Are Unilateral Tinnitus Spikes Possible?

[Henry Fool]

I usually have moderately-severe tinnitus in my left ear, and moderate tinnitus in my right ear. Over the last week though, I'm noticing that the right side has become more intense.

I recall a time last year where the same thing happened, and it subsided after a few days, but honestly I couldn't be sure.

Is it possible to have a temporary spike only on one side? It's making me very nervous that something has affected my hearing but if it's just a spike then I could chill out about it.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I usually have moderately-severe tinnitus in my left ear, and moderate tinnitus in my right ear. Over the last week though, I'm noticing that the right side has become more intense.

Is it possible to have a temporary spike only on one side? It's making me very nervous that something has affected my hearing but if it's just a spike then I could chill out about it.

A spike in tinnitus is an anomaly and should not be considered a normal occurrence because it's not, especially when someone is no longer new to the tinnitus over a year for example. Something is causing it and many things can. If your tinnitus was caused by sudden hearing loss as mentioned on your profile, then you should have your hearing checked if this hasn't been done within the last year? If you do wear hearing aid(s) to correct the hearing loss, then it's important that they are working at their optimum and supplying your brain with sufficient sound from the outside environment.

If this is not happening your brain will increase its background activity to try and compensate for the loss in sound that its not receiving. By increasing the background activity it will also increase the tinnitus which can make habituation more difficult and distressing for you. When tinnitus is caused by hearing loss, once a person is fitted with hearing aid(s) the tinnitus will usually reduce over time to very low levels.

If the original cause of your tinnitus was in fact noise induced which is one of the most common causes of the condition, and you developed hearing loss because of it, then your spikes could be related to oversensitivity to sound that hasn't been treated. You have had tinnitus since 2019. Two years is usually sufficient time for a person to habituate and spikes should not occur, unless oversensitivity to sound hasn't been treated or your hearing may need to be checked as previously mentioned.

If things don't settle down make an appointment to see your ENT doctor. If I were you I'd do this just to make sure my hearing is at its optimum.

All the best,
Michael