My Tinnitus Seems Unique?

[Aegyo]

I've had tinnitus since October 4th, 2018. It started in the most stupid, idiotic way ever.

No, not noise trauma.

I stuck my fingers in my ears. Yes, you read that right.

I was already not feeling great back in September, looking back, I was already struggling with depression...I just didn't realise it.

I had some fleeting tinnitus and tinnitus was on TV around that time. All negative of course, so it scared me to bits. On October 4th, my toddler was crying on my lap, I got a panic attack thinking of what I saw on TV. When I put him back in bed, I walked away (trembling from head to toe) and stuck my fingers in my ears. Hyperfocused on my hearing and BAM, very faintly...I could hear "something".

What followed was a string of panic attacks. All I could hear was the tinnitus. I mean full on massive fight/flight mode.

As the months progressed, I got more and more sounds. I don't even know how many sounds I have by now.

They vary constantly throughout the day. But I never have the same set of sounds two days in a row.

Some sounds seem to have disappeared.

My tinnitus is extremely sound reactive. The sounds change depending on what I have around me. But the car engine, cooker hood and kettle, etc. usually make it worse. I haven't watched TV in 7 months because it winds up my tinnitus.

And then sometimes it suddenly goes quiet. Like this morning in bed... Until I get up and start doing things.

I've had extensive hearing tests done and everything came back totally normal. I didn't have an ear infection either. And no history of loud noise exposure (in fact, I'm the quiet type haha). Used earphones a few times in my teens, but that's it really. They always made my earlobes itch, so I stayed away from them. Never used ototoxic drugs either, not even aspirin.

Everything gets put on stress and depression. But I find my tinnitus extremely weird. I haven't come across a tinnitus like mine when reading online...and that scares me.

It's like I tapped into the buzz of my nervous system and lost my filter.

Has anyone here ever heard of a case like mine before? I'm worried that it all gets put on stress, yet there might be a physical cause after all...which everyone is overlooking.

I do have a clicky jaw and a small cavity in one of my molars. Which I'm afraid to get fixed...

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

 

[dellwas]

I've had tinnitus since October 4th, 2018. It started in the most stupid, idiotic way ever.

No, not noise trauma.

I stuck my fingers in my ears. Yes, you read that right.

I was already not feeling great back in September, looking back, I was already struggling with depression...I just didn't realise it.

I had some fleeting tinnitus and tinnitus was on TV around that time. All negative of course, so it scared me to bits. On October 4th, my toddler was crying on my lap, I got a panic attack thinking of what I saw on TV. When I put him back in bed, I walked away (trembling from head to toe) and stuck my fingers in my ears. Hyperfocused on my hearing and BAM, very faintly...I could hear "something".

What followed was a string of panic attacks. All I could hear was the tinnitus. I mean full on massive fight/flight mode.

As the months progressed, I got more and more sounds. I don't even know how many sounds I have by now.

They vary constantly throughout the day. But I never have the same set of sounds two days in a row.

Some sounds seem to have disappeared.

My tinnitus is extremely sound reactive. The sounds change depending on what I have around me. But the car engine, cooker hood and kettle, etc. usually make it worse. I haven't watched TV in 7 months because it winds up my tinnitus.

And then sometimes it suddenly goes quiet. Like this morning in bed... Until I get up and start doing things.

I've had extensive hearing tests done and everything came back totally normal. I didn't have an ear infection either. And no history of loud noise exposure (in fact, I'm the quiet type haha). Used earphones a few times in my teens, but that's it really. They always made my earlobes itch, so I stayed away from them. Never used ototoxic drugs either, not even aspirin.

Everything gets put on stress and depression. But I find my tinnitus extremely weird. I haven't come across a tinnitus like mine when reading online...and that scares me.

It's like I tapped into the buzz of my nervous system and lost my filter.

Has anyone here ever heard of a case like mine before? I'm worried that it all gets put on stress, yet there might be a physical cause after all...which everyone is overlooking.

