AnthonyMcDonald
Member
@Michael Leigh is a delusional menace to this forum. While he does have some okay advice like about headphones and avoiding loud noise, most of his opinions are baseless malarkey that harm the community.
Can My Tinnitus Turn Reactive?
- Thread starter rhiannon
- Start date
MemberI do have an NHS GP appointment Thursday morning albeit this was made for a different reason before the spike, but maybe they can kill 2 birds with one stone. I also have a GP appointment lined up with BUPA straight after.
I have been reading your posts consecutively but printing them off may be a good idea.
I am still not understanding where I am with this spike, it's a bit back and forth with the fluctuation of tinnitus levels.
Sometimes the sensitivity seems a bit better and at other times not so much. I allowed myself 3 minutes or so in the shower without my earplugs and couldn't hear my tinnitus which was amazing. I of course did feel the vibrations and baseline ear sensations I've described previously. It did seem that today those 'distortions' were less.
I honestly don't know if my tinnitus was louder after or if it subjectively felt louder because I returned to the silence of my room. The low level noise enrichment is a bit of an issue at the moment because I've noticed regardless of what level the audio is on my phone, my tinnitus rises above it.
This is the reason I advised you to print all the posts that I have mentioned because it is a lot to read. If you want to fully understand what you are going through, then you need to print them.
Your ears and auditory system need time to recover from the spike and I stress it's not something that can be rushed! I am very serious about this @Hardwell, and it is the reason I advised you not to seek any private treatment for your spike or the tinnitus. Stay with the NHS. Providing you aren't experiencing dizziness, deafness, problems with your balance, then leave your ears alone.
You have experienced a spike after a long habituation period, the way to recovery is explained in my post: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?
When using sound enrichment, it is better to use a sound machine because a phone is not ideal. Buy an Oasis S-680-2. Sound enrichment should not cover or mask the tinnitus. More about this is explained in my posts.
Michael
Any pillow speaker will work with the Sound Oasis S-680-2 sound machine. I use the Sound Oasis SP-101 pillow speakers with my Sound Oasis machines, and found them to be very good quality:
Pillow speaker - Sound Oasis
Thanks Michael. Do you have the speaker pillow or use the separate speakers with your pillow?
Separate speakers. It's surprising the amount of sound will come through a normal pillow and the volume hasn't got to be turned up much.
Some time ago, I used a pillow fitted with internal speakers it wasn't made by Sound Oasis. I couldn't get along with it, as I could feel the speaker against my ear which felt very uncomfortable.
Michael
Thanks again. Also, do you use the speaker holder or just place the two speakers under your pillow?
I bought my Sound Oasis speakers over 10 years ago. They are the same as the website picture. There is no holder, the speakers are placed under the pillow. I alternate between using the sound machine as freestanding or attaching the pillow speakers.
Michael
@Michael Leigh, sorry I've not got back to your post, although it was much appreciated.
I've just got back from GP who thinks it may be sensorineural hearing loss or something. He doesn't think the noise exposure has anything to do with it. Me myself, I'm not too convinced. I have been prescribed steroids but am now off to the other GP for a second opinion.
Most GP's mean well @Hardwell but their knowledge of tinnitus, especially when it's noise induced, is limited. From what you have told me about your lifestyle leading up to the spike and increase in your tinnitus, suggests to me the cause is exposure to loud noise. This has been coming on for some time and wasn't triggered by one event.
I also had a long habituation period like you for 8 years and completely forgot about the tinnitus, until it suddenly returned. I knew what caused it but tried not to dwell over the situation because I couldn't undue what happened. I hope you listen to the advice that I have given you and leave your ears alone and give them time to heal. By all means attend NHS ENT for tests if this is advised but keep away from private treatment.
Take care,
Michael
3 days later:
SSHL is an acute condition that requires steroids as soon as possible.
The fact that A&E sent you away and 3 days later your GP prescribed you what A&E 'should' have prescribed you with is a text book example of the medical field's ignorance of tinnitus/SSHL/steroids.
When you go to see a physician about tinnitus, there is huge random element involved on what treatment (if any) you will receive.
Doctors SERIOUSLY need to be upskilled in this field but (and here is the next big problem) they think their knowledge is fine.
This was also my conclusion and I asked him why he didn't believe the noise exposure was the culprit, despite me telling him people with tinnitus have a lower threshold of tolerance. He said he understands but he's of this opinion because the muffled and stuffy ear symptoms came on three days prior, with also some kind of gum issue I was having, He contacted the hospital and I should be seen in the next 12-24 hours. I'm still pretty much on the same boat as you but I shall follow his orders until then.
Everything you said about the private practice (BUPA) was correct. The waiting rooms were very well furnished and swanky with good amenities, doctors very well dressed and more attentive. But he gave me the toughest examination I had and said that my inner ear canal (?) was quite restricted which could be due to me stopping Xylometazoline Hydrochloride after 8 months of continual use. He didn't even have the equipment in the practice that my NHS GP had to indicate hearing loss. So I very much do echo the statement of NHS over private in this instance.
