Ace
Reactions
193

Joined
Last seen

Profile posts Latest activity Postings About

  • I drive many hours a day for work. For years I was doing it with earplugs in the majority of the day but nowadays I'll drive most of a 12 hour day without them in and it doesn't effect me at all 👍
    kingsfan
    I've been trying to get to this point, but haven't been successful yet.
    Ace
    @kingsfan to make a driving pun, no need to race to it. One day years ago I had a big spike after driving without earplugs, so I attributed my spike to just that, but I've had similar spikes on days when I was earplugged up. Still my reluctance to drive long without earplugs remained for years. It's fine, take your time with it.
    Ace
    Maybe if you have custom plugs, you can order weaker filters and incrementally swap them out over time. Or just try going for a short time without earplugs and slowly increasing the amount of time you do that per day over however long you need until you're more comfortable.
    Active Noise Cancellation headphone recommendations, anyone?
    weehiru
    I used to use Sony WH-1000XM4's before getting tinnitus and they are pretty great in my opinion. Has a noise cancelling and a background ambient sound option it picks up from the microphone.
    Got my 5th(?) Pfizer covid vaccine. No problem here
    RunningMan
    6 Moderna shots for me to date - never a problem. I don't think I've ever had COVID illness, either.
    RunningMan
    On US news, just saw only 40% of people have gotten the flu shot and only 17% of people have gotten the covid shot. Wow.
    Ace
    RunningMan yeah it's certainly a problem. Especially sad after I just watched Hbomberguy's video about vaccines
    Logging in today just to say that I've been well. More in the subsequent comment-
    Ace
    2022, tinnitus was unpredictable. There were many days I didn't pay it much mind, but it was rare that I could go more than a week without T annoying the hell outta me.. Maybe more than half the days of last year were crap.

    2023 I ain't frequently bothered by T. A day or some hours here n there.. July, some bad weeks. But mostly I'm chillin. T is there, but rarely intrusive enough for me to pay it much mind, if any.
    Ace
    I use times like these as a compass to look back on when sh*t gets bad. So many times my T has spiked bad for a while, and I would think the worst, and subsequently got through it. With all that experience I'm becoming more resilient during the spikes. I guess that's all I can say for now. I'll check in from time to time.
    By the way, to follow up on an earlier status - 4th booster did not have any effect on my hearing disorders. I got it in the winter, no prob
    Felt pretty severe pain in my right ear drum after landing from this airplane flight, and my right ear now sounds occluded.... Ugh!!!
    Ace
    Update- this seems to have resolved itself but it took a few hours. I'm in the urgent care just to make sure my ear drum didn't pop or something, but I the waiting room my hearing seemed to come back to normal so now I'm just paying out of pocket to say hi to a doctor smh but I'm glad im seemingly good now. Gonna rest up after this
    Ace
    That day the doc confirmed that there was fluid build up, which is common when you get on the plane too soon after having a cold.
    Hello @Ace i read an old post of yours where you said your distortions got better, how did they improve?
    Also is your H gone? What made it better?
    Ace
    They improved as in I don't hear them at all. Occasionally, some frequencies of my hearing are extra sensitive and this might be considered somewhat of a distortion effect as well, but these are infrequent occurrences that resolve before long, maybe a month.
    Ace
    I can't say my H is fully resolved. I am shaken by >80db sounds if they come without warning, and don't like to expose myself to near 90db even for a few seconds. I wear earplugs where most people wouldn't, but mostly with low
    -attenuation filters and not fully inserted. If i were to rely on high-attenuation filters too much, I think i would not have been able to improve at all.
    I gotta get a 4th booster. First 3 Pfizers had no negative effect on me, anyone here have experience with getting 3 Pfizers & a 4th booster?
    CRGC
    I had a novavax booster a few weeks back after 3 doses of pre-tinnitus pfizer. No change in my T or H
    T is back to mostly non-intrusive, after blaring full-blast for a week. I had something stressful to get through and now I'm able to relax.
    Anyone else have the ability to make one of their eardrums twitch on command? I can do it with my left eardrum. I have a feeling I shouldn't
    Ace
    There's barely any sound to it at all, I'd say? If there is it's very low, at a very low frequencies. I just kinda feel a thump.
    S
    Does it sound like a rumble?
    Ace
    The rumble is a different sound that I've been able to make since i was young. This is just a quick twitch
    T loud after concert- The music wasn't too loud actually but the occlusion effect hit my ears kinda hard a couple times while talking... lol
    September was great for the most part, only like one bad day and a handful of somewhat-annoying ones regarding T. Best month I had all year.
    This year my T keeps goin back n forth in loudness a few days or weeks at a time. Habituation is hard because it just doesn't seem to settle
    Ace
    Some times it sticks out quite prominently and intrusively while driving on the highway even without earplugs, but sometimes I barely notice it even in a quiet room.
    Literally left grandma's 90th birthday party because there are balloons there and I'm worried about them popping even if across the room smh
    Some really good days lately and annoying days dotted between em but I think the general trend is towards improvement.
    Tfw you sleeping at a friend's place and wonder if you're hearing new aspects of your tinnitus or if it's just sounds their house makes
    D
    And then you go to a quiet room where no one sees you, plug your ears and monitor your T to check for changes. True story lol.
    It's a lil aggravating how non-linear habituation/reduction is. Yesterday T was mostly quiet! Today it's screamin'. Tomorrow? Who knows!
    Keith Handy
    So hard to find any correlations to explain what makes it get better and worse; after all this time, though, being well hydrated seems to have *some* positive effect, as simplistic as that sounds.
    Ace
    @SamRosemary very true. The fact that it gets quiet at all gives me faith that I have a low baseline to eventually return to, which is why I am able to manage my stress better on days where it's bad.

