Long Time No See — Very Mild Tinnitus Got Worse After Attending a Concert without Hearing Protection

[marqualler]

Hi all, I hope everyone is doing well.

I'm back because, unfortunately, I had a relapse of my tinnitus last month. I originally got tinnitus in October 2014, triggered by an ear infection and likely exacerbated by noise, having been a musician for several years, particularly during those years of drumming (bad idea). The positive side was that the severity had decreased in about a year, and within 5-10 years, it gradually disappeared to where I never noticed it. Back in 2015-2016, I was even a moderator here, which was a bright light in what was not a particularly good chapter in my life.

Unfortunately, I went to a concert in May, didn't wear ear protection (something I had grown accustomed to), and noticed ringing. By the time I got earplugs back in, it was too late. The month of May 2024 had been pretty rough, and particularly devastating to me was attending my kid's musical at his school wearing earplugs and coming out with some of the worst ringing in my head I have ever experienced. I ended up not going into both my kid's dance recitals at the end of May, aside from their own performances, to avoid that type of extreme discomfort and managed to avoid it. Nevertheless, I've already seen an ENT and know the answers there (structurally, my eardrums look OK aside from scar tissue from prior ear infections). I went to get a physical exam yesterday (same thing). One thing that did help me in 2017 after my mother's death was going on Zoloft, and from that point on, I honestly have no memory of being affected or bothered by tinnitus whatsoever until recently. I also started a CPA firm in 2021 that has been highly successful and growing, and the thought of tinnitus affecting my ability to participate in the activities that have helped it grow, like speaking at conferences and networking, is particularly frightening.

Anyway, I am not looking for specific advice and do not want anybody to provide any "negative" thoughts here because I am really coming here for support, to feel less alone with this, and to keep positive thoughts so that, hopefully, things will fade away and become less bothersome over the next several months. I've habituated before, so I know I can do it again. Just writing this out and knowing some people have suffered and come out the other side is comforting (not to mention, the Susan Shore device does look very promising from a medical perspective). I'm taking some comfort in the little gains week to week right now. A few weeks ago, being around my kids playing with iPad devices and having loud fun felt really hard, but this past week was the first time in a while it felt like outside sounds could "mask" it. So, whatever my particular biological makeup might be, I am hoping I can find the same journey I eventually landed on the first time.

Thanks for listening, and hello to some old friends here like @Markku. It's nice to see all the work you and @Hazel are doing. Take good care, folks.

 

[Muggumbo]

I hope you can recover again. It might be time to swear off very loud events like concerts. Once our ears get damaged this bad, it just seems like they're permanently weakened.

 

[Nordland90]

I completely understand how you feel. While I haven't had tinnitus for 10 years like you, I've had it for 7 years. At least 4 of those years were relatively unproblematic. In fact, since around 2020-2021, I've had days where I've forgotten I have tinnitus—mainly because I automatically turn on my fan when I go to bed. However, whenever I read about tinnitus, I start hearing it again.

In mid-April this year, something went haywire, and it came back in full force. I suspect it's ETD-related since the awful clicking and crackling when I swallow has returned to 2017 levels. I noticed it when I went to bed and could hear my tinnitus over the fan. Since then, I've experienced ups and downs. Several times, I thought I had cracked the code of the spike, but the next day, it was awful again. The first month was brutal, but since then, I've made some progress. I even had a day where it was 90% gone, even when I plugged my ear. But, of course, the next morning, it was back. The hardest part for me is the hope—just wanting to return to baseline levels. It's especially tough when it's good for half a day or a full day, and I think we're finally getting somewhere, only for it to return.

Like you, I think I'm over the worst part by now (knock on wood) since my sound has changed both in pitch and volume over the last couple of days. It's now at a level that's worse than 2020-2024 but much better than the last 1.5 months. Initially, I struggled badly with some sort of reactivity, where it would become louder than external sounds like my fan, traffic outside, and TV. Strangely, the reactivity didn't increase in volume if the sound hit the same frequency as my tinnitus, like running water. This has somewhat resolved, not completely gone but better.

