Has Anyone Habituated to Ultra High Frequency Tinnitus That Can't Be Masked?

[Alue]

What I noticed is that what works best to mask my T is water sounds (shower, faucet), but they need to be at high volume, which I'm reluctant to do, so I'm kind of stuck.

Same here. I don't know what it is about rushing water, but it's one of the few things that masks my tinnitus. I can hear my tinnitus in an airplane. Nothing I play on speakers or headphones seem to mask my T, not water sounds, not crickets, it has to be real rushing water.

The only thing that will mask my T is listening to iTunes with my ear buds cranked up (which I do nightly). Having said that, my T has been with me over 20 years and I'm completely habituated to it. Very high pitched, never changes and yet it is no longer an affliction but my mind has not only adapted it it but has embraced it and brought it into my psyche and merged it with my mind to become completely normal and preferred.

I don't know when I habituated to it, it just did...

I recall you talking about this before. Give some of us hope. When you say very high pitched do you mean like 12-16kHz or around 8kHz? Did it come on suddenly or gradually over time?

 

[zeroday]

12-16kHz area...Mine came on suddenly, caused by driving truck...

 

[Dr. Ancill]

So-called 'masking' sound does not really work, largely because simply drowning out the tinnitus is not the objective. What you should do is find sounds that at a volume slightly LESS than the tinnitus, your brain will recognize the sound and will then habituate to that, thus seeming to habituating to the tinnitus. You should not try this and then wait around for something magical to happen - habituation does to work like that. It takes time and you will notice that you had periods (seconds then minutes then hours) when you realize you were not focusing on the tinnitus. Good luck.

 

[Beste]

I can "feel" my tinnitus. How is it possible to habituate something like this?

Habituation is a myth created by science which is apparently something that can not fix T.

 

[Jkph75]

I have had a few other tones and sounds come and go, some pulsate tinnitus after getting injections too, but by far the most maddening is the one that never ever goes away and that's the ultra high pitched one.

It may sound strange, but I actually didn't mind the pulsate whooshing tinnitus (I mostly only heard it when I laid down at night to sleep for a few weeks). I can see it being disturbing if you heard it loud 24/7, but this was just like listening to a artery with a stethoscope, much more relaxing than this dog whistle in my head.

What do you get injections for? Funny that you mentioned it. I have had pulsatile tinnitus too. Lately, it has been getting pretty loud at times. That probably isn't a good thing, but it masks my tonal T and is much better to listen to. I would take it over this other nonsense any day.

 

[Alue]

12-16kHz area...Mine came on suddenly, caused by driving truck...

I see, well you give hope to some of us. Do you know how long it took you to habituate to? I'm assuming it was distressing for you when it first started.

What do you get injections for? Funny that you mentioned it. I have had pulsatile tinnitus too. Lately, it has been getting pretty loud at times. That probably isn't a good thing, but it masks my tonal T and is much better to listen to. I would take it over this other nonsense any day.

AM101.
Agreed with the pulsatile tinnitus, I would trade this piercing ultra high pitched tone with it in a heartbeat.

 

[zeroday]

It took about 8-9 months for the initial painful ringing to stop and settled into my current ring level...it came on 1-2 years into driving truck...heavy trucks are loud...engine noise, road noise and interior noise combined...when it came on it was extremely painful and stressful but as an over the road truck driver I had so many things to juggle just performing the job...after the initial pain had subsided it became another distraction to my already stressful job...That's why it's difficult to pin down exactly when I habituated to it...

 

[Jkph75]

AM101.
Agreed with the pulsatile tinnitus, I would trade this piercing ultra high pitched tone with it in a heartbeat.

So I take it that the AM101 isn't helping.
How did you get your T?

 

[Engineer]

Hi, In answer to the original question, I believe that broad band noise that does not distinctively mask ones T is still helpful towards habituation. When I started wearing WNGs I was truly disconcerted at the fact that at most settings I could almost always hear my T whistling around in there somewhere! The important thing is that they helped me to gradually stop listening to the T signal, detuning my response and perception over time. Mix your sound in, but don't be disconcerted that you can still hear your T. The reduction of the relative strength of your T signal is helpful. Best regards, Trebor

 

[Martin69]

Moin Martin,

did this happen to be from the very beginning of T an do you have it always? Because recently I developed same somatic reactions. But it's only sometimes. Then T is increasing synchronous with every neck moment while running. Also it might get pulsatile then for a while.

