Recent content by frischky

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    A Tinnitus Spike After Using an Otoscope to Check for Earwax Build-Up

    @Sam Marksmen, I had something similar happen last week. The otoscope was a bit uncomfortable, not painful, but I had a big spike the next day. It has settled a little since then, but it is still quite intrusive. Did yours resolve?
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    Tinnitus Spike After 12,000 Hz Noise Exposure Through Foam Earplugs

    I sleep in very quiet rooms, which I believe has somewhat contributed to making my tinnitus worse, not entirely but to some extent. It used to be an even split between good and bad days, but in the last few years, the bad days have become more frequent. I have also noticed that my ears are...
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    Tinnitus Spike After 12,000 Hz Noise Exposure Through Foam Earplugs

    More than likely, your brain started focusing on the tinnitus because the earplugs blocked ambient noise. If you’re still hearing that pesky tone in your house, try downloading a real-time sound spectrogram app on your phone. Your wife can use it to search around and see if she can locate the...
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    Air Travel: How Do You Handle Hearing Protection During Take-Offs and Landings?

    If my recent and devastating increase in tinnitus subsides, I hope to start traveling again. Before this, for takeoff and landing, I would wear a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 (I think) over-ear headphones (not plugged in). Once at cruising altitude, I would double up with earplugs. On occasion, I...
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    Should I Go to the ER? Banged Ear Hard Against Pillow

    Just another data point… I accidentally hit myself in the ear with a pillow in the middle of the night two nights ago while repositioning it. My tinnitus has increased, and I now hear a very low humming. This happened two weeks after my last incident with the same ear, when an earmuff slipped...
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    Be Careful with Earmuffs/Ear Defenders — Bad Sequence of Events

    Thanks. Yes, I am definitely taking things one step at a time now with the earmuffs. Unfortunately, I tend to learn things the hard way with this condition. I preferred earmuffs over earplugs, but now I see the harm they can cause. I need to work on increasing my tolerances and not put them on...
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    Be Careful with Earmuffs/Ear Defenders — Bad Sequence of Events

    I’ve been overprotecting a little more than usual since moving into a new home. Two Saturdays ago, a family member left the TV on at an uncomfortably loud volume, though in hindsight, it probably wasn’t as bad as it seemed. As I walked toward the room, I started to put on my X5As for the brief...
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    From Loud Venues to Tinnitus: My Sound Engineer’s Tale

    My tinnitus is definitely at the higher end of the spectrum in terms of tone, and when it rages hard, it seems my high-end hearing is super-sensitive (i.e., I can hear car brakes on TV when others cannot). It is maskable in the shower (thankfully). In the 20 years I have had tinnitus, I have...
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    From Loud Venues to Tinnitus: My Sound Engineer’s Tale

    You aren't alone... I'm an over thinker too... My onset was in 2004 after a loud night at a club, which was usual for me. But the guy who drove me home had his car stereo turned up so bad that my one ear was completely muffled the next day. A few days later, I had a hearing test, and when...
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    Has Hypothyroidism Medication (Synthroid, Levoxyl, Levothroid, Thyrax, ...) Improved Your Tinnitus?

    I was borderline about a year ago with my TSH level (9-10), but it has been slowly increasing over the years. The past 6 months I have noticed my tinnitus has gotten more intense, like a spike that does not resolve and then another spike makes it worse. I have read there is some correlation...
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    Terrible Tinnitus Spike from Bad LCD Screen — Coping Is Difficult

    I typically check electronics and other any new electrical equipment when I first get it for hidden hazards (i.e. coil noise/noisy switching transformers) before using them around me. Last Friday, I hooked up a camera I was repairing (never had a noise issue with it) to my old LCD monitor (also...
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    Reactive Tinnitus and Flying on an Airplane

    My rule is to try and fly Business Class as much as possible, middle section (if a widebody) on an aisle. Windows are more noisy. And I also found on many aircraft, to avoid the first row or two... as the fuselage there is narrower, thus getting more of the breaking through the air (rushing) sound.
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    Do Ultrasonic Products (Cleaners, Humidifiers, Nebulizers, ...) Affect Your Tinnitus?

    Prescribed by my physician. Never know when or where some potential disaster is going to hit.
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    Do Ultrasonic Products (Cleaners, Humidifiers, Nebulizers, ...) Affect Your Tinnitus?

    Older thread... but new victim. On holidays/work trip overseas, at the check-in desk they had a ultrasonic humidifier or something similar about 8 feet away from me. When I was directly beside it, I got blasted with high frequency static in my right ear, overall the sound in the lobby was not...