I am 56 years old with tinnitus and have been partially deaf all my life.

Tinnitus: I am 56 years old with tinnitus and have been partially deaf all my life. I have only 20 % hearing left on my right ear. More recently, I've suffered from moist redness, scaling and itching in the skin of both ears, being worse in my right one. A doctor told me to make a solution of 1 part white vinegar and 5 parts of rubbing alcohol and told me I could rinse my ear canals with it. It gave me partial relief by refreshing and drying it, but no real cure.

I used cotton tips to dry it and a couple of times I went in a little too deep and ended up hurt for a few days, but it went back to normal. About a month ago, I went to urgent care for meds to take care of a cold that wasn't clearing up. The doctor prescribed Ciprofloxacin HCL 500mg, a tablet 2 times a day for the cold/flu. At this time, I also mentioned to her about my ears' skin problem and she said that there could be a few reasons for it.

One could be a risk for diabetes and one other, which she thought might be my case, was that I could be allergic to the material my hearing aid was made of. She advised me to cover an old hearing aid with a coat of clear nail polish in the area that touched the ear and to apply to the skin a cream Nystatin and Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream USP bt TARO, 30g. to heal it.

This was prescribed 11/21/04. Three days ago, a day before I finished the flu meds, on 12/1/04, I began 'hearing' this cricket-like chirping in my head, more to my right side. At first it started faintly and spaced out, but now it's been getting worse and it's constant. I feel it only at night, right before I go to bed and I don't feel it at all in the morning and all day. It's hard to fall asleep.

Do you suspect this may have anything to do with the meds I took, the cream, or nail polish? Please help me. I'm scared to lose the little hearing I have left plus having to live with this noise in my head all the time!

I am glad that you got in touch with us, as I feel certain that we can be of assistance in helping you get effective relief from your tinnitus. I am sorry to hear about the problem you have been experiencing with the moistness, itching and redness of the skin on your ears, however this is not the root cause of your tinnitus. The inner ear structures are delicate and extremely sensitive therefore damage can occur very easily.

The fact that you had a bad cold has probably caused cochlea damage and this always results in the noise which is tinnitus. Cochlea damage induced tinnitus also causes hearing loss in the higher frequencies. You mention the noise that you hear sounding like crickets chirping and this would confirm that you are definitely suffering with cochlea damage induced tinnitus.

Maria, our tinnitus relief remedy for cochlea damage induced tinnitus has helped many people from all over the world get effective lasting tinnitus relief and I am sure that it will be of great benefit to you. I have provided further information regarding cochlea damage induced tinnitus below.

Maria, please click to read detailed information regarding tinnitus from cochlear damage, exposure to loud noises, head surgery, a blow to the head.