Loud Tone for a Few Seconds — Fleeting / Transient Spontaneous Tinnitus

[Dmitriy]

I saw folks posting about intermittent "spikes" that last few minutes. These are properly called fleeting tinnitus, not spikes, but I guess the name fits because that's how it feels.

I had an experience recently with fleeting T that I really couldn't call anything but a spike. An incident at work that was mostly my fault caused my anxiety to skyrocket for about 30 min. All of a sudden I noticed that the hearing in my right ear changed. It was not clogged or stuffy, but it was like someone put a pillow over it. I didn't have any noticeable increase in ringing. This slowly subsided over next 3 hours. Typically, if I got a fleeting T before it would last no more then 30 seconds.

Just FYI - I NEVER had fleeting T prior to getting my regular T.

 

[Matt9]

I'm currently experiencing it almost 10-15 times a day. I'm SCARED

 

[Taylorslay]

I'm currently experiencing it almost 10-15 times a day. I'm SCARED

I get mine about probably 5-7 times a day. Doesn't bother me. Never really makes my baseline T go up. I don't think fleetng T can spike your baseline. It make seem like it will for a few moments. But I've never had mine spike longer than 3-4 minutes with fleeting T.

I have had other spikes but that's from hyperacusis and noise exposure.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I am pretty sure it is harmless, and it might even be beneficial. It is Possible that fleeting tinnitus is your body trying to recalibrate, to get rid of tinnitus.

 

[Matt9]

I have had other spikes but that's from hyperacusis and noise exposure.

Well, these days along with fleeting T I also got muffled ears and a mild spike.
I often hear distorted sounds as well and sometimes even voices sounds strange to my ears; could this be hyperacusis?

 

[Matt9]

I am pretty sure it is harmless, and it might even be beneficial. It is Possible that fleeting tinnitus is your body trying to recalibrate, to get rid of tinnitus.

Bill, you made a very interesting point and sometimes I thought it too.
Are there any studies about this? Seems like fleeting T's meaning is not fully understood yet

 

[Bill Bauer]

Are there any studies about this? Seems like fleeting T's meaning is not fully understood yet

I am not aware of any studies. However, I remember getting fleeting tinnitus a couple of times before my acoustic trauma. I read that everyone gets fleeting tinnitus once in a while. The experience of the people on this forum seems to imply that we get it a lot more often than healthy people. This is consistent with that "recalibration" hypothesis.

Fleeting tinnitus can be terrifying. I tell myself to wait 5 minutes before I panic.

 

[Taylorslay]

Well, these days along with fleeting T I also got muffled ears and a mild spike.
I often hear distorted sounds as well and sometimes even voices sounds strange to my ears; could this be hyperacusis?

I got a bit muffled hearing too. Even though I have no visual hearing loss on my audiogram? Mystery? Perhaps. It does feel like somethings covering my ears. They don't feel clogged necessarily more so, there is a light layer of something covering my ears. Also one ear perceives sound at a lower level of volume than the other. Hearing loss? I'm not sure. But I don't notice any particular change in frequency volume. All of this was sudden. So I would have noticed a change in frequency. However, I must say my Eustachian Tubes (Eardrum pressure tubes) have been acting up ever since my acoustic trauma. So maybe they are to blame in my case. *Shrugs* Ehh.

Early on after my acoustic trauma. Anything super loud over like 90 db that came in a shock. Like a dog barking near me. Distorted my hearing for a good few hours. It was genuinely scary. After a few weeks this stopped happening. Hopefully a sign of my ears healing themselves.

I think the only way to get Hyperacusis is over protecting your ears or through acoustic trauma. Don't quote me on that. If I'm wrong, someone correct me please.

My H spikes up sometimes. I hate it lol. But I never sit in silence anymore to make sure the spikes aren't that bad.

I think my anxiety made everything worse when I first got my H and T. My anxiety actually also made me perceive voices more distorted. Weird right? My anxiety was so bad I was kinda bed ridden. My focus was off, I had no energy, I was always dizzy. It was terrible. I wouldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I do think anxiety can make things seem worse than they are. That is what I say to anyone who is seriously worrying about their H or T. Because in my case that was very true.

