Can Tinnitus Caused by Hearing Loss Get Better Over Time?

[an1992]

I try to stay positive reading success stories from time to time. They provide me a great help. Habituation, reduction in loudness etc...

But I was wondering: has anyone with hearing loss & tinnitus had a "success story"?

Can tinnitus caused by hearing loss arrive to a point which is acceptable (assuming one's hearing loss isn't progressive of course)?

 

[Pulsing Ear]

I have tinnitus from what I believe is hearing loss caused by exposure to loud music. Concerts and a loud car stereo I played very loud as a teenager. I've had tinnitus since I was in high school back in the 80s. It seems to have gotten slowly worse over the past 30 plus years. I think that's just from accumulated damage over the years.

 

[Sam Bridge]

I say yes because I have a 30 dB dip around 3-4 kHz but my tinnitus can be really mild some days and others it's moderate and more buzzy.The mild days are a smooth shhh sound. I don't think my hearing has recovered but something is causing good and bad days.

 

[Benjaminbb]

I try to stay positive reading success stories from time to time. They provide me a great help. Habituation, reduction in loudness etc...

But I was wondering: has anyone with hearing loss & tinnitus had a "success story"?

Can tinnitus caused by hearing loss arrive to a point which is acceptable (assuming one's hearing loss isn't progressive of course)?

Many people with tinnitus from acoustic trauma improve significantly. So in one sense yes. Gradual progressive hearing loss is more unlikely.

It's hard to identify the cause for certain in these particular cases, but I know many DJs who had tinnitus bouts for a month or so that went away in their 20s or early 30s.

 

[an1992]

@Sam Bridge I have "good" days too, but bad days are the 80%. I have a low frequency hearing loss which is at 60 dB on 500 Hz, then goes up to normal hearing at 1000 Hz. I'm desperate because I'm experiencing hyperacusis and ETD (cracking, pressure, my own voice in the ear etc.). I don't know if I'll ever be a "success story", which is the goal I'm trying to focus on to let suicidal thoughts go away.

 

[billie48]

@Sam Bridge I have "good" days too, but bad days are the 80%. I have a low frequency hearing loss which is at 60 dB on 500 Hz, then goes up to normal hearing at 1000 Hz. I'm desperate because I'm experiencing hyperacusis and ETD (cracking, pressure, my own voice in the ear etc.). I don't know if I'll ever be a "success story", which is the goal I'm trying to focus on to let suicidal thoughts go away.

Hearing your own voice in the ear means reactive tinnitus or mild hyperacusis. This type of hyperacusis tends to fade over time. I agree with others that even if tinnitus does not go away, it tends to fade in intensity or you will habituate to it if slowly. Have you gone to an ENT to look at your ETD? Do you have blocked Eustachian Tube? If so, you can watch some YouTube videos how to drain the blockage. Good luck. Take care. God bless.

 

[an1992]

@billie48 sure I do have ETD because I always experience pressure and cracking in my left ear and it's so annoying. I have mild hyperacusis too, which is not that bad with general life noises unless they're loud but it's very much disturbing when I'm in a room with more than 3 people talking. I really hope this will get better, because it's preventing me to have a proper social life.

I read your post about your SSNHL and it's pretty much what I had. I hope we will get through this with time.

 

[billie48]

So have you received treatment for ETD? Perhaps if that is taken care of then your symptoms and ringing will subside. Did you say you have sudden sensorineural hearing loss? Mine just happened overnight when I woke up without any warning. Sigh! If you have SSHL make sure your ENT can give you prednisone and/or antivirals. Also ask him about injections if oral steroids doesn't help. I am also getting HBOT too, kind of throwing everything under the kitchen sink at the SSHL. Still waiting for the miracle.

