Does Anyone Find Tinnitus Masking at the Wrong Frequency to Be Counterproductive?

[Poseidon65]

In my bedroom, there is a noisy air conditioner which is 60 db at my listening position. The air conditioner makes mostly low-frequency sound.

In contrast to the low-frequency A/C noise, my tinnitus is pretty high-frequency. Because of the mismatch, the A/C doesn't mask my tinnitus very well, though it does mask it to some degree.

Lately I've noticed that this "masking at the wrong frequency" is really bothering me. It's like "hey, the A/C is pretty loud, and the fact that I can still hear my tinnitus over it is really annoying." Basically, rather than just hearing just the one tinnitus tone, I'm now hearing two tones (the tinnitus and the A/C).

Does anyone else experience something similar, where masking at the wrong frequency (and then hearing your tinnitus over it) seems even worse than not masking at all? I'm curious to hear any and all experience you've all had.

 

[AtlasFainted]

In my bedroom, there is a noisy air conditioner which is 60 db at my listening position. The air conditioner makes mostly low-frequency sound.

In contrast to the low-frequency A/C noise, my tinnitus is pretty high-frequency. Because of the mismatch, the A/C doesn't mask my tinnitus very well, though it does mask it to some degree.

Lately I've noticed that this "masking at the wrong frequency" is really bothering me. It's like "hey, the A/C is pretty loud, and the fact that I can still hear my tinnitus over it is really annoying." Basically, rather than just hearing just the one tinnitus tone, I'm now hearing two tones (the tinnitus and the A/C).

Does anyone else experience something similar, where masking at the wrong frequency (and then hearing your tinnitus over it) seems even worse than not masking at all? I'm curious to hear any and all experience you've all had.

I've had pretty much the same thing happen. For me the solution is pretty much always rain sounds, cricket sounds, or other similar sounds.

Tinnitus sucks but honestly I'm glad I discovered these ambient noises. Some of them really breathe life into an environment and I find them stimulating; It's almost comparable to lighting a candle in a room to stimulate your sense of smell.

For the most part, I enjoy these masking sounds more than I enjoyed silence without tinnitus.

Even when once it's cured (which I believe it will be) I'll probably still pop on some "rainforest sounds" or "cricket sounds" on my Amazon Alexa whenever things seem too quiet & dull.

 

[Lilah]

Just any noise at loud volume doesn't mask mine, such as a fan sound. It is still better if I kept the fan on though rather than being in a silent room. Pink and violet noise does a good job even at a lower volume.