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Hi there
I'm new to this forum and was wondering whether anyone can offer me any advice. For the last couple of months I've had an intermittent buzzing noise in my left ear. It's not that loud, but is really annoying. It's really strange in that it comes and goes - it's much worse when I'm lying down, particularly on my left hand side, and tends to be better during the day when I'm standing up/upright. Sometimes it goes away almost completely for a couple of weeks and then starts again for no apparent reason.
I've had issues with my left ear for a couple of years before the buzzing started - it never quite feels clear, so I find myself popping my ears a lot during the day, almost subconsciously in order to try and clear it. Have seen a specialist but they couldn't find anything wrong with my hearing or pressure in the eustachian tubes so they sent me away.
Any advice would be much appreciated, as the noise is really affecting my sleep and getting me down
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Hi Kate,
Welcome to the forum.
Your experience is actually very 'normal' for a tinnitus sufferer. Even though most people with tinnitus are sent to an ENT specialist in the first place, they are actually not the right people to ask for advice. Often they know very little about tinnitus, so all they can usually do is to provide a hearing test. This usually turns out OK, and that's then normally the end of the consultation.
The point is that Tinnitus is a nervous condition (see http://www.tinnitus.org for more), and you have to approach it accordingly, that is you should avoid if possible anything that artificially stimulates your nervous system (like caffeine and alcohol) and on the other hand apply some nerve calming measures. For me the occasional painkiller (Paracetamol or Aspirin) has helped in this respect, and also alcohol-free beer (for more tips see my home page Tinnitus Tips and Advice).
The tinnitus is however so different for everybody, that lastly you can only help yourself. Try to figure out which things improve and which aggravate your tinnitus, and adjust your life accordingly if possible. If you are consequent enough with this, the condition should gradually improve.
Thomas
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