2 Weeks Into New Spike — Starting to Panic

[Hotspur2931]

Hi everybody,

Any words of encouragement for someone dealing with a scary spike?

My tinnitus came on at the start of December and I really freaked out the first few weeks. Now I don't know what the fuss was about. I had a single tone in the left ear on a background of fairly quiet static. Within a couple of weeks I found I only heard it around the house, and a few weeks after that only at bedtime.

I started hearing the static more and the ringing less – wasn't sure what this meant but I found the static easier to sleep to. I stopped masking at night (which never worked that well for me anyway) and finally got a good night's sleep.
Still really wanted tinnitus to go away, but basically it wasn't affecting me much day to day.

Then the static turned evil.

I went on holiday to somewhere with empty wilderness, and out there in the silent wilderness the static was suddenly deafening. Threw me for a loop.

Couple days later I noticed I could pick it out over everyday noises, and heard it over the engine on the coach to the airport. Flight was horrible, with my ears crackling and in pain when landing. That's when the "head noise" really kicked in.

Two weeks later and I'm having a worse time than ever. Static and head noise are 24/7 and I'm aware of them all the time, even in noisy environments. I get some respite at lunch time in the work canteen cos it's fairly rowdy, but sitting at my desk is torture. The noise of all the computers seems to really aggravate the static and the head noise.

Not getting any respite during the day has destroyed my ability to cope. I am so scared, so tired, wishing it would go back to my baseline – which would be honestly such a luxury now – but I don't feel like it's budging. My mind is telling me that the static has been on the increase all along but I only just noticed because I was clinging to it as a welcome distraction from the ringing. I don't know if that's true.

My longing for my old baseline, and not knowing if this spike will last, or get worse is sending me into despair.

Right now I don't know how to get through each day. It is chaos. It is 3.30am and I am wide awake and I have work tomorrow.

Doc referred me to ENT clinic on the NHS but it's a 2 month wait. Already saw one ENT privately in December but he was a bit of a douche and no real use. Offered to refer me for TRT if I found I needed it. Considering it now. Would be interested to hear of anyone's experiences with TRT?

Not currently on any medication and not keen to try unless I run out of options. I really just need advice on how to feel a little better right now. How do I get rid of this sick ceiling of dread? How do I get through tomorrow and the next day? How do I talk myself off this ledge?

Been lurking a lot in Success Stories and can't help but notice how many people feel better at the 3 month mark. I'm coming up on 4 months and I feel worse than ever. Is there any hope for me? Where do I go from here? Has anyone any experience with this kind of spike? Any ideas what I can expect?

Thank you all so much in advance and sorry for the ranty desperate post. I really admire all of you for what you are dealing with, and hoping for some pearls of wisdom

Xxx

 

[dipp]

Kind of same situation here.
I dont know how to say because I'm kind of desperate right now. Also I have to work now, my night has been bad too.
I hope things get better to us shortly.

 

[sirhand]

You said it seemed to get worse when you were in the quiet woods. Maybe you should try masking again. When my tinnitus was still new like yours I had to mask at night otherwise it would be louder the next day. Just make sure the masking sound is quieter than the tinnitus. When at was at 4 months my tinnitus was still changing a lot and I was not at all used to it yet. Now I'm at 11 months and almost every day is a good tinnitus day for me now.

 

[Hotspur2931]

Thank you so much Sirhand. It's really encouraging to hear your story. That's interesting and encouraging that it maybe takes a few months to 'settle'. Do you have any advice for how to mask? All the white noise type sounds (even nature sounds) just make me mad. In the early days I used a classical music radio station. The music and the announcements soothed me. But the ads would jar me and wake me up. Also music doesn't touch the sound that I have now. At best it's a distraction, at worst another thing to be mad about.
Xxx

 

[sirhand]

I was the type to sleep in as close to silence I could get in the before times so learning to sleep again was a little rough. I found a white noise that blends in with my tinnitus, rain sound works best for me. But my tinnitus is mostly ringing sounds so for your static type something else might be better. The problem for me was I would still stay up thinking about the tinnitus and how I wish I didn't have to listen to the white noise. I listen to a lot of podcasts during the day, so I put on some old episodes of a comedy podcast I already listened to to occupy my mind until I fall asleep. So white noise plus a distraction of some sort works best for me.

 

[JohnFox]

Doc referred me to ENT clinic on the NHS but it's a 2 month wait.

And to think that there are those here in the USA who think we should adopt UK style healthcare. The day I woke up with sudden loss of hearing and Tinnitus and Hyperacusis, I was seeing the ENT that afternoon. (it is considered an emergency). A few days later I went in to see my regular doctor to fill him in on what was happening to me and that afternoon I was getting an MRI on my head to rule out a tumor, etc.

 

[JohnFox]

Do you have any advice for how to mask?

It's different for everybody. You need to try different masking techniques and see what works best for you. Some people run fans, some use nature sounds, etc.. There are a whole bevy of things to choose from. There are specific apps you can download on your phone that are designed for T sufferers. I got an app that allows me to create my own white noise by layering a couple of different sounds. Right now it's crickets and rain. Just remember this beast has a way of evolving over time. For me my Tinnitus (ringing) has actually subsided quite a bit to leave me with this Hperacusis that seems to have a life of its own. I fully expect it to continue evolving over time causing me to continually make adjustments as to how I handle it. What a life...

 

[Hotspur2931]

Thanks guys,
I'm trying to stay away from here as much as possible but just wanted to say thanks for replying and your helpful advice. I tried masking last night even though I did want to and the track did annoy me, but it did stop me from freaking out all night, and this morning my noises definitely stil quieter! I think the masking helped unscramble my brain. Will keep tryimt and see if I can find a track that relaxes me, but it's a good start.
Wishing you all well on your journeys. I do believe there is hope for everyone.
Xxx

 

[Bill Bauer]

I went on holiday to somewhere with empty wilderness, and out there in the silent wilderness the static was suddenly deafening.

It sounds like it was the noise in the plane that is the cause of your spike.

can't help but notice how many people feel better at the 3 month mark.

It sounds like you got there day 1 or week 1 after the onset. In fact, your baseline sounds like what many people take a year or longer to get to.

When I got a new acoustic trauma (around three months after the onset), that spike took three months to settle. So you need to give it more time. Temporary spikes can take a surprisingly long time (months) to fade. So there is still hope that your spike is temporary.

You might want to give yourself a year or so to heal before flying again. The next time you fly, you will want to wear earplugs underneath noise cancelling headphones.

 

[astaff14]

Hello, I was just wondering how you're doing now, hope you're well.

 

[Hotspur2931]

Hi there,

To be honest the spike didn't go away and I had some bad times but I am adapting and slowly starting to do better.

Lizzy
Xxx