Falling Asleep to Milder Tinnitus — Waking Up to Very Loud Tinnitus — Thoughts & Experiences?
- Thread starter Lilah
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That pattern of the T increasing with sleep seems to be the less usual pattern. Mine is pretty consistently less in the morning, and then builds up during the day.
Is there noise while you sleep that could be setting it off? Sometimes a partner snoring can contribute to this as well.
You could try a sleep supplement, such as melatonin to help promote sleep.
Can also try a white noise generator to try and mask the noise. However, and I believe I am in the minority on this issue, but I sleep with earplugs, and find that it makes the T quieter in the morning. You may need to experiment between the two to see what works for you.
Is there noise while you sleep that could be setting it off? Sometimes a partner snoring can contribute to this as well.
You could try a sleep supplement, such as melatonin to help promote sleep.
Can also try a white noise generator to try and mask the noise. However, and I believe I am in the minority on this issue, but I sleep with earplugs, and find that it makes the T quieter in the morning. You may need to experiment between the two to see what works for you.
The T increasing doesn't happen all the time but sometimes. I am wondering if it due to the position of my neck, etc. If I sense that the T is rising when I fall asleep, it will almost certainly wake me up. I am taking trazodone because of this issue. My T is very fleeting. I noticed the same when reading/working, all of a sudden I realize it is loud and it "wakes me up."
I wonder what triggers cause the tinnitus to fluxutate, how well is your hearing in background noise?
I can relate to this. But I can't really use the word mild in relation to my tinnitus. @Contrast is really smart, so he is definitely somebody you should ask questions from, he may give you some guidance. It took me one year to be able to sleep, no meds. Not a great sleep, but better than nothing. I would like to suggest, perhaps try sleeping to some ambient sounds, or mellow music . Some people say that silence ramps up the tinnitus because the ears start working in overdrive. Give it a try if you haven't already.
Not exactly sure what causes it to fluctuate so much. I think my hearing is normal with background noise except when my T is real loud. I can be sitting still and hear my T gradually rise.
sirhand
Member
- Apr 27, 2018
- 126
- 34
- Tinnitus Since
- 4/20/2018 4:30 pm
- Cause of Tinnitus
- 4 hour (apparently too loud) headphone session
Do you sleep with noise? When my tinnitus was new, if i slept in silence it would be very much louder in the morning. Now it doesn't really matter if I sleep with noise or not.
Yes, I sleep with the fan on and windows open, and my vent is pretty loud. Sometimes I have music on. I am realizing from this forum that many people have a constant tone, which I thought I had, which is the same pitch and volume 24/7. However, my T varies greatly every 15/30 minutes. I can hear my T go up and down, and different tones. It usually goes up, and doesn't go down until I do some sort of activity like walking. During conversation, sometimes it goes down. Anyone else have this?
@Greg Sacramento I read several times that you have somatic tinnitus. Do you have the same symptoms as me? I also have some change in my T with jaw (sneezing, yawning) and neck movement (stretching). Thanks!
Does anyone have T which rises more when they are at a resting position? I found that if I am trying to meditate, the T rises. Same when I am sitting still. My T decreases when I am moving around.
My T does this. My ENT said it was normal as did my doctor. Apparently its because the Ambient sounds of the day disappear and its quieter at night thus making it louder. Also the more the day goes on the tireder you get so it makes it worse. That is what I was told by them, no idea if there right but it makes a lot of sense.
Everybody is different on this. Some has low T in the morning and later in the day it gets loud. I have heard that they may have to do with blood circulation/supply to the ears and different people have different blood pressure and circulation issue.
For those of us who may wake up to loud ringing, it may have to do with 2 things. One is the lack of good REM sleep. The other is a phenomenon called 'awakening response' and for some people (like me) this can bring a loud T when waking up, especially when sleep is shallow and not restful, lacking REM sleep.
What is awakening response? It has to do with the brain upon waking up trying to monitor our vital signs, much like when we switch on a complicated machine (such as an aircraft) and all the sensors are activated to give reading to the central monitoring system. If a certain sensor is missing or giving alarming signal, the missing is highlighted and alarm or bell rings to bring to the attention of the monitoring system.
Likewise, when we wake up, our brain will monitor and check our vital signs. Unfortunately it has mistaken that tinnitus ringing is a vital sign. Upon sensing it missing, it zooms on it and recreate the pseudo or phantom sound/ringing in the ears.
