I Work with Audio for a Living — WTF Are These Crickets Doing in My Head!?

[Matthew Piecora]

Hi all, I am 36 and totally bumming. I work at a synthesizer store and teach music production which is my dream. A bout 1.5 months ago I started getting short bouts of tinnitus, they would last for only a few seconds and than be gone. Than one day it happened and it has not stopped since. It started only in my left ear with a constant high pitch and about 2 days later I heard what sounds like high pitched crickets in my right ear - almost feels like its rotating in my head. When I drive the tinnitus in my left ear is bad, it sounds like a resonance spike from the sound of my wheels on the road - like a muffled second track of audio in my ear. Something about my left ear feels like it's got water in it or something.

Sometimes the cricket/chirping sound in my right ear isn't bad or not present but it is around most days especially into the evening and I have a hard time knowing whether it's my right or left ear causing the issue. The tinnitus in my left ear is constant and my ear feels "full" but I have been looked at by an ENT and very briefly by a Neurotologist (he did the same look in the ears that the ENT did) and both of them said that they can see nothing wrong with my ears. In fact they both told me to "relax." Like how am I supposed to find peace when I can't even do my job, let alone sleep or even carry on a conversation? I am highly stressed but it feels like the stress is coming from this never ending torture. There are other things in my life that cause me stress but can this really be a stress issue? For instance my sister is dying of colon cancer to which they only gave her 6 months to live - and this all did start shortly after that news but I can't really imagine it being related. I can't shake the idea that this is something physiological. Today my girlfriend turned on her hair dryer and it hurt my ears, that was a first. The ringing intensified greatly just during the duration of her hair drying which was happening downstairs. Another oddity I have noticed is that if i press my finger into my right ear and put a bit of pressure on my right ear drum it makes me a bit dizzy. Moving the suction that my finger creates in my ear back and forth will make me feel woozy while it's happening. I've also noticed it's becoming very difficult to tell where sounds are coming from, I have a hard time knowing if I am hearing something behind me or in front of me, anyone experience that? It does get louder when I open my jaw wide but that has kinda always been there as long as I can remember.

I have heard of habituation but I can't imagine habituating to a sound that seems to change - and come and go as it pleases. How do you get used to something that you can't predict? I honestly don't know what to do, I feel pretty upset and losing hope after seeing so many professionals with no results. This just absolutely sucks, it's such a gut punch to have your life be audio and now it hurts to listen. I am on amitriptyline for neuropathy pain and taking Gabapentin as well when needed. I have read that amitriptyline is a medication used for tinnitus but I have had zero results in that regard nor has it helped with my pain level. I am seeing a jaw specialist next as I try and tackle the idea of TMJ which honestly I hope it is, at least people seem to get better from that.

I haven't heard any stories of "Yay, my tinnitus went away!" or "this medicine actually works!" or "try acupuncture it worked for me," it seems there is little hope out there and I am having a really hard time accepting that this is just my lot in life. Send good vibes please.

-Matthew

 

[DRobi]

Hey Matthew: I just posted here for the first time about a week ago. I am much older than you (65) but just experienced the same sudden onset of tinnitus on August 30, very similar to what you describe. Mine started while I was out on a gentle mountain bike ride on a quiet dirt road, when all of a sudden I noticed I was hearing very loud "crickets" or cicada like sounds in my left ear. I thought it was a real external sound, but when I stopped to listen I realized it was coming from inside my ear/head. Since then, my hearing seems somewhat muffled, yet somehow more sensitive than ever. I find myself listening to TV at a much lower volume than before this started, so it's hard to believe I have had significant hearing loss. Like you, I also have a vague feeling of water moving around in my right ear. Overall, my ears and hearing experience just feel weirdly different, and the tinnitus is a continuous loud hiss or cricket like sound, mostly in my left ear.

My GP gave me a 5-day prescription for prednisone, which I have gone through with no improvement. He also gave me a 10-day prescription for an antiviral, under the theory that I might have some sort of a viral middle or inner ear infection. No improvement. I had virtually no wax buildup in my outer ear, so they ruled that one out. He referred me to an ENT/audiologist, who I see on September 23. Based on what I am reading here, I expect them to say that everything is fine with my ears and that I will just have to "learn to live with it." It's incredible to me that a chronic tinnitus - a condition that purportedly affects 50 million Americans at any given time - is so poorly under understood, with no effective medical treatment other than behavioral coping measures.

Since I am new to this, and freaked out about what it all means, I have read hundreds of posts on this forum, as well as all the readily available medical literature on the internet. I am particularly discouraged by the posts that say this condition is a "stress reaction." At my age, I have been through numerous periods of great personal stress, and have suffered anxiety and depression at times. But I never developed a sudden onset of tinnitus. While COVID-19, the election, and pending retirement are my current stressors, I have actually been feeling great about life - until August 30 when this crazy tinnitus thing just showed up out of nowhere. I live a very healthy lifestyle, exercise vigorously and frequently, and am on no medications for any other chronic conditions. I was not exposed to an acoustic trauma that I can recall.

