My Tinnitus Keeps Getting Worse No Matter What I Do

[gerhei]

Yes x2. I already discussed all that before. Don't want to again.

I don't know how flexible you are, but I can only be saying over and over again that there is a treatment out there that is successful in treating a huge share of tinnitus sufferers. It is called the Heidelberg Model of Music Therapy and the effect behind the therapy is a change in the grey matter structure of the auditory cortex within five days.

Have a look at my post: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-chronification-of-tinnitus.8830/#post-475965

If you think that this is something that could help you, then write me. It is a MRT-validated therapy that probably will be recommended in the next tinnitus treatment guideline in Germany.

 

[Gabriel5050]

@gerhei Well, I don't live in Germany. So what can I do?

 

[MattS]

Some people who claim that they have loud tinnitus insist they are used to it. But, we have no way of knowing because we can't hear it. Only they can.

But, I can find many people here who say they have loud tinnitus and they are struggling. Some even have dark thoughts. I am one of them. I can also use common sense and conclude the probability that the louder and more intrusive the tinnitus, the more difficult it will be to cope with.

I think there are several likely truths on both sides of the table here.

Yes: the louder your tinnitus, the more difficult it will be for you. As @PeteJ and others have suggested, this is mere common sense. To nail the point home: if your tinnitus was *silent*, it wouldn't be a problem. It's only a problem because it's louder than silent; and the further distance the noise is from silence, the more difficult it will be for the person hearing it. For someone to argue this point seems kind of ridiculous.

However, also yes: there is unlikely to be an exact 1-to-1 relationship between the loudness of one's tinnitus, and the extent to which they are bothered by it. Will they be related? Yes, as indicated above, they will be. But other factors do come into play, as @gerhei has been pointing out. To be specific, but not all-inclusive: mental health, comorbid disorders, susceptibility to anxiety/depresson, pain tolerance, frustration tolerance, access to support, physical health, overall lifestyle - these things will also matter. And this means that even though loudness is of course one of the most important factors to consider, it's also true that two people with exactly the same loudness of tinnitus may not react the same way to it. They also may. But they may not.

So how to reconcile this?

Well, the way I see it, both extreme views are likely to be incorrect. If you try to argue that loudness doesn't matter, you're being ridiculous. And if you try to argue that it's the only thing that matters, then you're also setting yourself up to be wrong. More accurate, I think, would be to suggest that how one deals with their tinnitus will be a complex combination of all of these factors. Loudness is probably the #1 first factor to consider, but then all the other factors must also be considered. For instance, characteristics likely to predispose one to a poor prognosis may be:

* Louder noises
* Higher pitched noises
* Multiple noises/sources (ie. head/ear(s)
* Susceptibility to anxiety
* Susceptibility to depression
* Low pain tolerance
* Low frustration tolerance
* Comorbid mental disorders
* Comorbid substance abuse issues
* Comorbid physical ailments
* Comorbid hyperacusis/misophonia
* Low access to social support

The more of these features one has, the poorer their prognosis is likely to be. And so, if you check off many of these boxes, you should probably consider seeking out psychological support sooner rather than later. The flipside is equally true: if you do not check many of these boxes, you may be able to try working through your tinnitus on your own.

As I work through this list myself, I realize that I'm fairly fortunate. Strikes against me are that my tinnitus is what I would consider "medium" volume, high pitched, multiple sources (head and both ears)". However, I'm otherwise in generally good health, my hyperacusis is mild, I have no history of susceptibility to anxiety/depression, I have no comorbid mental disorders or substance abuse issues, my pain/frustration tolerance tends to be high, and I have good access to social support. So overall, I only check a few boxes (pitch/multiple sources; sort of loudness). Some will check less boxes than me; some will check many more, and it's those people that should consider seeking mental health sooner rather than later.

Not trying to be insensitive/blunt here; not pointing fingers at anyone. Just laying things out as scientifically/accurately as I can.

Happy to hear other thoughts.

