Dear Dr.Bob,

I high appreciate your humor sense in such serious thing as HIV infection is. I have been suffering by persistent Tinnitus aurium for half of year.It is the worst in the evenings.I have got peripheal neuropathy for over one year ( it is sometimes very painful experience ).No meds.Poz for 2,5 of year.PGL,CD4 above 550 percentage 46. My question is: Is Tinnitus connected with PN or is it caused by HIV itself? From time to time I feel pain and pressure in my ears and have got headache. Do you think it is neurological problem or could it be any ear infection? Is there any way how to get rid of this annoying whistling in my ears ?

Thank you very much for your response and giving hope and support to many people who desperately need it.

I keep my fingers to all people like you who are trying to fight the battle with tiny but dangerous virus enemy. BTW: Could be any virus our friend ? :-)

Hi,

No, tinnitus is not connected with peripheral neuropathy, nor is it often a symptom of HIV. However, there are lots of non-HIV-related conditions that can result in tinnitus, such as pharyngeal or inner ear muscle spasm, Eustachian tube problems, Paget's disease and many others. I'd suggest you see an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist to have this checked out. Treatment will depend on the underlying cause.

Could any virus be our friend? Well, that's actually an interesting question. As it turns out, some scientists wonder if HIV could be slowed down or even rendered harmless by another virus. The top contender would be hepatitis G. Some studies have shown that hepatitis G (GBV-C) reduces HIV disease progression and death in some folks co-infected with both HIV and GBV-C. Certainly these preliminary findings are intriguing but much more research will need to be done to find out if this or other viruses might be helpful in designing new HIV treatments. Stay tuned. We'll keep you posted on this and all the latest developments.

Stay well. Stay informed.

Dr. Bob