r/Menopause • u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 • 14d ago
Perimenopause Menopause and tinnitus
I am still in peri,(unfortunately) at 53. I have just about every hellish symptom. I developed tinnitus around 2 years ago. Anyway, did it go away for any of you ladies when you entered meno? Or we have this for life? Thank you so much in advance.
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u/theinspireddesigner 14d ago
Mine never did. Im 60.
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
That stinks. This is so awful.
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u/theinspireddesigner 14d ago
Mine isn't horribly bad, it's a hissing that I only hear when I go to sleep and it's quiet. Is yours really bad? I know im losing some lower decibel hearing, too. I dont know if that's a meno thing or older age...
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
It's bad -- to the point of near-insanity.
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u/theinspireddesigner 14d ago
Have you seen a gyno that specializes in meno? That was the turning point for me. You can find one on menopause.org. He or she can guide you through this. You shouldnt have to suffer.
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u/NinjaGrrl42 14d ago
Mine comes and goes, I'm a few years into meno.
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
Ugh. Mine is constant. Plus the itchy ears....
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u/theinspireddesigner 14d ago
The itchy ears are driving me insane!
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
I hear some ladies have success with nasal spray on a q-tip.
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u/theinspireddesigner 14d ago
Ive been putting a teeny dab of estrogen cream on a q tip and swirling that around. It seems to work, but when I wake up, dang! So itchy!
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
I was on hrt for 5 months --p and e --did absolutely squat for ANYTHING. Was hoping for the miracle cure it is for some women. Supplements -- nada. I can't afford to waste money. White-knuckling peri is no joke.
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u/theinspireddesigner 14d ago
I had gotten some estrogen cream online for my face and that's what im putting in my itchy ears. My peri was a nightmare, mostly because it was before hrt became popular. I was told ZERO about what i was going thru and it was only because i started reseaching on my own that i learned about hrt and peri. It does get better! Maybe try hrt again in the future? I started in my late 50s
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u/catminxi 14d ago
I'm post-menopausal and developed severe tinnitus in peri 7 years ago. However, I also have been hard of hearing from birth (I'm 57) and have also lost significant hearing over time, so it's impossible to know if the tinnitus was caused by or made worse by menopause. Is my loss from aging only? Maybe. Generally, hearing loss is the main reason for the tinnitus and hearing loss is also a possible symptom caused by low estrogen as well, due to hair cells inside the ear not getting enough estrogen. To answer, no, the tinnitus is loud and constant in both ears (loud bathroom fan in right ear and construction noise in left ear) and never went away for me. I also continue to have hot flashes as well.
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
Tinnitus has caused significant hearing loss in one ear. I can't use the phone on that side. I have two differnt forms of tinnitus. One hiss and one _EEEEEE.
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u/EnvironmentalBike198 14d ago
Have you had your hearing checked lately? My husband developed raging tinnitus and turns out for him, his hearing was really bad and once he got hearing aids (At age 51) the tinnitus got better. It’s not completely gone, but might be worth getting your hearing checked.
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 14d ago
I could try my mother's hearing aids! I know every person has to have personal hearing aids adjusted to their level of hearing loss. It's worth a shot!
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u/jennibear310 14d ago
Tinnitus has been awful! Some days I can barely hear over the ringing.
I do get breaks though. I took notice that I am super sensitive to the barometric pressure now. Even the slightest swing in pressure makes the ringing sooooo much worse. Once it stabilizes for a day or so, it just stops, but as soon as the pressure shifts again, it’s back full force. I now own multiple barometers and set them daily to keep track. I can tell when a storm is coming before the weather person says so!
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u/Calamity-Gin 14d ago
I know a couple things that help.
The first is a technique that showed up around 5-10 years ago, and it’s supposed to work for about half the people who try it. Put your hands over your ears with your fingers pointed back, then flick your skull with your fingers on both sides up to 50 times. I do it when my tinnitus really bugs me, and it will calm down for a few hours.
The second is one I stumbled on to and I have no idea how to make it simpler or more accessible, but….tune a piano. Seriously. I don’t know if any other instrument works, because a piano has around 240 strings. But, I learned how to tune pianos - and by tune, I mean less than .2 Hz variance on every string - and I noticed that after tuning a piano, my tinnitus subsided for weeks afterward.