 

[MattS]

I don't know how flexible you are, but I can only be saying over and over again that there is a treatment out there that is successful in treating a huge share of tinnitus sufferers. It is called the Heidelberg Model of Music Therapy and the effect behind the therapy is a change in the grey matter structure of the auditory cortex within five days.

Have a look at my post: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-chronification-of-tinnitus.8830/#post-475965

If you think that this is something that could help you, then write me. It is a MRT-validated therapy that probably will be recommended in the next tinnitus treatment guideline in Germany.

As a neuroscientist, I'm pretty darn skeptical about this one. The likelihood of structural brain changes of the magnitude reported here, within a one-week period is difficult to fathom. But I'm going to read some of the academic work on this and report back re my thoughts (for whatever that is worth).

 

[gerhei]

As a neuroscientist, I'm pretty darn skeptical about this one. The likelihood of structural brain changes of the magnitude reported here, within a one-week period is difficult to fathom. But I'm going to read some of the academic work on this and report back re my thoughts (for whatever that is worth).

That would be really nice from you, I would be happy to hear an opinion from a scientist like you. The studies that evaluated the effectiveness of the therapy were carried out by neuroscientists at the Saarland University in Germany.

 

[PeteJ]

I think there are several likely truths on both sides of the table here.

Yes: the louder your tinnitus, the more difficult it will be for you. As @PeteJ and others have suggested, this is mere common sense. To nail the point home: if your tinnitus was *silent*, it wouldn't be a problem. It's only a problem because it's louder than silent; and the further distance the noise is from silence, the more difficult it will be for the person hearing it. For someone to argue this point seems kind of ridiculous.

However, also yes: there is unlikely to be an exact 1-to-1 relationship between the loudness of one's tinnitus, and the extent to which they are bothered by it. Will they be related? Yes, as indicated above, they will be. But other factors do come into play, as @gerhei has been pointing out. To be specific, but not all-inclusive: mental health, comorbid disorders, susceptibility to anxiety/depresson, pain tolerance, frustration tolerance, access to support, physical health, overall lifestyle - these things will also matter. And this means that even though loudness is of course one of the most important factors to consider, it's also true that two people with exactly the same loudness of tinnitus may not react the same way to it. They also may. But they may not.

So how to reconcile this?

Well, the way I see it, both extreme views are likely to be incorrect. If you try to argue that loudness doesn't matter, you're being ridiculous. And if you try to argue that it's the only thing that matters, then you're also setting yourself up to be wrong. More accurate, I think, would be to suggest that how one deals with their tinnitus will be a complex combination of all of these factors. Loudness is probably the #1 first factor to consider, but then all the other factors must also be considered. For instance, characteristics likely to predispose one to a poor prognosis may be:

* Louder noises
* Higher pitched noises
* Multiple noises/sources (ie. head/ear(s)
* Susceptibility to anxiety
* Susceptibility to depression
* Low pain tolerance
* Low frustration tolerance
* Comorbid mental disorders
* Comorbid substance abuse issues
* Comorbid physical ailments
* Comorbid hyperacusis/misophonia
* Low access to social support

The more of these features one has, the poorer their prognosis is likely to be. And so, if you check off many of these boxes, you should probably consider seeking out psychological support sooner rather than later. The flipside is equally true: if you do not check many of these boxes, you may be able to try working through your tinnitus on your own.

As I work through this list myself, I realize that I'm fairly fortunate. Strikes against me are that my tinnitus is what I would consider "medium" volume, high pitched, multiple sources (head and both ears)". However, I'm otherwise in generally good health, my hyperacusis is mild, I have no history of susceptibility to anxiety/depression, I have no comorbid mental disorders or substance abuse issues, my pain/frustration tolerance tends to be high, and I have good access to social support. So overall, I only check a few boxes (pitch/multiple sources; sort of loudness). Some will check less boxes than me; some will check many more, and it's those people that should consider seeking mental health sooner rather than later.

