Thyroid high antibodies & Tinniuts

[saltlife09x]

Hello,

I am a mid to late 40's male and over the past ten years have been tested and diagnosed several times with very high thyroid antibodies but the hormone levels were in the normal range so all they said is "let's keep an eye on it"  The antibody count is 821, hormone levels fall either on the high end or the low end of normal parameters but still in the normal range. BUT, I do and have experience many (not all) of the symptoms of a slow or under productive thyroid similar to Hashimoto's.   I wonder why I have never been treated to preempt the actual onset and to help relive symptoms.  

My biggest question and concern at this point is can this condition cause tinnitus (as I have a pretty severe case of it) and how does it do so if it does?  What can be done ?  

Is it possible to actually get treated for low thyroid with high antibodies yet normal hormones?

I have had T for 8-9 years but was not a major issue and was able to ignore it for the most part after the original onset. Until a few days ago when my T increased in volume and intensity and has not let up since.   My hearing is fine. I am on PPI's for many years and was using non iodized sea salt 99% of the time so am wondering if diet helped to precipitate the incident.  I am currently battling a bout of depression.

Thanks!

[Red_Star]

My mother was suffering badly from tinnitus and by sheer luck she found relief with vitamin E supplements of all things.  We decided to try vitamin E for better selenium absorption (selenium can help to lower TPO thyroid antibodies - she has Hashimoto's thyroiditis).  Vitamin E cost about $8 on special at the time...not a bad price to get rid of tinnitus!

Causes of tinnitus include:

Hearing loss
Excessive noise
Ear infections
Foreign object
Ear wax buildup
Fluid build up
Ototoxic medications (hundreds of prescription drugs including aspirin, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics)
Meniere's disease
Acoustic neuroma  
TMJ dysfunction
Anaemia
A thyroid imbalance
Head injuries or neck injuries
High blood pressure
Allergies
Red wine, cheese and chocolate
Systematic yeast infection (candida)
Dietary deficiencies:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin C  
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Choline
- Omega 3 fatty acids
- Magnesium  
- Iron  
- Potassium  
- Sodium  
- Zinc  

My mother no longer suffers GERD or LPR and takes no acid blockers. High acid is rare....

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/GERD-Acid-Reflux/HELP-for-GERD-sufferers/show/1657073

[gimel]

Well, the first thing you need to do is find a good thyroid doctor.  Yours certainly doesn't fit the description.  Doctors treating patients with Hashi's generally fall into two categories.  One group waits until the patient is suffering with overt symptoms of hypothyroidism (tinnitus is one of those) and the TSH is high before agreeing to prescribe meds.  The other group believes that treatment should start earlier, in order to maintain the patient's thyroid hormones at a level that prevents hypo symptoms.  You can read about the latter approach in this link.

http://thyroid.about.com/od/hypothyroidismhashimotos/a/preventative.htm

Personally I see no reason to hold off treatment.  I think it is a misguided over-reliance on TSH and a mistaken belief that a thyroid test result that falls anywhere within the reference range is adequate.  Both beliefs are wrong.  TSH cannot be shown to adequately correlate with  levels of the active thyroid hormones, and the reference ranges for Free T3 and Free T4 are far too broad.  Many patients, myself included, report that symptom relief for them required that Free T3 was adjusted into the upper third of its range and Free T4 adjusted to around the middle of its range.  

As I frequently post, a good thyroid doctor will treat a hypo patient clinically by testing and adjusting Free T3 and Free T4 levels as necessary to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not just test results.  You can get some good insight into clinical treatment from this letter written by a good thyroid doctor for patients that he sometimes consults with from a distance.  The letter is then sent to the PCP of the patient to help guide treatment.

http://hormonerestoration.com/files/ThyroidPMD.pdf

So if you have been tested for Free T3 and free T4 (not the same as Total T3 and T4), then please post results and their reference ranges.  If not, then I suggest that you should go back and request to be tested for Free T3 and Free T4, along with the TSH.  If the doctor resists, you should insist on it and don't take no for an answer.  While you are there if not already done, it would also be a good idea to test for Vitamin D and  B12.   When test results are available, please post results and their reference ranges shown on the lab report and members will be glad to help interpret and advise further.

While with the doctor you should also explore his willingness to treat you clinically, as described in the letter, and also his willingness to prescribe T3 type meds.  If either answer is no then you definitely need to find a good thyroid doctor.  If you will tell us your location, perhaps a member can recommend a good thyroid doctor for you.