Got Tinnitus on My Birthday + Questions! Please Answer If Possible

[TheTinnitusTony]

Hey guys, I really hate to sound like a debbie-downer, but I'm a new-found afflict of tinnitus. I recently developed it three days ago, while I was clubbing out with my friends for my birthday, and while it had only been 20 minutes, my tinnitus has lasted for three days. I don't want to turn this into a pity-party, so instead, I'd like to ask what can be done, and what my expected prognosis is.

Currently, I have been very fortunate in being able to access healthcare; I am currently taking steroids- prednisolone (5mg), and have bought earplugs for myself- I wear these when I am in restaurants now. My general practitioner says I stand a very good chance of recovering in the next two weeks, but I do not often consider myself a lucky person, and medical literature as it stands is very limited on tinnitus. If anyone does perchance reply, can you all enlighten me on the following:

• What is the expected prognosis for me?
• What further steps can I take to prevent further damage to my ears?
• Is it normal for my tinnitus to flare up in the case of recovery?
• Should my prednisolone dosage be higher?
• If I do not have any loss in hearing frequencies, does it mean I stand a greater chance of recovery?
  
• How are you guys able to cope with tinnitus?

I know these are a lot of questions, but I thank you all for your time. I really want to know as much as I can about the condition I have now, and what I can better do to enrich what I have now.

 

[GregCA]

What is the expected prognosis for me?

Nobody knows for sure.

What further steps can I take to prevent further damage to my ears?

Avoid loud noise. Carry ear plugs with you in case you can anticipate loud noise and protect your ears from it.

Is it normal for my tinnitus to flare up in the case of recovery?

There is no normal defined. Flare-ups do occur, but are not necessarily linked to a recovery process.

Should my prednisolone dosage be higher?

You provided a value of 5 mg but didn't say how often you take it, so it's not possible to really answer your question. I think I was on 60 mg/day of prednisone for a few days, then it dropped to 40mg, 20mg and 10mg as a taper. But it was to address Sudden SensoriNeural Hearing Loss. You haven't been diagnosed with that.

If I do not have any loss in hearing frequencies, does it mean I stand a greater chance of recovery?

There are no statistics about chances of recovery vs hearing loss. You should know that there is such thing as "hidden hearing loss", which is a loss that won't necessarily show on an audiogram. Showing loss on an audiogram is a sufficient but not necessary condition to determine the existence of hearing loss.

How are you guys able to cope with tinnitus?

Everyone is different in their ability to cope, and also Tinnitus is different in terms of pitch, timbre, style, volume, spectral distribution, etc.
Known methods are: sound enrichment, masking, drugs, meditation, CBT, biofeedback...

Good luck, and happy birthday!

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

Hi Greg!

Thanks so much for your birthday wishes. They are much appreciated in times like these, along with your responses. Tinnitus is such a woefully under-studied medical condition, and I thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions.

I hope you have a fantastic day, or night!

 

[Lorac]

Welcome to the forum and Happy Birthday! I'm so sorry that your celebration caused tinnitus but I think it is great that you found medical assistance so quickly. It sounds like you are doing everything right and hopefully, your tinnitus will not be permanent. Please keep us posted.

 

[maltese]

What further steps can I take to prevent further damage to my ears?

Buy earplugs with a case such that it can be attached to your keys.

You should have earplugs on you at all times, so if you ever "accidentally" end up in a loud situation such as a bar or concert you *always* have ear protection you can wear.

Don't be ashamed to wear earplugs, they are a fun conversation starter

How loud is your ringing? Is it very high pitched?

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

Hi Lorac! Thank you so much for the birthday wishes- again, really appreciated. I definitely will keep you guys posted!

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

I also see you got tinnitus from a club, maltese- my sympathies to you brother.

But yeah, I definitely got earplugs to go! As far as I know, I think the ringing is quite quiet; I've been fortunate in the fact that a lot of my tinnitus was pulsatile tinnitus; possibly exacerbated due to the betahistines I'm currently taking, which I hear may affect overall blood pressure levels. Nevertheless, I have read up on other forums, and I am definitely aware of how lucky I am that my tinnitus errs on the side where a clock is able to mask my tinnitus.

 

[maltese]

I also see you got tinnitus from a club, maltese- my sympathies to you brother.

But yeah, I definitely got earplugs to go! As far as I know, I think the ringing is quite quiet; I've been fortunate in the fact that a lot of my tinnitus was pulsatile tinnitus; possibly exacerbated due to the betahistines I'm currently taking, which I hear may affect overall blood pressure levels. Nevertheless, I have read up on other forums, and I am definitely aware of how lucky I am that my tinnitus errs on the side where a clock is able to mask my tinnitus.

Your tinnitus is very mild, you're young, you got Prednisone. No reason to be negative

Just give it some time, you should be fine.

