Hey guys having a spike and need some abit of help and kind words

Hey everyone I got T from taking an ototoxic drug . My hearing hasn't been affected as such I can hear perfectly but my T is getting worse it started out as somthing I could hear somtimes or only when quite but now it's gotten to. Point where even at my work place I can hear it all day . I try to stay busy really busy but lately it's started to really have some balls about it can anyone relate . It seems to chase noise. Thank you

 

And it's not just a faint sound in the back ground it's clearly there

 

I understand. And when you focus on it, it can get irritating.

Keeping busy is key. When you notice it, take you attention away quickly.

 

Yeah I'm definitely trying to I'm an electrician for the gas plant being built in australia so most of the day I'm wearing ear muffs and it cuts out a lot of noise but not all so it's ok . But I use ear plugs aswell when grinding and drilling . Yeah it's just been mental lately and I'm feeling abit lost for hope

 

Wearing noise silencers like ear muffs and ear plugs can seem like all you hear is the T. Try to keep your thoughts busy with distractions as well.

Maybe you can listen to some of your favorite songs with ear plugs - softly of course - so that will distract your mind away from the T. Sing along with the song in your head.

 

Hm I will have a look a doing somthing like that through my earmuffs on my hard hat

 

I don't want to have to quit my job over this shit . I know I work in a noisy environment. But I thought with the right protectioni could continue .

 

Hi Andrew.

I remember you experienced a few other symptoms as well, like the feeling of having a tight jaw etc..

Are you sure that your T was brought on by ototoxic drugs?

Could it be that something happened to your neck?
Like you made a sudden movement? Or maybe you sat for long hours in a very bad posture playing guitar? Or in front of your computer?

The stuff you experienced regarding feeling of a tight jaw etc sounds very familiar.

Do you experience anything else weird that could be connected to your T?
Like pain in your neck / trapezius, shoulder pain? myofacial pain? Stuff like that..

 

Both ENTS I went to said they are pretty sure it was the antibiotic . I havnt really had the jaw tightness for a fair while and I seem to get slight H only
Sometimes . The pain I have in my neck is definitely from gym seems to be the only
Place I have to get away from it so far

 

I get home from a 12 hour shift go to gym and smash myself that much I basically pass out

 

can anyone relate . It seems to chase noise. Thank you[/QUOTE]
Hi Andrew, I can totally relate, along with others. Right now as I am typing my T is off the scale. What keeps me going is pure mental. See third post down on the last page.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-positivity-thread.3142/page-14

 

Was that the picture Gary ?

 

Yes, read the words a few times and see if they help.
There are also a lot of good posts in that thread. It's called "The Positivity Thread"

My T is still blasting away, but I work on not letting it bother me, even when it's very high like it is now.
Eventually you be able to work around it. You really have no choice, so hang in there and let know how you are doing...

 

Hey Andrew sorry to hear its getting worse, Did you have any recent noise trauma or have you been stressed at all lately? Ive recently had a setback as well but im doing great again, I know what you mean about chasing the noise, mine seems to get louder depending on the noise around me, and i can also hear mine all day. Any other details? Im sure you spike will subside, and even if it does not its still possible to habituate tinnitus you hear all the time.

 

These are setbacks which are quite common among the newer sufferers. Don't get too worked up by it. Your brain will likely get used to T over time if you don't emotionally oppose to it. Try to take life as it is. Don't give up hope that you will get better, either by habituation eventually, or by some new effective treatments. We are already seeing the potential in some of those being discussed in the Treatment section. Take care.

 

Your brave to work in that environment when you already have tinnitus......

 

Hey mate I know other people that have it aswell in this industry . A few that have had it
Since they were kids some who just get it from the noise exposure here

 

H

hey Cullen not really hey I wear ear plugs all day at work and nothing really has bothered me at work and when it does get loud I wear double which is ear plugs and ear muffs it brings all
The demons out but it's 34db + what ever the ear muffs are

 

Protection that is

 

A short story from the real world. When I was in Bangkok for my first stem cell treatment, each day daily treatment session would start at around 10 o'clock with a briefing between myself, my assigned physician, and the medical director. Usually fairly informal - more of a chit chat and a bit of coffee, really...! For one of those briefings, a senior physician happened to walk by as we were having our discussion. He joined in for 15-20 minutes just to hear a little bit about my case, background, and reason for developing tinnitus. I mentioned that I had been using CIPRO (eardrops) in my left ear a couple of times in the past years (ie. for a week's treatment on a couple of occasions). And consequently, I suspected this to be the culprit for developing tinnitus in that ear. And so we had discussion about ototoxicity and how it differs depending on medication, dosage, and delivery method (oral vs. IV). The senior physician specifically mentioned that ototoxicity sometimes does not show up until weeks/months after cessation of treatment. It also means that the damage is not always done in "one go", but may be "on-going" for a while. This could be the case with you, therefore (based on what I read).