Not trying to be insensitive/blunt here; not pointing fingers at anyone. Just laying things out as scientifically/accurately as I can.

Happy to hear other thoughts.

How is loudness not the main factor?

I assure you any mental health issues or anxiety will disappear if the volume reduced. In fact, being able to cope is directly related to the high volume of the tinnitus. The only other problem is ear pain but that is also not normal. Normal people don't have loud tinnitus and ear pain. I know people who have mental health issues and take prescriptions but they don't have ear pain or loud tinnitus and never did.

Tinnitus and ear pain are not mental health issues. They are physical health issues and are being ignored and not treated as such.

 

[MattS]

How is loudness not the main factor?

I did say that loudness was the main factor (I said '#1 factor', and put it at the top of my list).

I assure you any mental health issues or anxiety will disappear if the volume reduced. In fact, being able to cope is directly related to the high volume of the tinnitus.

I have no doubt that both of these statements are true. Indeed, I said above that there would be a relationship between loudness and prognosis.

But while your statement is 100% true, that doesn't necessarily make it the entire story. In particular, you're only allowing for a uni-directional relationship from tinnitus --> mental health. Regarding that relationship, you are 100% correct: tinnitus can wreak havoc on one's mental health, and the loudness of one's tinnitus will play an extremely important role in how much havoc it wreaks. I 100% agree with you about this Pete, and I think that anyone that would deny it is playing devil's advocate, or is misguided.

However, there are other relationships too:

First: pre-existing issues may influence the level of tinnitus that one can tolerate. For instance, I might be able to tolerate a 5/10 before I fall into depression; you @PeteJ may be able to tolerate more than me, and be able to go up to 7/10 before it reaches an uncopable threshold for you; @gerhei may be weaker than both of us, and may only be able to tolerate a 3/10 before he says it's way too loud to deal with (sorry @gerhei .

Note that this doesn't remove the truth of your tinnitus --> mental health relationship. What you've said is still correct. But this adds to that truth, complicates it a bit.

In reality, the relationship is unlikely to run in either direction, but rather is likely circular. For some this will be a vicious circle, whereby pre-existing susceptibility to depression will make coping with tinnitus harder, which will lead to actual depression, which will make coping with tinnitus even harder, which will lead to deeper depression...and so on. This is a cycle you must fight hard to prevent. Will loudness influence this relationship? Of course - but again, it's not the entire story, and some people with only moderate tinnitus may find it too much for them to handle.

I hope you don't interpret what I'm saying as argumentative: I'm not trying to suggest you're wrong. And I totally understand why you want to hold the view that "if only I could get the volume to reduce a bit, all would be glorious and I'd be dancing in the streets". But that may or may not be in the cards for you, and if it isn't, you're going to have to find another way to pull through. So definitely keep doing what you can to protect your ears and get the volume into a tolerable range. But also do what you can do to strengthen your other facets, to relax your inner self, to find a way to find peace, even within the noise. I'm not trying to make it sound easy...but this is what you have to do Pete.

Tinnitus and ear pain are not mental health issues. They are physical health issues and are being ignored and not treated as such.

This, also is true. But also is only part of the story, for all the reasons I've suggested above.

Tinnitus is not normal: True.
Tinnitus and ear pain are physical health issues: Usually, yes, I believe that's probably true.

However, coping with any physical health issue is psychological. Doesn't matter if it's cancer, polio, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, IBS, stroke or any other physical health issue: coping with the disorder is psychological.

Thus living with tinnitus involves both physical and psychological components. Wish it wasn't true; but it is.

 

[Elfin]

I did say that loudness was the main factor (I said '#1 factor', and put it at the top of my list).


I have no doubt that both of these statements are true. Indeed, I said above that there would be a relationship between loudness and prognosis.

