Hi all. I stopped drinking 3 weeks ago and ive not had any withdrawal symptoms. i decided to just treat myself once a week to a few beers and its been working well. Just on a saturday ive been having 2 beers. Ive cut down probably over 95% compared to before. anyway. Over the last week ive been getting a thumping sound in one ear and its annoying. im thinking its because ive drastically reduced the alcohol intake my blood pressure has risen maybe / heart rate. its only really annoying at night as i can only hear it when in a quiet room. Ive been managing by having a fan on which drowns it out. I thought it was a coincidence rather than as a result of not drinking until yesterday when i had a few drinks. the noise in my ear stopped. perhaps the alcohol did something to make the noise stop. it came back the day after. Anyway i had the noise today all day and then out of interest i had a drink, not much just a few beers… the noise stopped.
Im making an app to see the doc tomorrow and see if i can get some medication as perhaps my blood pressure is rising when i dont drink.
Any ideas? Oh and i dont want people thinking this is maybe something i think im hearing as a result of not drinking. basically i can hear my heartbeat in my ear constantly. apparently its something to do with raised blood pressure.
Go see the doc. I used to get this when I was a kid. I was plagued with ear infections, not painful, but there. I think the drink might just be masking it, when I drank a headache , sore back or toothache seemed to get better! I’m not a doctor though so I would definitely recommend you go see one. Best of luck.
Yeah ive made an appointment but its not for a few days. im pretty sure its tinnitus of some kind.
“Another alcohol-related culprit for tinnitus is alcohol withdrawal. Withdrawal after alcohol dependency can cause painful and annoying ringing and buzzing in the ears, but in this case it is probably temporary.”
I never thought alcohol could be masking something as it only started a week ago and i quit drinking heavily 3 weeks ago. Not sure why the other replies are a bit salty especially the one regarding this is a sober forum and the other person if they could drink once a week they wouldnt be here. as if this is an alcoholic contest.
Some of the withdrawal symptoms can include rise in blood pressure and heart rate. which could contribute to the noise in my ear. its seems to go quieter if i lie down and try to relax.
I didnt drink because of some serious psycological or mental issue. it was just going for beers with friends after work which ended up every night for a few years. I went out with different friends each night and they were just going out once or twice a week. im perfectly comfortable around alcohol and i want to regain a normal life which hopefully includes the odd night at a pub or bar once every now and again. The noise in my ear started about 2 weeks after i stopped drinking. If you google tinnitus and alcohol there is a link. Both alcohol induced tinnitus and tinnitus from alcohol withdrawal.
There are levels of sober you know. are you saying i shouldnt be on this site because im trying to be comfortable and have a normal relationship with alcohol instead of avoiding it at all costs? Not all alcoholics are the same you know. Personally i was going out every night with friends drinking after work. but i was going out with different friends. I want to basically drink once a week and then be comfortable the rest of the time not going out and not drinking.
Alcohol induced and alcohol withdrawal tinnitus - ha cant win . If it helps when you relax have you tried meditation? Can take a while to get used to it but worth a try I would say. And regarding comments re being able to drink occasionally, well everyone is different. For some people, that are, or trying to, abstain completely, then seeing comments about people being able to drink "normally " might be a trigger to think they can. Just my opinion . Peeps on here are super supportive. Im day 12, new pb doing it without detox!! Let us know how you get on with docs
@Matthewuk I wasn’t being salty and I’m sorry you took it that way. This is a sober forum and talking about actively drinking can be triggering to some people and breaks the forum rules. Just be aware of that. May I ask, why are you here if you don’t think you have a problem? It’s true that there are different levels of severity for alcoholics but true alcoholics can’t drink at all because it has negatively affected their life. That’s what this forum was created for…to support eachother in sobriety.
Thank you Melrm.
I would like to think that I might be able to have a drink now and then, but the reality is that will never be. One, leads to two, then the whole bottle.
I don’t drink because of some serious psychological/mental issue either. I’m not really sure why you responded to me that way.
I wish you the best in however you want to regulate your drinking, but I agree with @Melrm. Just be careful how you talk about drinking, and try not to post on here if you’re under the influence. Hope the news from the doc is good. Cheers.
. If it helps when you relax have you tried meditation? Can take a while to get used to it but worth a try I would say. And regarding comments re being able to drink occasionally, well everyone is different. For some people, that are, or trying to, abstain completely, then seeing comments about people being able to drink "normally " might be a trigger to think they can. Just my opinion 
. Peeps on here are super supportive. Im day 12, new pb doing it without detox!! Let us know how you get on with docs 