Anyone Else with "Pfff Pfff Pfff or Tchh Tchh Tchh Atonal Tinnitus?

GBB

Member
Author
Hall of Fame
Sep 1, 2020
1,464
NYC
Tinnitus Since
2016-2019 (Mild, Cured) 8/2020 (Severe)
Cause of Tinnitus
Virus / Microsuction / Acoustic Trauma
My tonal tinnitus has mostly gone but I have an equally annoying and a bit scary disruption in both ears - it sounds like rapid pings or pulses of noise - a few per second - that can best be described as pfff pfff pfff or tchhh tchhh tchhh. It is hard to ignore as it is not a continuous noise but rather almost a percussive experience.

It's a bit scary as I haven't seen too many people mention this, but wondered if anyone has something similar.
 
My tonal tinnitus has mostly gone but I have an equally annoying and a bit scary disruption in both ears - it sounds like rapid pings or pulses of noise - a few per second - that can best be described as pfff pfff pfff or tchhh tchhh tchhh. It is hard to ignore as it is not a continuous noise but rather almost a percussive experience.

It's a bit scary as I haven't seen too many people mention this, but wondered if anyone has something similar.
That sounds kinda like my new tones. Mine goes kinda like this:

IHHHHH....UHHHHHHH....IHH, UUHHH, IIIIH, UHHH....IHH, UHH, IHHH, UHHHHHH .

I don't know how else to describe it. It's awful! And I don't know how to habituate to something that's not consistent.
 
That sounds kinda like my new tones. Mine goes kinda like this:

IHHHHH....UHHHHHHH....IHH, UUHHH, IIIIH, UHHH....IHH, UHH, IHHH, UHHHHHH .

I don't know how else to describe it. It's awful! And I don't know how to habituate to something that's not consistent.
I have something like a strange cuckoo clock in my right ear since February (or doves, or an ambulance in the distance, I can't really describe it, but it's repetitive, but not consistent, if that makes any sense.) That's the quietest of my tones, but because it's not constant, irritates the hell out of me and I deal with it very poorly.

@GBB if it's percussive and repetitive thumping (the pff pffs) like sound (I may have got lost in translation, so apologies if this is not what you meant), couldn't it be the muscles in your ear spasming (TTTS, MEM)?
 
That sounds kinda like my new tones. Mine goes kinda like this:

IHHHHH....UHHHHHHH....IHH, UUHHH, IIIIH, UHHH....IHH, UHH, IHHH, UHHHHHH .

I don't know how else to describe it. It's awful! And I don't know how to habituate to something that's not consistent.
I think I had this at one point - the IHHH is a higher tone than the UHHH which is lower, and it waffles between the two? When mine was still tonal it would do this fairly constantly. I'm sorry you also have it :(
 
I have something like a strange cuckoo clock in my right ear since February (or doves, or an ambulance in the distance, I can't really describe it, but it's repetitive, but not consistent, if that makes any sense.) That's the quietest of my tones, but because it's not constant, irritates the hell out of me and I deal with it very poorly.

@GBB if it's percussive and repetitive thumping (the pff pffs) like sound (I may have got lost in translation, so apologies if this is not what you meant), couldn't it be the muscles in your ear spasming (TTTS, MEM)?
I'm sorry you also have a non-continuous noise. I am finding it is indeed very hard to deal with.

Re my own noise, it doesn't sound to me like what is described as a muscle issue. It's more like the pfff or tchhh is a muted crash of cymbals. The best way I can describe it is, imagine a drummer constantly hitting a cymbal, 2-3 times per second, and then make that a bit fuzzier. The overall effect is that in both ears, there is lots of fuzzy crashing of noise.
 
Hey!

I have some strange sounds. No pure tones in anyway.

I have a musical tone which plays four notes constantly - that one drives me insane. Then I have some weird twinkly sound in the background which varies in volume throughout the day. And lastly, the bloody morsecode/typewriter sound.

Not really sure if I could ever habituate to any of them. I long for a pure tone. No wavering, no chiming, no clicking... That would be bliss.

All I hear is: do do - do do - DODODODODODO - do do etc.
 