But while your statement is 100% true, that doesn't necessarily make it the entire story. In particular, you're only allowing for a uni-directional relationship from tinnitus --> mental health. Regarding that relationship, you are 100% correct: tinnitus can wreak havoc on one's mental health, and the loudness of one's tinnitus will play an extremely important role in how much havoc it wreaks. I 100% agree with you about this Pete, and I think that anyone that would deny it is playing devil's advocate, or is misguided.

However, there are other relationships too:

First: pre-existing issues may influence the level of tinnitus that one can tolerate. For instance, I might be able to tolerate a 5/10 before I fall into depression; you @PeteJ may be able to tolerate more than me, and be able to go up to 7/10 before it reaches an uncopable threshold for you; @gerhei may be weaker than both of us, and may only be able to tolerate a 3/10 before he says it's way too loud to deal with (sorry @gerhei .

Note that this doesn't remove the truth of your tinnitus --> mental health relationship. What you've said is still correct. But this adds to that truth, complicates it a bit.

In reality, the relationship is unlikely to run in either direction, but rather is likely circular. For some this will be a vicious circle, whereby pre-existing susceptibility to depression will make coping with tinnitus harder, which will lead to actual depression, which will make coping with tinnitus even harder, which will lead to deeper depression...and so on. This is a cycle you must fight hard to prevent. Will loudness influence this relationship? Of course - but again, it's not the entire story, and some people with only moderate tinnitus may find it too much for them to handle.

I hope you don't interpret what I'm saying as argumentative: I'm not trying to suggest you're wrong. And I totally understand why you want to hold the view that "if only I could get the volume to reduce a bit, all would be glorious and I'd be dancing in the streets". But that may or may not be in the cards for you, and if it isn't, you're going to have to find another way to pull through. So definitely keep doing what you can to protect your ears and get the volume into a tolerable range. But also do what you can do to strengthen your other facets, to relax your inner self, to find a way to find peace, even within the noise. I'm not trying to make it sound easy...but this is what you have to do Pete.


This, also is true. But also is only part of the story, for all the reasons I've suggested above.

Tinnitus is not normal: True.
Tinnitus and ear pain are physical health issues: Usually, yes, I believe that's probably true.

However, coping with any physical health issue is psychological. Doesn't matter if it's cancer, polio, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, IBS, stroke or any other physical health issue: coping with the disorder is psychological.

Thus living with tinnitus involves both physical and psychological components. Wish it wasn't true; but it is.

hi @MattS i don't seem to be able to send you a direct message. I have a couple of questions that I'd like to run by you. Is there a way I can contact you to do so? Let me k know!

 

[PeteJ]

I did say that loudness was the main factor (I said '#1 factor', and put it at the top of my list).


I have no doubt that both of these statements are true. Indeed, I said above that there would be a relationship between loudness and prognosis.

But while your statement is 100% true, that doesn't necessarily make it the entire story. In particular, you're only allowing for a uni-directional relationship from tinnitus --> mental health. Regarding that relationship, you are 100% correct: tinnitus can wreak havoc on one's mental health, and the loudness of one's tinnitus will play an extremely important role in how much havoc it wreaks. I 100% agree with you about this Pete, and I think that anyone that would deny it is playing devil's advocate, or is misguided.

However, there are other relationships too:

First: pre-existing issues may influence the level of tinnitus that one can tolerate. For instance, I might be able to tolerate a 5/10 before I fall into depression; you @PeteJ may be able to tolerate more than me, and be able to go up to 7/10 before it reaches an uncopable threshold for you; @gerhei may be weaker than both of us, and may only be able to tolerate a 3/10 before he says it's way too loud to deal with (sorry @gerhei .

Note that this doesn't remove the truth of your tinnitus --> mental health relationship. What you've said is still correct. But this adds to that truth, complicates it a bit.

In reality, the relationship is unlikely to run in either direction, but rather is likely circular. For some this will be a vicious circle, whereby pre-existing susceptibility to depression will make coping with tinnitus harder, which will lead to actual depression, which will make coping with tinnitus even harder, which will lead to deeper depression...and so on. This is a cycle you must fight hard to prevent. Will loudness influence this relationship? Of course - but again, it's not the entire story, and some people with only moderate tinnitus may find it too much for them to handle.