On another occassion, I was getting involved in off-label AM101 treatment at a clinic here in Germany. I was seen by one of the doctors at the Acquaklinik here in Leipzig, who is fairly "aggressive" in attempting to cure tinnitus, and will do "avantgarde" approaches to prevent/cure tinnitus. One example - he mentioned - was preventing tinnitus to occur in a female patient who was about to undergo chemotherapy. By delivering steriod intratympanic injections before the chemotherapy began (and also during treatment, I think) he prevented hearing loss and tinnitus from occuring. He also did mention that he sometimes will use steriod intratympanic injections several months after tinnitus has developed - even though it may not be effective.

Ototoxicity is therefore something that needs to monitored and managed when it is suspected. It is not enough to simply conclude that it has occured. It is also possible to put on high doses of certain antioxidants (IV) - when can help prevent damage from progressing. It seems your doctors do not know this kind of specific information (I am not surprised). And therefore did not consider it. It is also not enough to administer standard audiogram measurements to track hearing loss from ototoxicity. Hearing loss from ototoxic medication will usually affect the very high frequencies (> 8 kHz) to begin with. Having a standard audiogram done - which are by far the most common - proves essentially nothing therefore.

Sounds like reactive tinnitus ie. tinnitus which amplifies itself in certain sound environments (eg. driving a car or being next to a computer fan). It is quite common.

When using earplugs, it is important to let the foam expand inside the ear canal while keeping the plugs pressed in. If you simply put them in and let them expand on their own, you will not get the full benefit of the protection they offer. Far from. This is probably the most important step - and probably the one people most often neglect. Or are unaware of...

 

Hope it it will be temporary temporary. Give it time then reassess

 

Hey mate I havnt taken Cipro in months say about 5 or 6 months but it keeps getting worse

 

@attheedgeofscience Thanks for this informative post. I had never heard that ototoxicity from drugs could continue months down the line. Do you have any other sources of this opinion? I don't know if drugs made my T worse starting 2 months ago as I didn't take anything specifically on the "bad" list but I wonder if taking some NAC now would maybe prevent any further damage? As it has been going wild.

This actually makes me curious as the tinnitus, after the first spike, was much quieter when I was on antibiotics (Bactrim DS) for a month and drinking a ton of kefir for the stomach related side effects. Though I also think kefir is high in antioxidants.

@Andrew_89 I'm so sorry for what you're going through and I totally understand the frustration of fluctuating/worsening tinnitus. Just when you think you can have it under wraps and stop yourself from going crazy something changes and your habituation goes to ground zero.

It sounds like you are doing a good job of wearing hearing protection at your job and I wouldn't change if it gives you any satisfaction. May I ask what dB levels you are exposed to there? As I understand it ear plugs + ear muffs don't really stack on top of each other and will only protect up to around 40 dB of sound as the bones near your ears also conduct the sound.

Still, the 36+ you quoted should be more than enough unless you're working on jet engines. I would suggest looking at musician ear plugs instead of foam ones. I use a 20 dB pair from Etymotics but if you are wearing them everyday I'd think about spending a few hundred bucks and getting the ones that are custom molded to your ear. Better comfort plus with these types of plugs you won't get the dulling of sounds and everything will sound clear. Some caution though, while I don't have musician ear plugs, I have heard of one guy that had his T worsened by having the foam pumped into his ear to mold it. No idea if that's common or what happened in that case but just something to consider.

As far as relaxing, I think you are doing the right thing by going to the gym. Keep it up. Do everything you can to keep your mind active. It really does suck because it is physically and mentally exhausting but it's better than the alternative. Nothing more annoying than having your T at a low-ish level from being busy all day, only to lay down to watch a movie and then as soon as you release your mind... boom there it is.

I'd perhaps suggest keeping a wall of noises going on at your house to distract you from this. It helps me. My T doesn't respond to white noise anymore but I run a fan near my bed, a white noise machine opposite at the door, and I generally have music on all the time. It keeps it in check normally but when it doesn't I resort to putting on rain noises from simplynoise. Just have to find the right mix of sounds that'll make your T bearable.

Best of luck friend.

 

Don't spend another second measuring it.
Measure your response to it. If you have to do it 100 times a day, measure your response. In a short time you'll notice your response is changing. When your response changes, the T changes.
But the T won't soon change if you keep measuring it alone.
-40 years of T. This works.