Objective Tinnitus -

Objective Tinnitus

Dear Mr. John Currie:

I just wanted to clarify a misunderstanding regarding the loud noise some of the tinnitus sufferers hear in their ears. Personally, my noise is so loud that sometimes it interferes with my hearing of conversations with other people. Even when watching TV, I sometimes miss parts of dialogs. I have had to change the side of head being used to place the phone, when using it. Thanks to God, at least, I have not suffered hearing loss, yet. The last time I had an audio test done, I passed with flying colors! The audiologist told me I had excellent hearing.

Now, the misunderstanding is that in your newsletter you said the noise tinnitus sufferers hear is inaudible for the outsiders. Only the tinnitus sufferer can hear it. Well, I do not know if it is fortunate or unfortunate, but at least in my experience, my loud noise has been heard by other people, too.

My sister is a nurse and one day my noise was driving me crazy. She saw me suffering so much, and told me she wished she could do something to help me at least alleviate my discomfort. Suddenly, it occurred to me that maybe she might be able to hear it with her stethoscope. So, I suggested she should try out my idea, and she did. After a while of accommodating the stethoscope on my ear and under the jaw bone, right underneath the ear making the loudest noise, for my surprise and hers, she was able to hear it. LOUD AND CLEAR! She got scared, and started running around the house screaming she heard it. After the excitement was over, she felt so sorry and so sad for me, that now, when she sees me struggling to overcome the tortures of this “animal” I hear in my head, she just steps aside and does not even get near me. Because, she finally understands what I am going through.

Now I knew this thing (tinnitus) can be heard from the outside.

So, one day that I had a doctor’s appointment, somehow the subject came up, and I told my doctor about our little “experiment” at home. He asked me if I was hearing the noise at that moment, and I said it never shuts up. So, he closed the door, pulled out his stethoscope, and after a while of accommodating it to my ear and neck, he was able to hear it, too. He opened his eyes so wide, and told me he was amazed I have not gone crazy, yet. But, he apologized for not knowing of any medications that could help, at least, lower the volume of the noise. This happened more than 8 years ago.

The last similar experience happened in the year of 2003. I was admitted to the hospital for other reasons, and while I was there, there was a resident doctor that used to visit me every single day. He would stay there for over an hour, just talking to me.

One day, the tinnitus subject came up, and I told him about my sister & my doctor hearing my “monster”. He laughed about it, because he thought I was joking.

When I told him I was not joking, I could see in his eyes he was dying to ask me if he could try to listen, too. So, I immediately sat up on my bed, pulled his stethoscope, and told him I would let him know when the noise started and finished, the rhythm, etc. I was going to show him by moving one hand just like the orchestra director does, marking the rhythm of the noise. So, he eagerly put on his stethoscope, I held the other end, and placed it on my neck, we tried for a while and were unable to hear it that day. But, the following day he came back to visit me, and asked me if we could try it again, and I said he was going to be lucky because my ear was going wild that day.

After a while of concentrating and listening, he was able to hear it.

You should have been there, so you could have seen his face. His eyes were wide open. His expression of surprise was priceless. His eyes even got watery and he turned red. After he heard enough, he said he did not know how I was able to handle that terrible sound in my head, every single day. He even said if it was him, he thinks he would have gone crazy already.

Then, he was asking me if the doctors knew about my condition, what did they tell me, if I was taking any medications for it, or if I knew there was any treatment for it, etc. He also apologized for not being able to help me. So, after answering all his questions, I asked him if he already had a favorite medical specialty he was considering to study. He said no, and I told him: “Now that you personally heard it, you should become an ENT doctor, and dedicate your life in finding the true cause of this condition and a cure. You would be surprised to find out how many people suffer this terrible noise, and have to learn how to live with it.”

I do not know if this doctor listened to my advise or not. I have not seen him again. But, after I had the reassurance of other people being able to hear what I hear, at least for a moment, it helped me cope better with it. Because even though I knew I was not making it up, I feel I can finally say I am not alone and I am not crazy. Too bad I have not been able to record it, so I can give it to whomever says we are making it up. But, if you ever feel curious about the sound of it, just go to a cardiologist and ask them to play for you the recorded sound of an echo cardiogram, and that will be the closest you will get to the real “roaring noise” of tinnitus. Trust me, I have had echo cardiograms done, I have been present while the test was done to my mother and sister, and I can assure you it sounds identical to it. Check it out! Thank you for having such an interesting website.

Cordially,
Migdalia Figueroa

Hello Migdalia,

The symptoms you are experiencing are known as Objective Tinnitus. It is not very common but IS a known form of tinnitus.

This is from Wikipedia:

In a minority of cases, a clinician can perceive an actual sound (e.g., a bruit) emanating from the patient’s ears. This is called objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus can arise from muscle spasms that cause clicks or crackling around the middle ear. Some people experience a sound that beats in time with the pulse (pulsatile tinnitus). Pulsatile tinnitus is usually objective in nature, resulting from altered blood flow or increased blood turbulence near the ear (such as from atherosclerosis or venous hum), but it can also arise as a subjective phenomenon from an increased awareness of blood flow in the ear. Rarely, pulsatile tinnitus may be a symptom of potentially life-threatening conditions such as carotid artery aneurysm or carotid artery dissection.

So I would suggest that you have your cholesterol levels checked, also look for possible circulatory problems i.e. possible blood vessel problems.

John Currie.

P.S. That would explain why you have no hearing loss, your tinnitus is probably not hearing related at all.