What has really helped me over the last two weeks is chewing gum. It helps mask the sound, gives me something to do, and might help my Eustachian tubes with all the chewing. But if anyone reads this, be warned that if your tinnitus is TMJ/jaw-related, chewing gum will most likely make it worse. It has also helped me not to spend 4-5 hours a day reading tinnitus forums/Reddit about possible cures or stories similar to mine since I always tend to find the worst possible outcomes and think that will happen to me as well.

We've "beaten" tinnitus before and can most likely do it again.

 

[marqualler]

I wanted to give you all a brief update. I've definitely noticed the intensity/variability of my spike has reduced in nature, especially over the past week. I am hopeful then that what occurred was "just" a nasty spike of something that's been there since October 2014. I'm grateful that things have improved to the point where my own TFI score has gone "down" to something clinically significant -- I was probably around 50 a couple of weeks ago and now around 27. (Side note: the fact that TFI is one of the "best" surveys out for clinical significance for tinnitus is truly insane.)

I'm not sure that I "habituated" that fast, so I think so far this is because the super new high-frequency tone I was hearing on top of the already louder regular tone I had has gone away, and now my "regular" tone is just back, albeit different.

I wanted to ensure I put this on this thread for future readers. The future is uncertain, but I feel a lot better today than I did just a week ago. I am sure it is because the event that increased my tinnitus again takes some time, slowly but surely, to calm down.

 

[Christophe_85]

Hi all, I hope everyone is doing well.

I'm back because, unfortunately, I had a relapse of my tinnitus last month. I originally got tinnitus in October 2014, triggered by an ear infection and likely exacerbated by noise, having been a musician for several years, particularly during those years of drumming (bad idea). The positive side was that the severity had decreased in about a year, and within 5-10 years, it gradually disappeared to where I never noticed it. Back in 2015-2016, I was even a moderator here, which was a bright light in what was not a particularly good chapter in my life.

Unfortunately, I went to a concert in May, didn't wear ear protection (something I had grown accustomed to), and noticed ringing. By the time I got earplugs back in, it was too late. The month of May 2024 had been pretty rough, and particularly devastating to me was attending my kid's musical at his school wearing earplugs and coming out with some of the worst ringing in my head I have ever experienced. I ended up not going into both my kid's dance recitals at the end of May, aside from their own performances, to avoid that type of extreme discomfort and managed to avoid it. Nevertheless, I've already seen an ENT and know the answers there (structurally, my eardrums look OK aside from scar tissue from prior ear infections). I went to get a physical exam yesterday (same thing). One thing that did help me in 2017 after my mother's death was going on Zoloft, and from that point on, I honestly have no memory of being affected or bothered by tinnitus whatsoever until recently. I also started a CPA firm in 2021 that has been highly successful and growing, and the thought of tinnitus affecting my ability to participate in the activities that have helped it grow, like speaking at conferences and networking, is particularly frightening.

Anyway, I am not looking for specific advice and do not want anybody to provide any "negative" thoughts here because I am really coming here for support, to feel less alone with this, and to keep positive thoughts so that, hopefully, things will fade away and become less bothersome over the next several months. I've habituated before, so I know I can do it again. Just writing this out and knowing some people have suffered and come out the other side is comforting (not to mention, the Susan Shore device does look very promising from a medical perspective). I'm taking some comfort in the little gains week to week right now. A few weeks ago, being around my kids playing with iPad devices and having loud fun felt really hard, but this past week was the first time in a while it felt like outside sounds could "mask" it. So, whatever my particular biological makeup might be, I am hoping I can find the same journey I eventually landed on the first time.

Thanks for listening, and hello to some old friends here like @Markku. It's nice to see all the work you and @Hazel are doing. Take good care, folks.

Hello!

At the beginning of my tinnitus, I was very careful with any noise for several months. Then, one evening, I went out with my best friend. We started drinking in a bar, and for the first time in months, I felt good—happy and fearless!

After the bar, we decided to go to a Latino club. My gosh, the music was so loud, but I stayed anyway because I was feeling so good and didn't want the tinnitus to ruin my only night of fun!

I regretted this "mistake" afterward, but in the end, I don't feel worse now than I did before going to the club.

I hope this makes sense. Sorry, English is not my native language.

Stay strong, brother! We are in this together; you are not alone!