 

[Codaz]

Hey everyone,

I often hear beside my tinnitus another very short ringing. After hearing that I notice often I hear everything a bit softer and it does not change. It is the 2 seconds tinnitus I'm talking about.

I sometimes hear it after I have had a busy day. Further I've been stressing a lot about it. Do the frequent short ringing means that something like a hair cell is damaged? Can it also regenerate after it took place.

Probably, but other users may say that it's your hearing system that is readjusting to a new situation.

Part of your tinnitus and hearing is also gain control. Measuring how loud or absent sounds are that were expected and the auditory system tunes to that but doesn't find anything so starts to boost.

Since the system is in alarm state sometimes even my T moves above the shower. After I turn the shower off, it's slowly going to rest.

Or I have this sensation of one ear is going a bit "deafyish" for 10 seconds then it returns to duty.

My fleeters could last for 2 minutes a couple of years ago and now they are 10 seconds max. So definately improving.

 

[Codaz]

I got a bit muffled hearing too. Even though I have no visual hearing loss on my audiogram? Mystery? Perhaps. It does feel like somethings covering my ears. They don't feel clogged necessarily more so, there is a light layer of something covering my ears. Also one ear perceives sound at a lower level of volume than the other. Hearing loss? I'm not sure. But I don't notice any particular change in frequency volume. All of this was sudden. So I would have noticed a change in frequency. However, I must say my Eustachian Tubes (Eardrum pressure tubes) have been acting up ever since my acoustic trauma. So maybe they are to blame in my case. *Shrugs* Ehh.

Early on after my acoustic trauma. Anything super loud over like 90 db that came in a shock. Like a dog barking near me. Distorted my hearing for a good few hours. It was genuinely scary. After a few weeks this stopped happening. Hopefully a sign of my ears healing themselves.

I think the only way to get Hyperacusis is over protecting your ears or through acoustic trauma. Don't quote me on that. If I'm wrong, someone correct me please.

My H spikes up sometimes. I hate it lol. But I never sit in silence anymore to make sure the spikes aren't that bad.

I think my anxiety made everything worse when I first got my H and T. My anxiety actually also made me perceive voices more distorted. Weird right? My anxiety was so bad I was kinda bed ridden. My focus was off, I had no energy, I was always dizzy. It was terrible. I wouldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. I do think anxiety can make things seem worse than they are. That is what I say to anyone who is seriously worrying about their H or T. Because in my case that was very true.

Real panic attacks are hell. I would have rather 5/10 tinnitus instead of nausea or panic attacks. Tinnitus is distracting and sometimes insanely loud that you think you live next to a sledgehammer, but anxiety attacks oh boy. Even if you lie down and say loud to yourself: this is going away in 30 minutes, it sometimes isn't. And statistically anxiety attacks will go down.

Sometimes I had days of nausea while being anxious. Anxiety is a feeling. I really feel it in my neck shooting up to the brain. Heavy sweating, dry mouth. Remember that tinnitus is one or two symptoms in the head, ear or neck. Anxiety turns on your stomach, headaches, vomiting, nausea and so on. So somewhat much more affecting your whole body.

I felt almost like having flu sometimes when having anxiety attacks. Your whole body is drained.

And for T (if you sleep properly) you can be very fit.

Strange thing is I had a major anxiety attack a couple of years ago and my T was going down or not affected. While in the research papers say it's related.

 

[HCR123]

I am not aware of any studies. However, I remember getting fleeting tinnitus a couple of times before my acoustic trauma. I read that everyone gets fleeting tinnitus once in a while. The experience of the people on this forum seems to imply that we get it a lot more often than healthy people. This is consistent with that "recalibration" hypothesis.

Fleeting tinnitus can be terrifying. I tell myself to wait 5 minutes before I panic.

If I had known this before, I would have never gotten my audio test at the ENT and saved myself my current angst.

 

[LisaCuddy]

Has anybody noticed a correlation between frequency of occuring and muscle tension in the neck and jaw? I read that one doctor believes it may be some chewing muscle which causes fleeting tinnitus. Others say its a recalibration kind of thing. It's so scary. Can you modulate it? Some say it goes away with yawning!

 

[Bill Bauer]

Some say it goes away with yawning!