I hope you don't interpret what I'm saying as argumentative: I'm not trying to suggest you're wrong. And I totally understand why you want to hold the view that "if only I could get the volume to reduce a bit, all would be glorious and I'd be dancing in the streets". But that may or may not be in the cards for you, and if it isn't, you're going to have to find another way to pull through. So definitely keep doing what you can to protect your ears and get the volume into a tolerable range. But also do what you can do to strengthen your other facets, to relax your inner self, to find a way to find peace, even within the noise. I'm not trying to make it sound easy...but this is what you have to do Pete.


This, also is true. But also is only part of the story, for all the reasons I've suggested above.

Tinnitus is not normal: True.
Tinnitus and ear pain are physical health issues: Usually, yes, I believe that's probably true.

However, coping with any physical health issue is psychological. Doesn't matter if it's cancer, polio, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, IBS, stroke or any other physical health issue: coping with the disorder is psychological.

Thus living with tinnitus involves both physical and psychological components. Wish it wasn't true; but it is.

I don't agree.

Severity of 3/10 and 8/10 are drastically different and most people are "'ok" with 3 but think 8 is just too loud.

The issue is that there are supposedly some very rare exceptions in which someone claims their tinnitus is 8/10 but insist it's 8/10 and they are coping. But, no one can check/test their tinnitus because it's impossible. Or can researchers compare tinnitus or monitor how much neurons are firing or how much brain activity is occurring in the form of tinnitus?

Without going on a tangent, my point is most people are bothered mostly by the volume and nature of tinnitus and correlate coping with volume. The lower the volume, the more likely to habituate and so forth.

I think previous or pre-tinnitus psychological makeup and mental health situation is irrelevant because volume is the major factor. Having loud 10/10 tinnitus will bother anyone not including the most rare exceptions. It's not normal to have loud buzzing/ringing in your brain and ears 24/7. Tinnitus is also more intrusive and bothersome when there is little to no fluctuation.

 

[MattS]

I don't agree.

That's fine Pete, you don't have to agree. Though it seems more like you aren't actually willing to engage with the ideas much at all. That's fine too - you obviously don't have to do that either, and have your own reasons for forming the beliefs you have. But I think it's a bit of a shame, because the beliefs you have formed are unlikely to be very helpful for you. Cognitive behavioural therapy is designed to identify and alter these maladaptive belief patterns - I might suggest you consider seeking out a trained therapist.

Severity of 3/10 and 8/10 are drastically different and most people are "'ok" with 3 but think 8 is just too loud.

Like most everything you've said, this is true. But it's a) not the whole truth, for the reasons I laid out before, and b) isn't actually in any disagreement with anything I've said.

The issue is that there are supposedly some very rare exceptions in which someone claims their tinnitus is 8/10 but insist it's 8/10 and they are coping. But, no one can check/test their tinnitus because it's impossible. Or can researchers compare tinnitus or monitor how much neurons are firing or how much brain activity is occurring in the form of tinnitus?

No, we cannot. But let me ask you this: can we measure my tinnitus, which I claim is "medium"? How do we know I'm not *under-estimating* how loud it is? And what about your tinnitus? You claim yours is loud? How do we know THAT'S true? Maybe it's really just 3/10, but you simply can't stand it?

I'm not actually questioning your tinnitus - really, I'm not. But I am trying to point out that you have chosen to selectively disbelieve only the people that claim to have 8/10 and are coping. Why? Because it allows you to retain your own belief that you have it worse than most people, and that if only your 8/10 tinnitus would go down, you'd be back to Glory days. I will not try to poke any further holes in that belief, because it may be serving a function for you, and may need to recede slowly. A CBT therapist would tackle these thought patterns with the grace it requires.

Without going on a tangent, my point is most people are bothered mostly by the volume and nature of tinnitus and correlate coping with volume. The lower the volume, the more likely to habituate and so forth.

Frankly Pete, you likely have no idea whether this is true for anyone but yourself.

It's also not contradicting anything I said.

I think previous or pre-tinnitus psychological makeup and mental health situation is irrelevant because volume is the major factor.

What's the basis for this clinical decision?

The fact is, this is an example of a classic cognitive bias. Because volume is "the major factor", all other factors are *completely irrelevant*. It's equivalent to "because pizza with pepperoni is my favorite food, all other foods are the worst things that man has ever created". It's all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking that isn't considering any of the nuances that exist in life. Back to tinnitus: clearly loudness can be "the major factor", and other factors can still play important roles. When you're ready to see that, it will become apparent to you.

Having 10/10 tinnitus will bother anyone not including the most rare exceptions.

This is, again, true; but again does not contradict anything I've said.

I will note one further thing though: it's well-established - not just in tinnitus, but in general - that as the strength of one factor rises, the influence of other factors fall. So, for instance, if loudness is only a 1, then most people will cope, and those who do not cope will be those with other comorbid issues. Meaning at low loudness volumes, comorbid factors will actually be the most important factor. As loudness increases to 5, you may now see both loudness and comorbid issues playing an equal role in determining who copes and who doesn't. And as loudness approaches 10, it may indeed be so strong that it becomes the main, or only, factor. This is evidence for a non-linear effect. And what it means (among other things) is that even if you are right that everyone at 10/10 would fall prey to tinnitus, other factors can still play important roles at all other loudness levels.

Sorry, that got a bit technical - but sussing out causes/effects in medical diagnoses is complicated stuff. It's not black/white like you are trying to make it. It's just not.

It's not normal to have loud buzzing/ringing in your brain and ears 24/7. Tinnitus is also more intrusive and bothersome when there is little to no fluctuation.

We've covered this already, and so are going in circles a bit.

What is clear is that you are not quite ready for therapeutic help yet. That's okay - everyone goes at their own pace. But when you are ready, I suggest you find a therapist well-trained in CBT for tinnitus - I think it will help you once you are in a place to open up your mind to it.

 

[PeteJ]

That's fine Pete, you don't have to agree. Though it seems more like you aren't actually willing to engage with the ideas much at all. That's fine too - you obviously don't have to do that either, and have your own reasons for forming the beliefs you have. But I think it's a bit of a shame, because the beliefs you have formed are unlikely to be very helpful for you. Cognitive behavioural therapy is designed to identify and alter these maladaptive belief patterns - I might suggest you consider seeking out a trained therapist.

Like most everything you've said, this is true. But it's a) not the whole truth, for the reasons I laid out before, and b) isn't actually in any disagreement with anything I've said.

No, we cannot. But let me ask you this: can we measure my tinnitus, which I claim is "medium"? How do we know I'm not *under-estimating* how loud it is? And what about your tinnitus? You claim yours is loud? How do we know THAT'S true? Maybe it's really just 3/10, but you simply can't stand it?

I'm not actually questioning your tinnitus - really, I'm not. But I am trying to point out that you have chosen to selectively disbelieve only the people that claim to have 8/10 and are coping. Why? Because it allows you to retain your own belief that you have it worse than most people, and that if only your 8/10 tinnitus would go down, you'd be back to Glory days. I will not try to poke any further holes in that belief, because it may be serving a function for you, and may need to recede slowly. A CBT therapist would tackle these thought patterns with the grace it requires.


Frankly Pete, you likely have no idea whether this is true for anyone but yourself.

It's also not contradicting anything I said.

What's the basis for this clinical decision?

The fact is, this is an example of a classic cognitive bias. Because volume is "the major factor", all other factors are *completely irrelevant*. It's equivalent to "because pizza with pepperoni is my favorite food, all other foods are the worst things that man has ever created". It's all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking that isn't considering any of the nuances that exist in life. Back to tinnitus: clearly loudness can be "the major factor", and other factors can still play important roles. When you're ready to see that, it will become apparent to you.

