Hi my GP thinks I have arthritis and tinnitus

KLT
KLT Member Posts: 8
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:05 in Living with arthritis
Waiting for a hearing test and xrays to check nothing else is causing the symptoms. I’ve had a look here and on google and my first concern is how I should deal with the discomfort in my neck/hip/knee when I have recently developed tinnitus , I’m concerned the tinnitus is from using nsaid gels

Comments

  • KLT
    KLT Member Posts: 8
    Sorry my heads all over I forgot to say hello properly, I’m 46 and after a few years of being a bit stiff I developed pain in my left hip and knee Nov19 and was told to take ibuprofen 400, then Jan 20 I began to get next pain again Gp said more ibuprofen . I was concerned about the amount of ibuprofen tablets so tried to use gel at times instead.

    I’ve found lockdown difficult and I’ve been anxious especially at night every little external sound has drove me mad for months then in the last month or so I realised that some of the sound was internal and the internal sound has got progressively worse, it was just yesterday I saw the GP who suspects arthritis and tinnitus
  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,740
    edited 17. Jul 2020, 22:57

    I have tinnitus, as do quite a few friends, but I’ve not heard of it being connected to ibuprofen, and my painkillers etc don’t seem to have made it worse. So many drugs list tinnitus as one of the more uncommon side effects, but that’s not to say they don’t happen. It certainly happened to me last year, I’ve had it for years but a recent drug change (not arthritis related) last year made it noticeably worse' even though my doc was a bit sceptical.

    All I can say is try to learn to focus past it, the way you would if you’re looking at a lion through a chain link fence in a zoo, you barely notice the fence. I’m very noise sensitive and hate anything that disturbs my peace and quiet, specially at night, so it’s a bit ironic that I’ve been lumped with this, but it is possible to learn to live with it.

    The trick is to just not care and ignore it, the more you focus on it and feel anxious about it, the “worse” it seems, a bit like pain really. If you distract yourself, you notice pain much less than if you sit and concentrate on how much pain you’re in.

  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992

    Coping with tinnitus is just as frustrating as trying to deal with constant pain and as it is another "hidden" condition it is hard to find anyone that understands. I have had it for about 30 years and it was caused by shooting without ear protection at a time when the armed forces had Crown Immunity and did not have to comply with health and safety. It can send you absolutely bananas. I am also high-tone deaf so have hearing aids which have been electronically adjusted to fill the gaps in my hearing which also helps the tinnitus, the only trouble is that I rarely wear them; living alone I just turn the volume up on the TV. A year or two ago I kept hearing a car revving up outside which went on for ages, when I looked there was nothing there; on doing some research and seeing my GP it turned out that this was a symptom of fibromyalgia so it may be worth getting checked out for that too.

  • KLT
    KLT Member Posts: 8
    Thank you both for your replies, if think I’m just at that super pissed off initial stage that I can’t believe at 46 I’ve got two things that aren’t going to heal and go away and reading online that me using ibuprofen/gel or Voltarol to ease the pain whilst waiting for face to face go appointments to come back, i may have given myself tinnitus, i just don’t know if using them is the right thing to do anymore. Funny enough I said it to the GP and he didn’t know what I was on about and that I should take them so maybe it isn’t the pain relief maybe it’s coincidence
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992

    Nice quote, I will try to remember it.

  • KLT
    KLT Member Posts: 8
    A good philosophy to adopt: “when you can no longer get to the top of the mountain, explore the joys of the valleys.”

    What a lovely quote thank you lilymary
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992

    I take it your GP has diagnosed the tinnitus in your ears and doesn't think it emanates in one of your joints! 😁