Is It Tinnitus If I Can't Hear the Noise When Plugging My Ears?

[Kingdawson]

I am so so confused by this. So I can hear a very very faint ring in my left ear when it's extremely quiet/silent but when I plug my affected ear (left one) it disappears after 10 or so seconds.

Even when I don't plug it it sort of quietens down and fades into the background in a quiet room.

If I'm lying down on my affected ear I never hear it.

Did meditation last week in an extremely quiet setting and it was there for a while then I didn't hear it at all after a little bit.

My question is that can this be tinnitus if it fades out really quickly if I plug my ears? Shouldn't it be more prominent?

 

[Bill Bauer]

My question is that can this be tinnitus if it fades out really quickly if I plug my ears? Shouldn't it be more prominent?

It is tinnitus. If you don't protect your ears, eventually the noise will stay there 24/7 and there will be nothing you can do about it. Its volume and pitch might also change in such a way that it would become much harder to ignore.

I recommend staying away from moderate noises (like that of a blender or a vacuum cleaner) until the time this sound is gone (may want to wait 6 months until after the day the sound disappears, before being near a vacuum cleaner again). If I were you, I would never attend events like loud concerts ever again.

 

[Kingdawson]

Never attend concerts again?

 

[Sean]

Never attend concerts again?

Yes never ever ( in my opinion )

 

[Bill Bauer]

Never attend concerts again?

Read this forum to find countless horror stories written by people who got better only to get significantly worse (often permanently) after being exposed to a noise level that a healthy person wouldn't even notice. Our ears have been compromised.

Here is a taste of those horror stories (there are new ones almost every week)
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/bad-spike-not-subsiding-after-loud-bar-—-despite-wearing-properly-inserted-earplugs.20675/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/earplugs-muffs-give-very-little-protection.21737/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-much-worse-after-club-despite-wearing-solid-35-db-custom-earplugs-—-im-at-my-wits-end.15744/#post-186018

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...t-an-acoustic-trauma-shock.18964/#post-219363

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...le-in-real-life-situations.19067/#post-220314

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/33-decibel-earplug-not-protecting-from-sound.22151/

I could go on and on and on (provide links to more horror stories where people found out the hard way that it was a bad idea to rely on earplugs), but you get the idea.

It is a risk. You might not notice any problems afterwards, Or you might regret it for the rest of your life.
Also check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...the-onset-of-tinnitus-and-regretted-it.23061/

Having said all of the above, this is a controversial topic. There are many on this forum who learned the hard way, and who advise against attending loud events. Others haven't had any deterioration (yet?!) of their condition after they attend music festivals, concerts, etc., and they are passionate about "living your life" and "not letting tinnitus win."

 

[Kingdawson]

Yesterday my anxiety was sky high (when trying to sleep) and it was probably because i read this thread just before sleeping(i am a terrible sleeper when something is playing on my mind). As i've said previously on here i suffer severly from health anxiety.
Half way through yesterday night i started panicking because i thought i heard a new sound in my right ear. It wasnt conatant but i thought i heard it and became fixated on it. Anyway this morning it wasnt there and i can only hear it in my bedroom which leads me to believe its external (when i go to other equally quiet places i hear that very faint ring sometimes but nothing else).
I really think continuously checking up on tinnitus and visiting various forums is actually making it worse because it makes me very anxious (especially when i read things i don't want to read). My girlfriend hears the exact same quiet ring when she focuses in on it but it doesn't effect her one bit yet i literally focus in on it at near enough every opportunity.
My plan of action is to obviously protect my ears from here on in and stop searching the intrrnet continuously about it. Seeing a therapist for my anxiety so hopefully that will help.

Oh slightly off topic but Valerian Roots was absolutely terrible in aiding me to sleep. In fact i think it was the cause in me getting no sleep yesterday as well as actually feeling more anxious.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Oh slightly off topic but Valerian Roots was absolutely terrible in aiding me to sleep. In fact i think it was the cause in me getting no sleep yesterday as well as actually feeling more anxious.

Try melatonin (1 mg).

You can also get your doctor to prescribe amitriptyline (7.5-10 mg) for you. It helped me sleep during my acute stage. It is nonaddictive, and it didn't make me feel drowsy in the morning.