Tinnitus Is Somehow Connected to a Crucial Bodily Function

[SheltieLover]

https://www.sciencealert.com/tinnitus-is-somehow-connected-to-a-crucial-bodily-function

Snip

"Tinnitus is a debilitating medical condition, whereas sleep is a natural state we enter regularly, yet both appear to rely on spontaneous brain activity. Because there is still no effective treatment for subjective tinnitus, I believe that exploring these similarities might offer new ways to understand and eventually treat phantom percepts."

Snip

A 'phantom percept' is when our brains fool us into thinking we are seeing, hearing, feeling, or smelling something that is not there, physically speaking.

Many people experience phantom percepts only during sleep, but for about 15 percent of the world's population, an inescapable noise rings in their ears during waking hours, too.

Snip

"We could actually see these sleep problems appear at the same time as tinnitus after noise exposure," Milinski told ScienceAlert. "This suggested, for the first time, a clear link between developing tinnitus and disrupted sleep."

Much more info at link.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Mine is mentally painful. It's hard to describe, but I suspect it is like hearing that dog whistle that no one else can

hear. It can be excruciating.

[SheltieLover]

2. Sorry you suffer with this.

Do you rest well?

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. I can't complain. Mostly just getting up for the usual 69 yr old stuff.

[SheltieLover]

4. Have you had a home sleep study?

It's easy, painless, & ins will most likely pay for it.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. No, but thank you for the info.

[SheltieLover]

7. They did this study using ferrets. Not joking!

"Crucially, the ferrets that developed tinnitus showed overly responsive brain activity to sound. When the ferrets finally did manage to slip into non-REM sleep, that hyperactivity was dampened."

Apparently, ferrets auditory system is most like humans!

For study, you sleep with a wrist watch type device, an oxygen sensor on one finger & 1 electrode on chest. 4 hrs & it auto sends all data off for analysis.

You can go to sleepdoctor.com, put in medicare policy info (no credit card info required!) & get approval in a couple of days, then they ship the test kit out, you do the study & you will know.

I would first message primary care provider because medicare likes to see you discussed this with provider first.

I have standard medicare & they pay all costs for test & all cpap supplies, including machine.



Ps - guys are statistically more prone to apnea & the older we all get, the more prone to apnea we are.

Apnea greatly increases risk of heart attack & stroke, along with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, non alcohol fatty liver disease, etc etc etc etc.

[Trueblue Texan]

9. Thanks, SheltieLover...

I’m going to do this.

[SheltieLover]

10. Yw! I hope it helps you. Pls let us know.

[Jacson6]

22. At first my Tin really bothered me for months.

It is loud and clear for me every day and night. The doctors told me there is no treatment or cure for it so I just learned to ignore it. At night I turn on a talk radio station which lessons the symptoms when trying to sleep. I got my Tin & hearing loss in the Army Artillery decades ago. I know one vet that committed suicide because he couldn't deal with constant ringing.

[catsudon]

23. i remeber my recurring nightmare... and now i do believe

it had something to do with my phantom sound that i hear in conjunction since i was a child.

now 50+ years later, i'm good at ignoring it, but it's always there. a low humming

[70sEraVet]

6. I have forgotten what silence sounds like.

[SheltieLover]

8. So sorry to learn you suffer with this!

Pls see above replies to ferret.

[chia]

15. Me too. ☹️

[Srkdqltr]

11. I don't know what silence is. I hear hissing constantly.

I can hear other sounds like rain or birds that are real but the hisssssss is always.
Sometimes there are other chirpy sounds and pressure booms.
Im 84 and don't remember not having the tinnitus.

[vanlassie]

33. Pressure booms. Is that a thing?

I have had something like that a few times, during sleep. I’ve had tinnitus for 35 years. I’m 73.

[Srkdqltr]

37. Its like a low pressure door closing? Not loud or hurtful or sharp just whomp.

Wierd

[mopinko]

12. fascinating. thx so much.

my tinnitus isnt terrible, but my sleep sucks. i wonder if a white noises machine wd help.

[erronis]

21. I use a website that delivers a variety of background sounds. But be careful with these noises.

The site is https://mynoise.net/. I like the "Waterfall" under Sleep Aid.

