Hey @
shasta0863 I don't want to start a baseless conspiracy theory here but I am also shocked enough by what you reported and how very exactly it aligns with my recent experience that I thought I should post. I have had T for over 12 years now and taken NAC after every episode of noise exposure with a "well it couldn't hurt" attitude. The dosage I'd take was actually quite high, typically 2400mg-3g/day for 4-5 days following the episode. Maybe in retrospect this was dangerous but I've also done it for many, many years without issue.
At the very end of October 2016, though, after going to a concert (at which I actually wore earplugs and don't think noise exposure was really very dramatic), I did this regimen, and 2 or 3 days into it my tinnitus in a moment became much louder and now sounds exactly as you are describing. Exactly like "electrical misfiring going haywire, going up and down and up and down" in my left ear. I have been describing it as a "swirling" but your description is dead on. Previously for me it was a constant tone, much quieter.
I still hear the old constant tone but now have this new very, very loud, very distracting electronic type swirling going on on top of it. I would say the impact on my quality of life of this new tone is a multiple of the old T I'd lived with for 12 years, mostly because the constant fluctuation in volume makes it disrupt my hearing of outside sounds in a way that is much harder to ignore. I've been checked out for inflammation, tumor etc (MRI and carotid ultrasound) by my ENT. I'm seeing a neurologist monday. I'm wondering if a bad batch of NAC floating somehow had something to do with this.
The NAC I was taking when this happened was "NOW Foods" brand, purchased from Amazon on October 9, 2016.
Again I've taken NAC for years without issue. I'm wondering if by some chance this is the brand/batch you were taking?