Lupus Community

Hi dozzi, sorry - I haven't been around lately because I got tired of talking to myself.

I have constant ringing in my ears - it's called tinnitus. It's actually fairly common problem, usually due to some type of hearing damage - I blame mine on loud rock concerts I went to while in college. I don't believe it is lupus related but as always, when you have a new health problem, you should always mention it to your doctor. It could be something as simple as wax build up in the ear canal.

Hope the ringing stops ( I've learned to ignore mine)

Lisa

My ears are driving me crazy its like the sound of crickets at night Does it all the time never get a break from it Its worst when I go to bed whne its quiet except the cricket noise in my ears more intense

So interesting, because I had this problem about a month ago, and I never attributed it to my Lupus, but who knows? I made sure I was taking my antihistamine, increased my water intake, and started chewing gum more, and it went away.

Occasionally ringing in the ears can be seen as side effects of medications such as NSAIDS or antimalarial's.

Rarely, a condition called autoimmune vestibulitis characterized by sudden hearing loss may be seen. This hearing loss happens suddenly and prominently in this condition. Prompt treatment if there is hearing loss is required to reverse this condition. Thankfully it is rare and hearing loss rather than ringing is the prominent symptom.

More common causes of tinitus are ear wax, viral infections, upper respiratory infections, eustachian tube dysfunction from a stuffed nose etc. If the symptoms persist, a medical evaluation is helpful.

I went in for an MRI on Wednesday and was told through a report that:

Left IAC small (6x3x3) lesion, superior aspect. Differential includes vestibular schwannoma or facial nerve Schwannoma.

The MRI was done in response to an attack of vertigo two weeks ago that put me in bed for three days. I continue to have some slight dizziness and occasional unbalance when walking on uneven surfaces. I am now concerned as I unfortunately looked up "vestibular schwannoma" on the internet.

Prior to the vertigo I had a stuffy nose and used spray nasal decongestant to clear my sinus and felt better. Due to my lupus I always seem to feel if I have a slight temperature so I do not know if I was sick with a flu or cold. I am slowly getting better and I feel "goo" running down my throat when I apply a hot compress to a spot just under my left ear. This is where the lesion is located. I thought I had an ear infection and since I can't take Ibuprophen I used a home remedy, hot compresses.

No hearing loss so I'm wondering if this is lupus related or something entirely new. I have an appointment with an Otologist on July 17th. First appointment available. I would appreciate everyone's thoughts.

I've read that these are extremely slow growing benign lesions and can spontanously disappear.

Staying hopeful.

Lisatru62

To my knowledge this particular tumor has not been reported in a higher frequency in lupus. All the best.

LisaTru:

I don't know if this will help you or not but I also have tinnitus along with Lupus (SLE), Sjogren's, & Fibro. The only way I can describe the tinnitus I hear is to compare it to a dog whistle that only dogs can hear b/c of their range of hearing. To me, it's a high-pitched searing noise that sounds like someone who would be blowing a dog whistle softly then outright loud for several minutes before it stops.

This worries me b/c I have a retinal disease that was diagnosed long b4 the autoimmune diseases. We have a great ENT in the area & occasionally he will take on interns and the one he had at the time I went in was really nice but he thought I lost my sight to Lupus - he didn't know it was b/c of a retinal disease. He told me more about how Lupus can cause blindness btw the disease and the meds to slow the disease. He said afterward that I just got a double-whammy with the retinal disease then being diagnosed with the autoimmune diseases too.

Dr. Venuturupalli, if you have any insight on the way my tinnitus sounds to me and whether or not it's normal, I would appreciate any feedback. Does tinnitus sound like this for everyone or just me? BTW, we stopped my NSAIDs for 2-3mos, which was tough w/the pain from inflammation and arthritis but I made it through the time yet I still had the tinnitus so it wasn't the NSAIDs; we did the same afterward w/the plaquenil and the same results... I still had tinnitus episodes.

My only fear or rather a deep concern is the fact that I have to rely on my hearing, the feel of my cane, the mannerism of my guide dog when I can take him with me (he's getting way up in age and slowing down a lot but then again, he's not alone & in good company). I fear it will become worse to the point where I won't be able to trust my hearing or be unable to use it as a direction option for me. I use my sense of smell, feeling/touch, and my hearing to get around. I can't imagine doing this without my hearing. It's bad enough I've lost all but a little bit of residual sight (light/dark differences).

Thanks & Lisa, I hope this helps you in some way, even if it's in the knowledge that you are not alone...

Dr. Venuturupalli:

Is there anyway I can write to you directly in order to get information on particular issues I don't understand with regards to how they start, how they work, and various options available?

I worked as a medical transcriptionist before what started out as ulnar nerve damage that was inoperable and the pain began to worsen until I lose the sensation of the latter three fingers of my right hand along with the massive pain that ran up and down the arm that prevented me from keeping my line counts high enough to manage even part-time work. I was the one often called if there was major overflow b/c I was able to type 120wpm w/99.9% accuracy and with my sight loss, my hearing was like a fine-tuned machine so I was able to turn dictations into transcribed reports much faster than most not to mention I had a bucket load of macros most of the docs' I transcribed their work so you could say my typing speed was much faster but it was only b/c I had fewer keystrokes necessary. I loved the work, esp the fact I was given my choice of accts after acing the entrance exam for a national MT company I worked with for some 10 yrs. I hated to put in my resignation but the pain was simply too much.

A short time after I resigned, I was tested for Lupus, RA, and a few others on a Friday. by Monday morning my doc's secretary called & said that the doc had left explicit instructions for me to go to a rheumatologist immediately. As it turned out, I was already in the moderate to severe stages & came out of remission, which I had no clue I was in!

Now, the problems are worse & my specialty was level I trauma with a few autopsy dept notes along with death summaries. I had a few OR reports but not many so I'm out of my league here, if you know what I mean...

Sahara

Hi SaharaStJohn -

To direct a post to Dr. V you can begin a new discussion and type Dr. V and the subject matter in the discussion title.

He usually checks in every week or two to respond unless he is away from his office or involved in a study or research.

Hope this helps,
Elizabeth

Dozzi, I have ringing in both ears that won't quit and is quite annoying at times, but I've learned to live with it. I had it check out and they said all was normal, just 'garden variety ringing in the ears!!(

This is the first time I've thought it could be related to lupus. The ENT doc who evaluated me, told me that it can happen, too, if the little cilia (the hairs in the ears) break. I don't know what that does, but apparently if affects the sound..