My Tinnitus Changes Frequency All the Time

[sara]

Hello my name is Sara and I am a tinnitus sufferer. I got mild Tinitis about a couple of years ago. It was nothing crazy. I told myself I could handle it. I also didn't take care of my ears. But I didn't listen to loud headphones a lot either. My tinnitus got worse when I got a hole bunch of wax up in there since I wore ear plugs at night for over 4 years. After the specialist taking out the wax. The tinitua subsided in my right ear where it bothered me the most. But I still could hear a faint sounds in my left. I ignored it. Over 4 months it grew louder and louder. I started developed headaches, pressure and dizziness. I went back to the specialist he gave me a dental gaird. Since I told him I clench my jaw at night. My tinnitus was getting a bit better but last week it got worse again. I can hear buzzing, whistling and high pitch ringing. I have to mention I was super stressed when tinnitus returned at its worst. But now it's loud a minute , quite a minute, whistling another minute and then crickets the next. Is all over the place. It's like an emotional roller coaster right now. Is it going to stop ? Or will it just get worse ? I watched a documentary based in Netherlands where the lady got euthanized becadue she couldn't handle it anymore. I don't want to turn like that. That scared the crap out of me. Any info , tips and comment ? Please share. Thank you

 

[billie48]

Welcome Sara. Don't worry about that rare case in Netherlands. Millions of people have T and very small % actually got that bad. Your T is in a spike kicking to a new level now. Don't panic. It may just be a temporary spike due to your ear issue. Hope you will be just fine shortly. T is known to be unpredictable. It may settle back to baseline soon.

Sometimes my already ultra high pitched, loud dog whistle T shot up the roof too on a huge spike. It is an ultra high pitch shrill packed with so much condensed energy, like a laser beam against a dark sky, resonating in my whole head. A few years back I would have caved in automatically into anxiety & panic attacks. I remember also I said no wait I could live with this ringing. No longer. Instead of panicking I went about living my life. Despite the ringing, I still went fishing (I posted this on the Positivity Thread) to catch some salmon. The T was so loud and piercing that I even heard it distinctly above all the raging water of the rapids around me. But I am committed to not react to T high or low and live my life as normally and enjoyably.

I am not super human. It took a few years and adopting the positivity approach to get to there. With a history of suffering anxiety and panic disorders, I never thought it possible to be normal again but I am now living a normal, productive and absolutely enjoyable life. If a panic prone person like me can recover after some time even with my T raging, have faith that you can too over time. In the mean time, please get some masking asap so you won't feel so stressed out by the new T level. Here is TT's thread with some masking sounds and some nice tips. I also include link to my success story as I listed some important points which help me.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

[sara]

Thank you billie I really appreciate your response and positivity. It sure feels great when someone else understands you where no one else does. I will try my best not to let T control my life even though some times it feels like the hardest thing. After all, all we could do is try to live our lives through all the problems and obstacles. I just noticed that I am becoming sensitive to normal every day sounds. I am trying to ignore it and not let it bother me. But the thought of getting H scares me so much. As if T isn't enough. Anyways i hope this spike subsides soon it feels like crickets in the back of my head. Thank god I actually can sleep at night just because I cut off my favorite thing in the world: COFFEE. Anexiety comes with T. Every day though. I Check my T religiously. It seems to change quite a bit minute by minute. It scares me a lot since it used to be one good day and couple of bad days followed by good days. not it's not. I don't know if it's the stress at work that caused this spike but it's reallllllly annoying. I can hear it all the time. I don't know I just hope it goes down. It's nice when I can talk about it. And someone understands and message me back about it. I really appreciate it. Your success story makes me feel a whole a lot better about my T. I hope I can go back to normal one day. I hope I can stop thinking about it. I don't know in a way I think T made me aware of some things in life. I now appreciate health more than anything on a good day. I feel the happiest. I feel nothing matters but being nice to each other and appreciating your loved ones. My mother has been super suppprtive. I start to appreciate her a lot more than I used to. So I guess T made me a better person In a way Lol.

