Anyone Have Tinnitus Lower in the Morning? Or Any Idea What Might Be Causing This Biologically?

[dberg]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to introduce myself a bit later in the introduction section (I'm going to put more time and effort into it) but right now have this question which has been making me curious.. When having a good night's sleep the tinnitus is often very pleasant in the morning, the high pitched noise seems gone and there is only hissing.. Anyone experiencing similar? Or have any idea what might be causing this biologically? I was thinking maybe cortisol and it's anti-inflammatory properties? It wears of in a couple of hours.. Would be wonderful to extend this somehow of course.

Short introduction, high frequency induced, now 2 months in, pretty sever (audible in car, etc.), always wake up after 4 hours sleep, not from anxiety but from it being so loud (when I wake up I'm fully alert so it must be from reaching the aware state in the sleep cycle).

Thank you all, love the success stories that instills a lot of hope

 

[Sara_Bond]

Hi @dberg

When I have a good night sleep, it's generally always lower in the morning and I agree with you, it is very pleasant! If I'm lucky enough, this can last until 2-3 pm but then it begins to go up along the day. Have no explanation sorry, but it would be an interesting way to think about a cure when analyzing this particular scheme.

In my case (which is rare), I sometimes don't hear it or I got a whoooosh in the morning and wish so much it stays so. But then, surprise, I'm T here I am! (mine is moderate but can be loud).

But for some people, it can be worse in the morning...

 

[glynis]

My tinnitus is really loud in both ears and head but some mornings it really hits me if waking up from a busy dream and takes me a minute or so to come round and wake up .
Some nights and find it hard get back to sleep if I wake up in the night for the same reason as feels like my tinnitus stops me going in to a deep sleep.....lots of love glynis

 

[Zorro!]

I generally find my tinnitus is "better" and/or less noticeable in the morning. I think it's because certain parts of my brain (amygdala?) are relaxed and not as excited as they are later in the day. As the day goes on more auditory and visual stimulation occurs and the tinnitus get fired up. So while tinnitus has a connection to the ears it has an even bigger connection (in my opinion) to the brain. Calm the brain and you calm tinnitus, or at least that's my theory.

 

[Alex Senkowski]

My T always reduces to a low, comfortable droning after a few hours of sleep. I too am interested in how this works because maybe it means a method or treatment can be created to elongate it indefinitely.

 

[Nick Pyzik]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to introduce myself a bit later in the introduction section (I'm going to put more time and effort into it) but right now have this question which has been making me curious.. When having a good night's sleep the tinnitus is often very pleasant in the morning, the high pitched noise seems gone and there is only hissing.. Anyone experiencing similar? Or have any idea what might be causing this biologically? I was thinking maybe cortisol and it's anti-inflammatory properties? It wears of in a couple of hours.. Would be wonderful to extend this somehow of course.

Short introduction, high frequency induced, now 2 months in, pretty sever (audible in car, etc.), always wake up after 4 hours sleep, not from anxiety but from it being so loud (when I wake up I'm fully alert so it must be from reaching the aware state in the sleep cycle).

Thank you all, love the success stories that instills a lot of hope

These sort of things have to be thought of at a more non-generalized standpoint. We, as humans are mammals. We are basically very highly intelligent animals. Before we discovered how to build homes like we live in today, we had to survive in the wild. As scientists trace our DNA back to the times of the cavemen and such, it goes to show that we have adapted to what we are today as humans. But we still carry those traces of genes and DNA just like the humans that lived in the wild did back in the day.

My main point is our body works in it's own time or as we call it "circadian rhythm". You have to logically think about this bodily rhythm through how the 24 hours of a day work. When it's morning, it's light out, we can see at our top physicality and don't have to be in much of a fight or flight mode. Also when it's morning and we've woken up from sleeping our body is in it's top shape as the cells and other organisms of the body and brain have done their things. When it's day time, our circadian rhythm starts to change as the chemicals of stress and other attributions occur. As night time approaches our bodies are made to adapt to how we as humans lived in the wilderness during the darkness. Our bodies need to be in a fight or flight for us to feel safe and prepared for situations. As the day becomes night time, we don't have the safety of the day to protect us. Our sight and hearing are the only two dramatically important things that allow us to process information if there is a threat. Yes the sense of smell can help allow our brain to process where we could be and what is going on but seeing and hearing are the biggest.