I read that too. Mine doesn't...

 

[Dmitriy]

Did anyone see a good article regarding possible causes of fleeting tinnitus? I know that everyone gets it sometimes, but I cannot find any explanation as to why.

PS. Had very strong fleeting tinnitus episode today. Hearing in right ear dropped liked 50% and on top of it was loud ringing. Went away after about a minute but it was very unsettling.

 

[illegalmonkey77]

I've been doing really well lately, I think in part because I've been taking apple cider vinegar. My T has probably been like 2-3 out of 10 pretty consistently, at worst. Just now though I had THEE loudest flare I've ever had in my life.

I've had the fleeting T here and there throughout my life but this shocked me. It was literally a 10 out of 10, instantly, for 5 seconds. Now I know fleeting T is typically nothing to worry about but nonetheless it kinda got to me. My guess is that it was only that loud because it was in my T ear. When my non-T ear has a flare it's about the level I expect, but holy hell was that scary.

 

[.bill]

I had it happen also lasted about ten seconds then all went quiet. That happened after I stopped the acv for a few days then went to taking it again and all is silent

 

[internetduck]

Hey! This is my first post here so sorry if I'm doing anything incorrectly ^_^"
I'm Holly, I'm 17 and have had permant tinnitus since I was about 6.
Over the last few months I started getting moments where my hearing would suddenly decrease and my tinnitus would get higher pitched and very loud in one ear for 10 seconds, before fading back to normal. No clear cause.
I think this is meant to be called "fleeting tinnitus", and isn't too uncommon, but in the last few weeks I think it has started to occur more, maybe a few times a week, sometimes a couple of times a day.
Is this fine or should I check it out with a doctor? I don't know anyone else with this so wasn't sure who to ask, and I don't want to go near a GP unnecessarily at the height of flu season...

If it's relevant, I recently went on a long flight. I did suffer some hearing loss after, but I thought it had returned to normal. I've also been ill A LOT recently and so maybe that could have messed with it.

Any advice?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Tom88]

Often people have some sort of ringing just temporarily, out of nowhere. Hearing shifts a little, tone for about 5-10 seconds, and then it disappears. I asked some people around me if they sometimes experience this, and everybody I asked seems to. I ised to have that as well, maybe once a year, months, I don't know.

Now, it is almost daily or even multiple times a day. Just a single tone, not always the same frequency or same ear, quite loud (louder than the regular tinnitus) and then it disappears.

Anybody else have this frequently? Does it mean anything?

 

[DebInAustralia]

yes. ive experienced this more frequently (or I'm noticing it more since my t onset).

I'm not entirely sure what it means. maybe its the brain attempting to calibrate itself due to a fault in the auditory circuit?

 

[devonlee]

It could be a sign that you're starting to develop hearing loss.

My tinnitus started very in a very similar manner. Almost everyone has very occasional tinnitus, maybe for a couple of hours or a day after a concert or something of the sort.

I noticed in October 2016 that my tinnitus started happening more frequently. I associated it with long 12 hour shifts (followed by a 1 hour commute each way), stress at work and just overall tiredness. At this point in time, my tinnitus was happening 2-3 times a week and increasing in volume and frequency. In January 2017, with no particular noise exposure, my ears began ringing all the time and haven't stopped for a single second since then.

I went to my doctor who sent me to an audiologist. My hearing test showed that I had borderline hearing loss. I had a really hard time believing this at first. I thought hearing loss only happened to the elderly or people who were exposed to very loud noises all the time. I'm a 28 year old, introvert, nurse living in the country. I didn't exactly fit that description.

I've since accepted that I have hearing loss. There are very minor adjustments that I've made as a result. Some people here will give you a laundry list of things to avoid to protect your hearing, but I'm not a fan of letting tinnitus control my life. This may depend on how hard of a time you have tolerating your tinnitus as well though. On a daily basis, my tinnitus doesn't bother me. Even right now, I'm working a night shift (which is when my tinnitus peaks due to sleep deprivation) and I can't say that I'm particularly bothered by my tinnitus. It's basically just a part of me.

