Losing It After a While

[Ilija]

Hello everyone, hope your having a good day.
About 2 months ago I smoked some weed and ever since that day my PC's sound has been 2 times louder which is annoying.
Don't know if it was the THC or my friends yelling in my room a couple of times but hey it's Tinnitus an annoying condition that our brain is to retarded to take care of itself.
Then about 2 weeks ago had some friends over, watched tv played games, at one point they got quite loud, didn't notice anything then but now I'm either imagining it and getting anxiety sensitivity again or it really did happen and now I have a somewhat subtle sound sensitivity to bass, funny how my Tinnitus is very mild and yet I get multiple levels of sound sensitivity huh?
So now I'm losing it, if it was the THC shouldn't it have gone by now? I realize it stays in your system longer when you have a lot of fat, and I think I have quite a substantial amount of fat but 2 months? maybe but then again maybe not.

It's annoying, it's like being next to a generator but only somewhat less loud still annoying as hell, still stupid and just when I was thinking I was starting to lose sound sensitivity.
This whole damn situation sucks and honestly I feel cheated, I feel pardon the language f**ed over by the system, for all it's millions of warning about stupid lung cancer from smoking and yet not a single peep about how you shouldn't play your headphones/earphones/speakers and such really loud else you might get a possibly chronic condition no living thing should have to endure, but nah screw that just put lung cancer in my face and everything else will be fine.

So here I am now wondering why my PC is so irrationally and unnecessarily loud, I'm asking some random people most of which are having it worse than me, all of you probably won't hold any significant answer other than personal experience and presumption which is the only thing one has with this mystery of a condition, it might be THC and it'll go away, it might all be here only temporarily and I will see my hyperacusis fade with time, or it might be getting worse over time and I'm 2-5 years away from being yet another person to kill themselves over the pain caused by what I once considered normal everyday noises.

 

[Rube]

@Ilija I get the same thing where I feel my sound sensitivity is getting better for a week or so then it comes back for a few days and then feels better again, its like a cycle and I can't figure out why that happens. I doubt it was the weed or the little bit of noise from your friends. It seems like this just might be a cycle as it gets better. At least that's what I hope. 2 weeks ago I did a 7 hour drive with just a little cotton in my ears to take the edge off the road noise, for the next few days it felt like my sound sensitivity was GONE, only to come back a few days later......go figure right?
So I just continue to protect from louder situations, get myself some environmental sounds by taking some walks around my neighborhood and listen to my pink noise cd for a couple hours each day. I'm not sure anything else can be done other than that.

 

[Telis]

I seriously doubt it was the THC, if it was I'm really screwed . I think it's your anxiety mate. Maybe find a objective way to measure it to put your mind at ease in the future...maybe how much a certain sound takes to mask or whatever.

 

[Ilija]

I seriously doubt it was the THC, if it was I'm really screwed . I think it's your anxiety mate. Maybe find a objective way to measure it to put your mind at ease in the future...maybe how much a certain sound takes to mask or whatever.

There's also a very likely theory, I think what might have caused my sound sensitivity was me listening in on every single sound and obsessing, this caused anxiety of the worst kind, fixating on all ringing beeping and so on sounds just to be sure it's not me, cold sweat, pulsating heart 24/7 I believe this caused my sound sensitivity as it appeared a day or two later after Tinnitus and I didn't notice it right away only after like 2-3 days.
Maybe the weed kicked up the anxiety and so in turn the sound sensitivity kicked up.
This is probably the most likely case as otherwise I think I would be greatly bothered by people yelling, loud car beeps and such if it was the ear itself.
I've also noticed that when I tend to not think about sound sensitivity its far less there, but when I start thinking this bothers me for no reason then it really does start bothering me because I literally self suggest sound sensitivity a lot.
Even now I'm thinking how much it bothers me yet when I had just woken up and am relaxed it's far far lower.
Thanks for the answer Telis I know realize that the most likely cause is my over worrying.
WOW It just came down, a lot, like almost normal level now, dang that's fast
I should start working out more to relieve all that stress.
Thanks again for the answer, I should really stop thinking about what's causing what though, best to just relax since mine isn't as serious as others and leave it to time to resolve.

 

[SoulStation]

It wasn't the THC. Its out your system by now. Just don't smoke again if you think it hurts you to ease your anxiety.

 

[Marcini]

It's definitely nothing to do with THC. That is usually only active for a short time and may remain in your system to some degree for a couple of weeks or so.

Unfortunately the sensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis) is a bit of a rollercoaster. You may recover to a large degree but loud noise is always likely to give you a setback lasting days to weeks. But if you keep away from loud noise, or protect where necessary, you can largely avoid these relapses.

