First Post — Noise Induced Tinnitus, 3 Months In

[GastonFla]

Hi all! My name is Gastón, I just want to introduce my story. I'm from Argentina, so English isn't my native language…sorry for the writing mistakes!

About 3 and a half months ago I got tinnitus and mild hyperacusis due to an acoustic trauma/shock caused by a high frecuency noise in headphones (a microphone coupling).

As for all, the first weeks were the worst, I'm feeling better now but I still don't feel able to write this in success stories.

I consider that I still have two big problems, for which I would like to receive some advice:

1) The obsession. Beyond the fact that tinnitus itself is less invasive now and that I achieve to control anxiety, I feel that it still continues occupying too much time of my days. (googling, investigating, forums, talking about it, etc.)

2) The fear that loud noises will make it worse. I feel that I have a very mild hyperacusis, for example I am disturbed by the noise of the cutlery and I have a constant pain that seems to come from inside the ear. Sometimes I think it's because of my jaw that is not good either, I have bruxism. Is it "normal" to continue feeling pain after all this time?
Next week I have an important event that I should assist, it's in a bar where a band will play and I really don't know what to do.

Here are some of the things that I did and still do that I consider that helped me, although I think it's nothing new in this forum:

- Yoga
- Meditation
- Healthy diet (avoid as much as possible sugar, preservatives, soft drinks). About coffee and alcohol, I didn't notice significant differences. I also drink a lot of water and eat a lot of nuts and almonds
- Sleep well
- Osteopathy
- Psychologist
- Exercise
- Be busy, but it is important that you do things that you really like to
- I am also taking two medications indicated by the ENT with which I attended, which is supossed to be one of the bests in Argentina. He indicated a 4 month treatment, after one and a half and I have not noticed any great improvements. The treatment consists mainly of vitamins (A, B6 and E)

Any advice to take that last step to habituation will be useful for me. I think I still have to completely accept that there's no cure, but convince myself that this suffering will end at some point.

Thanks for reading and again sorry for the typing errors!

 

[Bill Bauer]

The obsession. Beyond the fact that tinnitus itself is less invasive now

That's a great sign. It should continue to fade.

Any advice to take that last step to habituation will be useful for me.

All you can do, is wait. Those whose T is loud, often take 18-24 months to habituate. When T is quiet (but is still loud enough to be audible for most of the day) it still takes about a year to begin experiencing habituation.

I feel that I have a very mild hyperacusis, for example I am disturbed by the noise of the cutlery and I have a constant pain that seems to come from inside the ear.

That should eventually go away, but until it does it makes sense to be easy on your ears and to avoid noises that don't feel right.

The fear that loud noises will make it worse.

It's ok to be afraid of scary things that have the potential to make your body uninhabitable. If this fear motivates you to act in such a way as to reduce the probability that your T will get louder, then that's a good outcome.

 

[Digital Doc]

Yes, loud noises will make this worse. Be sure to avoid and protect.

Your call about the upcoming event, and the only safe answer is to skip it. I'd you decide to go, bring earplugs, and be sure to take frequent breaks. There is also no harm in leaving early, or walking out to the vestibule when the music fires up. If you go through these forums, there are tons of stories of folks who went to such an event, even with protection, and made their T much worse.

 

[Contrast]

Hi all! My name is Gastón, I just want to introduce my story. I'm from Argentina, so English isn't my native language…sorry for the writing mistakes!

About 3 and a half months ago I got tinnitus and mild hyperacusis due to an acoustic trauma/shock caused by a high frecuency noise in headphones (a microphone coupling).

As for all, the first weeks were the worst, I'm feeling better now but I still don't feel able to write this in success stories.

I consider that I still have two big problems, for which I would like to receive some advice:

1) The obsession. Beyond the fact that tinnitus itself is less invasive now and that I achieve to control anxiety, I feel that it still continues occupying too much time of my days. (googling, investigating, forums, talking about it, etc.)

2) The fear that loud noises will make it worse. I feel that I have a very mild hyperacusis, for example I am disturbed by the noise of the cutlery and I have a constant pain that seems to come from inside the ear. Sometimes I think it's because of my jaw that is not good either, I have bruxism. Is it "normal" to continue feeling pain after all this time?
Next week I have an important event that I should assist, it's in a bar where a band will play and I really don't know what to do.

Here are some of the things that I did and still do that I consider that helped me, although I think it's nothing new in this forum:

- Yoga
- Meditation
- Healthy diet (avoid as much as possible sugar, preservatives, soft drinks). About coffee and alcohol, I didn't notice significant differences. I also drink a lot of water and eat a lot of nuts and almonds
- Sleep well
- Osteopathy
- Psychologist
- Exercise
- Be busy, but it is important that you do things that you really like to
- I am also taking two medications indicated by the ENT with which I attended, which is supossed to be one of the bests in Argentina. He indicated a 4 month treatment, after one and a half and I have not noticed any great improvements. The treatment consists mainly of vitamins (A, B6 and E)

Any advice to take that last step to habituation will be useful for me. I think I still have to completely accept that there's no cure, but convince myself that this suffering will end at some point.

Thanks for reading and again sorry for the typing errors!

The ear pain can be caused by noise damage, don't assume bruxism when you know it began right after an acoustic trauma. See an ENT that is familiar with "noise induced pain" Avoid loud noises at all cost.

 

[GastonFla]

It's ok to be afraid of scary things that have the potential to make your body uninhabitable. If this fear motivates you to act in such a way as to reduce the probability that your T will get louder, then that's a good outcome.

Thanks for your answers @Bill Bauer !

Do you think it's real that going to a bar to see a band for one or two hours can make things worse? Or do you think it is something psychological? Like the fear of it getting worse can "make it worse".
I wouldn't like to never go to see a band again.

I want to add that I have two friends with t, both musicians ... according to them you suffer a lot during the first months, but then nothing happens ... both of them are still playing with their bands as if nothing had happened.
I hope at some point being able to go back to a bar or some other noisy place without being worried about this.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Do you think it's real that going to a bar to see a band for one or two hours can make things worse?

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a doctor. However, I have been reading this forum over the past 29 months. It is my understanding that going to a loud bar shouldn't lead to hearing loss (unless the noise at the bar is loud enough to cause hearing loss for the healthy people). However, for Some of the T sufferers, something like that is enough to cause a temporary spike (which would seem to imply that this noise exposure hasn't promoted healing). Some might even get a Permanent tinnitus spike (a change in frequency to a frequency that is harder to ignore or an increase in volume). Others might be ok for several years and Then get a permanent spike.

It can get extremely bad. I went to clubs and concerts for four years after initial onset of mild T and H, and I was fine. I got some increased T before going to bed, but that was all.

Until one day, it wasn't.

Or do you think it is something psychological? Like the fear of it getting worse can "make it worse".
I wouldn't like to never go to see a band again.

Check out

While I agree some people here go overboard with hearing protection, this increase in noise sensitivity after wearing hearing protection is only a temporary one. It is not the same thing as the brain turning up the auditory gain when there is a permanent loss in hearing.

With regards to noise exposure that isn't dangerous to most people, I developed a new tone in my right ear after a noise exposure at work back in October. I spent about half an hour in an area that I would estimate was at most 90db, but it was probably less than that. I had deeply inserted large foam earplugs at the time, but apparently that was not enough protection. That tone has not gone away, and it's not some psychosomatic spike. Spikes in volume are somewhat relative in my opinion, they can be attributed to stress, lack of sleep, noise exposure, diet, etc., but completely new tones that do not go away are something different.

What is safe for you may not be safe for me. And the fact is there has been no good study done assessing the vulnerability of already damaged auditory systems. The gold standard for dangerous noise levels is based on old data from OSHA where they looked for permanent threshold shifts of 10db or more at 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hz. As we know now, you can have fairly significant auditory damage without having a permanent threshold shift in those three ranges. There is also a lot of industry push-back when OSHA tries to make safety guidelines more strict (I haven't seen this with noise levels, but I have seen it with chemical safety guidelines). Moreover, it's very likely that some people are more genetically predisposed to hearing damage than others.