 

[an1992]

@billie48 too late for me for steroids, but I tried some drugs one month after the onset and they did anything. My ETD is related to the SNHL or at least that's what my ENT tried to tell me, so I have no escape from this too. I have to deal with 24/7 loud tinnitus and unbelievably loud spikes which lasts for hours and happen totally random several times a month (when I'm lucky, when I'm not they happen several times a week). I can't stand this forever. I had a life before this shit. Now I don't even know who I am. Sorry for being negative. I just lost my will to live completely.

I hope you won't, and I wish you and anyone else in this forum the best.

 

[an1992]

I'm here just to update anyone interested that my tinnitus got better.

It's still loud, but now it is somewhat "manageable" most of the time. I keep getting bad spikes, usually after I expose myself to "loud" environments, even if "loud" for me is a totally new level of loudness since my tolerance to sounds has decreased significantly.

I hope I keep improving at this pace and hope everyone else improves too. One day (I hope soon) we will have a cure or at least a treatment.

Don't lose hope, because losing hope is what was basically killing me.

 

[Benjaminbb]

I'm here just to update anyone interested that my tinnitus got better.

It's still loud, but now it is somewhat "manageable" most of the time. I keep getting bad spikes, usually after I expose myself to "loud" environments, even if "loud" for me is a totally new level of loudness since my tolerance to sounds has decreased significantly.

I hope I keep improving at this pace and hope everyone else improves too. One day (I hope soon) we will have a cure or at least a treatment.

Don't lose hope, because losing hope is what was basically killing me.

Hey, are you sure the spikes aren't just fleeting tinnitus episodes? Are they the same tone?

I have fleeting tinnitus once a month in one ear; it can stay for hours. It's always a different tone and always gone after sleeping.

 

[Stanlex]

Reading success stories isn't always beneficial, especially when you read stories like 'it got better after a month' or 'after 6 months it disappeared' but you are 2 months in and don't see any improvement at all.

 

[an1992]

Reading success stories isn't always beneficial, especially when you read stories like 'it got better after a month' or 'after 6 months it disappeared' but you are 2 months in and don't see any improvement at all.

My onset was in June 2020. It took nearly a year for me to have some kind of progress.

Anyway it depends on your specific problem: I had a sudden sensorineural hearing loss in the low frequencies, up to 60 dB.

I don't know what your problem is but I hope you have the best possible outcome. Give it time and don't lose hope.

 

[an1992]

Hey, are you sure the spikes aren't just fleeting tinnitus episodes? Are they the same tone?

I have fleeting tinnitus once a month in one ear; it can stay for hours. It's always a different tone and always gone after sleeping.

Nope, not fleeting tinnitus. My spikes are 100% caused by exposure to "loud" environments. I get fleeting tinnitus too, sometimes.

 

[Stanlex]

My onset was in June 2020. It took nearly a year for me to have some kind of progress.

Anyway it depends on your specific problem: I had a sudden sensorineural hearing loss in the low frequencies, up to 60 dB.

I don't know what your problem is but I hope you have the best possible outcome. Give it time and don't lose hope.

The thing is I don't even know! One evening when I went to bed I noticed that my tinnitus is much louder than usual. And for next days and weeks, I would say till today, I still search for damages and I just can't stop wonder when I see what else sounds distorted, weird, etc. And I am totally puzzled, I can't stop asking what the f#&@ happened and why is my hearing suddenly so broken.

I absolutely don't know what is the reason why I have so bad tinnitus and dysacusis and therefore I don't know what to expect. The symptoms look like it is noise induced, but that sounds like BS, because I haven't been exposed to any loud sounds. IDK really, I don't think I have hearing loss but this weird fullness, dysacusis and bad tinnitus is here unfortunately. I hope it will fade.

 

[Forever hopeful]

I wish I still had a shhh. I had one dip in one mid frequency range last year - left ear only. At first it was 30 dB. I had a echo/ seashell /shh noise. I habituated and was doing great. Ten months later (2 months ago) the same frequency dipped to 35dB and now my tinnitus is an awful pure tone ring. And just worsened last week by a brain MRI. I'm hoping/ praying it's a temporary spike.