I agree with your rant about the lack of awareness though. It really is criminal on the part of the "authorities".

 

[Rube]

It's definitely nothing to do with THC. That is usually only active for a short time and may remain in your system to some degree for a couple of weeks or so.

Unfortunately the sensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis) is a bit of a rollercoaster. You may recover to a large degree but loud noise is always likely to give you a setback lasting days to weeks. But if you keep away from loud noise, or protect where necessary, you can largely avoid these relapses.

I agree with your rant about the lack of awareness though. It really is criminal on the part of the "authorities".

The H is definitely a rollercoaster, have to just roll with it. On the good h days, t is a lot lower also.

 

[Telis]

There's also a very likely theory, I think what might have caused my sound sensitivity was me listening in on every single sound and obsessing, this caused anxiety of the worst kind, fixating on all ringing beeping and so on sounds just to be sure it's not me, cold sweat, pulsating heart 24/7 I believe this caused my sound sensitivity as it appeared a day or two later after Tinnitus and I didn't notice it right away only after like 2-3 days.
Maybe the weed kicked up the anxiety and so in turn the sound sensitivity kicked up.
This is probably the most likely case as otherwise I think I would be greatly bothered by people yelling, loud car beeps and such if it was the ear itself.
I've also noticed that when I tend to not think about sound sensitivity its far less there, but when I start thinking this bothers me for no reason then it really does start bothering me because I literally self suggest sound sensitivity a lot.
Even now I'm thinking how much it bothers me yet when I had just woken up and am relaxed it's far far lower.
Thanks for the answer Telis I know realize that the most likely cause is my over worrying.
WOW It just came down, a lot, like almost normal level now, dang that's fast
I should start working out more to relieve all that stress.
Thanks again for the answer, I should really stop thinking about what's causing what though, best to just relax since mine isn't as serious as others and leave it to time to resolve.

Yeah mate...just chill. In all honesty, and no direspect here. I think your situation is more anxiety based than T based. I think you should go out with your buddies and forget about this BS. Go live life and have fun. If you can't hear your T blansting above life and your ears don't feel like they are bleeding with the drop of a hat you are good to go. Just my opinion after reading a few of your posts, maybe I'm way off.

 

[Linds]

The reason why the "Authorities" focus on lung cancer is because of the high morlality rate involved.
Aside from the odd suicide tinnitus doesn't get the attention it should, simply because it is not killing people.
Yes a lot more needs to be done in making people aware of this dreaded affliction.
Tinnitus does not have the profile.
Most people habituate and so the urgency for public awareness fades with the effects of T.
If people did not habituate you would probably find a very aggressive campaign in educating people about T.
My opinion anyway.

 

[object16]

i smoked a bit of weed 3 weeks ago, a tiny amount, it definitely spiked my tinnitus, and that lasted about 10 days before it was down to normal level. stupidly then i tried some edible, even though it was just a tiny amount 1/7 of a gram, it resulted in an alarm clock like effect going off in my head. the next day, my tinnitus was high pitched and worse than usual, this morning it is starting to come down a little bit more, but it is still not back to baseline levels. my wife suspects it has something to do with the strain and mix of cannabinoids, i tried to bake some in the oven at 140C to convert to CBN with is supposedly very sedative, but it did not sedate me much, just spiked the tinnitus. if i can get an alternate strain, i might experiment but only with TINY amounts.
last week I borrowed some cannabis from a friend, and with that particular strain, it did NOT create any spike, so that was why I did my experiment two days ago, because this was medical grade, by prescription.

 

[Ilija]

I know but it's still stupid though

It's definitely nothing to do with THC. That is usually only active for a short time and may remain in your system to some degree for a couple of weeks or so.

Unfortunately the sensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis) is a bit of a rollercoaster. You may recover to a large degree but loud noise is always likely to give you a setback lasting days to weeks. But if you keep away from loud noise, or protect where necessary, you can largely avoid these relapses.

I agree with your rant about the lack of awareness though. It really is criminal on the part of the "authorities".

Yeah but the thing is I'm not sure this was caused my loud noises, I've had spikes from loud noises but this isn't it.
Hyperacusis means low tolerance to noise, low sounds hurting, this doesn't hurt, also it changes as I focus on it, say I don't focus on it for 10 min and it's lower but then I start listening to it and it gets higher.
I've had hundreds of loud noises, people yelling, cars beeping and such and nothing not even a Tinnitus spike, I think this sound sensitivity of mine is more on a mental level.
Either way I'm hopping for the sound sensitivity to go away, because a life where I have to be full alert every time having to protect myself from the basic of sounds like car brakes or somewhat loud people is no life at all, I might as well be in a a war looking out for people wanting to kill me if that's what the rest of my life is going to look like.