 

[Kaelon]

Hi Sara,

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk! It's very clear that you're dealing with neuromuscular inflammation -- this is the primary factor for Tinnitus in about one-third of all cases. (The most common, affecting nearly two-thirds, is of course damage to your auditory organs through over-exposure.) This is a safe conclusion because your Tinnitus is improving through the use of an orthotics device (in this case, a simple night guard).

People generally start habituating to Tinnitus (and most constant stimuli) between 6-18 months of exposure. However, this is just an average - for some people, it takes much longer, and for other people, they may miraculously habituate more quickly. The challenge, though, is that neuromuscular inflammatory tinnitus has wild variation. This is the "waxing and waning" effect that you might hear some audiologists refer to -- and it happens within the course of the same day. You might wake up with Tinnitus barely audible, but once you yawn or stretch, it might immediately come roaring back. If your Tinnitus has a somatic component (again, this is fairly common), then your Tinnitus' pitch, amplification, and variation will alternate very frequently.

By now, since you've had your Tinnitus since 2011, I'm sure you must have discovered a number of tricks that help you navigate your Tinnitus: especially, things that you can do to help lower the intensity of the sound. Can you tell us a bit more about those? Those might give us more of a clue as to where, exactly, the neuromuscular inflammation is localized. For some people, it's concentrated entirely in their jaw muscles; but for many, it's more complicated than that, and spans the head, neck, shoulder region with close proximity to the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus.

Here's hoping that we can help you!

 

[Nucleo]

You probably can still drink coffee. The caffeine withdrawal is probably going to make you worse than not drinking your ''favorite thing in the world'' as you put it.

 

[Richard Wallace]

Hello my name is Sara and I am a tinnitus sufferer. I got mild Tinitis about a couple of years ago. It was nothing crazy. I told myself I could handle it. I also didn't take care of my ears. But I didn't listen to loud headphones a lot either. My tinnitus got worse when I got a hole bunch of wax up in there since I wore ear plugs at night for over 4 years. After the specialist taking out the wax. The tinitua subsided in my right ear where it bothered me the most. But I still could hear a faint sounds in my left. I ignored it. Over 4 months it grew louder and louder. I started developed headaches, pressure and dizziness. I went back to the specialist he gave me a dental gaird. Since I told him I clench my jaw at night. My tinnitus was getting a bit better but last week it got worse again. I can hear buzzing, whistling and high pitch ringing. I have to mention I was super stressed when tinnitus returned at its worst. But now it's loud a minute , quite a minute, whistling another minute and then crickets the next. Is all over the place. It's like an emotional roller coaster right now. Is it going to stop ? Or will it just get worse ? I watched a documentary based in Netherlands where the lady got euthanized becadue she couldn't handle it anymore. I don't want to turn like that. That scared the crap out of me. Any info , tips and comment ? Please share. Thank you

Hi Sara, first of all I want to say, that what happened to that woman in the Netherlands isn't going to happen to you. I know this stuff is tough to deal with, but you're stronger than you think. The T I have changes a lot also in tone and volume. It is very frustrating because a person can't seem to adjust and get used to a regular tone/pitch/ volume. I personally still struggle with this. I also have the ear/head pressure and dizziness. How is your ear pressure and dizziness as of late? Try to stay busy. I too need to get busier. Lately I've been less busy due to my ebay sales are down due to Summer and have been letting my mind dwell on the T more. Hang in there..... God Bless..... Rich

 

[sara]

Hi Sara,

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk! It's very clear that you're dealing with neuromuscular inflammation -- this is the primary factor for Tinnitus in about one-third of all cases. (The most common, affecting nearly two-thirds, is of course damage to your auditory organs through over-exposure.) This is a safe conclusion because your Tinnitus is improving through the use of an orthotics device (in this case, a simple night guard).

