Q&A

Subject: Crickets

From: JC

I AM VERY FRUSTRATED WITH MY PROBLEM, AND HOPE YOU MAY POSSIBLY BE OF HELP. STARTING CLOSE TO A YEAR AGO I NOTICED WHEN I AM IN BED AND IT IS QUIET, I HEAR A RINGING IN LEFT SIDE EAR THAT SOUNDS LIKE LOUD CRICKETS. I WENT TO A DOCTOR AND HE SENT ME TO AN EAR SPECIALIST WHO GAVE THE THAT ELECTRODE TEST AND THE HEARING TEST, AND SAID HE THERE COULD POSSIBLY BE SOME KIND OF BLOCKAGE FROM THE EAR TO THE BRAIN ------ AND WANTED ME TO HAVE AN MRI WHICH I DID AND NOTHING WAS FOUND - AND SUGGESTED MAYBE TRYING NIACIN IN 250, WHICH I DID FOR A WHILE, BUT I STILL HAVE THAT RINGING NOISE, WHICH IS QUITE ANNOYING. CAN YOU POSSIBLY SUGGEST ANYTHING ????? YOUR HELP WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED. THANKS MUCH,

Dear J,
You surely do sound frustrated. You left out one important piece of information...what were the results of the hearing test? If there is hearing loss, that in itself is the most typical cause of ear noises (called tinnitus). Those damaged hearing nerves fire spontaneously and produce a sound typically in the pitch range where the hearing is most impaired. The fact that your "crickets" appear only when it is quiet would put your problem at the lower end of the annoyance scale though I am sure you want to get rid of that sound. You appear to have ruled out the most worrisome possibilities by having the MRI show nothing and the test with electrodes (probably an ABR). Let's now consider some possibilities other than hearing loss which also might be related.

Check with your doctor to review medications you take to see whether tinnitus is a possible side effect. Even nonprescription medications such as aspirin can be the culprit.

Think about your personal reaction to stress. Some people clench their jaw or grind their teeth. The muscle spasms result in the perception of tinnitus. It may also be accompanied by headache, neck and shoulder pain to offer a few. These same symptoms may also appear after dental work...strain to the jaw or a change in elevation to a filling or crown. Checking with your dentist may be helpful in correcting the problem and ridding yourself of the tinnitus.

Tinnitus that starts suddenly and is really bothersome is certainly something to watch. At this point, I am presuming everything looks fine. If your symptoms persist, check back with your ear doctor in 6 months or so to see if anything has changed on the tests. Meanwhile, you might find relief at night if you have a fan or other soft sound running to help cover up the sound of the head noise if you should waken. Some people set the radio between stations and use the static sound to cover up the tinnitus. There are Tinnitus support groups which provide information and mutual support. The Johns Hopkins University has a Tinnitus Clinic which is involved in diagnosing possible causes of tinnitus and then providing therapy for those cases which cannot be resolved to assist patients in living with the problem. There are wearable devices which look like hearing aids which produce a static-like sound to help cover up the head noise.

As you can see, there are lots of possibilities. I hope you problem just disappears! Good Luck!

Solveig