In Many Cases, Is Initial Trigger Really That Important?

[Lisa88]

Coming to the conclusion that some of our auditory systems are more vulnerable than others. Hence some of us get t and some don't.
Whether that is vulnerability at the time of a sudden loud noise, a dose of certain drug, or if it is vulnerability that has been building for years due to stress etc, well that is unclear.
Of course if tmj/cervical issues are impinging on the nerve etc, and there can be a fix. Well that does seem significant.
My t was caused by local anesthetic, administered at the same time as a menstrual migraine and significant stress in my life. But if t hadn't happened then, I wonder if something else would have triggered it along the way.
Interesting. Somehow it takes the pressure off of blaming ourselves or others for this condition, or forever trying to work out the factor/hundreds of factors that could have contributed towards it.

 

[Sound Wave]

I agree. This kind of thinking is healthy for us.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

Coming to the conclusion that some of our auditory systems are more vulnerable than others.

Could certainly be (but I don't believe it is the main reason why people end up with tinnitus - noise is!). And/but in that case, the cause could well be important to identify. There could be many indirect causes - but one of the more plausible ones is birth weight. Or lack of birth weight, to be more precise. Very low birth weight children (< 1500g) have been shown to have an increased risk of (significant) hearing loss. Actually, as many as 1 in 400 randomly born children will a hearing defect. And guess what - when analysis is then done on those specific children, birth weight as well as complications during pregnancy are often found to be correlated factors (with the hearing loss). More recent studies have begun to focus on the intermediate category ie. children with birth weight > 1,5 kg and < 3,5 kg. At 2,5 kg at birth, which is 1 kg less than average birth weight, I happen to be in that category (my mother did not quit smoking during pregnancy). For sure, I have wondered if I somehow have been more predisposed to developing tinnitus. Since my various regenerative therapies, I have also noticed how my hearing has improved even though I had so-called "normal hearing" beforehand and did not have trouble hearing, as such. Still, a 25db hearing improvement at 8 kHz has made a difference. To make matters worse, I suffered from a lack of oxygen during labour, which the doctors did not initially notice - until my father repaired the equipment on the spot, and ended up being delivered by (unplanned) cesarean section. And guess what - lack of oxygen during labour is another factor which is now known to contribute to hearing loss. And then at 6 months old, my mother had a car accident which left me with a bump on the head (no seat belts back in 1978) - and jarring of the brain is another potential trigger of tinnitus. I do wish my entry into this (unforgiving) world would have been more gentle. At a very minimum, it would have eliminated a lot of the "what if" thinking. And possibly avoided altogether the God-awful-mess I have been in over the last 1½ years. It really does annoy me...

But as the saying goes "you play the hand you are dealt."

 

[Stina]

I also suffered from a lack of oxygen but even before labour - I was born 2 weeks before the date, otherwise most likely I would have died. I also had a cerebral hemorrhage and I believe I was below the average weight.
Anyone I turned out relatively normal and I still believe if i haven't tortured by ears for years I would have no tinnitus/hearing loss (although the above mentioned may have contributed). I guess my cards have been quite good then...