My ENT told me today that most people report back to him in a year that their tinnitus is better or they're just used to it. He seems to think I'm an outlier for being so bothered by it.

 

[twa]

I wish I still had a shhh. I had one dip in one mid frequency range last year - left ear only. At first it was 30 dB. I had a echo/ seashell /shh noise. I habituated and was doing great. Ten months later (2 months ago) the same frequency dipped to 35dB and now my tinnitus is an awful pure tone ring. And just worsened last week by a brain MRI. I'm hoping/ praying it's a temporary spike.

My ENT told me today that most people report back to him in a year that their tinnitus is better or they're just used to it. He seems to think I'm an outlier for being so bothered by it.

Hey there, did they rule out Meniere's?

 

[Robster]

I wish I still had a shhh. I had one dip in one mid frequency range last year - left ear only. At first it was 30 dB. I had a echo/ seashell /shh noise. I habituated and was doing great. Ten months later (2 months ago) the same frequency dipped to 35dB and now my tinnitus is an awful pure tone ring. And just worsened last week by a brain MRI. I'm hoping/ praying it's a temporary spike.

My ENT told me today that most people report back to him in a year that their tinnitus is better or they're just used to it. He seems to think I'm an outlier for being so bothered by it.

Brain MRIs are ridiculously noisy, there really needs to be something done about that. I hope it's just a temporary spike for you and it goes back to baseline.

 

[sensualmosquito]

Nope, not fleeting tinnitus. My spikes are 100% caused by exposure to "loud" environments. I get fleeting tinnitus too, sometimes.

I also lost my hearing in June last year, but it was due to guns. I've heard that sometimes it takes 1-3 years for things to improve for NIHL (and mine is strange since it happened so fast because of an acoustic trauma) but I am not entirely sure how things tend to play out for SSNHL. What antibiotic did you take before this happened?

 

[Benjaminbb]

It seems to have gotten slowly worse over the past 30 plus years. I think that's just from accumulated damage over the years.

Slowly worse! Not too bad then in 30 years!

 

[Forever hopeful]

Hey there, did they rule out Meniere's?

Well I basically ran out of the MRI halfway through crying from the anxiety of how loud it was. So in terms of the results they didn't get to see as much as they wanted because I didn't complete the contrast part. The radiologist told my otologist that from what they could see everything looked fine. He said he doesn't feel the need to have me go back because I don't have enough symptoms to suggest I will need another MRI, which is a good thing because I wasn't going back anyway. I do not think there's any evidence of Ménière's. Especially since I've had no vestibular issues at all.

 

[Forever hopeful]

Brain MRIs are ridiculously noisy, there really needs to be something done about that. I hope it's just a temporary spike for you and it goes back to baseline.

Thanks. It was better today, knock on wood. My otologist assured me that my exposure in a normal MRI is not long enough to do damage to my hearing. I said you have to be kidding. I felt like my ears were attached to a fire alarm.

 

[Robster]

Thanks. It was better today, knock on wood. My otologist assured me that my exposure in a normal MRI is not long enough to do damage to my hearing. I said you have to be kidding. I felt like my ears were attached to a fire alarm.

Your otologist sounds a lot like the ENT I saw who said pretty much the same thing. Unfortunately my ears say otherwise.

 

[Charlesm0513]

I have a brain MRI on Wednesday. Completely not looking forward to it.

 

[Forever hopeful]

I have a brain MRI on Wednesday. Completely not looking forward to it.

Best of luck.

 

[Charlesm0513]

Thank you!

 

[Matchbox]

Brain MRIs are ridiculously noisy, there really needs to be something done about that. I hope it's just a temporary spike for you and it goes back to baseline.

Quieter 1.5T ones exist. Higher resolution 3-5T don't.

 

[Rajin]

Yes, it can. Mine is much better now. Some days I don't hear it. But my tinnitus has not become quieter, it's just that my awareness, emotion, and stress toward tinnitus is less.

I have accepted my tinnitus now after 3.8 years. Time is the key.