I think I had this at one point - the IHHH is a higher tone than the UHHH which is lower, and it waffles between the two? When mine was still tonal it would do this fairly constantly. I'm sorry you also have it :(
Yes, something like that. It waffles between the two in intervals between about 0.5-2 seconds back. Horrible :(
 
Hey!

I have some strange sounds. No pure tones in anyway.

I have a musical tone which plays four notes constantly - that one drives me insane. Then I have some weird twinkly sound in the background which varies in volume throughout the day. And lastly, the bloody morsecode/typewriter sound.

Not really sure if I could ever habituate to any of them. I long for a pure tone. No wavering, no chiming, no clicking... That would be bliss.

All I hear is: do do - do do - DODODODODODO - do do etc.
This is how mine is do do do doooo dooo doo do do do do do do, it makes me feel like I'm going insane honestly, the pulses are so rapid, like 2-3 per second... Has yours gotten any better over time?
 
Has yours gotten any better over time?
All the sounds are still there if I plug my ears and really listen, but most are so, so, quiet now.

Occasionally the 'do do doooo' one becomes louder, but haven't worked out what causes it to yet.

I've been experiencing lots more hissing lately, and a huge reduction in volume. Sometimes I can sit in a dead silent room, like I am now, and hear virtually nothing. Other times, I can hear it outside if I concentrate on it.

Mine is incredibly fluctuating.

When I first developed tinnitus, it was about a 5/10 in volume and only in my left ear. It quickly spread to the right, which brought about the annoying do do dooo sounds.

I jumped on the Prednisone and all the other supplements/vitamins recommended on here, bought myself a good quality pair of ear plugs, and wore them religiously.

I continued going outside and exercising - including swimming, and eventually, after about two months, my tinnitus had virtually gone. Gone as in could barely make it out, with fingers pressed in ear.

However, I caught a nasty ear infection from swimming, and one day I woke up and my tinnitus was so loud, I would have rated it an 8.5/10. Nothing masked it. I was sitting by the sea, with the waves crashing, and I could still hear it over that.

Fast forward another few months, and my tinnitus has settled again and thankfully reduced in volume once more, but it has never quite gotten back to the low volume it sat at before the ear infection - though recently, I have seen some major improvements again. So fingers crossed!

Anyway, hope that helps? :) How long have you had tinnitus?

Oh, I should also mention that I have pulsatile tinnitus too. So double whammy for me. Yay!

Steph x
 
All the sounds are still there if I plug my ears and really listen, but most are so, so, quiet now.

Occasionally the 'do do doooo' one becomes louder, but haven't worked out what causes it to yet.

I've been experiencing lots more hissing lately, and a huge reduction in volume. Sometimes I can sit in a dead silent room, like I am now, and hear virtually nothing. Other times, I can hear it outside if I concentrate on it.

Mine is incredibly fluctuating.

When I first developed tinnitus, it was about a 5/10 in volume and only in my left ear. It quickly spread to the right, which brought about the annoying do do dooo sounds.

I jumped on the Prednisone and all the other supplements/vitamins recommended on here, bought myself a good quality pair of ear plugs, and wore them religiously.

I continued going outside and exercising - including swimming, and eventually, after about two months, my tinnitus had virtually gone. Gone as in could barely make it out, with fingers pressed in ear.

However, I caught a nasty ear infection from swimming, and one day I woke up and my tinnitus was so loud, I would have rated it an 8.5/10. Nothing masked it. I was sitting by the sea, with the waves crashing, and I could still hear it over that.

Fast forward another few months, and my tinnitus has settled again and thankfully reduced in volume once more, but it has never quite gotten back to the low volume it sat at before the ear infection - though recently, I have seen some major improvements again. So fingers crossed!

Anyway, hope that helps? :) How long have you had tinnitus?

Oh, I should also mention that I have pulsatile tinnitus too. So double whammy for me. Yay!

Steph x
Congrats! I've had mine about 3.5 months and although the sounds have morphed, it's largely stayed at around a 6-7/10 in volume. Still, I'm glad to see you have had improvement!
 
I will vacillate between mutually exlusive symptoms now. Some days I have an extremely annoying, unmaskable tsssss noise that is like a hole in my hearing - no noise will occlude it. Other days I have tones which can be temporarily overridden with music.

Noises like fans or air conditioning, while they elicit less of a response, are still spike fuel.
 

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