I do have a clicky jaw and a small cavity in one of my molars. Which I'm afraid to get fixed...

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

Definitley sounds like yours was induced by anxiety/depression. It also sounds like you have Hyperacusis, aversion to everyday sounds. I had that for a while, but it doesn't seem to bother me much now. Things like the vaccum, heat pump, car radio, tires on the road, that sort of stuff. I've never heard of anyone getting it from fingers in the ear, but stranger things have happened. Did you have a head cold, or upper respiratory problem prior to the tinnitus starting? If so, that could have led to it as well.

 

[Aegyo]

Definitley sounds like yours was induced by anxiety/depression. It also sounds like you have Hyperacusis, aversion to everyday sounds. I had that for a while, but it doesn't seem to bother me much now. Things like the vaccum, heat pump, car radio, tires on the road, that sort of stuff. I've never heard of anyone getting it from fingers in the ear, but stranger things have happened. Did you have a head cold, or upper respiratory problem prior to the tinnitus starting? If so, that could have led to it as well.

Nope. No cold or anything like that. All I did was literally stick my fingers in my ears and hyperfocus on my hearing.

I don't experience any pain from sounds. The tinnitus changes sounds when I'm driving, etc.

So I could have a static buzz before getting in the car and then it changes to the sound of a crockpot once I turn the engine on. But that can also happen occasionally if I click a pen or open a bottle of shampoo.

It just changes constantly depending on whatever sound I have around me.

I also mainly hear it in my head.

 

[GregCA]

Has anyone here ever heard of a case like mine before? I'm worried that it all gets put on stress, yet there might be a physical cause after all...which everyone is overlooking.

Yup. When we don't have a root cause, we often pin it on stress.
You can try to work with this flowchart: https://www.tinnitusresearch.net/index.php/for-clinicians/diagnostic-flowchart

 

[dellwas]

Nope. No cold or anything like that. All I did was literally stick my fingers in my ears and hyperfocus on my hearing.

I don't experience any pain from sounds. The tinnitus changes sounds when I'm driving, etc.

So I could have a static buzz before getting in the car and then it changes to the sound of a crockpot once I turn the engine on. But that can also happen occasionally if I click a pen or open a bottle of shampoo.

It just changes constantly depending on whatever sound I have around me.

I also mainly hear it in my head.

Very strange indeed. I've never heard of a case where it changes based on the sound being heard. Have you had the "clicky" jaw looked at? I've heard of teeth causing it, but only if someone grinds them during sleep. How's the anxiety these days? The tinnitus may clear up if you can get that under control. BTW, I know what it's like, I've had chronic anxiety most of my life, but that got under control once I retired. Mine is from concussion either my concussion I had in Jan, or the ETD that I've had for sometime.

 

[Ken77]

Your tinnitus seems similar to mine. I also got it for no apparent reason (possibly anxiety) and it is extremely reactive to sounds. I have to use masking sounds when watching TV or I can't focus.

 

[GSC]

Sounds like it's very heavily anxiety/stress induced....

Do you have any mental illnesses, or personality uh... disorders?

 

[Aegyo]

Sounds like it's very heavily anxiety/stress induced....

Do you have any mental illnesses, or personality uh... disorders?

I'm knee deep in depression and trauma. Five years of fertility treatments and multiple miscarriages. Then I lost a baby due to medical error, then had my son which was also very difficult (atypical reflux).

By September last year, I was living on 2 to 3 hours of sleep every night and constant panic attacks. I just didn't realise that I was suffering from depression/burn out/mental exhaustion.

It's like my brain and nervous system eventually said enough is enough.

Sometimes I think that if I had seen on TV that fleeting tinnitus leads to migraines, I would have terrible migraines now...

 

[NeoKortex88]

I have kind of the same experience. I had chronic pain and suffered tremendously. It's far worse than what my mild tinnitus is now. Anyway after all that stress (took about a year) I thought to myself wow I just had so much stress I wonder why I don't have tinnitus now. And boom there it was.