Aggravation? What Caused Yours?

[Julien87]

I know a same event can cause aggravation for one person and not for another one. But I would be curious to know what caused the aggravation of the sufferers whose tinnitus increased.

Please only answer this question if you clearly noticed an aggravation of your tinnitus after a specific event/period of time.

The answer of the sufferers whose initial tinnitus is noise induced is more interesting in my personal case (same cause). But if your onset was caused by something else you can of course tell us what aggravated it (if it be so). However, if the cause of your initial tinnitus is not indicated in your profile, please mention it in your post. Thank you

 

[Sven]

More loud music, despite earplugs. (I.e. way too loud and maybe too long exposure). That was 23 days ago.

 

[Jcb]

More loud music, despite earplugs. (I.e. way too loud and maybe too long exposure). That was 23 days ago.

Is the spike still raging in your ears?

 

[Sven]

Is the spike still raging in your ears?

Unfortunately, yes. Doubting it'll go away.

 

[Jcb]

Unfortunately, yes. Doubting it'll go away.

I'm sorry mate, from all the stories I've been reading it can take a few months to fade in some cases. I'm hoping it does fade soon for you as well. All we can do is try and stay postive and ride the wave so to speak.

 

[Julien87]

@Mods: I cannot edit my first post, can you please add the word "Permanent" (aggravation) in the title to avoid any confusion. Thank you

And thank you Sven for your answer

 

[Julien87]

*shameless bump*

 

[Imshael]

Not sure if mine is permanent or not, but I fear that it is. When I first got T, it was probably because of headphones. Not sure when it first really started, but I've had it for at least a year (hasen't bothered me though). In mid January, however, it became worse. I think it was because of a cold that didn't really break out, and instead left me with this new sound in my ears. However I did go to a concert between chrismas and new years, where I for some stupid reason forgot to bring earplugs, so perhaps this might be the cause (not really sure how long after a loud event you can experience an increase)?

 

[Autumnly]

Prolonged loud noise exposure like clubs and parties, had some friends with chronic tinnitus that told me I'd be fine with ear plugs, well, I wasn't. They were, however.

 

[jimH]

Unfortunately, yes. Doubting it'll go away.

Don't assume the worst. I had the worst spike in over 30 years of living with this affliction in 2014. It lasted four months. So, being that yours started 23 days ago, there's still a good chance that it's temporary. Thinking and believing that it's permanent will only increase your fear, stress and anxiety levels. With T, that can prolong a spike. In fact, they can even cause a spike. I'm speaking after many years of experience.

It was when I got my anxiety and fear under control that the spike began to ramp down and eventually my T was back to it's previous baseline level. So, don't be too discouraged, Sven.

 

[Sven]

@jimH Thank you. Today is actually somewhat better, at least mentally. I'm guessing part of my spike is caused by worry/anxiety and that it might have gotten slightly worse. I can't remember a spike as bad as this one before, though.

I'll try to convince myselt it's not that bad.

What caused your spike in 2014, btw?

 

[SugarMagnolia]

Hi Julien87.

I acquired tinnitus while attempting to use a speaker phone on a conference call. I couldn't hear anything, so I thought it wasn't on speaker phone any more. I put the phone to my left ear and at that moment, feedback blasted into my ear. That was over two years ago and it was the last I knew of silence.

The ringing in my ear has been exactly the same from that moment until last month when I sat in the wrong chair in a doctor's waiting room. The door made a high-pitched beep whenever the door opened and the door was on my left side. Someone opened the door and my ear got blasted. The tinnitus sound went up for the first time in over two years and I felt a weird discomfort. Now my ear is more sensitive to sound and the discomfort keeps me on edge. Every time there's a high-pitched beep, I tense up.

Frankly, I don't know if high-pitched beeps are more dangerous to my ear than other sounds. They feel more dangerous since that's what caused both of my traumas. And these high-pitched beeps are everywhere: construction work outside my apartment, DH's reality shows where cursing is bleeped out, and of course random places, like that doctor's office.

I suspect I may be experiencing TTTS, since my jaw started tightening up a few days after the recent noise exposure. I also suspect H in my left ear, which was also not present until this recent noise exposure.