People generally start habituating to Tinnitus (and most constant stimuli) between 6-18 months of exposure. However, this is just an average - for some people, it takes much longer, and for other people, they may miraculously habituate more quickly. The challenge, though, is that neuromuscular inflammatory tinnitus has wild variation. This is the "waxing and waning" effect that you might hear some audiologists refer to -- and it happens within the course of the same day. You might wake up with Tinnitus barely audible, but once you yawn or stretch, it might immediately come roaring back. If your Tinnitus has a somatic component (again, this is fairly common), then your Tinnitus' pitch, amplification, and variation will alternate very frequently.

By now, since you've had your Tinnitus since 2011, I'm sure you must have discovered a number of tricks that help you navigate your Tinnitus: especially, things that you can do to help lower the intensity of the sound. Can you tell us a bit more about those? Those might give us more of a clue as to where, exactly, the neuromuscular inflammation is localized. For some people, it's concentrated entirely in their jaw muscles; but for many, it's more complicated than that, and spans the head, neck, shoulder region with close proximity to the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus.

Here's hoping that we can help you!

Hello, thank you for your response back. My tinnitus in 2011 was so mild I didn't even give it a thought. The struggle began 5 months ago. It got so bad that I couldn't do anything. I was super depressed about and was just hoping for it to leave. I swear my ENT specialist a couple of times and he said I had perfect hearing both times. But I heard that sometimes even very mild hearing loss can cause tinnitus. The ENT went right to recommending a dental guard. He asked if I grind my teeth and I actually remember waking up with clenched jaw. Even when I was awake I would clench. Something about clenching and keeping my jaw closed makes me feel more secure I guess. I have no idea. As soon as I realized that was the case I became more aware. Anyways after wearing it for a couple of months I felt like I as habituation or even getting better. Until last Saturday, after a super stressful day at work. I woke up with screeching high pitch T in my right ear. Actually it felt like it was coming from my head. Sunday was a terrible day. Anyways I got through it. And ever since Sunday it for a bit better but now I hear crickets , whistles and waterfalls. Lol. It sounds funny but it really doesn't feel good. I am trying to ignor it right now. But it changes quite a bit which wasn't happening before. I don't know about any trick to make me feel better but joining this thread and listening to people's encouraging words and positivity really makes me feel a hundred times better. I don't feel alone. But please let me know what you think ? I really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[sara]

Hi Sara, first of all I want to say, that what happened to that woman in the Netherlands isn't going to happen to you. I know this stuff is tough to deal with, but you're stronger than you think. The T I have changes a lot also in tone and volume. It is very frustrating because a person can't seem to adjust and get used to a regular tone/pitch/ volume. I personally still struggle with this. I also have the ear/head pressure and dizziness. How is your ear pressure and dizziness as of late? Try to stay busy. I too need to get busier. Lately I've been less busy due to my ebay sales are down due to Summer and have been letting my mind dwell on the T more. Hang in there..... God Bless..... Rich

Thank you Rich!! I appreciate your kind words. I hope yours get better as well. I know it's a struggle. It feels like life will never be as good as it used to be. Before T. But all we could do is move forward. To be honest I my head pressure is better now. I still get dizziness. Is super random. I know keeping busy is so important. I feel like in order to b happy I have to just do something at all time. But maybe that's a good thing. Keep busy hope the sales goes up!!!! Soon!!!!

 

[sara]

You probably can still drink coffee. The caffeine withdrawal is probably going to make you worse than not drinking your ''favorite thing in the world'' as you put it.

I haven't drank coffee in so long. I don't know if it's worth it. Anxiety will shoot up the roof.

