My left ear constantly rings. The intensity increases with the pain. Is this a normal process or something else? About 5 years ago I suffered a bout of headaches that lasted daily for about two years. I was fine in the morning but by 3pm after a day on the work computer my kids would be telling me about their day and my ears would start. By 6 pm I was in the dark under a pillow. This new episode started with my teeth but includes the ear/head pain basically all areas of my left face fire constantly even when I sleep. Even if I get a good 12-14 hours after 2-3 days of 3-4 hours of broken sleep the best my symptoms are I still have the ringing and metallic sour teeth and my tongue feels burnt by hot fluid only on the one side. I've only tried tegretol but it made the symptoms worse and I could not eat or function. I had tried Gabapentin during the headache episode but it made me too out there. Are all anti seizures going to bring about the same result or should I give something else a try? I've had a 3 day break in 6 months I'm grasping at any straws available. The last week I've been getting the odd shocks on a couple teeth in the right side and head and eye pain when intense seems to include the other side. The sad thing is I had ringing start on the right a couple times. I finally see a neurologist on Friday which will be nice because my MD is useless because I wanted to discontinue the Tegretol he isn't helping with pain meds he doesn't think they work and are habit forming. I am so far from having an addictive personality and even though not all the pain goes away a couple morphine pills make things bearable for a bit. I think he was insulted I insisted on seeing a Neurologist but he admitted he knows nothing about TN. I just sit in pain all day feeling crazy and useless.
Hi cangirl,
I've had ringing in my right ear for about 4 years, sometimes very loud at night when I'm lying down. I have atypical TN which started in 2012 and I get severe stabbing pain in my right ear and the ringing is always worse when that's going on. I don't know how common ear ringing is with TN generally, but I know mine is way worse when the TN is bad.
You are doing the right thing insisting on seeing a neurologist! Good luck on Friday!
Hi Cangirl!
I feel for you. I’ve had ringing in my ear that comes and goes for past 3 yrs, it can get pretty loud especially when the ATN pain is bad. I have ATN on the left side and usually it’s my left ear that rings but sometimes it’s the right.
I’m glad you are getting in to see a Neurologist, that’s where you want to be. Where do you live? Be sure the Neuro is very familiar with TN.
I can’t take Gabapentin or Tegretol either for the same reasons, can’t function, felt like I was behind the time/slow reaction and Tegretol didn’t help the pain.
I wish you best of luck with you Neuro appt on Friday. Hang in there! This is a challenging journey especially until you find the right Doctor to treat you. Don’t give up!
~Erica
One of my precursors for a flare is my ear will start to pulse- almost like a heartbeat in my ear. It’s very annoying but also a sign of bad things coming. I had MVD and they said I was having thst symptom bc of the way the cluster of blood vessels was resting on my trigeminal nerve in relation to my ear drum.
When seeing the neurologist make sure you have a list of all your symptoms. If your on medication you might forget if their not written like me with my neurosurgeon. You really did the right thing and yes I get that horrible ringing in my ear, it's sheer torment amongst the other symptoms. I'm on Gabapentin and baclofen. I have coffee to help me with my for and tiredness . I ask the Lord to help me through what i'm going through and to use it for His Glory, everything happens for a reason.
Anne The same exact thing happens to me and I get mad anxiety. I always tell my husband *I am heading into a bad flair again+ because my ear with start throbbing non stop then when I try to lay down it just starts screaming. What a life.
Gosh, Anne, I get the same awful heartbeat on my left side. Did it stop after your MVD? Cangirl, I get the ringing in both ears, not sure if it is a side effect of gabapentin or something else. There are threads on this in the discussion forum. So many of us have tinnitus. My hearing also "turns off" sometimes for a few seconds in my non TN ear. btw, I have ATN/TN2. It is good advice to write down all your symptoms as our meds often cause us to forget everything important, ha.
@shadow2 yes it did stop! Thank goodness!
Hello Cangirl - I also have noise between both ears. Sometimes it sounds like a freight train. I had fluid behind the eardrum the side that I have my TN. The ENT doctor placed a tube in my ear. The fluid drained out but I still have the noise. When I wash my hair, I use sponge ear plugs. Something urged me to try them one day (I believe it's a message from God) & behold, the noise went away for me. I sleep with them & wear them during the day. The noise comes & goes but it's not as steady as before. Maybe this would work for you! Nancy from Myrtle Beach.
It's me again Cangirl - I agree, you do need to write a list of things that are bothering you. The last time I saw my neurologist, I had a list but, she went out to make a copy of them & never came back so we could go over them. She had her nurse bring them back to me. I asked if the doctor was coming back to see me & she replied only if you want her to! What kind of system is this? I would say the kind that doesn't give a hoot! I did however call the next day to make a complaint! Didn't do any good. I'm having trouble with memory also. She did order an ultrasound of the arteries in my neck to make sure I didn't have any clogged ones. Two week passed without hearing anything from the office. Finally, I called. The doctor, herself, called to give me the good news. She asked me how I was doing. I replied "not good." She wanted to know what was wrong. Hello, why am I seeing you! Does anyone care? I live in SC, so I'm trying to get in to Duke or back to Johns Hopkins where someone has knowledge & compassion for their patients. I'm on Oxycodone & would love to have Morphine for when my pain sends me to the ER.Can't seem to get through to my pain management doctor. Now my neurologist is referring me to a Psychologist. I'm so glad to know that I'm CRAZY now instead of having TN! It makes me feel soooo much better. I feel for all of you that has chronic, severe pain. Maybe the Psy. can give m something for nerves to help with my new illness!!!! Catgirl, get on the net & get some help from a really good hospital like Johns Hopkins. They will talk with you over the phone & send you an application to fill out & send back to them. Good luck, honey. I do have sympathy for you & understand exactly what you're going through & understand all of your problems! Take care. Nancy, Myrtle Beach