Perhaps a doctor who posted on this forum earlier can explain it more technically. Here is what he wrote:
"I have always felt it to be due to the role of the reticular formation in tinnitus perception. The reticular formation is a primitive structure in the brain stem. It's a "vital sign monitor." When you wake up, the RF checks to see whether or not you are alive! It looks for heartbeat, respirations, blood pressure, temperature - basic bodily signs. It does not care whether or not these signs are good or bad - just that they are present. And as far as the RF is concerned, tinnitus is part of "expected" body function in an individual suffering from severe intrusive tinnitus. So when you wake, your RF checks to see whether or not tinnitus is present. And if it doesn't immediately find the tinnitus, the RF seeks it with a vengeance - - especially in the post-nap state, when there has been inadequate REM sleep and when, therefore, the RF is on already "high alert" that something might not be quite right. Theoretically - very theoretically - this RF hyperactivity in seeking tinnitus, which in a person with severe intrusive tinnitus it equates with life, results in temporarily markedly augmented tinnitus perception."
how do you know your hearing is normal, do you have a history of noise exposure, loud music, loud cars, any medications that can be considered ototoxic?
@Contrast I went to the audiologist and took the test, the audiologist said my hearing is at the normal levels even though I don't hear high pitches as well in my left ear. I don't think I have been exposed loud music anytime around my T onset. I do take plaquenil which is ototoxic, for 12 years. I don't think Plaquenil caused it though, since I got the T all of a sudden recently. My T may have been caused by stress and grief, the timing is about right.
Ototoxic medication cofirmed as the cause, no doubt it played a role.
Recent research indicates that hearing test used at most audiology clinics and ENTs are extremely inaccurate, they only test for hearing loss within the human voice range, learn more here about hidden hearing loss and how hearing troubles in background noise or music may indicate it's presence.
http://hyperacusisfocus.org/innerear/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595516302507
Plainsman
Member
- Feb 20, 2019
- 34
- Tinnitus Since
- 02/12/2019
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Unsure, potentially from shooting range
I'm very new to all of this, but only a little over 2 weeks in. I can relate to the loud early AM T part. I've tried falling asleep both with and without white noise, but the result is much the same. I may be able to drift off to sleep, but I'm awakened in the middle of the night and my T is much louder than when I drifted off. The last time I woke up this am I lay in bed and even with white noise simply couldn't get back to sleep. My ENT had also ordered a sleep study because it seems clear from my exam I have sleep issues preventing me from getting into REM (probably sleep apnea).
- Aug 21, 2014
- 5,049
- Tinnitus Since
- 1999
- Cause of Tinnitus
- karma
cortisol spikes around three am as part of the sleep wake cycle, and anecdotally a lot of people seem to have spikes at this time (used to happen to me).
i "solved" it by learning to sleep with earplugs; when all I can hear is the tinnitus, doesn't really matter how loud it is, I sleep fine.
related: once when I was 13 I managed to fall asleep with my head resting on an active guitar amp during a bands' practice, and slept for two hours.... what this did to my hearing, I'll never know.
i "solved" it by learning to sleep with earplugs; when all I can hear is the tinnitus, doesn't really matter how loud it is, I sleep fine.
related: once when I was 13 I managed to fall asleep with my head resting on an active guitar amp during a bands' practice, and slept for two hours.... what this did to my hearing, I'll never know.
- Aug 21, 2014
- 5,049
- Tinnitus Since
- 1999
- Cause of Tinnitus
- karma
this sounds like a vascular / BP deal, google "orthostatic hypotension" and see if any of that sounds like you
Interesting. I do sometimes get dizzy standing up from a sitting position, and feel dehydrated. However my BP is normal ranging from 100-120 over 60-80.
Lilah, I know I'm late to the party here but I seem to have the very same symptoms you do. My tinnitus us constant white noise in the day but in the evening turns in to a low buzz. It must always be there but definitely amplifies when I lie down. Occasionally thee last few weeks I have woke up in the early hours of the morning with a loud deep buzz, so loud I question whether that's what woke me up. When I put my fingers in my ears or my worse ear on to the pillow the sounds dampens. Some noises also irritate my ears but I don't have hearing loss. Also seen to hear sounds when I move my neck etc too. does this sound the same?
That happens to me lately with this ongoing spike, exactly like you said.
Sadly I have to resort to Melatonin and Lorazepam as a last resort to get back to sleep because it's so loud sometimes. The doctor gave me a Trazodone prescription which I'm going to try next.
I'm hoping and praying this isn't the new normal for me. I don't like relying on chemicals just to sleep.
Sadly I have to resort to Melatonin and Lorazepam as a last resort to get back to sleep because it's so loud sometimes. The doctor gave me a Trazodone prescription which I'm going to try next.
I'm hoping and praying this isn't the new normal for me. I don't like relying on chemicals just to sleep.
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