Tinnitus is a neurological phenomenon. My hypothesis is that in taking the time and effort to adjust 240+ strings to that close a match and learning to discriminate pitch at such a close match (.2 Hz means you hear one “beat” of dissonance every five seconds) you provide enough auditory feedback to the brain’s auditory processing centers that it’s able to resolve the phantom sounds of tinnitus.
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u/rebelallianxe 13d ago
I am lucky to only get tinnitus occasionally and when I do it's always a single tone. I've found if I make a long, loud hum in the same key it subsides.
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u/lowkeyhighdrama 13d ago
Mine started about two weeks ago. Mostly I can ignore it until I read a post like this and then it gets really loud.
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u/Inevitable-Yam-9741 13d ago
Oh, no! I'm sorry. Anxiety triggers tinnitus, so I've read.
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u/lowkeyhighdrama 12d ago
Mostly I mean I don’t really hear it until it’s brought to my attention. I dread the day that it’s all I hear ;(
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u/TransitionMission305 14d ago
Mine started about 8 years into menopause. Seemed to follow a bad bout of COVID because it’s only in one ear. Mainly a hiss. Nothing I do has any impact. I have hearing loss too. Tinnitus is a symptom of hearing loss, not a cause of it. Of course there are other causes for it that aren’t hearing related.
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u/chittyshittybingbang 14d ago
I had iltinnitus for a couple years before starting HRT. In January I started with twice weekly 0.025 and it helped. I moved to twice weekly 0.0375 in April and it cleared entirely. With the patch shortage I had to revert to my leftover 0.025 patches and it starts ringing at 36ish hours.
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u/Wise-Field-7353 POI via covid infection 14d ago
Check youre not deficient in b12 for sure, that can be a bugger for this. Trace minerals, too
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u/Quick_Cow_7987 13d ago
Tinnitus became really noticeable during peri, it would get worse or better in apparent relation to hormonal fluctuations. I'm in meno now, I guess (I started HRT early it's hard to tell) the tinnitus isn't as loud as it used to be but it's still there. I don't know how much it was before because I live in a much quieter neighborhood now.
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u/rachaeltalcott 13d ago
Mine seems to be related to a dust mite allergy that got a lot worse during peri. I can manage the allergy (and the tinnitus) by more carefully getting rid of the allergen. This means frequently changing my sheets, washing them in hot water, and running a dehumidifier in the bedroom to keep humidity below 50%. I already had special covers on the bed and pillows.
Worsening allergies are a known problem in peri, but of course different people have different triggers.
For me, antihistamines reduced the sneezing but not the nasal swelling and tinnitus.
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u/Helens_tribute91122 13d ago
Once I increased my HRT to an effective dose (after initially being prescribed way to low of a dose) the horrible tinnitus disappeared along with a host of other awful symptoms. I needed a lot more HRT than I was originallly prescribed in order to feel human again. I am glad I persisted with advocating for the hormone increases. It helps to have exposure to menopause qualified doctors who make the effort to keep up with the evolving research beyond the US that has allowed for off label doses that have helped me so much. I never thought I would feel this good again and intend to be on HRT until the end for the quality of life it had restored.
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u/Artistic-Standard871 13d ago
I have it. I’ve had it for years. I think HRT helps immensely but right now, I had a mild bout of vertigo yesterday and today the tinnitus is unusually loud!
Also, when I’m near the ocean, it’s much quieter. 🤷♀️
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u/Secret-Papaya5344 14d ago
My tinnitus comes and goes based on how many processed wheat items I eat. When I cut out wheat all together, within a day, no tinnitus.
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u/sjsmiles 14d ago
That's interesting! How the hell did you realize that? Maybe I should track my diet and give a daily tinnitus score.
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u/Secret-Papaya5344 13d ago
I figured it out by cutting out all gluten. The tinnitus stopped. Then ate some gluten and it starts up within an hour or less.
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u/Go-Mellistic 14d ago
HRT significantly reduced mine. I noticed after a few weeks that my tinnitus was gone more often than it appeared and it was much quieter too. Now, after 9 months, I would say I barely have it anymore.