Recent content by jumping jack

With my fingertips while in the shower. No Q-tips, no other kinds of foreign objects are allowed inside. Haven't had any infections / other issues with my ears my entire life. A little bit of wax is actually good to have inside your ears -- if I remember right it has anti-bacterial properties...

@Lex -- If you do a search on this forum you'll see that for the majority of posters H goes away, even if T stays. It may simply take more time than you expect, so patience is key. During that time you'll have to be mindful to not inflict further damage to your hearing system (loud sound...

I'd think it depends on the kind of phobia we're talking about, and how entrenched it is in the person's brain. Handling a large spider may help extinguish the assumptions that led to arachnophobia in the first place (for a person who's never been bitten by a spider, for example), while for...

Yeah, some low-level residual inflammation may have stuck around until you started taking prednisone. If that's the case, then, hopefully, your hearing system is catching a breath and starting to heal. As far as measuring your perceived level of tinnitus, I mentioned it since that seems like...

It's odd that you're seeing the benefit of the drug at this late stage. Its main effect is supposed to be on reducing inflammatory processes inside your body, but, at 8 months post tinnitus onset, those should have run their course already. I'm rather interested to see how this therapy...

Depends on the associativity you apply. I'm seeing 19.5 instead.

You can't predict when you will get exposed to excessive sound levels, and none of the places you listed is normally a location where I'd expect such exposure to occur ("any loud place with people" is pretty much guaranteed if there is more than a single person present, save for monasteries...

@CDNThailand Unfortunately, there is often not much to further understand about one's own particular case of tinnitus/hyperacusis; it's out of your control. The only thing you can possibly exert any control over is your reaction to it -- panic, anxiety, obsessive sound level measurements -- all...

@Mario martz, until you get a definitive diagnosis your mind can be your worst enemy -- catastrophizing over the latest disease you read about on the net, and jacking up your anxiety to unbearable levels. I doubt anyone, whether here on the forums or your docs, will be able to give you a clear...

Mike, you might want to talk to a doc about a course of prednisone/prednisolone to heal the damage on your hearing system, and fast (of course, take into account your heart ailments and other meds you may already be taking). It's most effective when taken within the first 48 hours. Good luck.

One thing to add re: prednisone -- it seems quite a few people (myself included) started on a somewhat higher daily dose, e.g. 50mg (I was on 60). The duration of this therapy appears to vary depending upon the doc who prescribes the regimen; I was on 7 days at the 60mg dosage (though, I was...

Holy smokes! That's high. How can you bear it? Even my computer only goes up to 3000 MHz.

That's true. If it feels like the devil is screaming his lungs out inside your head it'd be nigh impossible to make the experience your friend.

Who said Stockholm syndrome is a bad thing? If you can't beat it, embrace it!

@glynis -- Here's to your getting some much-needed Zzzzs back! :beeranimation: