Fleeting Tinnitus

[Cassidy]

Hi Dr. Nagler,

I've noticed when I am stressed about my T, I additionally keep getting fleeting tinnitus (deafness in one ear, paired with an extremely high pitched tone which fades within a few seconds/minutes of its rapid onset). This seems different to my "regular" T-noises. It's not particularly easy online to find more information about fleeting Tinnitus. Do you know much more about what is the actual underlying mechanism behind fleeting Tinnitus and perhaps what causes it to appear more frequently?

Many thanks & Best Regards,

Cassidy

 

[Dr. Nagler]

I've noticed when I am stressed about my T, I additionally keep getting fleeting tinnitus (deafness in one ear, paired with an extremely high pitched tone which fades within a few seconds/minutes of its rapid onset). This seems different to my "regular" T-noises. It's not particularly easy online to find more information about fleeting Tinnitus. Do you know much more about what is the actual underlying mechanism behind fleeting Tinnitus and perhaps what causes it to appear more frequently?

Hi Cassidy -

I don't think anybody knows much about the mechanism of fleeting tinnitus.

The auditory system is one of the most active systems in the body. It makes total sense that occasionally some electrochemical signals break through. In fact, if you think about it, it would be rather surprising if they didn't!

I recall several years ago being a speaker at a clinical tinnitus meeting. There were perhaps 150 or so audiologists and ENTs in the audience. The speaker before me asked how many in attendance had tinnitus - and maybe a dozen hands shot into the air (including mine). He then described "fleeting tinnitus" and asked how many had that. 95% raised their hands.

When a person with intrusive tinnitus such as yourself experiences fleeting tinnitus, it is understandable that he or she would tend to tune in to it. But as far as anybody knows, fleeting tinnitus is a very common phenomenon of no clinical significance whatsoever.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Stephen Nagler