This is, again, true; but again does not contradict anything I've said.

I will note one further thing though: it's well-established - not just in tinnitus, but in general - that as the strength of one factor rises, the influence of other factors fall. So, for instance, if loudness is only a 1, then most people will cope, and those who do not cope will be those with other comorbid issues. Meaning at low loudness volumes, comorbid factors will actually be the most important factor. As loudness increases to 5, you may now see both loudness and comorbid issues playing an equal role in determining who copes and who doesn't. And as loudness approaches 10, it may indeed be so strong that it becomes the main, or only, factor. This is evidence for a non-linear effect. And what it means (among other things) is that even if you are right that everyone at 10/10 would fall prey to tinnitus, other factors can still play important roles at all other loudness levels.

Sorry, that got a bit technical - but sussing out causes/effects in medical diagnoses is complicated stuff. It's not black/white like you are trying to make it. It's just not.

We've covered this already, and so are going in circles a bit.

What is clear is that you are not quite ready for therapeutic help yet. That's okay - everyone goes at their own pace. But when you are ready, I suggest you find a therapist well-trained in CBT for tinnitus - I think it will help you once you are in a place to open up your mind to it.

No what is clear is you are interpreting how you see fit like a few others.

I said that most people who have severe tinnitus have trouble coping. Most people who commit suicide said that their tinnitus was too loud. I don't know anyone who committed suicide because of mild or even moderate tinnitus. The most reasonable assumption is that the more loud the tinnitus, the more likely it's too difficult to cope. But, you are objecting and making excuses.

 

[MattS]

No what is clear is you are interpreting how you see fit like a few others.

I said that most people who have severe tinnitus have trouble coping. Most people who commit suicide said that their tinnitus was too loud. I don't know anyone who committed suicide because of mild or even moderate tinnitus. The most reasonable assumption is that the more loud the tinnitus, the more likely it's too difficult to cope. But, you are objecting and making excuses. Just fuck off now.

I don't even understand.

I've not objected to anything.
I've made no excuses for anything (like, not a single excuse, about anything).
And I've certainly done nothing to deserve getting sworn at.

But that's fine Pete - it's becoming clear that all you are really looking for is for people on the board to listen to your complaints. That's fine - that's part of what the board is here for. But that's not me: I'm not a wet blanket to cry into; I'm someone who wants to be realistic and rational, and work towards actual solutions to the situation that we find ourselves in.

When you're ready for that, you'll be ready to move forward with your life.

 

[PeteJ]

I don't even understand.

I've not objected to anything.
I've made no excuses for anything (like, not a single excuse, about anything).
And I've certainly done nothing to deserve getting sworn at.

But that's fine Pete - it's becoming clear that all you are really looking for is for people on the board to listen to your complaints. That's fine - that's part of what the board is here for. But that's not me: I'm not a wet blanket to cry into; I'm someone who wants to be realistic and rational, and work towards actual solutions to the situation that we find ourselves in.

When you're ready for that, you'll be ready to move forward with your life.

Consider yourself ignored. Yet another ahole who thinks they know everything.

People who say things like this are major aholes:

"But that's fine Pete - it's becoming clear that all you are really looking for is for people on the board to listen to your complaints. That's fine..."

With all the studies out there related to tinnitus and the bs "findings", why don't they ever cover callous accusations and behavior of mild/moderate tinnitus people?

 

[MattS]

Consider yourself ignored. Yet another ahole who thinks they know everything.

People who say things like this are major aholes:

"But that's fine Pete - it's becoming clear that all you are really looking for is for people on the board to listen to your complaints. That's fine..."

With all the studies out there related to tinnitus and the bs "findings", why don't they ever cover callous accusations and behavior of mild/moderate tinnitus people?

I guess guilty as charged?

 

[Gabriel5050]

I'll make an update here for posterity. This is about my unfortunate situation which I believe is uncommon, so 99.9% of the readers shouldn't be scared by this.