What I'm getting at here is I agree with you that some people really do go overboard with hearing protection, and obsessing about noise is not healthy, but it irritates me when people adopt this attitude of "well it works for me therefore it must work for you" or "it's safe for me therefore it's safe for you". No one can say that.

I can see how one's psychological reaction could result in a spike lasting a couple of days. However, I can't imagine it causing a Permanent spike. It is unusual for a spike to be permanent, but it certainly not rare. This seems to point to the damage being real (and not psychological).

I agree with:

I didn't read all the above comments, but did peruse a fair amount of it, and ran across many good points on both sides of the argument. What strikes me is there seems to be an underlying assumption (of course I may be wrong on this) that all brains and neurological systems are created equal. The way I see it, that's simply not the case, so everybody's way of dealing with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is going to have to be highly individualized.

I read a book many years ago called "Adrenal Syndrome". A lot of the book touched on the residual resiliency of people's adrenal glands as they respond to life's stresses. Very low resiliency often resulted in months/years of chronic debilitating exhaustion following a stressful event(s) in their lives. Very high resiliency indicated essentially the opposite. The author broke this down into some rough numbers:

25% of people have low resiliency, meaning normal life stressors will often send them into some degree of a tailspin.
25% of people have high resiliency, meaning that no matter how severe a stressor comes into their lives, they will be able to cope without becoming debilitated to any degree.
50% of people fall somewhere inbetween.

I believe there are some kind of corresponding numbers for a person's brain and neurological resiliency as well, which can greatly affect the ability to cope with tinnitus. (I believe adrenal resiliency also plays a major role in our ability to cope). -- Based on these assumptions, it's pretty easy for me to conclude that what may be overprotection for one person will be underprotection for another, and vice versa.

I think the main point to understand for someone new to tinnitus is that their path forward is going to be a lot of "testing the waters". Generally, IMHO, it's going to take a few weeks or months to get important insights that will help us achieve a healthy balance. In all likelihood, most people are going to learn from experience when their over-protecting or under-protecting.

I've come to believe however, that in those early months, if one is going to err in either direction, it should be toward overprotection. It just seems to me the consequences of underprotection (which could result in permanent injury) in those early times are much more dire than the consequences of overprotection--which as I understand, generally results in temporary setbacks.

Doing a number of things to better support the brain and neurological system and the body's stress response (adrenal glands) is quite high on my list of recommendations I would make to anybody with tinnitus. Doing so might even prevent phonophobia or OCD, etc., as we go through our learning curves -- Just my 2 cents worth.

Relative newbies to tinnitus are likely to find all the information/opinions above quite confusing. So here are a few common-sense rules to follow:

1. The best protection of all is avoidance. Even the best earplugs can't guarantee complete hearing protection so those relatively new to tinnitus are best advised to avoid prolonged loud noise exposure - especially amplified sound at for example live concerts and sports events. This may involve lifestyle changes.

2. When in doubt, use hearing protection. In the many tasks we all do through the week, some will inevitably involve exposure to noise - which may be at higher levels than we at first realise - so using hearing protection for many of these is only sensible.

3. Build quiet into your day. It's not a good idea to be wearing hearing protection all the time - so you need to give your ears a break by ensuring that there will be quieter times during your day when hearing protection isn't necessary.This may involve changing your routine. Use soft masking noise and light music (not using headphones) to avoid "silence" where tinnitus is most noticeable.

4. Don't stress about stress. Tinnitus newbies are forever being told that the thing which makes tinnitus worse is stress. But while it's true that how you are feeling at a particular moment can make tinnitus temporarily louder, it won't have a lasting effect. But prolonged loud noise exposure can make tinnitus permanently louder. So don't stress about stress - but do be concerned about noise.