The warning about background noises is because the brain is constantly trying to understand patterns in the sounds, even while we're sleeping. If the noise has certain characteristics thee brain can be trying to interpret speech - which is tiring, even while asleep.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-constant-modern-life-minds.html

[mopinko]

32. interesting. thx.

i live on a busy street, both vehicles and foot traffic. these days ppl screaming into their phones is common. drives me and my dogs nuts. not too bad in winter, cuz i have good windows, but in summer? ugh.

i used to drive my studio mates nuts when picking music, cuz i’m the queen of the loop. i tend to listen to an album until i know all the words of every song.
when i do yoga, i have to listen to music that i’ve heard a million times or i get caught up in my thoughts.

[erronis]

35. I have the opposite problem - I have lived in quiet spaces so long that any sound wakes me up

and keeps me awake.

Currently my housemate randomly starts talking loudly on the phone at strange hours at night into morning. If I was more attuned to social living it probably wouldn't bother me. But now it just irritates the hell out of me. (I know - it's my problem!)

[SheltieLover]

25. Pls read #7 above.

[ThreeNoSeep]

13. Crickets and locusts chittering all the time

I don't remember a time that I haven't heard this noise. No need to express sympathy. I learned to ignore it/tune it out, but it is always there.

[druidity33]

14. Same. nt.

[PatSeg]

16. Yes, for the most part

I've gotten used to it.

[Martin68]

19. I woke up at night one time and listened to the insects singing outside - and then I remembered it was winter and there

were no insects singing. It's not an un pleasant sound for me - just very low-level background noise. In a noisy environment I don't hear it.

[radical noodle]

34. Yes, for years it was as though

I was outside at night with the noises of crickets and other things in my ears. Oddly enough, once I got hearing aids (for hearing loss, not for the crickets) it disappeared. When the hearing aids are out... crickets. When the hearing aids are in my ears... no crickets.

[Martin68]

17. Not to discount the pain and suffering others have experienced, I've experienced tinnitus for 40 years so far and

it doesn't bother me at all. I can hear it right now as I type this, but it doesn't interfere in a negative way. I have met people who have trouble sleeping or hearing because of the interference of tinnitus, so I guess I'm just lucky. I have other issues that do interfere, but that's another story.

[Grammy23]

18. I'm in that club, too.

It is annoying as hell. A constant, high pitched sound. Hard to describe. Ever present.My dad suffered with it, too.

Like others have said, I usually can ignore it — tune it out. If I am listening to TV or having a conversation, I hear the buzz, but the sounds I am listening to come through the buzz. As I’ve gotten older, my hearing is not as sharp but still ok. It’ll make you nuts — if you pay too much attention to it. So I note its presence but then just kind of forget about it since it is part of my every day environment. 😉 If I could magically make it go away I would but I’m not losing sleep worrying about it. My sleep is ok — according to my smart watch sleep tracker.

[58Sunliner]

20. I also get this episodic feeling of pressure in my head and then a series of clicks.

Just to break up thr monotony of the hiss and buzz. I also have sleep issues.

[SheltieLover]

26. Poor sleep is believed to be connected to the tinnitus

Pls read #7 above.

[SunSeeker]

24. So lack of sleep causes tinnitis and tinnitus causes lack of sleep.

That there is what's called a vicious cycle.

[SheltieLover]

27. Well, we have some control over sleep...

Pls read #7 above.

[SunSeeker]

29. That's great if your insomnia is caused by sleep apnea, but if it's not, like most people, there's no easy fix.

My brother has been struggling with insomnia for decades. And yes, tinnitus too. And he's not on Medicare yet, so he struggles for care. His doctor prescribes sleeping pills that either don't work or turn him into a zombie.

[D. Spaulding]

28. Good info. Been suffering with the condition for many years now, I've often

felt that my tinnitus has changed the way I dream, and perhaps made my sleep less restful. I've suspected it's something to do with the noise that I hear constantly.

[sdfernando]

30. I've had tinnitus for longer than I can remember

Its a constant higher pitched ringing in my ears. It doesn't bother me much and I fall asleep soon after my head hits the pillow. I always thought that ringing was just "the sound of silence". Even with my hearing loss it is still there, every hour of every day, unabated but it doesn't really interfere with my day-to-day life.

[Callie1979]

31. I went into a sound studio once & could tell the total exclusion of exterior sound....

....except for my ringing.
But it hasnt made me any crazier than I was 50yrs ago

[Diraven]

36. I've had it for 20 years

For the first 5 years it was mentally aggravating and I could barely sleep. Eventually I just got accustomed to it though. It's still really annoying if I think about it, so I try to ignore it.

[LittleGirl]

38. It's been constant

For at least 2 decades. Thanks for sharing.