Since it's been associating many times that Tinnitus is caused by damage to our auditory system, as the brain changes into night-time mode and adapts it's senses following the circadian rhythm it's in, it seems as though our hearing becomes more keen to allow for us to hunt or live safely just like it must have done for the humans living in a forest or non civilized area. The human body has developed to keep itself protected in case a predator strikes during the night since it can't be seen as well during the day. Our bodies ability to hear was very helpful in allowing us to pick out small noises in the distance. Since we have damaged those mechanisms to allow us to hear those sounds, the brain continues with it's bodily rhythm and the sound you hear in your head becomes much louder since it was once used to hear better during the night time.

 

[Fangen]

When I have a good night sleep, it's generally always lower in the morning and I agree with you, it is very pleasant! If I'm lucky enough, this can last until 2-3 pm but then it begins to go up along the day.

That happens to me too. It always goes up after lunch around 1-2pm. I feel it gets worst around 3-4pm. Then it goes down a little and ramps up a little towards bedtime. But mornings are usually the best. I have some issues with jaw clenching during night, which can make my T to be bad in the morning too (and last all day).

Since we have damaged those mechanisms to allow us to hear those sounds, the brain continues with it's bodily rhythm and the sound you hear in your head becomes much louder since it was once used to hear better during the night time.

That does make a lot of sense. Would explain why it's always worst for almost everybody here at night. Thank you for the explanation!

 

[Mithrandir]

Morning is the best for me, I take retigabine at 4h30 am, I think that's the effect of the drug.

 

[DebInAustralia]

I think (my.opinion) the reason t fluctuates may be related to the rise and fall of cortisol

 

[Poyraz]

It is always lower in the morning!

 

[Karen]

Mine is best in the morning, and gradually increases during the day. It is usually at its worst between 4:00 and 6:00 P.M. Then, it seems to calm down later on. At night, of course I hear it, but I try my best to tune it out. Since I have both hissing and pulsatile tinnitus, it is hard to tune both out at night. I usually get around 4 to 5 hours of sleep, because once I wake up, that's it. It's almost impossible to get back to sleep.

I agree that the fluctuations in our tinnitus seem to have a lot to do with either circadian rhythms or changes in cortisol throughout the day. This would definitely be worth having tinnitus researchers focus on this phenomenon. Maybe they could make progress toward a cure through this research.

 

[AlecP]

For me it's weird - sometimes I wake up with blaring tinnitus which diminishes in 10-30 minutes and remains quiet throughout the day. Other times I'll wake up and it'll be very low and non-intrusive but in the same 10-30 minute time frame it will become louder and will be intrusive for the rest of the day.

Another strange thing I've noticed, is that I usually always have non-intrusive tinnitus on days in which I have a shower in the morning - sometimes I wake up late and need to rush off to work so don't have time to shower and then my T will often be louder...I wonder why that is? Haha

 

[DebInAustralia]

@AlecP residual inhibition?

 

[rhull]

Mine generally starts lower in the am, and then by midday is loud, and gets worse from there.

Sometimes I wake up and it's really low for a couple of seconds and I think, wow, it's low, and then it goes up.

If I could just stop that thought process...

 

[Poyraz]

I think it is about REM sleep.

 

[Paul Burdett]

Mine is always worse in the morning. However,80% of the time it diminishes substantially after a shower. It's either next to nothing for the rest of the day, or at least not as loud. If the "shower treatment" doesn't "work" then I've got it all day. In that case (if really loud) I take half a Restavit pill (or whole one) at night and I sleep well. Taking a whole pill more or less guarantees the next day will be good (90% of the time!). Had it 21 months now and still trying to cope most of the time.

 

[AlecP]

@DebInAustralia Yes quite possibly - although it doesn't work 100% of the time in fairness...buuuut then again more often than not

 

[glynis]

I find if I sleep well my tinnitus is loud but does not bother me but if I wake from a wered dream then my tinnitus is through the roof......lots of love glynis

 

[DebInAustralia]

If i monitor my t (which i try not to do lately) my t will always appear more intrusive ..

 

[robinbird]

For me it's weird - sometimes I wake up with blaring tinnitus which diminishes in 10-30 minutes and remains quiet throughout the day. Other times I'll wake up and it'll be very low and non-intrusive but in the same 10-30 minute time frame it will become louder and will be intrusive for the rest of the day.