It's good to read online stories for a bit so that you're fully aware of seriousness of hearing problems, But don't overdo it. Online forums contain a lot of negativity and that's something you want to avoid as much as possible in those early days. It has nothing to do with tinnitus, it's about staying sane

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

Cheers, maltese! You're right. I probably am overdoing it.

But better safe than sorry! (haha)

Thank you so much for listening to a panicked teen ramble anyway- I can't imagine the resilience needed to live with chronic tinnitus. Best of luck in your endeavours!

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

Hi! It's me again.

Um. I don't exactly know what's going on with my tinnitus. I thought my initial tinnitus was as loud as it was going to get, but it got louder. I don't know if it is permanent or not. I heard silence for the first time today, but after that, I went to a loud restaurants, and so I put on earplugs, and I chewed food, and I am worried that my chewing may have further damaged my ears, as there may have been an occlusion effect . Is this possible?

I'm sorry for being so negative. Please help how you will.

 

[hans799]

I chewed food

If chewing (or sound being let through earplugs while eating) worsened tinnitus, this forum would be quite empty and the graveyards that much fuller! Don't worry about this.

As has been said previously: fresh tinnitus is notoriously unstable, don't jump to conclusions about bouts of silence or increased volume. It will take weeks, maybe months for your T to stabilize. Also there is a good chance that it will fade away entirely. Only time will tell. Be careful with your ears.

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

@hans799

You're right. But thank you so much! I've been stressing out going crazy these past few days staying at home, with my only real other outlet for information being this website. Do you know of any statistics of people recovering from acoustic trauma one week after onset of tinnitus?

 

[LukeYoung]

@hans799

You're right. But thank you so much! I've been stressing out going crazy these past few days staying at home, with my only real other outlet for information being this website. Do you know of any statistics of people recovering from acoustic trauma one week after onset of tinnitus?

I hate to say it, but it's easier to try and accept it now, so that way habituation is already on the way..

The more you fight it. The worse it is.
It's sound like crap but I swear Its not.
Your brain needs to know it won't hurt you.

And if it does go away, you're in luck and it'll just fade away anyway!

Best of luck.
First couple of weeks are the hardest.
If you have anxiety like me, it can make T do crazy things, and even give you setbacks.

But we will be ok.

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

@LukeYoung

How do you do that? I've broken down twice today in class. I don't think I can really keep this up. It's really hard. It's minor- and maybe it sounds entitled- but I can't sit at ease knowing that my silence is no longer there, and it sucks so much.

 

[LukeYoung]

@LukeYoung

How do you do that? I've broken down twice today in class. I don't think I can really keep this up. It's really hard. It's minor- and maybe it sounds entitled- but I can't sit at ease knowing that my silence is no longer there, and it sucks so much.

At the start I was using sound therapy, I found rain sounds on YouTube very comforting.

It's still very early days for you.
You need to keep your mind distracted on things you enjoy doing.
Also I'd get ears checked for wax build up. As having my removed helped with my volume.
It was lower after removal.

But basically after time your brain will just filter it out, not 100% but you definitely won't notice it as much. It will file the sound in the "not important" file. Kind of like background noise.

Try sound therapy I say. What does your T sound like?

Mine is like an old TV.

 

[Michael Sullivan]

@TheTinnitusTony

I think you and me are very similar. An acocustic trauma on Janriary second made my ear lose hearing for two weeks. Now I'm taking prednisone like you. I have T and I'm dreaming out just like you it started out a on March 2nd. I'm 18 and your just like me. Hopefully it goes away and doesn't impact our lives.

 

[Michael Sullivan]

@LukeYoung
@TheTinnitusTony

How do we have T we are all so young?? School never educated me on loud music and what not. Now I've read so much I know just about as much as an ENT. Mine started up recently too since March 2nd and I don't know why.

 

[LukeYoung]

@LukeYoung
@TheTinnitusTony

How do we have T we are all so young?? School never educated me on loud music and what not. Now I've read so much I know just about as much as an ENT. Mine started up recently too since March 2nd and I don't know why.

Never knew about it. Lack of information I guess :/

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

Never knew about it. Lack of information I guess :/

^

 

[maltese]

Few people would consider unsafe sex, why everyone is fine with "unsafe clubbing" is beyond me.

 

[JurgenG]

I had very very mild T, and decided it was safe to go to a party a week later (with earplugs). Can you guess how dumb I consider myself..
I just didn't realise that my T could get worse from sound that I previously never had any problems with.

 

[TheTinnitusTony]

Hey guys!

Another update: the past few days my baseline has dropped, but today, I was playfighting with a friend, and he accidentally slapped me on the ear. Albeit gently, it was enough for my left ear to spike up in tinnitus pitch, in the second that he made contact. For a few minutes afterwards, I would hear louder ringing. Currently, the pitch has dropped, although I'm unsure by how much, along with the intensity, but my tinnitus is still quite loud, so I'm genuinely concerned. Will it go back down, and will I have caused long-lasting damage?