 

[object16]

tinnitus/hyperaccusis strikes like that. you have quite a bit of noise exposure, and then out of the blue you get this happen. with me, i was listening to some loud music on friday night, i was ok on saturday and sunday, and the monday evening all of a sudden i get this ridiculous amount of tinnitus and hyperaccusis. with me, it took about 2 years before i got to be somewhat normal, but i have to now be super cautious all the time.

i am like you, i wish there was a war going on, and i could go out and fight in the war and get killed, but it is not going to happen that way. so i have to learn how to cope with it. this forum is a large help.

 

[Telis]

I might as well be in a a war looking out for people wanting to kill me if that's what the rest of my life is going to look like.

Wow...this is a amazing description of H. Everything is enemy fire, people laughing, cars, construction, kids screaming, just life in general. Always on high alert and trying to survive without being hit. The fear that that one loud sound sending my T and H to the next level and that this time I won't be able to survive it is scary. To me it is as terrifying as being shot and killed. What is the difference if it's a bullet or that last sound that ends up sending me over the edge and killing me.

I can't stop thinking about this post, it is so true for people with devastating H. We are in a never ending war zone of sound.

 

[russiancarl]

@Ilija I think you are starting to hit the nail on the head in your later posts - it's a mental/anxiety issue. I'm not saying that your ears can't get over sensitive from time to time... I know mine do... but I can say for sure that you're overanalyzing it. And that's coming from a person who does the exact same thing.

Smoking weed once would never make your tinnitus spike permanently or for 2 months. You would have to smoke it for a lot longer to have any worry about it being stuck in your fat cells. Maybe you're spiking from something else but the weed would wear off after a few hours.

It's really difficult to reign in one's emotions when dealing with tinnitus but it's the best advice anyone here can give. It sucks that people with pre-existing OCD or introvert type personalities have a rougher ride with it but it can still be overcome.

Your name looked familiar to me and I remembered reading your story when you posted it a few months ago. Let me take this one line from it "When I'm in school,walking on the street,playing basketball I can't hear it I can only hear it in a very quiet room,and even then if I don't think about it and occupy myself with something else I can't hear it,even as I'm typing this I can BARELY and I mean BARELY hear it just because my brain knows it's there."

If it's still that way please be thankful. That's how my tinnitus used to be and it took me a few months to get used to sleeping but it's bliss compared to what some people here deal with. I'm not saying you don't have problems... I know my T isn't nearly as bad as most people's here and how much it bothers a person isn't a level of volume but of intrusiveness.. but perhaps just take a moment each day when you don't hear the tinnitus and just bask in it's glory.

I really think that if you treated the underlying issue with anxiety and overanalyzing things then the tinnitus would go away for you. I'd really suggest taking a month and just STOP coming to this forum. Stop writing a tinnitus journal (yeah don't we all keep one), stop googling the condition, just stop talking about it. You will be surprised at how amazing you'll start to feel.

It worked for me. It works for a lot of people. Sadly I only come around these forums when I have a specific issue (bleargh upcoming dental stuff) but staying away would really help your mental health in the short term.

 

[Ilija]

@Ilija I think you are starting to hit the nail on the head in your later posts - it's a mental/anxiety issue. I'm not saying that your ears can't get over sensitive from time to time... I know mine do... but I can say for sure that you're overanalyzing it. And that's coming from a person who does the exact same thing.

Smoking weed once would never make your tinnitus spike permanently or for 2 months. You would have to smoke it for a lot longer to have any worry about it being stuck in your fat cells. Maybe you're spiking from something else but the weed would wear off after a few hours.

It's really difficult to reign in one's emotions when dealing with tinnitus but it's the best advice anyone here can give. It sucks that people with pre-existing OCD or introvert type personalities have a rougher ride with it but it can still be overcome.

Your name looked familiar to me and I remembered reading your story when you posted it a few months ago. Let me take this one line from it "When I'm in school,walking on the street,playing basketball I can't hear it I can only hear it in a very quiet room,and even then if I don't think about it and occupy myself with something else I can't hear it,even as I'm typing this I can BARELY and I mean BARELY hear it just because my brain knows it's there."

If it's still that way please be thankful. That's how my tinnitus used to be and it took me a few months to get used to sleeping but it's bliss compared to what some people here deal with. I'm not saying you don't have problems... I know my T isn't nearly as bad as most people's here and how much it bothers a person isn't a level of volume but of intrusiveness.. but perhaps just take a moment each day when you don't hear the tinnitus and just bask in it's glory.

