Tinnitus in the Brain, not Ear

I have read for awhile it caused in the brain but this is definitely a great step in the right direction finding the neural network that may be responsible for it.
Great find JOH, thanks

 

I've known for years that tinnitus is neurological and not a product
of the ear, or inner ear.

I actually had "quiet" in my right ear for about 5 min., and this
was just after I woke up in recovery. First thing I did was vomit,
then I looked at my wife (though hazy eyes) and told her that
"It's Quiet!.

5 minutes later the tinnitus returned, and with a vengeance. Told
the Doc that I determined that tinnitus is neurological, and he told
me that wasn't the case, and that I was actually hearing that sound
via bone conduction in me left ear, and it just sounded like it was on
the right side.

I call .

Anyone that has had a laby and still gets tinnitus in that same ear
might have also figured it out. Interestingly, I find more and more
evidence that Meniere's and Tinnitus are products of damaged
brain cells in the hearing section(s) of the brain.

There are also amazing parallels between Meniere's and Epilepsy. If anyone
is interested I'd be glad to share my theories.

 

MikeB I have often thought the same thing regarding Meniere's and epilepsy. Mainly due to the fact that after an attack I would have to sleep for a couple of days because I would be so fatigued. And of course the brain fog. Tell me your theory.

And not to hijack this post...Dr. Rauch did tell me that tinnitus comes from the brain not the ear.

 

While I generally accept the fact that most tinnitus originates in the brain, there are clearly physical factors that can effect the inner ear and result in extreme fluctuations in tinnitus. In these cases, I doubt very much that these variations are regulated only by the brain alone. There has to be a an actual physical component.

Case in point: I had a labyrinthectomy a little over two years ago. The surgery left me with a feint, low grade hiss or hum in my laby ear. I accept that this phantom sound originates in my brain. But..... I recently returned from a crazy European business trip. This trip involved 32 individual flight segments, which of course meant 32 take offs and landings. Early in the trip I got some kind of flu, which left my ears a bit congested. The change in air pressure on the plane during descents would cause an absolutely incredible spike in tinnitus in my laby ear. It was brief (often lasting only 15 or 20 minutes), but the volume would briefly reach the point of being unbearable.

In my mind, the changing cabin air pressure was somehow effecting what's left of my auditory nerve and inducing a HUGE volume change in my tinnitus. Somehow, at least in my mind, this suggests that the "tinnitus is in the brain" theory is a bit more complicated. Just my opinion

 

Weather changes are horrible for me, as well.

32 fights? Yeesh! I did a load of flying during my business career,
but never at that level, thank God. Hell, I can even handle being
around all that noise at the airport..used to drive me nuts, and it
was worse after the Laby.

You mentioned "..what's left of my auditory nerve..".

You had a Laby, and not a VNS? If so, there is nothing connecting
the ear to the brain, as there is no longer a vestibular nerve connection.
The ear's unplugged, so there's no remaining pathway for communication
between the ear and brain.

Being bi-lateral, I have dueling tinnitus..a true symphony of high pitched
misery. The ear I had the Laby in always is louder then the remaining
functioning right ear; even when the right ear is screaming, the left one
(Laby ear) is still louder and then it tosses in extra static and a higher pitched
"ping" sound that pulses.

I hate my ears.....

 

My ENT once told me that the reason why tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss is because your brain is trying to compensate for what it can no longer hear.

 

"..what's left of my auditory nerve..". Yes, I've discussed this numerous times with my ENT. The nerve is no longer connected to my inner ear post laby. However the nerve, or what's left of it is still partially there. He indicated that there are a number of things that can affect it, essentially causing it to send random/chaotic signals to the brain. I'm just suggesting that dramatic air pressure changes are one them. For some reason, this causes my tinnitus to ramp up. Perhaps it's not really, by definition, tinnitus, but some static that sounds like, or mimics tinnitus.