12 Days Tinnitus Post Acoustic Trauma — Seeking Advice/Lessons Learned

[Goshawk32]

Hello community,

I have had tinnitus in both ears since a faulty house alarm went off 12 days ago. I was exposed to high-pitched sound for 8-10 seconds after which there was puffiness, sound sensitivity, and tinnitus in both ears. I've seen an ENT and audiologist since who confirm there is no structural damage or fluid, and that there is normal hearing loss. They provided no treatment for the tinnitus, despite my asking about HBOT and prednosone.

I have ordered the following supplements based on my online/forum research:

• Alpha lipoid acid
• Ginko biloba
• Raw apple cider vinegar

I'm currently researching others that I've heard are helpful such as Magnesium, NAC, Nicotinamide Riboside, and Taurine.

I'm wondering if anyone else with my kind of trauma has had any success in symptoms resolving and/or with any supplements besides the ones I've listed above. If so, which supplements helped the most? I don't have a lot of money to spend, unfortunately, as I'm not currently working.

I'm also sleeping with ear plugs in and wearing them whenever around loud noise. I am avoiding wearing them too much as to avoid hyperacusis. Not sure if sleeping with them is a good idea or not, but I figure resting my hearing overnight might help?

I really appreciate any support/advice. I am currently a graduate student and am not sure how this constant ringing is going to effect my academic performance, so I am a bit scared to be honest.

Thanks a million!

Brandon

 

[Andrei88]

Sorry to hear about your T incident!
I have had some success with magnesium over the years, but not always.
Rest your ears, ear earplugs when in noisy places or if you are talking to loud people.
All the best!

 

[billie48]

I really appreciate any support/advice. I am currently a graduate student and am not sure how this constant ringing is going to effect my academic performance, so I am a bit scared to be honest.

Welcome to the forum. Being a student may not be a problem for advanced studies, as the following success stories were posted by students in various level of education. Read their posts and the comments by others. Try to stay positive and give it some time for your tinnitus to settle. It may be hard at first to concentrate but over time the brain will learn to let go of tinnitus to focus on other things. I am in IT software and programming requires a lot of concentration. I continue with my software career even after T. So it is doable to study and focus with T after the initial struggle. The future may be as dark as how the brain think during the toughest time. Be patient and have hope for the future. Good luck. God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/anybody-going-to-grad-school.7212/

ttps://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-university-college-success.7997/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/came-back-to-say-it-really-does-get-better.6166/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/i-finally-get-out-of-hell.7576/\

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...m-taking-that-next-big-step.8865/#post-102687

 

[Juan]

Hello community,

I have had tinnitus in both ears since a faulty house alarm went off 12 days ago. I was exposed to high-pitched sound for 8-10 seconds after which there was puffiness, sound sensitivity, and tinnitus in both ears. I've seen an ENT and audiologist since who confirm there is no structural damage or fluid, and that there is normal hearing loss. They provided no treatment for the tinnitus, despite my asking about HBOT and prednosone.

I have ordered the following supplements based on my online/forum research:

• Alpha lipoid acid
• Ginko biloba
• Raw apple cider vinegar

I'm currently researching others that I've heard are helpful such as Magnesium, NAC, Nicotinamide Riboside, and Taurine.

I'm wondering if anyone else with my kind of trauma has had any success in symptoms resolving and/or with any supplements besides the ones I've listed above. If so, which supplements helped the most? I don't have a lot of money to spend, unfortunately, as I'm not currently working.

I'm also sleeping with ear plugs in and wearing them whenever around loud noise. I am avoiding wearing them too much as to avoid hyperacusis. Not sure if sleeping with them is a good idea or not, but I figure resting my hearing overnight might help?

I really appreciate any support/advice. I am currently a graduate student and am not sure how this constant ringing is going to effect my academic performance, so I am a bit scared to be honest.

Thanks a million!

Brandon

I think they should have given you prednisone. Maybe it is not necessary, but the side effects are not so bad as not to take it, just in case...

As for earplugs, I would not wear them when sleeping unless you live in a very noisy place.

 

[Goshawk32]

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and support. It means a lot. Crazy how life can change in just a few seconds. But I'm going to keep positive!

Sorry to hear about your T incident!
I have had some success with magnesium over the years, but not always.
Rest your ears, ear earplugs when in noisy places or if you are talking to loud people.
All the best!

@Andrei88 Thank you for the advice re: Mg. I will try it out. Is there a dosage that you find is helpful for you?

