Mild Tinnitus for Ages — Woke Up to Much Louder Ringing in the Ears: What Might Have Made It Worse?

[Wmon]

Hello.

I joined here specifically for some support, because nobody around me even knows what tinnitus is.

Ready for a kinda lengthy story? I am 30 years old and have had extremely mild tinnitus (self-diagnosed) for as long as I can remember. Until recently, I have always had exceptional hearing. Sometimes it was a pain being able to hear absolutely everything, but I loved the fact that I could listen to music or watch TV at low volumes. Weird? Possibly, but it was something I used to love about myself. The tinnitus was only something I could hear if the room was completely silent. It was hardly worth mentioning until last month.

Around December 5, 2020 I woke up to the ringing in my ears (particularly the left) with a much higher volume than ever before.

I am searching for a doctor, but I don't have a GP at the moment and it has proven difficult to find anyone accepting new patients that takes my insurance. I keep searching my brain trying to figure out what could have caused it. Was my noise machine too loud (use it on my nightstand)? Did I listen to headphones too much over time? Is it a result of an ear infection that I wasn't aware of? Do I have some kind of vitamin deficiency?

I read about some people who say that their spikes go down in a few months. Other people say you just get used to it. The only thing that masks this entity is the shower. It's starting to really worry me.

First few weeks it was barely noticeable in my right ear and it came and went in my left. The last few weeks it has been consistently louder and never takes a break in either ear.

I don't have a job at the moment; I had to leave my job a few months back when my parents and I moved, but I try to keep myself busy painting. It only works so well though. It feels like the tinnitus is hindering my ability to think clearly. Extremely scared that this will never go away. I am willing to accept the fact that there is no cure, but there has to be someway to make it a little better?

Has anyone else had tinnitus come out of nowhere? Well, maybe not nowhere (a few possibilities are listed above)but has anyone else been puzzled as to how the tinnitus was triggered?

Any insight or support will be greatly appreciated. I am really starting to worry that the volume will never go back down (even a little lower).

Thanks,

Will

 

[Drachen]

Hey, Will. Welcome to the forum, though that's a bittersweet thing to say considering it's a shame this forum is even necessary. What you said with your first sentence resonates strongly; so few know about this symptom and even fewer understand how distressing it can be.

I can't offer you any guarantees or many answers, as I have only been dealing with this for almost a month. I can do my best to offer some support and advice. My symptom also came out of nowhere, and I am also frightened to death of it.

Firstly, there is no definitive way to know what causes or exacerbates this symptom. All we can do is make educated guesses based off of what's happening recently and what our behaviors are like. Spikes are nearly impossible to pinpoint since they apparently can manifest days after whatever might have caused it. One of the many problems of this condition is the fact that you can't seem to find much clarity at all. The answer to literally any of the questions you posed could be "yes" or "perhaps".

Until we start seeing more success as it pertains to specialized treatments or forms of regenerative medicine (in the case of hearing loss related symptoms), the only thing everyone universally understands is that you have to wait. Yeah, waiting. It's easier said than done, and I think we all know that, but it doesn't seem to change the fact that you don't know what tomorrow will be like.

The best thing you can actively try to do is just keep your body healthy. Try and remove whatever possible causes you can. Rule out wax blockage and infections. Balance your diet more by eating better or taking supplements to shore up any deficiencies. Limit exposure to loud noise. Try to maintain your typical schedule while being more cognizant of possible triggers.

If you are a naturally anxious or obsessive-compulsive person (such as myself), it might be a good idea to limit how much you read up or into this symptom. Understanding the problem is not a problem itself, but obsessing over it (like I did for the first couple weeks) doesn't help matters.

I'm not really sure what else to add here. I'm hoping others might be able to provide further insight and suggestions. We're all somewhat in the dark here. I know at least in my case I feel almost entirely out of control, as if there's nothing I can do despite my best efforts. I am trying my best to just get through it each day, and I think I'm doing better now (psychologically) than I was at the start. It's hard, though. You just have to do what you can.

Reaching out to others is a great step, though. I am available to chat if you need someone.

Best wishes, take care, and I hope you get better.

 

[Joe72]

Hello.

I joined here specifically for some support, because nobody around me even knows what tinnitus is.

Ready for a kinda lengthy story? I am 30 years old and have had extremely mild tinnitus (self-diagnosed) for as long as I can remember. Until recently, I have always had exceptional hearing. Sometimes it was a pain being able to hear absolutely everything, but I loved the fact that I could listen to music or watch TV at low volumes. Weird? Possibly, but it was something I used to love about myself. The tinnitus was only something I could hear if the room was completely silent. It was hardly worth mentioning until last month.

Will

Similar situation here... I had good hearing... mild tinnitus for 10 years... only noticeable in a very quiet room...

But it was a loud event recently that caused more hearing loss/damage that triggered louder tinnitus.

In your case, since it seemed to be moving around initially I would say you can most likely reverse it with perhaps some lifestyle modifications... I find that staying up late makes it worse, since the sleep/wake cycle is disrupted. I would look into circadian rhythm cycles... some foods make it worse... sugar being pretty bad... I wish you the best.

 

[Eleanor89]

Hello Will,

I have had tinnitus for 26 years and I was habituated all this time.

I had a hysterectomy 6 weeks ago which resulted in a tinnitus spike 2 weeks ago.

It was a bit of a shock x

I will let you know how I get on.

 

[CDNThailand]

Hello Will,

I have had tinnitus for 26 years and I was habituated all this time.

I had a hysterectomy 6 weeks ago which resulted in a tinnitus spike 2 weeks ago.

It was a bit of a shock x

I will let you know how I get on.

How is it now?

 

[Eleanor89]

Hello.

It's still there. It's been 11 weeks now.

I'm hoping to habituate.

I guess it's the stress and changes following the operation.

But I will get there.

How are you?

 

[CDNThailand]

Hello.

It's still there. It's been 11 weeks now.

I'm hoping to habituate.

I guess it's the stress and changes following the operation.

But I will get there.

How are you?

Well, I have a new tone, started 7 days ago. I was fully habituated after 5 years, but am now scared, worried. The tone is 1340 hertz, I can hear it clearly in quiet places, but outside I can't.

I'm about to just start ignoring it and not masking it, I expect it to stay forever. Better to stop hoping and habituate faster.

 

[Eleanor89]

Hello.

Yes it's awful. I'm finding I'm sensitive to some noise, I've been wearing my earplugs, especially with loud traffic.

Not sure if I'm wearing them too much.

Getting paranoid about sound.

Has this happened to you?
Hoping it will settle down.