Sometimes I really feel like a stranger to my own body with all this new reactions, wondering if I am just psychotically listening too much into my own body.

Moin Moin,

Yes, these are the nerves in the head. T is a nerve/neuron issue. So chewing or moving head makes the tone louder. Interestingly only when you check for this. If you do not pay attention, you will not recognize it.

In fact I also think that we are monitoring T all the time. For instance I was on a concert two days ago. I could only stand the noise with ear plugs. It was so damn loud, my head exploded. But everyone around me was ok. And I never had problems on concerts before T. So looks like I am locked into my T all the time - which makes anxiety and low energy.

 

[Alue]

AM101.
Agreed with the pulsatile tinnitus, I would trade this piercing ultra high pitched tone with it in a heartbeat.

So I take it that the AM101 isn't helping.
How did you get your T?

I don't know if it's helping, it hasn't hurt anything, I'm holding off and giving it time before I make a final determination. I'm getting kind of bummed because I had high hopes of it proving some relief; that or things getting better on their own by now at over 5 months in. I know it's foolish to place hopes in a clinical trial, but I had to put hope into something. I still don't see how I can habituate at this frequency and volume.

My T was caused by a brief acoustic trauma. I don't talk about the incident in the open forum for various reasons but feel free to pm me.

So-called 'masking' sound does not really work, largely because simply drowning out the tinnitus is not the objective. What you should do is find sounds that at a volume slightly LESS than the tinnitus, your brain will recognize the sound and will then habituate to that, thus seeming to habituating to the tinnitus. You should not try this and then wait around for something magical to happen - habituation does to work like that. It takes time and you will notice that you had periods (seconds then minutes then hours) when you realize you were not focusing on the tinnitus. Good luck.

Thanks, that's what I have heard before, but volume is relative with tinnitus. With the ultra high pitched T it's difficult to gauge volume as it just cuts through everything. There is just absolutely nothing that 'mixes' with 14+kHz tinnitus.

I'm not doing any sound therapy right now as I'm in trials that preclude it. But somehow I just doubt it helps as much with ultra high pitched tinnitus. It's just so different from any normal sound you hear; It does not fit in and meld with the outside world.

 

[Johnny Cahill]

It seems like habituation is much easier if the tinnitus is easily maskable. But has anyone here habituated to loud ultra high frequency tinnitus? By ultra high frequency I mean well over 10kHz where no ambient noise masks it, only extreme things like being directly under the shower.

I know a handful of people on here have this type of tinnitus, but just about all of them seem to struggle with it even years later.

 

[Johnny Cahill]

I have had my tinnitus for 40 years now and due to a dramatic life and mental health issues I have never really addressed this problem..however I notice that it is getting worse..much worse...After Christmas I will be getting my gp to refer me to an audiologist...My tinnitus is very high frequency..like a dog whistle just before it departs audible range...also A background chattering that sounds like birds chirping..and every now and then it feels like a 'flanger' effect..I used to think I could live with it as I'm sure it started when I was in the forces and after a day on the range with no ear defenders everyone's ears would be ringing for a while.However one time without warning the police had made safe a few hundred pounds of home made explosive and as far as I can tell,that was the one that did the damage.That was 40 years ago..I have been under extreme pressure especially these last year or so and in recent months I can no longer avoid or mask the sound...I feel as if it is getting worse almost reaching a point where it is physically painful...Won't know anything until I consult a professional..Any advice would be appreciated...

 

[Kalle_Mustianoja]

I have really high t too. it gives me chills all the time... i can feel it more than hear it, a piercing sensation in my left ear... its been getting louder a few years now.... coping has become harder and harders as the stress locks up my muscles and mind....

 

[WaqasVic]

Have you tried pink noise?

Very true pink noise can mask even the loudest or pinchest one

 

[WaqasVic]

The only thing that will mask my T is listening to iTunes with my ear buds cranked up (which I do nightly). Having said that, my T has been with me over 20 years and I'm completely habituated to it. Very high pitched, never changes and yet it is no longer an affliction but my mind has not only adapted it it but has embraced it and brought it into my psyche and merged it with my mind to become completely normal and preferred.

I don't know when I habituated to it, it just did...