Another thing to keep in mind is that hearing protection can provide a false sense of security:

I didn't read all the above comments, but did peruse a fair amount of it, and ran across many good points on both sides of the argument. What strikes me is there seems to be an underlying assumption (of course I may be wrong on this) that all brains and neurological systems are created equal. The way I see it, that's simply not the case, so everybody's way of dealing with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis is going to have to be highly individualized.

I read a book many years ago called "Adrenal Syndrome". A lot of the book touched on the residual resiliency of people's adrenal glands as they respond to life's stresses. Very low resiliency often resulted in months/years of chronic debilitating exhaustion following a stressful event(s) in their lives. Very high resiliency indicated essentially the opposite. The author broke this down into some rough numbers:

25% of people have low resiliency, meaning normal life stressors will often send them into some degree of a tailspin.
25% of people have high resiliency, meaning that no matter how severe a stressor comes into their lives, they will be able to cope without becoming debilitated to any degree.
50% of people fall somewhere inbetween.

I believe there are some kind of corresponding numbers for a person's brain and neurological resiliency as well, which can greatly affect the ability to cope with tinnitus. (I believe adrenal resiliency also plays a major role in our ability to cope). -- Based on these assumptions, it's pretty easy for me to conclude that what may be overprotection for one person will be underprotection for another, and vice versa.

I think the main point to understand for someone new to tinnitus is that their path forward is going to be a lot of "testing the waters". Generally, IMHO, it's going to take a few weeks or months to get important insights that will help us achieve a healthy balance. In all likelihood, most people are going to learn from experience when their over-protecting or under-protecting.

I've come to believe however, that in those early months, if one is going to err in either direction, it should be toward overprotection. It just seems to me the consequences of underprotection (which could result in permanent injury) in those early times are much more dire than the consequences of overprotection--which as I understand, generally results in temporary setbacks.

Doing a number of things to better support the brain and neurological system and the body's stress response (adrenal glands) is quite high on my list of recommendations I would make to anybody with tinnitus. Doing so might even prevent phonophobia or OCD, etc., as we go through our learning curves -- Just my 2 cents worth.

Relative newbies to tinnitus are likely to find all the information/opinions above quite confusing. So here are a few common-sense rules to follow:

1. The best protection of all is avoidance. Even the best earplugs can't guarantee complete hearing protection so those relatively new to tinnitus are best advised to avoid prolonged loud noise exposure - especially amplified sound at for example live concerts and sports events. This may involve lifestyle changes.

2. When in doubt, use hearing protection. In the many tasks we all do through the week, some will inevitably involve exposure to noise - which may be at higher levels than we at first realise - so using hearing protection for many of these is only sensible.

3. Build quiet into your day. It's not a good idea to be wearing hearing protection all the time - so you need to give your ears a break by ensuring that there will be quieter times during your day when hearing protection isn't necessary.This may involve changing your routine. Use soft masking noise and light music (not using headphones) to avoid "silence" where tinnitus is most noticeable.

4. Don't stress about stress. Tinnitus newbies are forever being told that the thing which makes tinnitus worse is stress. But while it's true that how you are feeling at a particular moment can make tinnitus temporarily louder, it won't have a lasting effect. But prolonged loud noise exposure can make tinnitus permanently louder. So don't stress about stress - but do be concerned about noise.

I can't take it anymore. I don't want to die but at this stage the urge to stop suffering is stronger. Ps. To all members in this forum advising against so called "overprotection". I never exposed myself to sounds even remotely considered as being potentially harmful to healthy people but because of your advice I was exposed to sounds uncomfortable for me which eventually proved to be damaging.

At initial stages i was very weary about sound levels around me and used protection everytime I felt uncomfortable.

Only by reading TRT literature or some posts here I started to expose my self to sounds loud but never louder than 75-80 dB.

Whenever I was feeling like something is not right I was stupid enough to believe you these changes were part of "the natural process of healing".

Is this your healing? Every time you feel like giving this sort of advice have my case in mind.