 

[Kaelon]

Hello, thank you for your response back. My tinnitus in 2011 was so mild I didn't even give it a thought. The struggle began 5 months ago. It got so bad that I couldn't do anything. I was super depressed about and was just hoping for it to leave. I swear my ENT specialist a couple of times and he said I had perfect hearing both times. But I heard that sometimes even very mild hearing loss can cause tinnitus. The ENT went right to recommending a dental guard. He asked if I grind my teeth and I actually remember waking up with clenched jaw. Even when I was awake I would clench. Something about clenching and keeping my jaw closed makes me feel more secure I guess. I have no idea. As soon as I realized that was the case I became more aware. Anyways after wearing it for a couple of months I felt like I as habituation or even getting better. Until last Saturday, after a super stressful day at work. I woke up with screeching high pitch T in my right ear. Actually it felt like it was coming from my head. Sunday was a terrible day. Anyways I got through it. And ever since Sunday it for a bit better but now I hear crickets , whistles and waterfalls. Lol. It sounds funny but it really doesn't feel good. I am trying to ignor it right now. But it changes quite a bit which wasn't happening before. I don't know about any trick to make me feel better but joining this thread and listening to people's encouraging words and positivity really makes me feel a hundred times better. I don't feel alone. But please let me know what you think ? I really appreciate it. Thanks.

Hi Sara,

While most cases of Tinnitus are caused by hearing loss, this is only the case in about ~60% of all Tinnitus cases. Most other tinnitus is caused by a neuromuscular inflammation, and often times will have a somatic component - meaning that stress, body movements, postural aggravations, etc. can all have an immediate and instant impact on volume or pitch in one or both ears. The "smoking gun" for this particular scenario is the severe "waxing and waning" behavior that this type of tinnitus exhibits. All Tinnitus sufferers, no matter the cause, experience some "waxing and waning" - that the pitch of their tinnitus and its volume might fluctuate from time to time. This is usually gradual and disconnected from any particular act that they can directly cause, which makes it incredibly frustrating. For people who suffer from tinnitus caused by neuromuscular inflammation, the waxing and waning happens rapidly and throughout the course of a single day. For example, you might wake up with quiet tinnitus and then after stretching in your bed, it comes roaring back. Or, in the middle of the day, it might suddenly dip down to a whisper for no apparent reason, only to come surging back.

These are usually signs of somatic processes, and they are normal. This is a "smoking gun" because in studies performed by Dr. Robert Levine, he has shown that this behavior -- the Tinnitus shifting in pitch and volumes rapidly throughout the course of a single day -- is connected with an inhibition or dysfunction of the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus, the piece of the brainstem that sits at the base of the skull and at the top of the spinal column that filters the inputs from your cochlea.

What does all this information really do for you? It should encourage you that there are physical things that you can do to lessen the impact of the tinnitus in your life and, over time, assemble what I call a "toolkit of tricks" to help you negotiate your tinnitus. For example, do hot showers with lots of steam help lower your tinnitus? What about postural stretching exercises and plenty of sleep in a comfortable bed? Perhaps a course of anti-inflammatory medications might yield benefit for you. These aren't cures, but they do help people to varying degrees.

The best hope for total resolution of neuromuscular inflammatory tinnitus is through physical therapy. The underlying cause of these muscle spasms -- whether it's a TMJ dysfunction through clenching teeth, or a neck spasm through bad sleep -- is long-term chronic behavior, and as a consequence, long-term physical therapy to help you correct the underlying physical problem can truly provide remarkable results. But the big frustration is going to be getting this diagnosed, as more than half of all Tinnitus cases will never be successfully diagnosed (largely because ENT's are generally ignorant about tinnitus' workings). It will leave people afflicted with tinnitus few options other than to self-diagnose through a process of elimination.

In your case, though, I think it's a safe bet to say that if a night guard has significantly helped, you're on the path towards figuring our your own toolkit of tricks and start the healing process in earnest.

