Expert: Harriet B Jacobster, Au.D. - 2/21/2009

Question
For the past three years I have continued to experience a ringing in my ear.  At first it was on an off, however over the years it has become 24/7 and the pitch and vibration has escalated seemingly every few months.  There is no position that elevates the problem and it seems as though the vibrations have cause my head not to hurt per se, but realize a feeling of pressure with the high pitch sound/vibrations in both ears.  I am 50, have had no head trauma or subject to loud sounds in my past, but this now affects quality of life.  I have been to multiple audiologist that indicate my hearing is not impaired, been to an ENT that said everything looked fine and conducted an MRI to see if there was a tumor behind the ear and found nothing.  Needing answers or directions, thus the comments for this site.  I look forward to any assistance.  Thank you!

Answer
Hi Brian,
I am going to refer you to this site: www.ata.org.  It is the website of the American Tinnitus Association.  On this site, you will be able to find a specialist near you who specializes in the treatment of tinnitus.  There are several treatment methods including biofeedback, maskers, etc.  I will also refer you to this site: neuromonics.com.  This website will explain a new treatment which has had great success.

Hope this helps.
Harriet B. Jacobster, AuD
Board Certified in Audiology