tinnitus (cont.)

[SkwerI]

We had a good discussion on tinnitus at the other site last year and I saw an article today that touched on it. It seems that a hunch I had has been verified by some people in the know, and that is that Diet Coke does in fact have an effect. In fact aspartame (the artificial sweetener) has all sorts of issues associated with it that are finally beginning to come to light. Tinnitus is only one of many reported side effects, as mentioned in this article. It's easy to ignore it when only a couple food items have aspartame, but it's in almost every low calorie or fat free food item on the grocery store shelves.

The article does get a little off the wall towards the end but it raises a few good points before it gets wacky.

But getting back to the topic (as it relates to me), I quit drinking Diet Coke a few months ago after several years of drinking up to a half dozen cans per day. I still have the tinnitus but it isn't anywhere near as loud as it used to be and most of the time I don't even notice it any more.

 

[MasterBlaster]

My tinnitus is from lack of ear protection, not artificial sweeteners. It's going off right now like gangbusters!

 

[TreeDimensional]

Mine too! Maybe it's the moon cycle.

 

[SkwerI]

As mentioned on the other thread, mine never started until after I tried SCUBA diving and had difficulty equalizing pressure. I damaged something and it's never been right since. Loud noise aggravates it now but was not a primary factor for me.

 

[TreeDimensional]

Turbo charged engines cause mine to flare up! Occupational hazard (trucks) and a gun blowin' up in my face. Only the right ear is bad though.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I remember taking the muffler off those old Poulans to get MORE POWER.

Now, I wish I didn't!

 

[Greenhorn]

Gary and I had a thread way back when about it too. I am still down atleast 40% percent in my left side but tinnitus is mostly gone. I cant hear at all when there is alot of background noise but no more ringing - that can wear on you. I remember the first summer I had it and went to a specialist that put me on a diuretic for it, imagine taking that and working in the heat, it sucked. Was totally random, dont blame mine on lack of ppe, its gone now but hearing loss stayed.

 

[Old Monkey]

I started out in the Forest Service running saws and as a result I have always been pretty good about wearing hearing protection. My problem, if it can be said to be a problem compared to tinnitus, is that I hate load noises now. I take ear plugs with me to concerts(if I go at all) and to movies in case they are too loud. At work, I sometimes just leave my plugs in and shut the world out. I think I want to be a librarian next.

 

[cory]

I remember taking the muffler off those old Poulans to get MORE POWER.

That's heavy duty old school!

Intersesting post, Brian, but what's a bright guy like you doing drinking diet soda?? Come on you should instinctively know that stuff is garbage.

 

[SkwerI]

Yeah, well I'm also 20-25 lbs overweight and have been for most of my life. I was trying to get off regular Cokes. Now I'm brewing my own iced tea since most of the prepackaged stuff is sweetened with HFCS instead of sugar.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Sugar? No thanks.

 

[SkwerI]

So what is better than sugar? Aspartame? High fructose corn syrup? No thanks, I think a little sugar in moderation is better than man made chemical crap sweeteners.

 

[cory]

I agree. But I'll stick with H2O, milk, OJ, apple juice.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Water, skim milk, or whiskey.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Whadda set of options.

 

[MasterBlaster]

And coffee!

 

[Old Monkey]

Yeah, well I'm also 20-25 lbs overweight and have been for most of my life. I was trying to get off regular Cokes. Now I'm brewing my own iced tea since most of the prepackaged stuff is sweetened with HFCS instead of sugar.

I have been making green tea with honey. It turns out better than the stuff you buy because it isn't so sickeningly sweet.

 

[Knotahippie]

Honey's good stuff.

Iv'e been looking for a good, inexpensive source of local honey

to possibly combat some of my spring allergies.

Maybe me chipping Birch and Chinese Elm won't be so much of a problem...Ha.

 

[SkwerI]

Other than the fact that it provides only empty calories and it tastes good, what exactly is bad about sugar? The media has pushed the 'sugar is bad' message for so long that many people accept it as fact without even knowing why. Yes, I know it is just empty calories. But it isn't going to damage my body the way aspartame or HFCS will. Honey is great if you can afford it, but it is also empty calories and costs about 15x-20x as much as sugar.

 

[Cobleskill]

My ex sweeties parents used to carry sweet n low with them for their coffee. Complete with health warnings on the label. How many calories is a teaspoon of sugar? 15 or 20.

 

[MasterBlaster]

That darned media!!!

 

[stehansen]

I've had it since I was a teenager driving caterpiillar day after day with those squeaky tracks.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Sugar affects hormones within your body. It is much more complex than energy in-energy out. Blood sugar levels should be moderate and somewhat consistent. Fluctuations are normal, but the body does better with consistency. Quick dumps of sugar means dumps of insulin. Insulin is not good for the body. Look at effects of diabetics that are insulin resistant having to dump heaps of insulin into their bodies.

 

[Paul B]

stopped drinking booze a couple weeks ago, noticed a bit of tinnitus at night shortly after wards, not sure what to attribute it too, I always wear my ppe and such.

 

[MasterBlaster]

A "bit of tinnitus" ain't bad at all. Mine's a LOT of tinitus!!!