Exposure to Burglar Alarm — Advice Please

[Marcus L]

I currently have tinnitus in both ears. It's a constant higher pitched sound and is less noticeable when there is background noise e.g. daytime, work life etc.
I've had it for the past few weeks and it's got worse because it's now impacting my sleep.

Cause
While I have attended concerts over the summer (and indeed all my life, I'm now 43) I've only ever had ringing in my ears for a few hours after a concert and never the next day. I cover my ears when I hear loud sirens or diggers.
At the end of August there was a burglar alarm which rang constantly day and night in my neighbourhood for 6 days non-stop. It thoroughly annoyed all the neighbours (myself included) and I'm now coming to the conclusion that this triggered the tinnitus. I tried to stop it by calling the council but they could only send someone to assess the noise level and said it was not one of their buildings so could not gain access to it. I slept in a rear bedroom during nearly all this period when I don't think I could hear it. (It didn't stop me from sleeping.) On just the last night I slept in the front bedroom (I had guests staying) when my ears would have been exposed to the sound during my sleep.

Question/advice
In your experience, if this alarm (which did not hurt my hearing but was just annoying when I was at home) is the cause of my tinnitus, have you had other examples of this and is it likely to clear up? It lasted from 22-28 Aug so it ended 3 weeks ago now.
I saw my GP yesterday who inspected my ears and said they are not blocked.

 

[3ri0w]

Does your ringing sound like the burglar alarm?

 

[Marcus L]

No, it's a constant quite high pitched ringing. Barely noticeable during the day unless it's quiet or if I think about it.

 

[3ri0w]

Ah ok! I hope it goes away for you

 

[Marcus L]

Thanks. Hope so too. Do you think it's something else which triggered it if the ringing doesn't sound like the alarm? I think I may have had a lighter ringing before (maybe due to exposure over the years to concerts etc) but never noticed it but then the alarm exasperated it.
My real question is do people on this forum think that after a 6 day exposure (only when at home) to the noise, and it's now been 3 weeks since it stopped, that it will improve over time?

 

[3ri0w]

Thanks. Hope so too. Do you think it's something else which triggered it if the ringing doesn't sound like the alarm? I think I may have had a lighter ringing before (maybe due to exposure over the years to concerts etc) but never noticed it but then the alarm exasperated it.
My real question is do people on this forum think that after a 6 day exposure (only when at home) to the noise, and it's now been 3 weeks since it stopped, that it will improve over time?

I was just wondering because when there was a construction work near me, and there was this beeping sound many hours a day (I thought it was a vehicle backing up) I could hear the beep in my head for months

How loud was the burglar alarm? Gotta say this vehicle wasn't loud either, but the beep tinnitus eventually went away

 

[Alue]

It's most likely the alarm that triggered it, but given your past lout noise exposure it could have just been the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[Marcus L]

The burglar alarm was loud enough to be annoying but not loud enough to hurt the ears. It was the opposite side of the road and about 3 doors down. I slept at the back of my house for all but one night and could hardly hear it there. Am thinking it could have been the one night where I slept at the front and my ears would have heard the noise throughout the night.
Yes it could have been the straw which broke the camel's back.
How come it's only now interrupting my sleep 3 weeks later? Is it because I'm thinking about it and worried about it?
Will this type of trauma get better over time? I'm just looking for guidance and advice from others as the doctor only said he would call me in 2 weeks.

 

[jjflyman]

Thanks. Hope so too. Do you think it's something else which triggered it if the ringing doesn't sound like the alarm? I think I may have had a lighter ringing before (maybe due to exposure over the years to concerts etc) but never noticed it but then the alarm exasperated it.
My real question is do people on this forum think that after a 6 day exposure (only when at home) to the noise, and it's now been 3 weeks since it stopped, that it will improve over time?

I guess it's possible that the alarm caused you T, but IMO it will fade over the next few months. I would bet that in 6 months this will be all forgotten

 

[jjflyman]

Will this type of trauma get better over time?

usually it does go away over time, but it may take many months
First time I had noise induced T (12 years ago)it was really bad, and it took over 18 months to fully fade. I'm in my second bout with noise induced T from a loud concert, and it's 80% faded in 12 months.

 

[Marcus L]

Ok thank you for this info. I'm just so glad to be able to talk to someone who knows what it's like. I get the feeling that my tinnitus is mild compared to others so am focussing on getting the mind to ignore it. I have a very active brain and am obviously worried about it and I gather from comments on this forum that this will exasperate it.
For my first aim is to have a full night's sleep after 3 interrupted nights. Little steps...
For those reading with a similar condition I promise to keep posting about my progress. Reading other's comments about progress is helping me to understand the condition.

