Tinnitus

[tar]

Had a guess bout my Tinnitus, and ran a little experiment, which seems to have lessened it and changed character a bit.

 

I was thinking that the little hairs in my ear, that get brittle as you age, might be "stuck" in the on position, or that somehow, the fact that the high pitch sensing capability that the hairs were supposed to give me, resulted in a constant high pitch sound, because of their non responsiveness to sound. Sort of like "hearing" silence.

 

Anyway, I don't know if I actually have reduced the Tinnitus by the experiment, or whether it is just wishful thinking.

 

What I did, was guess that if the hairs were not working because they were old and brittle, that softening them might help the tinnitus. I don't know if this could have possibly affected the situation, like I do not know what external fluids can get absorbed into the inner ear...but here is what I did, and the perceived results.

 

I cleaned both ears with hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab.

 

The Tinnitus, the high pitch drone, like of a cicada, seemed to only be coming from my left ear, after the cleaning. (where it was equally from both, before)

 

Then I talked to my wife about the hypothesis and asked what kind of lotion or oil or something did she think might serve to soften a hardened tiny hair, without hurting the ear, she suggested hair conditioner, that she used to soften her hair.

 

I put a little on a cotton swab and cleaned out my left ear, then rinsed with water on a swab.

 

The tinnitus in my left ear changed character over the next half hour or so, and it became a little less in volume, and attained a slight undertone of a lower pitch.

 

I am finding at the moment that I am hearing far away sounds, and outside sounds, that are usually masked to a greater degree, by the Tinnitus.

 

Just wondering if this is possible.

 

Regards, TAR

Edited February 18, 2016 by tar

[EdEarl]

H2O2 is quite strong. A doctor recommend that I not use it as an antiseptic, possibly because I am older, IDK.

 

I think the recommended method of cleaning ears is to use a warm oil, a vegetable oil (e.g., olive oil) or mineral oil will work. Thinner oils will come out of your ear easier, and they might even soften the ear hairs.

Edited February 18, 2016 by EdEarl

[CharonY]

Tar, it would not work like that. The sensory parts are in the inner ear, isolated from the ear canal. Nothing you pour in would ever reach in (and good thing, too). Also note that they are not literally hairs but actually cell structures in an elongated shape. The diameter of these cilia are ~300-500 nm, roughly that of many bacteria. I.e. there is really nothing to soften as with large fibers.

 

What you did was mostly clearing out ear wax.

 

I should also add that generally pouring stuff down your ears or poking around in it as the potential to do serious damage. Not that it prevents people from doing so, of course.

Edited February 18, 2016 by CharonY

[tar]

thank you both,

 

That makes sense.

 

Regards TAR

[Robittybob1]

What brand of hair conditioner softener did you use? Does it mention the active ingredients on the label? I have tinnitus too but I have just lived with it and protect my hearing as much as possible. So maybe I'd like to try it one day

 

Did you dilute the peroxide - what strength would you have used?

[EdEarl]

A physician may be able to help, but WebMD says not all tinnitus can be eliminated.

[CharonY]

What brand of hair conditioner softener did you use? Does it mention the active ingredients on the label? I have tinnitus too but I have just lived with it and protect my hearing as much as possible. So maybe I'd like to try it one day

 

Did you dilute the peroxide - what strength would you have used?

 

Dude, your inner ear is isolated from the ear canal. And if you were able get it to reach your sensory cells, you probably would just go deaf at best.

[tar]

RobbityBob1,

 

I think it probably best to listen to Ed Earl and CharonY and NOT stick anything in you ear bigger than your elbow, or pour anything stronger than water or vegetable oil in there.

 

But, in the interest of experimentation, if you are very careful not to get anywhere near your eardrum, I will note that I woke up today with the Tinnitus rather loud, mostly in my left, but a little in my right, swabbed both with peroxide, and then repeated the conditioner thing, in my left ear. Half hour or so later, I noted that the tinnitus was less, again, like yesterday. May well be psychological, but there might be some small chance that something can leech past the eardrum and affect the chemistry inside.

 

I am hesitant to say the name of the conditioner, as that would open the company up to any lawsuits generated by people breaking their ear drums and such.

 

Some of the active ingredients include lactic acid, potassium cloride and vitamin E and vitamin C.

 

I think I recently read that potassium is involved in the sequence that fires some of the neurons involved in the hearing process. Perhaps I should try sticking a banana in my ear.

 

In any case, I just touched the tip of a moistened swab to a drop of the stuff, and ran the swap once around the first level and once around the second level in my left ear, and then did the same immediately with just water on the tip.

 

Regards, TAR

It was a type of conditioner for dry or frizzy hair.

[CharonY]

 

I think I recently read that potassium is involved in the sequence that fires some of the neurons involved in the hearing process. Perhaps I should try sticking a banana in my ear.

 

Actually eating banana has a bigger chance of potassium getting anywhere into your body rather than sticking something into your ear. The issue with cotton swabs or similar is that even if you do not hurt your eardrums, you can compact the wax in your ear and/or irritate the skin. Irritation and drying out the skin is also the issue with aggressive ear cleaners. That can compromise the protective layer and result in ear infections. Incidentally one of the role of ear wax is to protect from said infections.

 

And just to make it clear there is no real chance of all that stuff just leaching into your inner ear. Just take a look at the anatomy. The only way to chemicals to reach it is invasive treatment. See the huge gap between the ear drum and the actual inner ear (the parts in-between are bones). In the end it is your ear, but readers should be careful not take these posts seriously.

 

Edited February 19, 2016 by CharonY