2 Weeks In and Really Struggling

[MagicMike]

My tinnitus is less than two weeks old (likely caused by noise exposure and stress) and I haven't had a decent nights sleep since. The tone is very high and loud. Probably around 12 kHz, a sine wave that oscillates a little and sometimes pans from one ear to the other, with some other softer, more quiet tones mixed in. There were a couple days where it was barely there and I thought it was going away but the last three have been really bad. I'm not sleeping. I'm crying a lot. Scaring my wife and daughter. Masking isn't working. The tones seems to adapt to the masking. The only time I don't hear it is in the shower. I get about 30 seconds after the shower where it's gone too.

I've seen one ENT and he was useless. Basically told me take Lipoflavonoids and said I might not notice it in a year. I am seeing an audiologist today and a PA with a real ear specialty tomorrow.

When this started I was devastated that I might not be able to play music anymore... now the fears are immersive. I run my own business (successful and growing) -- a blessing and a curse for this -- I control my schedule but it's not like I can call in sick. I worry constantly about the impact on my family, my life in general. How will I be able to function with this?

I was reluctant to post here because I didn't want to obsess any more about this than I already am. Some of the posts here are so depressing - people describing my symptoms but after 15 years and seem to be in the same headspace as me. I don't see how 15 years of this is possible. I now feel like I'm in an actual existential crisis.

I just need to sleep. If I could sleep, I feel like I'd be able to deal better with this.

 

[GregCA]

My tinnitus is less than two weeks old (likely caused by noise exposure and stress) and I haven't had a decent nights sleep since.

Your cause is most likely noise exposure, not stress. The former is known to cause tinnitus. The latter isn't.

When this started I was devastated that I might not be able to play music anymore...

There is no reason to believe you can't play music anymore. Many people with T, including myself, still play music. You do have to be extra careful about volume, though. Ask your doctor(s) about it. I did.

I'd still suggest a few weeks of very little noise exposure to give your ears some time to "rest".

I just need to sleep. If I could sleep, I feel like I'd be able to deal better with this.

Indeed. We are better equipped to deal with this affliction when we are rested.

Good luck!

 

[MagicMike]

Thanks for your response. Music is really the least of my worries right now. At this point I'm just trying to wrap my head around the possibility that this is permanent. And trying to figure out how to live with it. I'm not thinking clearly really. Hopefully I'll figure out how to get to sleep and have a better attitude and be able to chart the course with a positive attitude.

In terms of noise avoidance. I'm trying not to over protect (I've got some H too). I wear plugs outside but Would you recommend no TV or am I ok so long as I keep things below 60db or so?

 

[Jack Straw]

Thanks for your response. Music is really the least of my worries right now. At this point I'm just trying to wrap my head around the possibility that this is permanent. And trying to figure out how to live with it. I'm not thinking clearly really. Hopefully I'll figure out how to get to sleep and have a better attitude and be able to chart the course with a positive attitude.

In terms of noise avoidance. I'm trying not to over protect (I've got some H too). I wear plugs outside but Would you recommend no TV or am I ok so long as I keep things below 60db or so?

Your tinnitus it your own. We can't give you 100% guarantee answers. Unfortunately, you have to see what works for you.

If you over protect, you will make your hyperacusis and tinnitus worse. It will be impossible to live a life under 60 db seeing that your own voice is around 70-75 dB.

You can watch TV just keep the volume around talking level. If it is quiet/moderate outside there is no need to wear ear plugs.

What was your noise trauma that caused this sudden tinnitus?

 

[Bill Bauer]

said I might not notice it in a year

He is right - there is a good chance that it will fade and that in a year or two you will get to "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage. It should begin fading sometime during the first 2-6 months.

How will I be able to function with this?

The first 3-4 months or so are the hardest. Things ought to get better after that.

I just need to sleep.

You might try taking Amitriptyline. It is not addictive and it doesn't make you feel drowsy the next day. In very large doses, it has been used to treat T. Unfortunately, just like with many other T treatments, it makes T louder for a very small fraction of the people who take it. The vast majority (myself included) of the people who have taken it found that it has helped them sleep.

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

I didn't read all the above comments, but did peruse a fair amount of it, and ran across many good points on both sides of the argument. What strikes me is there seems to be an underlying assumption (of course I may be wrong on this) that all brains and neurological systems are created equal. The way I see it, that's simply not the case, so everybody's way of dealing with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is going to have to be highly individualized.