Another experience that is similar to what you had in mind (seeing a band at a bar):

About 3 weeks ago I started to feel better but I went out one day and I wasn't wearing my earplugs for only ten minutes. It was a restaurant with music playing but it wasn't loud. Still I came home with a loud spike and thought it would go away in the morning but it stayed the same until now. I also have this feeling of fullness mostly in my right ear which has nonstop ringing.

To help yourself to not feel bad about not going to that bar, check out
the posts that I quoted in the post below:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/learn-from-others-mistakes.29437/

 

[linearb]

Some people eventually return to louder things than others, and some people have more or less trouble as a result -- but I think it's pretty basic common sense to avoid all loud sounds for some significant period of time (months) after a trauma / tinnitus onset or increase, to give yourself the best chance at healing as much as possible. One event at a bar might or might not be a problem; I've been at events at bars that are 72db and events at bars that are 100+db. You just have to make your best decision; take earplugs if you go.

An ACL injury may or may not permanently end your volleyball career, but it would be madness to try to go play on a recently injured ACL, right? Same idea

 

[Riz23]

Hi all! My name is Gastón, I just want to introduce my story. I'm from Argentina, so English isn't my native language…sorry for the writing mistakes!

About 3 and a half months ago I got tinnitus and mild hyperacusis due to an acoustic trauma/shock caused by a high frecuency noise in headphones (a microphone coupling).

As for all, the first weeks were the worst, I'm feeling better now but I still don't feel able to write this in success stories.

I consider that I still have two big problems, for which I would like to receive some advice:

1) The obsession. Beyond the fact that tinnitus itself is less invasive now and that I achieve to control anxiety, I feel that it still continues occupying too much time of my days. (googling, investigating, forums, talking about it, etc.)

2) The fear that loud noises will make it worse. I feel that I have a very mild hyperacusis, for example I am disturbed by the noise of the cutlery and I have a constant pain that seems to come from inside the ear. Sometimes I think it's because of my jaw that is not good either, I have bruxism. Is it "normal" to continue feeling pain after all this time?
Next week I have an important event that I should assist, it's in a bar where a band will play and I really don't know what to do.

Here are some of the things that I did and still do that I consider that helped me, although I think it's nothing new in this forum:

- Yoga
- Meditation
- Healthy diet (avoid as much as possible sugar, preservatives, soft drinks). About coffee and alcohol, I didn't notice significant differences. I also drink a lot of water and eat a lot of nuts and almonds
- Sleep well
- Osteopathy
- Psychologist
- Exercise
- Be busy, but it is important that you do things that you really like to
- I am also taking two medications indicated by the ENT with which I attended, which is supossed to be one of the bests in Argentina. He indicated a 4 month treatment, after one and a half and I have not noticed any great improvements. The treatment consists mainly of vitamins (A, B6 and E)

Any advice to take that last step to habituation will be useful for me. I think I still have to completely accept that there's no cure, but convince myself that this suffering will end at some point.

Thanks for reading and again sorry for the typing errors!

Hi there, it was comforting coming across your post because I feel like I'm in the exact same position as you. I got tinnitus just over 2 months ago!

 

[GastonFla]

First of all, thanks again @Bill Bauer for all the information and for taking your time to help other people on the forum.

Some people eventually return to louder things than others, and some people have more or less trouble as a result -- but I think it's pretty basic common sense to avoid all loud sounds for some significant period of time (months) after a trauma / tinnitus onset or increase, to give yourself the best chance at healing as much as possible. One event at a bar might or might not be a problem; I've been at events at bars that are 72db and events at bars that are 100+db. You just have to make your best decision; take earplugs if you go.

An ACL injury may or may not permanently end your volleyball career, but it would be madness to try to go play on a recently injured ACL, right? Same idea

It sounds quite logical, and I think the comparison is very coherent. With the difference that in this case, they are injuries that we don't really know how long they take to heal or if they really will.
On the other hand, I think it can also be psychologically negative to stop doing things that one enjoyed because of the t, it would be a bit like "being defeated" by it.