It's mind boggling, the receptionist tried to turn me away instantly and told me to go to a chemist for ear wax removal. He begrudgingly told me it would be a long wait as it's done on a triage basis. Then I get seen by a nurse who just looks in my ear and goes yea, no infection or ear drum damage.
If your NHS GP advises that you do attend hospital for tests, then you are right to follow his orders.
You won't get the same long term aftercare for tinnitus going private as you will under the NHS, simply because of the cost! I have been an out-patient for 27 years under the NHS, and been seen many times in ENT and Audiology. Private treatment can be good for medical conditions that require a quick fix. However, something like tinnitus, which is often a long drawn out process regarding treatment, the NHS wins every time.
Michael
bobvann
Member
Event ChatGPT recognizes that indeed there is a condition called reactive tinnitus.
Attachments
Reactive tinnitus is nothing more than hyperacusis. Hyperacusis can manifest itself in many ways. I have experienced what people call reactive tinnitus many times when I was suffering from very severe and very painful hyperacusis 27 years ago when I first got noise-induced tinnitus. It was successfully cured in 2 years, wearing white noise generators as part of TRT with counselling.
Michael
Does it really matter what it's called when everyone knows what it is?
I think we all agree that some of us suffer from a more burdensome type of tinnitus that increases directly with external sound. This makes the tinnitus variable, hence more difficult to manage and cope with compared to someone with relatively stable tinnitus.
Form of hyperacusis, kindling, reactive tinnitus, winding... whatever!
What about 'responsive tinnitus' or 'noise sensitive tinnitus'?
Why do we continue to argue over this trivial point when so many are suffering with this god awful condition?
It matters a great deal to some people and I don't think it's good for a person's mental and emotional well-being. This was my reason for writing my post: Keeping Things Simple with Tinnitus. The more complex one makes tinnitus and hyperacusis by adding terminology such as reactive tinnitus, pain hyperacusis, noxacusis etc, the more difficult it can be for some to believe they will ever habituate. They will often have a negative approach to treatments like TRT, CBT, sound therapy, counselling, and medication.
Michael
- Feb 11, 2019
- 801
- Tinnitus Since
- 01/2014
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Headcold/Flu
The culprit who is responsible for keeping this frankly idiotic argument alive is (who would have guessed it) none other than @Michael Leigh. With unfathomable, pig-headed arrogance and truly childish stubborness (I recall how @Ben Winders told him to "grow up") he refuses to alter his position one iota, even when @EternalRinging (and about 20 other posters) have provided unbiased, contrary documentation.
@AnthonyMcDonald was quite correct in calling him a "delusional menace."
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not here to argue whether or not people like to call it reactive tinnitus.
As you mentioned, I'm okay with whatever people likes to call it, but I just found it curious how an AI backed up with millions of validated scientific research data pointed me that I might suffer from something called "reactive tinnitus", without mentioning the name of the condition. And I agree that is the best name to describe the type of tinnitus I suffer from, because I don't have hyperacusis.
But yeah, for me, it's really important to make the distinction between having reactive tinnitus or not because when I first encountered this condition, I remember that one of the first things that I found out on Google was that "something as simple as a fan might help you distract from the tinnitus".
Well, I turned on my fan and I had no idea why the tinnitus sounded louder. That's when I found out that in fact, I suffer from a very rare subset of tinnitus called "reactive tinnitus", something in which probably more than 90% of tinnitus sufferers don't have, hence, the reason why we encounter people in the streets that have tinnitus but are very habituated to it.
Doctors should be more informed about this subset of tinnitus, because I have seen multiple ENTs and they couldn't believe my tinnitus reacted to sound. They looked at me as if I was crazy.
I even tried CBT once and when I mentioned to my therapist that my tinnitus reacted to sound, he didn't even know what to say to me. So he just told me things such as "that is horrible" or "that is very unfortunate".
bobvann
Member
Hello @rhiannon
Keep things simple as @Michael Leigh says and @hopefuldede
I've had t for years and it was awful when it started,
Over time your t will melt into the background, and you will learn to ignore it…..
Time will do this, and your brain will recalibrate….
In the mean time only read positive posts and keep away from negativity and Dr Google, (from my own experience dr Google is not helpful "Misery loves Company".
Give yourself time…..
And you Will get better….
Sending hugs x
Keep things simple as @Michael Leigh says and @hopefuldede
I've had t for years and it was awful when it started,
Over time your t will melt into the background, and you will learn to ignore it…..
Time will do this, and your brain will recalibrate….
In the mean time only read positive posts and keep away from negativity and Dr Google, (from my own experience dr Google is not helpful "Misery loves Company".
Give yourself time…..
And you Will get better….
Sending hugs x
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