Bilateral High-Pitched Tinnitus + When I Plug My Ears, I Hear Fast Thumping

Hi,

I’m new here. I’m on my 11th day of tinnitus.

Eleven days ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with a high-pitched sound in both ears. Every night when I lie down, I hear this high-pitched sound, which irregularly switches between ears. During the day, it’s either not present or barely noticeable, but it significantly ramps up when I lay down.

What’s constantly present, however, is a fast thumping sound—like a heartbeat but faster—whenever I close off my ears with my fingers. It feels more like muscles in the inner ear contracting constantly.

I’ve noticed that I can make the high-pitched tinnitus louder by clenching my jaws. I’ve seen an ENT and am waiting to have an MRI. I’ve also seen an audiologist who found no hearing loss.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Welcome to the forum! It seems like your tinnitus might be somatic in nature. It could be related to TMJ, TTTS, or your neck alignment. You can search for TMJ or TTTS in previous discussions to see if the symptoms match yours.

Wishing you a speedy recovery. God bless!

 

Thank you for sharing your amazing success story. You’ve gone through so much and survived it. My tinnitus has become very severe over the last few months. I have several tones, and it’s incredibly intense. I’m three months in, and I also have hyperacusis. It brings me to tears of joy to know that you managed to habituate to your tinnitus. I’ve had tinnitus for three years, which I had habituated to, but since the worsening due to sound trauma, it has been constantly changing and so intense that I now hear it in my head rather than just my ears.

In the early months, did yours change frequently, and did you experience multiple tones?

How did you manage to shower in those first few months?

Did you use sound therapy in every room? I’m going to try it, though it's difficult because I have reactive tinnitus.

My tinnitus, which I’ve had for three years and repeatedly habituated to, has now become unbearable. It’s so loud that it fills the whole room, taking over all of my headspace. I remember when I could just tune out the tinnitus I had before. Now, I wake up in the night, and it’s even louder, triggering panic. How did you cope during those first few months? It feels like torture. If mine were stable, I think I could get used to it, but this is incredibly hard. I never have a mild day, as some people describe. For me, it’s like a full-blown alarm going off every day. Was yours this bad?

I can’t escape it because my hyperacusis keeps me almost housebound. I’m hoping that if yours was as severe as mine, it will give me hope that I, too, can overcome this. People suggest watching movies with subtitles, painting, or drawing, but for me, it’s a second-by-second struggle. If someone with catastrophic tinnitus had come to me when I only had mild tinnitus, I wouldn’t have understood and would have told them to stop thinking about it.

Did you also have to distract yourself from it second by second?

 

I'm sorry to hear that you're suffering so much from tinnitus and hyperacusis. As you've read in my success stories (I’ve shared two), I had hyperacusis twice, and both times, it faded in roughly 9 to 12 months. Hopefully, your hyperacusis will fade over time, too, which is often the case when hyperacusis is caused by acoustic trauma. My second episode of hyperacusis, however, was due to sudden hearing loss in my left ear.

As I mentioned in my success story, the initial months were a nightmarish experience for me. I had weak nerves from pre-existing conditions like anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD, stemming from the tragic accidental death of my only son when he was just 5 years old. My nerves were so fragile that I had to take tranquilizers like Ativan and antidepressants like Prozac daily to manage the anxiety and panic attacks triggered by the overwhelming tinnitus and hyperacusis. On top of that, I struggled with sleeplessness, which I could only alleviate with sleeping pills. I relied on my iPod, set to the lowest volume I could tolerate, to distract my brain from the relentless high-pitched screaming of the tinnitus.

For me, those medications saved me from a complete mental collapse, and the iPod provided crucial distraction, helping me avoid succumbing to the ultra-high-pitched tinnitus. After my left ear became deaf, I developed a tremendously loud, rumbling, jet-engine-like tinnitus that joined the original high-pitched tinnitus in my right ear. I now live with a duet of loud tenor and bass sounds 24/7. As I type this, I can still hear them vividly when I focus on tinnitus and hyperacusis. However, I’ve habituated to them now, and when I’m busy or not focused on them, I don’t notice them.

How is that possible? It’s not a miracle, but rather a testament to what the brain can do when it no longer perceives the ringing as a threat. This is similar to how people living near airports or train tracks eventually stop hearing the sound of passing aircraft or trains. Initially, they notice the noise, but over time, without emotional resistance, their brains get used to it and fade the sounds out of consciousness. This happens to pilots, flight attendants, train operators, and even passengers who, while watching a movie on a flight, are no longer aware of the loud jet noise.

I hope that, within a year, your hyperacusis will fade, and your brain will become more resilient to the ringing, allowing habituation to occur gradually. I recommend spending time outdoors and trying cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques like exposure and mindfulness to help your brain soften its response to the ringing. Be careful not to overprotect your ears from hyperacusis, as that can slow the fading process.

Be patient and stay positive. If you remind yourself that in a year or two you’ll likely feel better, you won’t need to worry as much about the daily fluctuations of tinnitus and hyperacusis. Take care, and God bless your recovery.

 

Thanks, Billie. I will keep working on it.

 

Hello @Yellowblue44,

I agree with @billie48. However, make sure to do your own research, but keep in mind that tinnitus and hyperacusis are very different for each person. Everyone's experience with managing these conditions is unique.

I hope it fades with time, but spending too much time on this forum may not be helpful. Focus only on the positive stories.

Good night, and God bless.