I have really been looking forward to retirement, but now is seems I will be dealing with tinnitus management the rest of my life. So, even though you are at a much different point in your life, I feel your pain and frustration about this weird thing that have overcome us.

 

[Juan]

My GP gave me a 5-day prescription for prednisone, which I have gone through with no improvement.

That's a very short course of prednisone, so unlikely to work at all.

 

[Luman]

Hi Matthew, I"m very sorry to read that you've gotten this, on top of other very bad situations with your family. Stress can definitely aggravate tinnitus.

I am considerately older than you, and had episodes of fullness, random hearing loss that came and went, and other ear problems, starting in my teens and 20's. The intrusive tinnitus started about three years ago, and it is the fluctuating type which varies from day to day, and usually during the day as well. I know that it seems impossible to habituate to, but believe me, it isn't. I went to a variety of doctors, including a top NYC ear specialist who has tinnitus, and he manages to perform the equivalency of brain surgery on patients. The doctor said that when it first hit him, he tried every supposed remedy under the sun, but nothing affected it, only time, and this is my experience, as well. I've never had the "crickets", but that can be habituated to, from what I understand. You may lose the tinnitus, but if it continues to hang around, the noises will fade from your awareness, over time. This is a gradual process, in stages, but if you protect your ears, and perhaps learn some techniques to help yourself to cope, you'll be fine. Good luck.

 

[Matthew Piecora]

Thank you for your responses everyone, i feel very welcomed here. When I first wake up and am laying in bed, it just the standard ringing for me with no crickets/cicadas/chirping. When I start going about my day they start acting up, it seems like they get turned on when I start being around the noise of life. It's clearly sound that is affecting me. It's frustrating to me that doctors don't want to do anything other than look at the outside of our ear, what I mean is no scans or biopsy or whatever they would do to see if there is something wrong. There are a lot of serious conditions that can cause tinnitus (spinal, circulatory, auto-immune) I just wish they would want to look a little harder rather than sending me off with a "that's just the way it is, we don't think looking any harder than this will help. Try to relax." Like what? At least my naturopath is trying, he has all sorts of ideas and spends my visits looking stuff up with me. What is so frustrating for me is white noise is painful and so is running water. Both of those sounds trigger the chirping. So there is no masking for me as far as I can tell.

 

[MindOverMatter]

@Matthew Piecora
Sounds to me a kind of hyperacusis - a sensitivity to certain sounds, accompanied with tinnitus. Given your feedback/distortion of running water, white noises etc.

I have the same, but it is getting slowly better - month by month. It's a marathon. Many bumps along the road, so you need patience and look forward. And protect your ears, but NOT overprotect as this may bounce back on you and worsen your condition. Use sound enrichment, what ever makes you comfortable, on a low level. Gradually increase the volume accordingly with your progression.

Remember though, with tinnitus & hyperacusis, progression is hardly ever linear.

Stay strong, and try not to stress out to much about it. I know it is easier said than done, but stress is a major trigger factor - especially for oversensitivity to sounds.
When I was at my lowest I had horrible head rumbling, and even the sound of walking made me uncomfortable. But once I sorted out the anxiety type of stress, this became way way better.

Do not underestimate the power of your body and brains' ability to calm down the system using simple breathing techniques etc, and cognitive therapy basics in the sense that you stay positive. It will get better!

 

[Matthew Piecora]

Do not underestimate the power of your body and brains' ability to calm down the system using simple breathing techniques etc, and cognitive therapy basics in the sense that you stay positive. It will get better!

Thank you so much, I am trying my best just to work through it. It's so very hard so every bit of encouragement helps!

 

[star-affinity]

Thank you so much, I am trying my best just to work through it. It's so very hard so every bit of encouragement helps!

How are you doing now? I hope better!

I was going to suggest that you take breaks from sound and music if your ears feel "full" or "hollow" since that can mean they are fatigued, and could potentially get damaged if sound exposure continues. But I guess you already know that.

I knew that, but still managed to trigger a new tinnitus at night while listening to music at volume that is considered harmless – an average of 35 dB with some spikes at 40 dB. Something I've been doing in a same way for months without problems.
Still, this night my ear did this two second "chirp" two hours into sleeping and directly after that I got a new tinnitus sound i that ear – a high pitched cicada like hiss that sometimes oscillates a little.

This was despite having some toilet paper in my ear to protect a little, since I did have ear fullness and "whooshing" in the ear when going to bed.

Very sad.