I really think that if you treated the underlying issue with anxiety and overanalyzing things then the tinnitus would go away for you. I'd really suggest taking a month and just STOP coming to this forum. Stop writing a tinnitus journal (yeah don't we all keep one), stop googling the condition, just stop talking about it. You will be surprised at how amazing you'll start to feel.

It worked for me. It works for a lot of people. Sadly I only come around these forums when I have a specific issue (bleargh upcoming dental stuff) but staying away would really help your mental health in the short term.

You're right on just about everything.
I was talking with a close friend of mine yesterday, and when I started talking about Tinnitus since we were discussing how bad something would have to be for one to take his one life, when I heard the anxiety part of me talk I corrected myself right away.
For instance my anxiety self would be saying it could get worse any minute but then my rational self corrected and added but in my case it'll either end up going all together or just lowering more as I won't care as much about it.
When I was talking about sound sensitivity I was saying how I can hear undertones but then I added how it's my fault that I overanalyze everything that's been happening to me and that I'm just worsening it by giving it all that recognition which is making the brain still think it's a big deal and focus on it further.
I truly believe that once I stop thinking about it and giving it recognition that it'll vanish in time, this is what I'm going to do.
I shan't be coming here anymore for a while, I'm just going to stop thinking about it, how it's making me feel this and that, how it's because of this and that and just focus on other things because in all seriousness this is probably going to end up going away- at least the sound sensitivity after I stop obsessing and it'll just be a bad memory of a tough time I once had.
It's true that still whenever I'm doing something and not thinking about it I can't hear it.
For instance sitting in a completely quiet class room, no sound at all from the outside just me reading and I only heard 'bout 10% of my Tinnitus.
I just have a big tendency to take things like this which wouldn't bother any of my friends and enlarge them by telling myself that I'm just another horror story due to my bad luck (which is dumb) and stupid stuff like that.
I'm just going to focus on studying for entrance exams and working out and having fun with friends because my Tinnitus is not keeping me away from any activity at all.
Also I want to ask did yours get worse and why but I'm going to stop doing this type of stuff and just realize that my case isn't a horrible one like some are experiencing just because my brain makes it seem so.

 

[russiancarl]

@Ilija I'm really glad to hear that you are coming to terms with your tinnitus and taking some positive steps to feeling better. Taking a break from Tinnitus Talk will do you some good but please don't stay away forever! I know it's hard especially in the beginning as you want to search and find out as much information as you can but at some point it does more harm than good. I mean, what reminds you more of tinnitus than reading about it on a board made specifically for tinnitus sufferers?

I'd take a look at perhaps finding someone who can help you overcome the anxiety issues you have as I think that could help you in other areas of your life... including dealing with this malady. I struggle with it too but it's really important to think about the good times you are still able to have and not the good times that are already over. It's not an easy switch to turn and I sometimes wonder if a therapist could help me. Perhaps one could help you? I've been hesitant of them personally as the only one I saw was a free one from my college years ago and all she did was suggest medication.

Anyway, my tinnitus started when I was a sophomore in high school some 15 years ago. It came out of the blue and nobody could tell me why. At first it was horrible much like yours but it was quiet and I learned to cope... never be in a silent room and fall asleep with a fan on.

This past May, however, it all changed. I had a shot of Kenalog ( a corticosteroid) for an eczema flare up and within 3 hours my tinnitus was through the roof. It also gave me insane amounts of anxiety and mood swings... something I hadn't ever experienced before on this drug. Apparently corticosteroid induced psychosis isn't that rare.

The ringing stayed really high for about 2 weeks until I saw an ENT at which point it was going down already to the point where I didn't know if I even had to go. Well, of course, nothing good ever stays that way. My skin became infected and I was put on Keflex for a week then Bactrim/Septra for four weeks. A week after all of my medicines were done the ringing was amped up again.

Perhaps this was because I had nothing else to focus on or perhaps it was from the meds... I find it odd that they didn't change my tinnitus appreciably while on them as I was daily monitoring it. But, I must admit I have an anxiety problem like you and was more focused on how crappy the meds were making me feel. I was even deathly afraid of getting c.diff or the ultra-rare SJS.

So yeah, I don't know what happened. It could have been the anxiety and stress that made it go up in volume or broke my old habituation. It could have been the meds. It was a pretty terrible time in my life -- this all happened right around the time I was to go on vacation to visit my girlfriend. And the saddest thing of all -- I still haven't been to see her. I'm finally now in a spot where I feel like I can handle my ear and suddenly my teeth act up.

Rocky waters ahead.

Sorry for the long story but chin up. I'm getting better and so can you