Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

Hang in there. Hope you habituate

@Ken219 thanks Ken, tbh I have very little emotional attachment to it but the reactivity and ongoing throat spasms (suspected as a result of the tinnitus onset) have reduced QoL significantly. I'm probably as habituated as I am going to get failing the reactivity going and getting a life back.

Aww. I hate that you're so lonely.

Hey @Joe Cuber - any luck with the sleep positions?

@SarahMLFlemmer - thanks Sarah. I go out, do stuff, try and keep busy but mainly alone. Being hard of hearing anyway with stupidly loud tinnitus that gets in the way of people's voices, it can make you feel very isolated.
Was meant to go camping this weekend for an event. I don't think my ears would have handled it (terrible at the moment) but I just can't socialise any more, the tinnitus is too loud

@DeanD I am so so so sorry.

How a pill doesn't exist to mitigate this awful shit is beyond me. What people like you and I would do for one single non reactive tinnitus tone.

@ErikaS - without the reactivity a large part of life could come back. I spike opening the back door and stepping foot in to a quiet yard. Just the ambient sound carried through the air is enough.
I'm sorry Keppra didn't work for you. I had my fingers crossed.

@ErikaS - When reactivity is meant to be caused by hyperactive cells and neurons reacting to sound, like some others are reactive to somatic action - you'd think a brain calmer like Keppra would only be a positive.
You do wonder whether the body over a week or two would gain tolerance and then maybe it would calm, but I can understand you not wanting to take that gamble - you've been brave enough as it is!

@DeanD i would pushed through the Keppra, however not only was it spiking my worst tinnitus, my sound tolerance level was diminishing and I was/am still dealing with physical sensation in the ears like I had a threshold shift or like my ears are over exacerbated by sound.

@DeanD my sound sensitive T is the exact same. And like you said, I have said SO many times if I could get the reactivity to diminish/calm down, I could get my life back more. Until then, I am debilitated.

@ErikaS - is your tinnitus somatic too?
I read a published research article almost suggesting that reactive tinnitus can be affected somatically (through nerve simulation via muscle movements) or through the auditory nerve via sound.
This made a lot of sense to me. I haven't read too many cases of sound reactive tinnitus as well as somatic but would be interested to hear otherwise

@ErikaS - If this is the case then sound reactive tinnitus isn't a subset of hyperacusis at all ..... a common theory of which I have been highly dubious for a while now.
Hyperacusis appears to be the brains way of protecting itself against perceived damage, tinnitus though appears to be just a malfunction.