My tinnitus started almost ten years ago due to noise trauma. Just ten minutes of loud live music triggered it, after years of abusing headphones and playing music at maximum volume most of the time.
Since the first day, my tinnitus has been very unstable. I can go months without being bothered by it, even when it spikes. Other times, a milder form of it suddenly makes me feel anxious, depressed, and robbed of my future. There's no clear correlation between its loudness and my psychological response—it's all pretty mixed.
I can hear the hissing everywhere except in the shower. Despite its loudness, I almost always wear earplugs to sleep because I wake up very easily to sounds. Sometimes, I wake up to almost complete silence, then fall back asleep and wake up again to it spiking.
My question is: Can wearing earplugs make my brain more aware of the tinnitus, and could this be the reason for the spikes?
Since the first day, my tinnitus has been very unstable. I can go months without being bothered by it, even when it spikes. Other times, a milder form of it suddenly makes me feel anxious, depressed, and robbed of my future. There's no clear correlation between its loudness and my psychological response—it's all pretty mixed.
I can hear the hissing everywhere except in the shower. Despite its loudness, I almost always wear earplugs to sleep because I wake up very easily to sounds. Sometimes, I wake up to almost complete silence, then fall back asleep and wake up again to it spiking.
My question is: Can wearing earplugs make my brain more aware of the tinnitus, and could this be the reason for the spikes?
