Low Frequency Tinnitus

[Della]

Have you been on blood pressure medication ever since?

Yes, I am still on the medication (Valsartan). It seems to work well, with no noticeable side effects.

 

[spcshpsrshngb]

I've done a lot of experimentation since my previous post, and I've found that the level of the hum in my right ear, as well as the high-frequency tinnitus in my left ear, both seem to be directly related to how blocked my ears feel, apparently due to blocked Eustachian tubes.

I have the exact same symptoms as you but on the left ear (80 Hz, varies with head position, easily masked by other low tones like fridge and ventilation). I got mine from a drone concert a bit more than two years ago; for the first few months, I was totally depressed. Now, I don't think about it as often, mostly because I keep myself busy, and there's always at least a bit of noise around me (even in my apartment, I can hear some ventilation from outside; I live in the center of a busy city). But at times like tonight, I find myself sitting in silence and hearing it blast really loud.

Reading your experiments does help a bit, especially the potential link between Eustachian tube inflammation and allergies/allergy medication...

 

[Dr Nick]

My experience with low-frequency tinnitus (around 68Hz) began a little over two months ago, following a relapse of high-frequency tinnitus (13 kHz in the left ear, 2 kHz in the right) about six months ago.

It seems similar to what others have described; a low drone that sometimes varies in amplitude. Before this hum started, I may have been overprotecting my ears by using earplugs and noise-canceling AirPods, as my high-frequency tinnitus was accompanied by some hyperacusis. It's possible that this protection somehow contributed to the onset of the hum. I've since reduced my use of protection significantly, but the "devil's orchestra" persists.

The volume of the hum increases noticeably after driving, even after a short drive, and it can take 2-3 days to return to baseline. I've also noticed that deep bass sounds, such as car engine noise or distant sounds with low-frequency components (like festival speakers), seem louder than they used to. Shaking my head momentarily attenuates the hum, which others have also reported. The sensation of vibration seems stronger in my right ear, but the perception of the hum itself is indefinite.

My main concerns are:

1. Further exposure to low-frequency stimuli might risk exacerbating the hum, potentially causing damage through some unknown mechanism.
2. Protecting myself from low frequencies (e.g., avoiding driving) might reinforce a fear response, causing my auditory system to increase sensitivity to low frequencies and thus amplifying the hum.

I'm unsure which course of action to take, whether to protect my ears more or to gradually increase my exposure to normal sound levels. Any advice or experience with this would be greatly appreciated, as this has become somewhat disabling for me.

 

[Della]

Hi @Dr. Nick,

I'm really sorry to hear you're experiencing low-frequency tinnitus. I was one of the early responders to this thread, back in 2014, and I suffered from it for several years. I've always found the low sounds to be much more debilitating than the high ones. Thankfully, my low-frequency tinnitus and hyperacusis have mostly calmed down, although I do experience occasional flareups. Often, these flareups seem to be triggered by external noise, so I'm very careful to protect my ears. I'm not in the "you can protect yourself too much" camp, though I know some here are. I can only share what I believe has helped me.

Here's an example from my own recent experience: I went to a movie in August with a "modern" soundtrack, a loud, low, droning electronic sound that went on for two solid hours. I always wear earplugs in movies, and I had some in, but they weren't my custom-made ones. The next morning, I woke up with the worst case of hyperacusis I'd had in ages, along with a low drone in my head. I think the earplugs I was wearing didn't insulate well enough to prevent some damage. That episode lasted two weeks but, thankfully, gradually calmed down. I went to another movie a couple of weeks ago, but this time I wore my heavy-duty custom earplugs and had no problems.

When I'm dealing with hyperacusis, I wear my earplugs a lot, in movies, while driving, at the grocery store, you name it. If it's just tinnitus and the environment isn't overly loud, I wear hearing aids. I first got them in 2014 when I started experiencing low-frequency tinnitus because I literally couldn't hear over the sounds in my head. The tinnitus would drown out conversations, TV, music, everything. The hearing aids helped me get over that hurdle, and they still help, especially during flareups. It's always a balancing act, though, and I sometimes have to switch to earplugs quickly.

I'm glad you've found this forum, and I hope it's helpful to you!

Best of luck,
Della

 

[Dr Nick]

Hi @Dr. Nick,

I'm really sorry to hear you're experiencing low-frequency tinnitus. I was one of the early responders to this thread, back in 2014, and I suffered from it for several years. I've always found the low sounds to be much more debilitating than the high ones. Thankfully, my low-frequency tinnitus and hyperacusis have mostly calmed down, although I do experience occasional flareups. Often, these flareups seem to be triggered by external noise, so I'm very careful to protect my ears. I'm not in the "you can protect yourself too much" camp, though I know some here are. I can only share what I believe has helped me.

Here's an example from my own recent experience: I went to a movie in August with a "modern" soundtrack, a loud, low, droning electronic sound that went on for two solid hours. I always wear earplugs in movies, and I had some in, but they weren't my custom-made ones. The next morning, I woke up with the worst case of hyperacusis I'd had in ages, along with a low drone in my head. I think the earplugs I was wearing didn't insulate well enough to prevent some damage. That episode lasted two weeks but, thankfully, gradually calmed down. I went to another movie a couple of weeks ago, but this time I wore my heavy-duty custom earplugs and had no problems.

When I'm dealing with hyperacusis, I wear my earplugs a lot, in movies, while driving, at the grocery store, you name it. If it's just tinnitus and the environment isn't overly loud, I wear hearing aids. I first got them in 2014 when I started experiencing low-frequency tinnitus because I literally couldn't hear over the sounds in my head. The tinnitus would drown out conversations, TV, music, everything. The hearing aids helped me get over that hurdle, and they still help, especially during flareups. It's always a balancing act, though, and I sometimes have to switch to earplugs quickly.