 

[jjflyman]

For those reading with a similar condition I promise to keep posting about my progress.

Yes, keep posting as you improve, it helps others new to the forum. noise induced T usually fades over time

 

[Marcus L]

Have had 3 nights in a row of circa 4 hours sleep and am now very tired. Does the body's need for sleep become more important in the brain than the tinnitus?
How long will this take? Days? Weeks? Any feedback welcome.
I just want to sleep all the way through the night as it's not being able to get back to sleep which is getting me down.
Trying to stay positive and keep my day busy, ideally with exercise. Hoping to go to bed so tired that my body HAS to sleep!

 

[Fangen]

In my experience, the less sleep I get (meaning the more tired I am), the louder my T feels. Not sure if it spikes or just the perception of it becoming different. I've had some very stressful and tiring periods at work and I have noticed that it does make my T feel worse and more annoying. T can feel worse under anxiety, stress, lack of sleep/food/etc, which is why a lot of people come here and swear that their T is louder (which is probably feels like but the loudness most likely is the same, only the perception is different) due to their state of mind/body.
I think you might be anxious and therefore it becomes harder to sleep. Your body can't relax while under anxiety and stress, so you sleep lighter and shorter.

How long will what take? For it to fade?

 

[Marcus L]

Thanks. Yes the lack of sleep feeds into the anxiety and then it's a vicious circle. I need to stay in a positive mindset and I know if I can have a good night's sleep I will be able to cope fine after that.
Actually I was asking how long before I sleep through the night? Hoping it's days not weeks.
Also if I start to use ambient noises as an aid to sleep, does the brain get hooked on them?

 

[NimQ]

Thanks. Yes the lack of sleep feeds into the anxiety and then it's a vicious circle. I need to stay in a positive mindset and I know if I can have a good night's sleep I will be able to cope fine after that.
Actually I was asking how long before I sleep through the night? Hoping it's days not weeks.
Also if I start to use ambient noises as an aid to sleep, does the brain get hooked on them?

I definitely recommend you to use masking sounds (i.e. ambient noises). The more you listen to your T, the more fixated your brain gets. I believe that by listening and strongly reacting to T sound, we are telling to our brain "this is important" and therefore those neural pathways become stronger.

I would use masking noise first to completely get your attention away from T. Choose sounds you like and ones that soothe your mind. I use an app named Sleep Pillow, because one can mix different sounds together. Anyway, then when you get your anxiety in control, you can start step by step lowering the masking noise volume, until it is barely under your T volume. This way you'll be feeding your brain other stimuli than T and you allow your brain to "forget" the phantom sound.

 

[jjflyman]

Have had 3 nights in a row of circa 4 hours sleep and am now very tired. Does the body's need for sleep become more important in the brain than the tinnitus?
How long will this take? Days? Weeks? Any feedback welcome.
I just want to sleep all the way through the night as it's not being able to get back to sleep which is getting me down.
Trying to stay positive and keep my day busy, ideally with exercise. Hoping to go to bed so tired that my body HAS to sleep!

Get a making machine of some sort and put it in your bedroom I have a water fountain in my bedroom the runs 24/7 and it helps me sleep. I also used these when I was at my worst T:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-Sleep-Aid-Tablets-32-ct/10451267

I cut them in half, and they really helped me sleep. Be careful about taking them for too many nights in a row, as you will need to ween yourself off them. I took them for like 2 month in a row, and it took about 5 nights of not taking them (and not sleeping good) to "get off them" LOL
Use as directed and at least you will get some sleep

 

[Elfin]

I was just wondering because when there was a construction work near me, and there was this beeping sound many hours a day (I thought it was a vehicle backing up) I could hear the beep in my head for months

Have something similar to this at the moment and it is driving me mate. Keep hearing the sound of an electric saw. Absolutely infuriating

 

[Marcus L]

Thanks @jjflyman am going to use masking noise and take a sleeping pill tonight. Am pretty sure I can control this as soon as I get more sleep again. I filled out a THI and have 34 out of 100 which is classified as mild.

 

[Marcus L]

Slept for 8 hours last night - finally - with 2 interruptions but managed to get back to sleep both times. Took actifed before bed and had air humidifier on all night. Hoping I can replicate this. T can be quite noisy during the day so need to stay busy.