Welcome to the forum. Being a student may not be a problem for advanced studies, as the following success stories were posted by students in various level of education. Read their posts and the comments by others. Try to stay positive and give it some time for your tinnitus to settle. It may be hard at first to concentrate but over time the brain will learn to let go of tinnitus to focus on other things. I am in IT software and programming requires a lot of concentration. I continue with my software career even after T. So it is doable to study and focus with T after the initial struggle. The future may be as dark as how the brain think during the toughest time. Be patient and have hope for the future. Good luck. God bless.

@billie48 Thank you so much for the resources. I've read a few of the threads and they've been very encouraging. Encouraging also to know that you're able to code fine w your T. God bless you as well. Thanks for all that you do for this forum!

I think they should have given you prednisone. Maybe it is not necessary, but the side effects are not so bad as not to take it, just in case...

As for earplugs, I would not wear them when sleeping unless you live in a very noisy place.

@Juan Yes, I tend to agree re: the prednisone. I'm going to get a second opinion. Is there a time period that you're aware of in which it is effective? Today is day 14 for me. Also, why no to the earplugs at night. You think it will make me more susceptible to hyperacusis?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Bill Bauer]

I'm wondering if anyone else with my kind of trauma has had any success in symptoms resolving

Yes, it is reasonable to expect that you will experience some fading 2-4 months after the onset, and if that's the case the fading ought to continue, and in that case 2-3 years after the onset you will likely reach the "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage.

You will want to make sure that you don't hurt your ears during this period of vulnerability as your body is healing. You will want to avoid taking ototoxic drugs, avoid microsuction or syringing (performed when you need to clean wax out of your ears; a manual tool should be used), and not let your dental hygienist use an ultrasonic scaling tool on you (a manual tool should be used). For more details, see

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

[Juan]

@Juan Yes, I tend to agree re: the prednisone. I'm going to get a second opinion. Is there a time period that you're aware of in which it is effective? Today is day 14 for me. Also, why no to the earplugs at night. You think it will make me more susceptible to hyperacusis?

If you use earplugs a lot and for an extended period they will give you pressure, especially foam earplugs; they can also get wrinkled when you insert them... wearing them at night has more downsides than upsides (at least for me it had). I only used them at night if there was a lot of noise outside, meaning for instance New Year's celebrations... the firecrackers on 31st December.

The sooner one gets prednisone the more effective it can be. 14 days... maybe it can still do something, but in theory it is best to start it maximum 48 hours after noise exposure. There's a lot of debate about this, and some people benefited from this drug even taking it a few weeks after noise exposure, but the sooner the better.

 

[Goshawk32]

If you use earplugs a lot and for an extended period they will give you pressure, especially foam earplugs; they can also get wrinkled when you insert them... wearing them at night has more downsides than upsides (at least for me it had). I only used them at night if there was a lot of noise outside, meaning for instance New Year's celebrations... the firecrackers on 31st December.

The sooner one gets prednisone the more effective it can be. 14 days... maybe it can still do something, but in theory it is best to start it maximum 48 hours after noise exposure. There's a lot of debate about this, and some people benefited from this drug even taking it a few weeks after noise exposure, but the sooner the better.

@Juan Thank you! I really appreciate the advice!

 

[Andrei88]

@Goshawk32 Sorry for late repy! Yes you shold take no less than 100mg a day, I take 128mg a day, I have had excruciating hyperacusis about 3 weeks ago, and it is now gone. I have had success with magnesium many tomes in the past after I got exposed to loud audio and my hyperacusis spiked up.

Now the tinnitus does not go down that much but mine has dropped a good amount, I am just so used to the noise that I am not always aware of it, even though I have it pretty bad! You just get used to after so many years.

 

[Adaś]

@Juan Thank you! I really appreciate the advice!

Also consider taking NAC. You can buy it without prescription. I have read it is used by American Navy after acoustic trauma, see: https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FTR1.09032004.1

 

[Goshawk32]

@Bill Bauer Thank you so much for the insight and encouragement. Yes, it is starting to fade already. I am just keeping positive and focusing on what I can hear, sleeping with the window open for ambient noise, etc. Positivity really does make a big difference.

@Andrei88 No worries at all, I know it's not healthy to live on this forum. Thank you so much for circling back to reply and share what you do. Definitely helpful to know that this has worked for you. I will keep taking it daily. It seems to have made a difference so far!

@Adaś I appreciate the NAC advice my man. I'm taking that too. Things are looking up!

I appreciate this community. Ya'll have helped me get through some difficult days