Family Tinnitus? Now the kid is hearing it too....
April 24, 2017 9:41 PM Subscribe
Is something causing tinnitus like ringing in two of my 4 family members?
I've been hearing intermittent ringing in my ears around 14khz for the past month. I'm 40 something and there's a history of hearing loss in my family. Figured it might be hearing loss associated tinnitus. I've got an appointment with an ENT specialist in a few weeks. Plot twist. My 8 year old is hearing it too. I hadn't mentioned my ringing to him. I got a tone generator for my phone and asked him to move the slider to the pitch he was hearing...right around 14khz. We both hear the sound on and off at home and school/work, respectively. Plugging our ears doesn't change the volume of the sound. I got a spectrum analyzer for my phone and it wasn't showing any strange peaks above 10khz around the house. We haven't been exposed to any loud noises recently that I can think of. Google isn't turning anything up. Anyone heard of anything like this?
I've been hearing intermittent ringing in my ears around 14khz for the past month. I'm 40 something and there's a history of hearing loss in my family. Figured it might be hearing loss associated tinnitus. I've got an appointment with an ENT specialist in a few weeks. Plot twist. My 8 year old is hearing it too. I hadn't mentioned my ringing to him. I got a tone generator for my phone and asked him to move the slider to the pitch he was hearing...right around 14khz. We both hear the sound on and off at home and school/work, respectively. Plugging our ears doesn't change the volume of the sound. I got a spectrum analyzer for my phone and it wasn't showing any strange peaks above 10khz around the house. We haven't been exposed to any loud noises recently that I can think of. Google isn't turning anything up. Anyone heard of anything like this?
It's possible you're hearing something electronic (maybe CFL lightbulbs? They have high frequency ballasts). My suggestion is to flip off all the circuit breakers in your house and check if the sound can still be heard.
posted by ShooBoo at 11:38 PM on April 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
posted by ShooBoo at 11:38 PM on April 24, 2017 [17 favorites]
I've never had a phone with a spectrum analyzer that can pick up high pitched noises I can hear. It's pretty much exactly the kind of noise a phone mic really wants to filter out, after all.
My bedside light does this while dimmed, which is obviously incredibly annoying because dimmed lights means I want quiet too. It's an expensive Philips LED bulb, so should be better.
posted by ambrosen at 12:54 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
My bedside light does this while dimmed, which is obviously incredibly annoying because dimmed lights means I want quiet too. It's an expensive Philips LED bulb, so should be better.
posted by ambrosen at 12:54 AM on April 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
Came in to nth lights on a dimmer switch. Our dining room lights make noise unless they are in the all the way on position. Certain computer hard drives in our house also. Our fridge.
posted by coevals at 4:41 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by coevals at 4:41 AM on April 25, 2017
What I thought was an intermittent ringing in my ears turned out to be some weird electrical short in my husband's alarm clock. At certain times of the days it starts a low level beeping that is almost below the threshold of hearing...he can barely hear it with the clock pressed up against his ear but I can sense it as soon as I get in the room...but it's so faint that it feels like it's coming from inside my head.
Check all the powered items and maybe start keeping a log of when and where it's happening.
posted by victoriab at 5:10 AM on April 25, 2017
Check all the powered items and maybe start keeping a log of when and where it's happening.
posted by victoriab at 5:10 AM on April 25, 2017
I can hear a high pitched whine from phone chargers and surge protectors that my husband can't. It drives me insane. Seconding the idea of turning off all the circuit breakers and finding out if you still hear it.
posted by Ariadne at 5:22 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by Ariadne at 5:22 AM on April 25, 2017
In addition to everyone's suggestions above, tinnitus can also be caused by trigger points in particular muscles. The masseter, temporalis, lateral pterygoid, and sternocleidomastoid muscles can all contribute. If you've been under stress and clenching or grinding your teeth, it could contribute to trigger point formation. I've been struggling with a ringing in the left ear (no associated hearing loss) because I've somehow been clenching the muscles on only the left side of my face. Working into these muscles (especially the sternocleidomastoid) has reduced it. Here's an article with references.
posted by zenzicube at 5:53 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by zenzicube at 5:53 AM on April 25, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks for helping me think about this. Some clarifications: Like tinnitus, it's not an actual sound. The volume doesn't vary (in the short term) based on changing location, going outside, or plugging our ears. If it wasn't for my son's complaint, I would assume that I had regular tinnitus.
I definitely didn't prompt him to bring it up. I wasn't even sure what he was talking about at first and his unprompted selection of the 14khz tone to describe the sound is a bit of a strange coincidence. Coincidence is still my strongest guess.
The alternative would be some environmental exposure (chemical, acoustic, EMF, dietary) that sets off the "phantom" 14khz tone, but without a close-in-time exposure/effect correlation, since it also occurs away from the home. It can persist even on a long trail hike away from anything man-made. Again, garden variety tinnitus, except for the boy's matching tone complaint.
I get that this sounds strange and google searches quickly land in "router-wifi-compact florescent bulb-aliens discussion" forums.