I'm glad you've found this forum, and I hope it's helpful to you!

Best of luck,
Della

Many thanks, Della. I'm sorry to hear that you're still suffering from this after a decade. I've been doing the same as you—wearing ear protection in similar situations. Deep bass from speakers and the rumble from car suspension (especially over potholes) are particular challenges, as I understand that earplugs do little to reduce low frequencies. In fact, those deep sounds seem almost the same with or without earplugs, as bone conduction tends to dominate in those cases.

I'll experiment more with the AirPods. I believe Apple is set to release new hearing protection software modes later this month, and I'll let you know if they help.

 

[Benjaminbb]

My experience with low-frequency tinnitus (around 68Hz) began a little over two months ago, following a relapse of high-frequency tinnitus (13 kHz in the left ear, 2 kHz in the right) about six months ago.

It seems similar to what others have described; a low drone that sometimes varies in amplitude. Before this hum started, I may have been overprotecting my ears by using earplugs and noise-canceling AirPods, as my high-frequency tinnitus was accompanied by some hyperacusis. It's possible that this protection somehow contributed to the onset of the hum. I've since reduced my use of protection significantly, but the "devil's orchestra" persists.

The volume of the hum increases noticeably after driving, even after a short drive, and it can take 2-3 days to return to baseline. I've also noticed that deep bass sounds, such as car engine noise or distant sounds with low-frequency components (like festival speakers), seem louder than they used to. Shaking my head momentarily attenuates the hum, which others have also reported. The sensation of vibration seems stronger in my right ear, but the perception of the hum itself is indefinite.

My main concerns are:

1. Further exposure to low-frequency stimuli might risk exacerbating the hum, potentially causing damage through some unknown mechanism.
2. Protecting myself from low frequencies (e.g., avoiding driving) might reinforce a fear response, causing my auditory system to increase sensitivity to low frequencies and thus amplifying the hum.

I'm unsure which course of action to take, whether to protect my ears more or to gradually increase my exposure to normal sound levels. Any advice or experience with this would be greatly appreciated, as this has become somewhat disabling for me.

Hey Dr Nick,

I understand your concerns. I felt the same way for quite a while, especially with sensitivity to bass sounds at first. However, over time, it didn't seem to get worse from bass exposure. These days, I'm no longer sensitive to it, and my tinnitus is often very low or even inaudible. Occasionally, bass sounds, like during your car ride, bring it back a little, but it's nowhere near the volume it used to be.

After about 18 months, it gradually started to fade, especially after some loud exposures where the residual inhibition lasted longer each time. When the tinnitus returned after a few days, it was at a lower level. That didn't happen during the first year, though, so I can't necessarily recommend exposing yourself to loud sounds. However, you might find that wearing earplugs less for everyday activities could help over time.

Regarding earplugs, it's interesting that you mentioned them. My tinnitus also started during a period when I was protecting my ears due to high tinnitus. I've had another friend say the same thing happened to them when they wore earplugs to sleep. It's hard to know for sure, but since we already have tinnitus and hyperacusis, that suggests some previous damage. If more people in similar situations report this, there might be a connection.

 

[Dr Nick]

Hey Dr Nick,

I understand your concerns. I felt the same way for quite a while, especially with sensitivity to bass sounds at first. However, over time, it didn't seem to get worse from bass exposure. These days, I'm no longer sensitive to it, and my tinnitus is often very low or even inaudible. Occasionally, bass sounds, like during your car ride, bring it back a little, but it's nowhere near the volume it used to be.

After about 18 months, it gradually started to fade, especially after some loud exposures where the residual inhibition lasted longer each time. When the tinnitus returned after a few days, it was at a lower level. That didn't happen during the first year, though, so I can't necessarily recommend exposing yourself to loud sounds. However, you might find that wearing earplugs less for everyday activities could help over time.

Regarding earplugs, it's interesting that you mentioned them. My tinnitus also started during a period when I was protecting my ears due to high tinnitus. I've had another friend say the same thing happened to them when they wore earplugs to sleep. It's hard to know for sure, but since we already have tinnitus and hyperacusis, that suggests some previous damage. If more people in similar situations report this, there might be a connection.

Thanks, Benjamin. It's interesting that your low-frequency tinnitus behaves like high-frequency tinnitus in that residual inhibition works, whereas my low-frequency tinnitus behaves in the opposite way—it gets stimulated by bass sounds. Once stimulated, it doesn't remain at a constant amplitude but varies, somewhat like a "lightsaber" from Star Wars, gradually fading over a few days. Residual inhibition works on my 2 kHz tinnitus, lasting about 20 seconds. I can't test it on my left ear's 13 kHz tinnitus since I can only hear up to about 11 kHz! However, the fact that my low-frequency tinnitus behaves differently is a major concern for me, to the point that I avoid car trips whenever possible for fear that repeated exposure could cause a permanently stimulated state.

As an experiment, I tried noise-cancelling AirPods again while driving a short distance yesterday. The low-frequency spike occurred and remains elevated today. As I suspected, there's little that can be done to attenuate low frequencies. I need to drive to get to work, so this is a major dilemma for me.

Nick

 

[Della]

@Dr Nick, this may sound weird, but when my low-level tinnitus was at its worst, I would sometimes combine hearing protection. For example, I used heavy-duty custom earplugs along with protective headphones. It helped me, but I'm not sure about doing that while driving. It might be worth a try, though.