Another strange thing I've noticed, is that I usually always have non-intrusive tinnitus on days in which I have a shower in the morning - sometimes I wake up late and need to rush off to work so don't have time to shower and then my T will often be louder...I wonder why that is? Haha

My T always gets louder after a hot shower. Then gradually gets less intrusive. My theory is the hot water makes my blood flow more, hence, more noise.

 

[robinbird]

If I wake up in the morning and lay in bed for a while, I always hear either a sizzling sound, slight heartbeat in ear or a watery sound as if I am listening to a brook. Or, it could sound like air being released under pressure. This is usually always in my right ear going on a year now. Sometimes I hear a very low sound in my left ear but it is not annoying at all. I get up and blow my nose, there is relief for a few seconds. Start my day and the T may diminish. If I sit in a chair it will get louder. If I do any computer work it always will get louder. At the end of the night if I'm laying on my couch watching television the noise will always get a bit louder. But if I go lay down in my bed The noise becomes quieter. I think it may have something to do with my body position.

 

[dberg]

I think (my.opinion) the reason t fluctuates may be related to the rise and fall of cortisol

Hi DebInAustralia,

This was my idea too at first.. But since I've started using melatonin (since 3 days) I've noticed that it can be just as quite when waking up in the middle of the night, and if the cortisol hypothesis would be correct it should consistently be at it's lowest in the morning (cortisol excretion is highest in the morning). For me it has been quite a noticeable difference from using melatonin, but maybe it just has todo with the fact that I'm sleeping better now and that during sleep the brain is sort of cleansing out all the free radicals in the brain. Usually it picks up after around 1 pm and the more annoying fluctuating aspect of it start to increase but as I'm writing right now (it's 2 pm here) it's still pretty calm/quite compared to how it usually is during this time. Fingers crossed it will continue like this, don't have too much of a high hope, but out of anything I've tried melatonin seems to actually make a difference for me (or perhaps indirectly from better sleep). But one should also remember that melatonin is a very potent anti oxidant with the ability to enter every cell and cross blood brain barrier. Many studies shows it's protective effect on the brain and central nervous system and even protection from hearing loss from sound exposure.

So for anyone out there who haven't tried it, I think it would be worth a shot. I think especially for people who maybe don't have it so much in their ears but rather 'in the brain', that's my thinking anyways.

Thank you all, you are great!

 

[JasonP]

Mine is always worse in the morning. However,80% of the time it diminishes substantially after a shower. It's either next to nothing for the rest of the day, or at least not as loud. If the "shower treatment" doesn't "work" then I've got it all day. In that case (if really loud) I take half a Restavit pill (or whole one) at night and I sleep well. Taking a whole pill more or less guarantees the next day will be good (90% of the time!). Had it 21 months now and still trying to cope most of the time.

I know what you mean about a treatment in the morning that "doesn't work". I had been doing really good with this system I had for over a month then I screwed around and the system got messed up. My increase in T was due to what I thought was a slow benzo withdrawal (which it wasn't) and stress. After two and a half years I finally found something that would lower my tinnitus some days which was Lamictal. I still haven't figured it out completely yet but it seems like if I take my klonopin right before I go to bed my T will be louder. If I take my Lamictal before bed my T will be lower most of the time. The problem is though, I do better if I take my Lamictal in the morning. Also, I find for my mood stabilization if I combine it with a small amount of melatonin as an add on it will reset my circadian rhythm each day which is great because I think I have Circadian Rhythm Disorder. Well, I find that most days if I combine a small amount of klonopin with melatonin and go immediately to sleep that when I wake up the T will be loud. Ideally, I will only wake up once though. Then on a good day if I take my Lamictal in the morning it will drop almost 1 hour later when Lamictal kicks in. I got screwed up a few days after a couple of days after I stopped taking melatonin and haven't got back on track yet due to problems sleeping and possible benzo withdrawal but I found out the past couple of days that if I take melatonin in the morning it will drop. The problem though the past couple of days is that I took melatonin which did drop it at the time but gave me some depression because it throws off my circadian rhythm and causes sleep problems.

Also, as stated above, I think that REM sleep has something to do with it too.