Mystery Tinnitus Hell

[Darkener]

I have had a vague noise in my (left?) ear for a few years, soon followed by the other ear. It was never that much of a problem. I could deal with it.

In the past 2 months, though, for no apparent reason, it has steadily increased to a shocking level. It's gone from not being a bother at all to causing me to hit my own head or suddenly sob. It's very difficult to cope.

There has been nothing that I can think of that I have done to exacerbate it so suddenly. I went to a course one day and sat in class with my elbow on the desk, and I noticed a numb tingling sensation in that arm that didn't then go away. Developed the numbness in my other arm aswell and at that point the tinnitus was more noticeable in my left ear. A hiss and a high pitch. My right ear developed more of a swirling kind of tinny noise. That was in early November. Now it's all consuming at times, though the numbness in my arms has gone.

If there's anyone who might have a clue at all as to what it could be or any relief, it would be appreciated.

 

[fishbone]

Are your stress levels up? Tinnitus usually has some kind of reason for getting worst. Stress, change in diet, change in sleep patterns, change or taking meds/vitamins/supplements. Possibly having a cold or infection. I'm sorry you feel so bad, it does happen at times. Tinnitus can be more annoying and we need to think about why it is getting that way. I usually keep a log or journal and write down what I am doing and keep up with it.

By doing this, it is easier to understand, why tinnitus might be getting louder.

Hope you feel better

 

[billie48]

If there's anyone who might have a clue at all as to what it could be or any relief, it would be appreciated.

There are many causes, single or combined, which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug reaction or side-effects from ototoxic drugs, ear wax build-up, ear or Eustachian tube infection or ETD, ear drum injury, fluid build-up in ears feeling pressured or fullness, sinus infection & congestion especially with a bad cold, TMJ, TTTS, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma/shock, head trauma & injury, neck injury or muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's Decease, barotrauma from sudden change of air pressure such as during landing & taking off on flights especially with blocked nose causing failure to balance the pressure changes, slapping of the ears, deep grief for the loss of loved ones, untreated sleep apnea, extreme, extended stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc., etc.

As for relief of the high pitch T, without using drugs the best approach is just trying to mask it. For high pitch T, sounds of heavy rain, nonstop crashing waves, cicadas, waterfalls, even shower or faucet sounds will usually work. Here are some suggestions on masking:

1) Mask at bed time if having trouble sleeping, by using a sound pillow or sound machine with pillow speakers. There are good sound machine & pillow therapy systems like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-...d-Oasis-Therapy-System-Speakers/dp/B00MH5HKTA

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds. Use wisdom in the use of headphones or earbuds as extended use or excessive volume may hurt your ears. Try set the volume slightly below that of your tinnitus.

3) With PC & speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds to see which one masks best:

TT's excellent audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or click play to mix these sounds with this simple sound generator: http://asoftmurmur.com/

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

Also, this one seems to help mask high pitch T well: start with a low volume and gradually turn it up until at a comfortable level to mask your T.

 

[Darkener]

My stress levels are actually up. But mainly 'cos of the T. I also have depression, long term, but only slightly worse than usual.

I went for a brain scan and was almost disappointed that it came back clear as my T is still a mystery. My sleep is also intermittent at times but again, no more than usual.

If its stress related though, I'm sure it wouldn't be this bad. At times, like now, my head just feels like one giant inner siren. And nothing will mask it. I'm at my wits end with it.