There's only one certain thing in life: death. But apparently for me there's another certainty. My tinnitus keeps getting worse no matter what I do. Yes, for real. The only things that don't make it worse is spending all day in a room with no sound. Use the PC - louder tinnitus. Cook food - louder tinnitus. DARE go outside - louder tinnitus. Unbelievable. I have no idea how what is wrong with me. ENT said everything is good yet it's obviously not. My life is pretty much a mess. If anyone has tinnitus that worsened but eventually plateaued, maybe they can chime in for support.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@Gabriel5050
Are you using 50 mg Metoprolol to manage elevated blood pressure?

 

[Gabriel5050]

Are you using 50 mg Metoprolol to manage elevated blood pressure?

Yes. In late 2017 I had a stent placed near my heart, in the artery and since then I use that to manage it. Without it the blood pressure is like 140 and with it it's like 125-130. I tried not taking it for a few weeks to see if it affects tinnitus but I couldn't make any correlations. Why did you ask?

 

[Chinmoku]

I'll make an update here for posterity. This is about my unfortunate situation which I believe is uncommon, so 99.9% of the readers shouldn't be scared by this.

There's only one certain thing in life: death. But apparently for me there's another certainty. My tinnitus keeps getting worse no matter what I do. Yes, for real. The only things that don't make it worse is spending all day in a room with no sound. Use the PC - louder tinnitus. Cook food - louder tinnitus. DARE go outside - louder tinnitus. Unbelievable. I have no idea how what is wrong with me. ENT said everything is good yet it's obviously not. My life is pretty much a mess. If anyone has tinnitus that worsened but eventually plateaued, maybe they can chime in for support.

Same here. Worsened from day 1 for more than two years. Now it worsened every week. In my case even staying in a quiet environment does not stop the progression. I'm debilitated. ENTs and neurologist have no idea. I was hoping it could be my medication but then I see cases like yours and a few others that keep worsening and I'm not sure. I wondered if it's an extreme form of maladaptive plasticity.

 

[Gabriel5050]

Same here. Worsened from day 1 for more than two years. Now it worsened every week. In my case even staying in a quiet environment does not stop the progression. I'm debilitated. ENTs and neurologist have no idea. I was hoping it could be my medication but then I see cases like yours and a few others that keep worsening and I'm not sure. I wondered if it's an extreme form of maladaptive plasticity.

Recently I stopped the medication again for one month because I couldn't get it. Doesn't make a difference tinnitus wise. At least we can leave traces for the record if anyone cares.

What medication are you on, out of curiosity?

Anyway, I'm sending a big internet hug to you, because we are carrying on.

 

[Chinmoku]

Recently I stopped the medication again for one month because I couldn't get it. Doesn't make a difference tinnitus wise. At least we can leave traces for the record if anyone cares.

What medication are you on, out of curiosity?

Anyway, I'm sending a big internet hug to you, because we are carrying on.

Thank you, a big Hug to you as well.
I had been on Pregabalin for 18 months, tapered the Pregabalin and then Clonazepam for 9 months now. Trying to taper the latter now but the tinnitus has reached unbearable levels. What was your medication? Do you think it could be a cause of constant worsening?

 

[Gabriel5050]

@Chinmoku, sorry it took a while for me to respond.

I started taking Metoprolol 50 mg about a month or two before I got the stent. I have been taking it ever since. Although I'm not always consistent with taking the medication, I'll admit. And as mentioned previously I did take breaks to specifically see if it affected the tinnitus (it did not). Immediately afterwards I got the stent in late 2017, and I took Aspirin 100 mg for 6 months.

So while my tinnitus appeared while taking Aspirin, I highly doubt it has anything to do with it. After stopping the Aspirin, the tinnitus did not go away. I believe it started from using headphones too much for gaming and listening to music. For some time it was stable. But since the summer of 2018 it started going downhill. And since 2019 even more so.