    Today is better than yesterday, but who knows what tomorrow will bring. @Joe Cuber LMAO a forecast would be quite handy, wouldn't it?
    Ace
    @Keith Handy It just feels like there's no rhyme or reason to it half the time. Avoid loud sounds. Aside from that, I try to have a diet and lifestyle which isn't TOO unhealthy but I'm not too strict with myself. Several days in a row a few months ago I had a bunch of ice cream and other garbage but my T was low the whole time.
    Part of my strat is to just sit with it. Put in plugs, face the T directly. Let it suck. Become familiar with it's fluctuations/variations.
    Steph1710
    Yup, I stopped masking a long time ago. I now find that masking is more annoying than sitting with my actual T. Getting used to the sound helps a lot. Eventually, it becomes your new norm or "silence". Disclaimer: obviously I know this is not an option for everyone, especially those with catastrophic T, but for us who can do this, then it's a good step.
    BrOKeN_1
    I haven't truly pquit masking fully. There is always some ambience going on around me. I think there is still a fear of the noise by itself. Not the fight or fight fear but the upset stomach slow anxiety building kind.
    Ace
    It's hard to fully forego masking it around here, as there is always the slightest bit of noise that will come from the highway or the breeze or noises made by ventilation or computers or whatever. When I put on earmuffs and really hear how bad it is, it's a bit of a shocker LOL but that's not a practical assessment of how T affects me moment-to-moment. In life, there is almost always a bit of background noise.
    W/ permanent increases or long lasting spikes, going just a few seconds w/o T bothering me is a signal that full habituation is achievable
    Ace
    On the blasting my ears bit, i avoid it best i can. Occasionally it's bound to happen hear and there on accident but i try to get myself out of those situations to mitigate the effects. I'm glad to hear that you're pretty much fully habituated Steph1710
    Steph1710
    @Ace thank you. :) it's been a difficult road, but honestly, trying to live as normally as possible and keeping busy, is the best way to habituate.
    Steph1710
    @Wrfortiscue I wouldn't call my tinnitus severe. It is multi tonal and reactive, but the volume never reaches over a 4/5 anymore. Most times I sit at a 2/3. :) or perhaps it's louder but my perception of it has changed. You get me.
    I don't like to catastrophize about my tinnitus but I'm having one of those weeks where it makes me depressed and anxious.
    Ace
    Sleep is fine. Now and then tinnitus affects my dreams, but i haven't felt much need to try to mask my T for sleep since it first became chronic 6 years ago. Yesterday i was just having one of those down in the dumps days, but i managed to find some relative peace later in the evening.
    That is to say, I don't hear those tones as well in my left ear. It's subtle in the early 10ks, but once we reach higher up, forget about it
    my left ear not picking up on >10k frequencies as well as my right ear rn... smh. I'm hoping things balance out over time.
    Earwax removal appointment w/ a ENT who seems cool on Monday. Hoping for the best and no complications.
    AnthonyMcDonald
    Do not, and I repeat, do not under any circumstances allow him to do a microsuction, no matter how "safe" he claims it to be. People have gotten T and H and catastrophic worsenings from that.
    Ace
    Thanks @AnthonyMcDonald . I have no intention of getting Microsuction, no irrigation either. I am asking for manual removal only. I have been applying olive oil drops as well.
    Cerumen buildup in my left ear is too much now.. gotta get it removed, I shouldn't be hearing sticky popping noises when rubbing my ear
    Was doin pretty good for a few weeks but T definitelty spiked like 4 days ago and doesn't wanna let up. Not my first time... Annoying tho...
    Anyone ever get a long lasting T spike from blowing your nose too hard? Lol.... Threw my E-tube out of wack. Sniffles just now popped my ear
    Ace
    I didn't last too long. My T had been relatively low for 10 days, and today i swear it's better than it's been in a while.
    You play the new Kirby game?
    ZFire
    tried the demo.I liked what I played so far. They should definitely look into making more 3D Kirby. Nightmare in dreamland (GBA) is my fav
    Ace
    @ZFire I think stylistically NIDL isn't as good as Adventure (which it is a remake of), but it's still lovely. Still, try Adventure on Switch Online or get the 3DS eShop version which runs a little smoother than the NES emulation which sometimes drops inputs. It might be my favorite Kirby game.
    ZFire
    Will do thx. One reason why I'm a big fan of NIDL was due in large part to Meta Knight being a playable character once unlocked. You have to beat the game with him in one sitting. I thought it was really neat at the time.
    i avoided most sugar after big spike in 2018. for years. But now I often eat sweets during spikes just to prove to myself it's fine lol
    Ace
    Gotta try to keep living my life!
    Christiaan
    I didn't know sugar can do such a thing! Is it related to inflammation perhaps? So far, I haven't had a spike from sugary drinks and the like
    Ace
    It seems to be general consensus that sugar temporarily heightens T for a lot of people, and I'm sure that's true although I don't know the science behind it. For me, I don't think it has an effect or at least not for a long time.
    Got COVID. oddly enough, for the first few days my T spike came down. Pretty noisy today though. Blew my nose a bunch, ear popping involved.
  • Loading…
  • Loading…
  • Loading…