Is There Such Thing as *Too Much* Masking / Sound Enrichment?

[MattS]

Hi all,

Until recently I've found myself coping quite well without a lot of masking - the noises are always there, but they'd settled in a bit, and I was actually at the point of still being able to enjoy "quiet", even if that quiet included my noises. Lately I've been getting more bothered by them, however, and so have been masking more often.

I know that with plugs they say "use when you need to, but don't over-use". Is it the same thing with masking? Can there be *too much* masking? Maybe slow healing? Lead to an over-reliance on the mask? Prevent the ears from experiencing true quiet? I dunno... just wondering people's thoughts.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[billie48]

If masking is done with low enough volume (lower than your tinnitus) and not directly to your ears with headphone or earbuds, then it is considered sound enrichment. I think TRT encourages the use of sound enrichment. Like all things, moderation is the key.

 

[A123Lon]

from my experience, always lower volume than your tinnitus, and only when it it is most annoying you and/or most needed, (eg. working, sleeping, high anxiety periods) is the best healing method. too much and too loud can be bad imo.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

Constant noise and constant silence are both bad.

If your pitch is shrill and cuts thru the mix of day to day life well, you may be tempted to make masking noises loud. This will fatigue your ears.

This works differently for everyone - but for me I found it helpful to both sit in silence and get used to / meditate on the tone, and also to mask it when I truly needed to relax.

My tinnitus has largely faded and I'm also totally habituated but I still sleep with some noise in the room. Summer it's an AC, winter it's a humidifier. I prefer not to listen to it at night. But I did find it helpful to stew in it mid day for increasing periods of time when I was in the freak out phase. It's almost like being tickled. At first it's torture - but as you get older it's just a touch sensation.

 

[GBB]

Constant noise and constant silence are both bad.

If your pitch is shrill and cuts thru the mix of day to day life well, you may be tempted to make masking noises loud. This will fatigue your ears.

This works differently for everyone - but for me I found it helpful to both sit in silence and get used to / meditate on the tone, and also to mask it when I truly needed to relax.

My tinnitus has largely faded and I'm also totally habituated but I still sleep with some noise in the room. Summer it's an AC, winter it's a humidifier. I prefer not to listen to it at night. But I did find it helpful to stew in it mid day for increasing periods of time when I was in the freak out phase. It's almost like being tickled. At first it's torture - but as you get older it's just a touch sensation.

Tom, I think I have this exact same thing. The high pitched nature makes me feel like I'm being tickled all of the time. Did this ever get better for you? It's driving me crazy.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

Tom, I think I have this exact same thing. The high pitched nature makes me feel like I'm being tickled all of the time. Did this ever get better for you? It's driving me crazy.

I'm mostly fine these days.

 

[Bill Bauer]

constant silence are both bad

Here is a recent post (I was the one who underlined the relevant text in it) that is related to the "would be hilarious, if it weren't dangerous" claim above:

Although I was not a member of the community at the time, because my tinnitus was mild and completely a non-issue, and so I never sought out any solution, I can attest to having reached the complete silence stage after 4 years. I also had some sensitivity to noises, never pain, which 100% subsided. This was limited to sharp drums in music, shooting noises in video games, and other noises with pronounced sibilance. I was 23 when I got it and it was gone by 27. So maybe put that one in the anecdotal pile.

Also, one other data point, because it seems to be a polemical issue here - I always protected my ears if they felt uncomfortable. Before I knew what hyperacusis was, if I ever felt discomfort, I naturally assumed it was the aggravation of an injury, and that my body was not yet ready for the type of noise I was experiencing. After protecting my ears according to this logic for some time - maybe 6 months - the discomfort faded and I resumed a normal life. One exception - I always used hearing protection on the NYC subway as it produced an objectively dangerous level of sound, and I knew it couldn't be healthy.

I believe had I not become complacent and allowed microsuction cleaning, which was indeed painful, followed a week later by an extremely loud noise I was unaware was possible, that I would never have given tinnitus a second thought, and would not be in the fine company here assembled : )

 

[Nikopol]

Im not using it anymore, but did for months after onset. On my first try I put a "sounds of nature" in my headphones, louder than T and went to sleep.

