Boyfriend Has Low-Frequency Tinnitus and Sensitivity to Sounds

I am here because my boyfriend has low frequency tinnitus..

I'm trying to understand his, should I say pain as I think discomfort is a little mild to describe it.

He says he has the noise so bad he wants to end it all sometimes, but being with me seems to help him some.

He cannot stand outside noise at all either, loud motorcycle noise, music louder than very low sound, television has to be turned low and sleeping is near to impossible.

He uses several clocks at night to mask the noise and that helps a little.

My late husband had tinnitus also but everything had to be loud around him, he had hearing trouble so everything had to be turned up, TV etc.

This is new and different.

My boyfriend cannot stand being in crowds where the volume might get loud, children screams, yelling, traffic noises. He seems to prefer taking walks, does the quietness of nature bring relief, he usually seems to hear me speaking when I speak softly.

Some input would be wonderful.

Thanks.

 

I'm so sorry. Watching someone suffer might be even worse than your own suffering.

Since when does he have tinnitus? Is he in the acute or the chronic stage? Do you suspect a cause? Like exposure to loud noise for a longer period of time (earbuds, noisy workplace, power tools) or acoustic trauma, head/neck trauma, ear infection, ototoxic meds? Unilateral or bilateral tinnitus?

Do noises make his ears hurt or does he perceive them as too loud? He may have hyperacusis.

Does he use ear protection? Earplugs or earmuffs? They are very useful for loud places.

 

He has had this for 4 or 5 years and uses head phones for silence when doing jobs with noise, and ear plugs. I have to ask him about the noise being too loud or painful, I think it is just too loud. He feels like he got it from going to loud rock concerts and working around big trucks and loud noises. Thank you for your reply

 

Hello Carol and sorry to read this.

Ah I can relate to that. Does he not like it because it makes his tinnitus react or because he fears that those potentially loud noises may aggravate his condition on the long term?

 

Maybe he has hearing sensitivity or hyperacusis together with tinnitus. The rationale behind not being able to stand loud sounds or perceiving very soft speech is hair cell damage or alterations. Outer hair cells are responsible for enhancing or dampening sound that then is delivered to inner hair cells and to the brain through the hearing nerve. Once damaged hair cells do not regenerate.

Tinnitus can be reactive to sound (spike in the presence of sound) and a spike can be permanent or temporary, but tinnitus sufferers are always vigilant to avoid a permanent spike, and afraid of it. So hearing problems, when bad enough, tend to dominate one's life and make some activities unbearable and impossible to do, and some normal events hard to attend (loud events and celebrations, for instance weddings, parties, for some people cinema etc)