Lucky you

 

[Alue]

Very true pink noise can mask even the loudest or pinchest one

I disagree.

 

[zeroday]

Lucky you

Lucky me??? Isn't this a support group???

 

[PaulBe]

The common analogy we seem to see to describe "habituation" is the air conditioner in the background that you tune out from and don't pay attention to. This is great unless your aircon is broken and the fan is screaming like a bandsaw cutting steel at high volume, and every other sound you hear is filtered through the bandsaw, in which case it doesn't fade into the background but intrudes into your routine such that you stop using it or get it fixed, which of course you can't seem to do with tinnitus/hyperacusis.

 

[Michael Leigh]

The common analogy we seem to see to describe "habituation" is the air conditioner in the background that you tune out from and don't pay attention to. This is great unless your aircon is broken and the fan is screaming like a bandsaw cutting steel at high volume, and every other sound you hear is filtered through the bandsaw, in which case it doesn't fade into the background but intrudes into your routine such that you stop using it or get it fixed, which of course you can't seem to do with tinnitus/hyperacusis.

Well said @PaulBe. Whilst most people can habituate to tinnitus it does have its limitations as you've described so well.
Michael

 

[WaqasVic]

Lucky me??? Isn't this a support group???

Yes , lots of people here wish that they get habituated like you did

 

[MartinH]

I prefer the iphone type earbuds myself. Since they don't seal off the ear canal a little ambient noise still makes it in there.

 

[Ed209]

It seems like habituation is much easier if the tinnitus is easily maskable. But has anyone here habituated to loud ultra high frequency tinnitus? By ultra high frequency I mean well over 10kHz where no ambient noise masks it, only extreme things like being directly under the shower.

I know a handful of people on here have this type of tinnitus, but just about all of them seem to struggle with it even years later.

Yea, Alue. This pretty much describes me exactly and I'm habituated.

 

[Alue]

Yea, Alue. This pretty much describes me exactly and I'm habituated.

Damn I wrote that two years ago when I was new to T.

I will say this, if I didn't have hyperacusis and reactive T that gets much worse with noise exposure, I think I would be close to habituated by now. It took me over two years to get to this point, but it's really the hyperacusis that's killing me now. It does put a lot of limitations on one's life.

 

[Ed209]

Damn I wrote that two years ago when I was new to T.

I will say this, if I didn't have hyperacusis and reactive T that gets much worse with noise exposure, I think I would be close to habituated by now. It took me over two years to get to this point, but it's really the hyperacusis that's killing me now. It does put a lot of limitations on one's life.

I believe the people who have severe H have it harder. Hopefully your H may still resolve itself or at least improve. There seems to be more movement on the H side of things for a lot of people than there does the T. And that's usually for the better.

Give it more time and if you feel better than two years ago then who knows how you'll feel in another two?

 

[Core2Duo]

13.5 KHz. White noise maskers worked for me.

 

[PatrizX]

My non-stop tinnitus is loud screeching metallic sound, so I'm in the same situation as many people here. I'm still trying to find help and welcome the input of how to manage with this type of tinnitus. It is the level where people just go mad and lose their sanity, IMO. At 3, 4 am when it wakes me up, I am in the desperation mode in having to deal with it in the dead of night. This is every single night. There were moments where I almost called help lines to speak to someone to get me through the distress. Every single day and night is a challenge for me.

 

[IntotheBlue03]

Wish I had found this thread sooner. How long did it take you gentlemen to habituate with high frequency tinnitus and is there any masking that you ever found to be effective, @Ed209 and @Alue?

White noise just irritates my tinnitus which is also reactive and centralized. 2 months in and in high distress not being able to mask and losing my mind.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Wish I had found this thread sooner. How long did it take you gentlemen to habituate with high frequency tinnitus and is there any masking that you ever found to be effective, @Ed209 and @Alue?

White noise just irritates my tinnitus which is also reactive and centralized. 2 months in and in high distress not being able to mask and losing my mind.

If you sit in silence, is it worse?

 

[IntotheBlue03]

If you sit in silence, is it worse?

If in complete silence, normally yes it will just get louder. At the moment I am sitting here after returning to listening to Art of Zen high frequency neuromodulation tracks and it has thinned out a bit. Whether it's because I'm calmer or the YouTube videos, this is the first minor bit of relief I have had in weeks.