Boy, was that a bad idea. Next day my T was killing me, at least thrice louder than normal. Fortunatelly no long-term lasting effects, but afterwards I used it when going to sleep, let phone on other side of the bed with the sound just below the sound of T and never had any issues with it. As T gradually habituated, I stopped using them.

But one of the reasons why I did was that I was afraid that I will create phobia to silence. And so when it comes, what I get is anxiety from tinnitus being at loudest, which in turn will fuel the tinnitus to be even louder (perception-wise).

 

[Tom Cnyc]

Here is a recent post (I was the one who underlined the relevant text in it) that is related to the "would be hilarious, if it weren't dangerous" claim above:

Bill, I have absolutely no idea what point you're trying to make here.

 

[Chris55]

I just started having tinnitus for the past 10 days after an episode of vertigo. It helps to read through your experiences. I'm anxious by nature and really freak out reading the horror of people considering suicide. I know a lot of people cope. I pray for everyone. Started taking an SSRI 3 days ago and now learning how they can cause or exacerbate. This is a tough affliction.

 

[Raphael7713]

You want to train your brain to get used to your tinnitus and learn your brain to focus on something else instead of your tinnitus. If you use sound enrichment that's in a volume that overshadows your tinnitus, you won't ever get used to your tinnitus or learn to shift focus from your tinnitus. That's why it's recommended to put on a volume where you can still hear your tinnitus but your focus is on the sound enrichment.

 

[zozil_radical]

Years ago, before I had severe tinnitus, I used to use a white noise machine while sleeping. After a few months of using the machine, I noticed I would have tinnitus in the morning. When I stopped using the machine, the tinnitus went away.

Based on my experience, I believe white noise can cause or exacerbate tinnitus. I think many people on this forum are making a MISTAKE by using white noise.

 

[Mr_Orange_3737]

Based on my experience, I believe white noise can cause or exacerbate tinnitus. I think many people on this forum are making a MISTAKE by using white noise.

Did your tinnitus go away slowly or all of a sudden after you stopped the white noise?

Did you use any other types of sounds for masking or sound enrichment? Or just sleep in a silent room?

I have a air purifier on at night which sounds like white noise.

I've noticed that sleeping on the side of my ringing side can make the tinnitus super quiet in mornings. I'm thinking of testing out sleeping in a silent room for a week.

Did you have hyperacusis too? I know white noise has helped with this issue for some people.

 

[zozil_radical]

Did your tinnitus go away slowly or all of a sudden after you stopped the white noise?

Slowly. Gradually. Over the course of a few days.

Did you use any other types of sounds for masking or sound enrichment? Or just sleep in a silent room?

When I noticed the white noise machine was causing my tinnitus, I stopped using it immediately and slept in a silent room. My tinnitus then went away after a few days. I starting using the machine again a few months later. Predictably, my tinnitus came back when I started to use the machine again. Fortunately, it disappeared again after I stopped using the machine.

My conclusion: a white noise machine can cause tinnitus. Don't use white noise.

 

[Mr_Orange_3737]

I'm going to need to figure something out because I rely on my air purifier (this counts as white noise right?) for allergy control. Might have to just vacuum very often for a month instead.

My tinnitus seems very reactive, almost like a total side effect of my hyperacusis. When I usually wake up in the middle of the night around 4 am and it's silent, I sometimes think it my tinnitus has gone away because it's just that quiet.

Different masking sounds in the night seem to produce a different type of tinnitus in the morning too. I've had the electricity tinnitus (most common), the pulsating tinnitus, the pure tone tinnitus, and the birds chirping tinnitus.

 

[Jim Vasilakis]

Can sound enrichment with nature sounds aka crickets and waterfalls cause hyperacusis?

I'm worrying since I'm playing masking sounds a lot during the day and night to help me sleep that I might be causing fatigue to my auditory system.

I play the sounds at very low volume and for about 4 hours each night.