I read a book many years ago called "Adrenal Syndrome". A lot of the book touched on the residual resiliency of people's adrenal glands as they respond to life's stresses. Very low resiliency often resulted in months/years of chronic debilitating exhaustion following a stressful event(s) in their lives. Very high resiliency indicated essentially the opposite. The author broke this down into some rough numbers:

25% of people have low resiliency, meaning normal life stressors will often send them into some degree of a tailspin.
25% of people have high resiliency, meaning that no matter how severe a stressor comes into their lives, they will be able to cope without becoming debilitated to any degree.
50% of people fall somewhere inbetween.

I believe there are some kind of corresponding numbers for a person's brain and neurological resiliency as well, which can greatly affect the ability to cope with tinnitus. (I believe adrenal resiliency also plays a major role in our ability to cope). -- Based on these assumptions, it's pretty easy for me to conclude that what may be overprotection for one person will be underprotection for another, and vice versa.

I think the main point to understand for someone new to tinnitus is that their path forward is going to be a lot of "testing the waters". Generally, IMHO, it's going to take a few weeks or months to get important insights that will help us achieve a healthy balance. In all likelihood, most people are going to learn from experience when their over-protecting or under-protecting.

I've come to believe however, that in those early months, if one is going to err in either direction, it should be toward overprotection. It just seems to me the consequences of underprotection (which could result in permanent injury) in those early times are much more dire than the consequences of overprotection--which as I understand, generally results in temporary setbacks.

Doing a number of things to better support the brain and neurological system and the body's stress response (adrenal glands) is quite high on my list of recommendations I would make to anybody with tinnitus. Doing so might even prevent phonophobia or OCD, etc., as we go through our learning curves -- Just my 2 cents worth.

Relative newbies to tinnitus are likely to find all the information/opinions above quite confusing. So here are a few common-sense rules to follow:

1. The best protection of all is avoidance. Even the best earplugs can't guarantee complete hearing protection so those relatively new to tinnitus are best advised to avoid prolonged loud noise exposure - especially amplified sound at for example live concerts and sports events. This may involve lifestyle changes.

2. When in doubt, use hearing protection. In the many tasks we all do through the week, some will inevitably involve exposure to noise - which may be at higher levels than we at first realise - so using hearing protection for many of these is only sensible.

3. Build quiet into your day. It's not a good idea to be wearing hearing protection all the time - so you need to give your ears a break by ensuring that there will be quieter times during your day when hearing protection isn't necessary.This may involve changing your routine. Use soft masking noise and light music (not using headphones) to avoid "silence" where tinnitus is most noticeable.

4. Don't stress about stress. Tinnitus newbies are forever being told that the thing which makes tinnitus worse is stress. But while it's true that how you are feeling at a particular moment can make tinnitus temporarily louder, it won't have a lasting effect. But prolonged loud noise exposure can make tinnitus permanently louder. So don't stress about stress - but do be concerned about noise.

 

[MagicMike]

What was your noise trauma that caused this sudden tinnitus?

Had a loud band practice, and had tinnitus the following morning for about 4 hours. After that I played more music with protection -- no more episodes. Then two weeks ago I had laparoscopic hernia surgery. I had some complications - wasn't oxygenating well and had to spend the night in the hospital. Was out of it for about a week. Played music once during that period - acoustic - mostly with protection but a couple instances without. Tinnitus developed after that.

The audiologist I saw yesterday things theres a chance it could be viral. I have some hearing loss in my left ear, at the lower register. Though my tone is super high and in both ears. Yesterday was also interesting because for most of the afternoon and into the evening the T disappeared. I used a masking tool and it just faded away and stayed gone for the most part. Slight hints of it depending on which room I was in.

I was so hopeful that I'd get a good night's sleep. Alas, no. I maybe slept an hour last night. It's been like 12 days of this now. I'm seeing the ear specialist today and will beg for sleeping and anti-anxiety meds.

 

[MagicMike]

I'm about three weeks in (though I had an initial 4 hour incident three weeks prior to that). Most days it's been really bad. 12000-15000 Hz. Glassy tone. But I've had one day a week (3 or 4 days total), where it seems to disappear. Yesterday was one of those days. It was basically silent most of the day, though it crept back a little at night. If I put in an earplug I could faintly hear what I think is the core tone in my right ear... but it was essentially quiet for almost 36 hours. But you play games with yourself. Can you hear it? Is that an echo?

I've been taking Xanax at night to sleep and decided only to take a half. That was a mistake. I woke at 1am and it was back. Couldn't get back to sleep, even though I took the other half. Yesterday I told myself the remission probably wasn't permanent but I was so hopeful. Now I'm trying to remain hopeful while also trying to accept that this is very possibly my new reality, and beginning to develop a positive outlook on it and life in general. I wasn't able to do that today and just feel so bad about it all. The way I think about the sound is worse than the actual sound.