So, that is my tale of woe.

I'm also interested in hearing the experience of others with noise-induced T and H.

 

[Suzerman]

Im becoming more and more certain that mine is stress/ tense muscle related because when im stressed it seems to peak, and fleeting tinnitus seems to be more prevalent too. Ive noticed that im never fully relaxing my neck. shoulders and jaw, im always tensing them up somehow. So recently i have made it a thing to pay attention to that. When I lie down on the couch I try to watch out that Im not tensing up my neck, shoulders etc. It is a real problem I have. Im also sitting up straight with a pillow in my back, and I bought a memory foam pillow that is lined up with the position of my neck. Ever since doing this my tinnitus has definitely faded a bit, however, it comes and goes. The moment I tense up for a long while again, it is right back to being a loud electrical hissing sound, instead of a soft recorder sound. Ive never managed to get it completely silent, apart from a few times where it seemed like it. I advice anyone to try this out. I really wish I had known this sooner instead of panicking about noise and popping my ears and basically giving myself hyperacusis and TMJ because of it .

 

[jimH]

@jimH Thank you.
What caused your spike in 2014, btw?

Two prolonged and simultaneous very stressful situations. The result was my T level went to and remained for some time at an extremely severe level. What made the situation even worse was that I developed severe H for the first time. At first, I did not even know what was happening to me because I did not even know what Hyperacusis was at that time.

So, even after the external stressful situations had passed, I now had the stress, fear and anxiety caused by severe T and H. That's because I feared that I might have them at those levels for the rest of my life.

 

[Helheim]

A massive ear infection. Went from soft ringing that I could only hear at night in bed (I've had that for ages) to a screaming monstrosity. It's hell.

 

[Julien87]

Thank you for your answers

 

[Vicki14]

My mild Tinnitus was severely ramped up by a Microsuction procedure to remove a shitty piece of wax

 

[coffee_girl]

Car tire explosion while I was out for a run... Now everywhere I go I am terrified of another car explosion.

 

[iGL0CK]

Hard to say. I was sick (mononucleosis) and I have had a car accident (4 airbags fired) and after some time I noticed is little louder. Then when I was in Prague 1 month later I have had an episode of sudden deafness (at the evening, totally out of the blue) and since then is much louder and very easy to spike..
Probably it's cumulation of the damage.

 

[dpdx]

Malls, bars, resturants, walking next to a busy road, etc aggravates my tinnitus. I got very cocky the other day and decided to go running. BAD IDEA!

 

[Red]

0. Onset of tinnitus from a loud sound (with volume at 10%) on headphones. Very mild tinnitus and hyperacusis. Could go to movies and arcades no problem.

Continued use of headphones which resulted in...

1. Permanent increase of tinnitus and hyperacusis after continued headphone use. Used voice chat to play Dungeons and Dragons. One of the players got a little too into his role and screamed very loudly for a few seconds. (Discord, computer, and player volume set to 10% with headphones)

2. Worsening of hyperacusis and reactivity of tinnitus (though tinnitus baseline remained unchanged) following watching a video on my phone (speaker) with media volume set to 40%. Could barely hear the voices of the people in the video but the video had a gunshot that was very loud. This is what brought my hyperacusis to where it is now.

 

[Elfin]

walking next to a busy road

Did this aggravation settle?

I had to walk next to a busy road tonight - about 3-5 minutes. Had earplugs in but no muffs. Tinnitus spiked now.

Did yours settle?

I am beginning to worry.

 

[Jack Straw]

Did this aggravation settle?

I had to walk next to a busy road tonight - about 3-5 minutes. Had earplugs in but no muffs. Tinnitus spiked now.

Did yours settle?

I am beginning to worry.

If you had ear plugs in, there is ZERO reason to worry.

 

[Elfin]

If you had ear plugs in, there is ZERO reason to worry.

had ER-25s in, just praying you are right. I usually double protect, but didn't have earmuffs on me.

Hope you are right @Jack Straw as ears are buzzing loudly now!

 

[Elfin]

anyone else able to help me?