 

[sara]

Hi Sara,

While most cases of Tinnitus are caused by hearing loss, this is only the case in about ~60% of all Tinnitus cases. Most other tinnitus is caused by a neuromuscular inflammation, and often times will have a somatic component - meaning that stress, body movements, postural aggravations, etc. can all have an immediate and instant impact on volume or pitch in one or both ears. The "smoking gun" for this particular scenario is the severe "waxing and waning" behavior that this type of tinnitus exhibits. All Tinnitus sufferers, no matter the cause, experience some "waxing and waning" - that the pitch of their tinnitus and its volume might fluctuate from time to time. This is usually gradual and disconnected from any particular act that they can directly cause, which makes it incredibly frustrating. For people who suffer from tinnitus caused by neuromuscular inflammation, the waxing and waning happens rapidly and throughout the course of a single day. For example, you might wake up with quiet tinnitus and then after stretching in your bed, it comes roaring back. Or, in the middle of the day, it might suddenly dip down to a whisper for no apparent reason, only to come surging back.

These are usually signs of somatic processes, and they are normal. This is a "smoking gun" because in studies performed by Dr. Robert Levine, he has shown that this behavior -- the Tinnitus shifting in pitch and volumes rapidly throughout the course of a single day -- is connected with an inhibition or dysfunction of the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus, the piece of the brainstem that sits at the base of the skull and at the top of the spinal column that filters the inputs from your cochlea.

What does all this information really do for you? It should encourage you that there are physical things that you can do to lessen the impact of the tinnitus in your life and, over time, assemble what I call a "toolkit of tricks" to help you negotiate your tinnitus. For example, do hot showers with lots of steam help lower your tinnitus? What about postural stretching exercises and plenty of sleep in a comfortable bed? Perhaps a course of anti-inflammatory medications might yield benefit for you. These aren't cures, but they do help people to varying degrees.

The best hope for total resolution of neuromuscular inflammatory tinnitus is through physical therapy. The underlying cause of these muscle spasms -- whether it's a TMJ dysfunction through clenching teeth, or a neck spasm through bad sleep -- is long-term chronic behavior, and as a consequence, long-term physical therapy to help you correct the underlying physical problem can truly provide remarkable results. But the big frustration is going to be getting this diagnosed, as more than half of all Tinnitus cases will never be successfully diagnosed (largely because ENT's are generally ignorant about tinnitus' workings). It will leave people afflicted with tinnitus few options other than to self-diagnose through a process of elimination.

In your case, though, I think it's a safe bet to say that if a night guard has significantly helped, you're on the path towards figuring our your own toolkit of tricks and start the healing process in earnest.

Thank you for this. I feel like this is true. It's exactly how I have been feeling. Sleep does make it a whole a lot better. I will try to find my toolkit in helping with my tinnitus.

 

[sara]

Today was a really weird day. My T started as really annoying and almost like a "shhhhhhhh" sound. Almost like I have a waterfall in my left ear. Then it went down. I did some squats which made it roar. I was scared so I stopped lol. Then went I went for breakfast. I couldn't hear it. Guess I forgot about it. Then at one point it felt like it was gone. I mean just the constant/changing "shhhhhh" and cricket sound. It was great. I was walking the whole day. Maybe it got lower because of that ?! I don't know. But now the "shhhhhh" is back in the left ear. Right ear is fine. It's weird how the changes in the day is so drastic.

 

[Gabrielle]

Just drink coffee and enjoy it!

It did everything to see or it might change my T.
Don't drinking coffee had no effect...
(maybe by other people, but not for me).

So I say: drink your coffee and enjoy it.

T will be there. Coffee or not

 

[Buba]

Please help my T up and down every seconds when high sound I'm feel dizzy for one second and this continue only when I'm walk or seating.

 

[sara]

Hi Buba, sorry I am not an expert in this just yet. I am pretty new to this intense life myself lol. But I think if you make a new conversation and a thread. I am sure other people will be able to help you more. . My T doesn't change with movement. So is hard for me to comment on it. But it does go up and down a lot. It's kind of crazy. I have days that I am good and other days not so good. But I was told that when it changes so much it could be iflmmation in the auditory section of the brain.