Responding to some suggestions, I definitely have heard electronics, including phone chargers and dimmers make high pitched sounds. This isn't an actual sound. No recent antibiotic use. The stress/body tension is something I had read about as a tinnitus trigger, but the boy's matching pitch ringing, if not a coincidence, would seem to rule that out.
posted by elmonobonobo at 7:33 AM on April 25, 2017
I definitely didn't prompt him to bring it up. I wasn't even sure what he was talking about at first and his unprompted selection of the 14khz tone to describe the sound is a bit of a strange coincidence. Coincidence is still my strongest guess.
The alternative would be some environmental exposure (chemical, acoustic, EMF, dietary) that sets off the "phantom" 14khz tone, but without a close-in-time exposure/effect correlation, since it also occurs away from the home. It can persist even on a long trail hike away from anything man-made. Again, garden variety tinnitus, except for the boy's matching tone complaint.
I get that this sounds strange and google searches quickly land in "router-wifi-compact florescent bulb-aliens discussion" forums.
Responding to some suggestions, I definitely have heard electronics, including phone chargers and dimmers make high pitched sounds. This isn't an actual sound. No recent antibiotic use. The stress/body tension is something I had read about as a tinnitus trigger, but the boy's matching pitch ringing, if not a coincidence, would seem to rule that out.
posted by elmonobonobo at 7:33 AM on April 25, 2017
Going really far out on a limb here, but any possibility it could be linked to exposure to carbon monoxide?
posted by bluefrog at 8:30 AM on April 25, 2017
posted by bluefrog at 8:30 AM on April 25, 2017
Do y'all share the same seasonal allergy symptoms (or allergies in general)?
Do you let him have caffeinated drinks?
Those two things have been causing my tinnitus since I was a teenager. I have it 100% of the time, and caffeine and loud sounds make it incredibly loud in the past few years.
posted by TinWhistle at 8:32 AM on April 25, 2017
Do you let him have caffeinated drinks?
Those two things have been causing my tinnitus since I was a teenager. I have it 100% of the time, and caffeine and loud sounds make it incredibly loud in the past few years.
posted by TinWhistle at 8:32 AM on April 25, 2017
Response by poster: I got a nicer carbon monoxide/explosive gas monitor and it is reading 0 ppm. No caffeine for the kiddo (occasional for me) or history of allergies.
posted by elmonobonobo at 1:24 PM on April 25, 2017
posted by elmonobonobo at 1:24 PM on April 25, 2017
Do you know if anyone else besides the two of you are hearing it? My first thought was something more environmental than physical.
posted by Constant Reader at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2017
posted by Constant Reader at 1:41 PM on April 25, 2017
IIRC, 14000hz is pretty close to the limit of human hearing. Some people can hear higher, many can not, especially older people. I'm dubious that your testing means anything specific, other than "pretty damn high." (And like what I'm hearing right now from my own tinnitus.)
One think I've heard about tinnitus is that it's artificially created in the brain to compensate for silence. You might want to see if your son can tell you if background noise (radio/tv/dishwaster) actually makes it go away, not just drowns it out.
I think a sensible 8-year-old is a pretty reliable witness.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:56 PM on April 25, 2017
One think I've heard about tinnitus is that it's artificially created in the brain to compensate for silence. You might want to see if your son can tell you if background noise (radio/tv/dishwaster) actually makes it go away, not just drowns it out.
I think a sensible 8-year-old is a pretty reliable witness.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:56 PM on April 25, 2017
Do you drive an electric car? Our Kia Soul electric is giving my husband tinnitus.
posted by equipoise at 7:20 PM on April 25, 2017
posted by equipoise at 7:20 PM on April 25, 2017
Response by poster: Responding to some suggestions: 14khz is approximate. Sliding the pitch selector blind generally hits 13.5 to 14.25. We don't have an electric car. For me, background noise only adds/drowns the sound. I'll ask the kiddo. White noise (humidifier fan, shower fan, shower spray, wind) seems to exacerbate it, in the sense that the "sound" is perceived louder in silence following white noise. The other two members of my family don't "hear" the pitch.
posted by elmonobonobo at 9:30 AM on April 26, 2017
posted by elmonobonobo at 9:30 AM on April 26, 2017
Try upping your consumption of magnesium, see if it goes away. I and my kids get ear weirdness when we are deficient. Staying on top of this keeps my son's tinnitus at bearable levels.
posted by Michele in California at 1:40 PM on April 26, 2017
posted by Michele in California at 1:40 PM on April 26, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Tinnitus is a fairly common condition that can be associated with hearing loss or totally benign . An audiologist will run the tests and know.
Your kid may have just brought it up because you brought it up. But if his teachers are reporting problems, or the audiologist recommends a test due to family history, some time taking a hearing test won't hurt.
For the record , I've had tinnitus my whole life, and I find it comforting because I'm weird. Go to the doctor, and try to ignore it as focusing on it can make you more irritated and anxious. Kind of like how focusing on a stomach ache can make you feel nauseous.
posted by AlexiaSky at 11:09 PM on April 24, 2017 [3 favorites]