Hi there, it was comforting coming across your post because I feel like I'm in the exact same position as you. I got tinnitus just over 2 months ago!

Hi, I am very sorry that you are also in this position, but I agree that it is very comforting to know that we are not alone!
Any question you can write me and if you want you can also tell me how your evolution is coming and if you tried some kind of treatment!

Despite all the information, I still haven't decided if i will or not attend to that bar.
If I decide to go I will tell you if there was any change in my symptoms.
Once again, thank you all for answering!

 

[Bill Bauer]

On the other hand, I think it can also be psychologically negative to stop doing things that one enjoyed because of the t, it would be a bit like "being defeated" by it.

A good analogy I came up with today goes as follows: exposing yourself to noise is like taking a risk and riding a motorcycle - in both cases the consequences can last a lifetime (ending up in a wheelchair when all one wanted was to get a short ride on a motorcycle). Too bad that with tinnitus it is difficult to estimate the probability of getting a permanent spike as a function of the dB of the noise one is exposed to.

Despite all the information, I still haven't decided if i will or not attend to that bar.

Sometimes it is live and learn. Don't touch! That is hot! I told you. Very sad.

If I decide to go I will tell you if there was any change in my symptoms.

Please do.

 

[winstona]

Hi Gaston,

Welcome to the forum! I believe you are already in a good position to recovery because of your metal awareness of this condition and the willingness to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

A lot of tinnitus sufferers eventually have their tinnitus fade away in time and improvements are seen in 6-9 months. From the sound of it, your tinnitus is becoming less invasive already. I am not saying everyone will get there but there are many cases where people find relieve in time.

It's hard to not think about Tinnitus on a day to day basis to be honest but I can assure you, after a while you will learn to live with it and the time you spend thinking about Tinnitus will decrease more and more. A lot of people have said that you should minimize your time with researching the condition and coming to the forum to talk about it. The sooner you cut off these activities, the sooner you can forget about it. It's up to you. I personally do not do that though.

Our ears are very sensitive and heals slowly. You are right to be vigilant against exposure to loud noises because exposure to loud noises can hinder your recovery. I would stay away from loud concerts, loud movies, listening to music via headphones/earphones and concerts in general for the first 6 to 9 months. Eventually when the ears recover enough, you can do those activities again (sometimes with ear protection of course) so don't rush it now when you are new to this condition.

 

[GastonFla]

Thanks for your positive words @winstona!!
Today I'm having a good day with my t

 

[GastonFla]

Hello again, in the last days my t is coming very well, but I'm having "pain" or a feeling of full ear.
The jaw makes noises when I move it, and also if I move like inside the ear something "cracks". Can acoustic trauma trigger TMD? How can I really know the cause of the symptoms?
Thanks!

 

[Contrast]

Hello again, in the last days my t is coming very well, but I'm having "pain" or a feeling of full ear.
The jaw makes noises when I move it, and also if I move like inside the ear something "cracks". Can acoustic trauma trigger TMD? How can I really know the cause of the symptoms?
Thanks!

The smallest bones in the human body are in the middle ear. I wonder if they can break?

 

[GastonFla]

Hello, after more than 7 months since my acoustic trauma, I am better but still suffering. There are times when I feel that everything returns to normal but at other times (like right now, that's why I'm writing this here) I can't stop thinking about this little problem.

What makes me keep thinking and researching about tinnitus is to continue feeling physical pain, which I cannot explain. I understand that the noise may never go away, but I feel that perhaps I have other problem that can be resolved or improved with respect to the pressure in the ear or that feeling of pain, and that perhaps the doctors I saw could not detect it.

Many times I feel like I have the eardrum "stuck" to the face or ear, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it itches ... I also hear the T louder when I yawn.

Finally, my jaw also makes noise when I move it. I have bruxism, but it got much worse with this situation because of stress, and I understand that it could be affecting tinnitus.
I'm now trying with some magnesium and zinc pills, to see if they have any effect.

Any ideas or recommendations are welcome. Thank you!