tinnitus wakes him up he able to acknowledge it and go back to sleep. Because the tinnitus often suddenly appears it does tend to freak us out. I know. I get it. Sometimes I will be in the sound room and it’s SO PERFECTLY QUIET and all of a sudden I get “BING!!!” and then it radiates…. and lasts and lasts, and I say to myself, “dang, I hope that one doesn’t stick around!” Then I make a note to myself… “self…. you are drinking TOO MUCH CAFFEINE”. Gotta cut back the ice tea! Lol! Caffeine as well as stress will not cause tinnitus but it does influence it. Are you thinking about how much caffeine you are consuming? It’s in many items; soda’s, teas, chocolate, and coffee just to name a few. Some “de-caffeinated” tea still may have a small amount of caffeine. I had a patient with bad tinnitus and she was a huge ice tea drinker. So we set up a schedule to cut back the caffeine and see if it would help. At a 3 week check up she reported the tinnitus was getting worse. As we were ruling out caffeine as a possible tinnitus stimulant she picked up the bottle she had brought in an took a drink. She had found something she liked much better than her iced tea…. GREEN TEA! Oh my! Just for the record… GREEN TEA IS LOADED with caffeine. So it took a just a couple months & she made the switch to just a glass or two of decaffeinated tea a day and lots of water and she now only occasionally has any type of head noise.
Pay attention to when your tinnitus is present and bothering you. Is it at night or when it is quiet? Is it waking you up in the middle of the night or is your head roaring when you are trying to go to sleep? What did you eat or drink a couple hours before… perhaps the you ate an ice cream bar with chocolate or a piece of cake, maybe a handful of M&M’s or chocolate covered almonds? My suggestion… if you like a piece of cake or ice cream daily (we ALL want to..) then have them earlier in the day. When we are active there are other sounds in the environment that occupy our brains, so even if you get a little sound going off in your ear it is much easier to take if you are busy.
Tinnitus is a diverse and interesting phenomenon. “At least 1 in 10 adults in the United States may experience some form of tinnitus, with the condition being more prevalent in an older population”. (Bhatt, Lin & Bhattacharyya, 2016; McCormack, Edmondson-Jones, Somerset, & Hall, 2016). Research is ongoing with tinnitus. The history is vast. I will be writing future articles about the history and research as well as options for those who struggle. Keep reading!!
This article is submitted by: Roseann B. Kiefer, B.A., BC-HIS. Owner of Lampe & Kiefer Hearing Aid Center, Inc. in Sebring, Florida. This information is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure your condition. Always talk to your doctor before following any medical advice or starting a diet or exercise program.