Some things I have done since my diagnosis are:
- Wearing ear protection when I know that I'll be exposed to excessive noise (such as air guns, compressors, the snow blower, the lawn tractor)
- Stopped wearing ear plugs to bed
- Never ever doing the valsava maneuver.
- Never using earbuds.

Long story short, you decide what you want to do about it but do not let tinnitus control your life either.

 

[paganismos]

It happened to me two days ago. I was sitting in a computer room with moderate noise, nothing too loud really, and suddenly my hearing was off and a pure tone louder than my T came on. It lasted for about 10 seconds or so, and I got really really scared. It was high, even higher than the T tone when I first had my onset. I'm one month in and it only happened when I was on prednisone.

I really hope it doesn't comes back.

 

[Suzerman]

I had these attacks very rarely before my actual hissing tinnitus began. Now, I have them every few days, and they terrify me to the core and I consider it a blessing if it disappears again. I have a log where I write down the date of when I had an attack, how intense it was, and what I had been doing that day.

The log showed me that it tends to occur on days where I was a bit stressed or had a stressful event, and on days where I've been sitting in the same position for a long time. Right now it's been a week since the last one. I've been trying to not get stressed, and not sit too long.

I've also changed my pillow and sit up straight on the couch, and I'm hoping that it keeps it at bay. But I'm already dreading the fact that it's gonna happen again soon knowing how frequently they occur. Everytime it's just terrifying because you just don't know if it's going to stick around forever or not.

 

[Jcb]

I normally get about 2-3 per day and they last about 10-20 seconds, it's quite panicking as I think it'll be permanent as the pitch is so loud and high pitched. For the 1st time I had one when I was walking yesterday.... I could clearly hear it over the traffic and wind but it died down after 10 seconds.

 

[Markku]

I continue to have fleeting tinnitus episodes a few times per week, but what's more concerning to me is that recently more and more frequently they have taken well over an hour to settle (they start as what is normal fleeting tinnitus phenomenon but doesn't quieten down in the usual less than 30 seconds or so). And as often is the case with tinnitus, I cannot really pinpoint a reason for the increased frequency.

My baseline tinnitus is already very intrusive, so the thought of one of these episodes sticking for good is not very pleasant.

 

[Steve]

Could fleeting tinnitus be related to the brain's prediction of silence?

Looking at the Will Sedley model, some event or possibly just having an impaired sensory system as we can have associated with tinnitus. The brain becomes confused, perceives something that it thinks is the new silence, then corrects.

There could be a number of things associated with this if so. I'm just throwing it out there rather than having any answers, see the model below:

 

[Carlos1]

I continue to have fleeting tinnitus episodes a few times per week, but what's more concerning to me is that recently more and more frequently they have taken well over an hour to settle (they start as what is normal fleeting tinnitus phenomenon but doesn't quieten down in the usual less than 30 seconds or so). And as often is the case with tinnitus, I cannot really pinpoint a reason for the increased frequency.

My baseline tinnitus is already very intrusive, so the thought of one of these episodes sticking for good is not very pleasant.

@Markku Hi Markku I've been getting episodes of what I call tunnel hearing...Sounds are perceived to be at a distance then it settles back to normal within 20-30 seconds. I'm not sure whats going on but its very worrisome. I pray that we all have strength to to face this terrible affliction God knows how much it takes for all of us just to continue to live normal lives.
Stay Strong

Carlos

 

[Steve]

The below is from our recent physical links survey. Numbers on the people questioned who experienced fleeting tinnitus. They are pretty high.

It would be interesting to know how these numbers compare to the length of time a person has had tinnitus (will need analysis of the survey).

 

[paganismos]

It happened to me again today. I was laying down, although the pitch was higher but not louder.

 

[Dij111]

One week back I had fleeting tinnitus and my good ear started hissing after it was gone, it lasted for a day or two but then disappeared.

 

[Hazel]

Hi there, a few of you may have noticed that I posted a graph yesterday, based on the survey results that Steve also mentions above. The graph seemed to show a decline in fleeting tinnitus episodes as the years since tinnitus onset progress. Unfortunately, I later noticed I had made a mistake in compiling the information in Excel. The correct graph, posted here below, does not show any significant relation between years since tinnitus onset and frequency of fleeting tinnitus, unfortunately. Apologies for posting faulty information before.