New to Tinnitus and It's Getting Worse

[CaRd]

Hello there!

I am still new to this tinnitus thing and i have a few questions. Hope someone can answer them ...

I got mine three months ago just for my birthday(Horaay!). It was like a mechanical HDD lurking in my right ear. Went straight to the ENT the next morning and after my hearing test came fine, she prescribed me Betaserc + Tebokan(Ginko extract). After a few days without improvement(and sleep) i went again. She then hospitalised me for infusions with Corticosteroids and Vasodilators. The noise became very quiet for a few days but it changed it's tensity and became much more frustrating and a new sound kicked in - like a high-frequency dentist drill. After that i went to Otoneurologist and he prescribed me Pregabalin - a drug for epilepsy. While i was taking it in higher dosage it was all fine and i was able to sleep well for about a month. I even went to ultra-high frequency therapy. All was well. I was even prepairing myself for the sound to get louder and how to habituate.

That was until 2-3 weeks ago when i went out with friends. I haven't been socializing from a long time(even before tinnitus) and wanted to vent some steam. The problem was one of the places which had loud music. I was covering my ear the whole time even that i knew it won't help much. So i was expecting it to go louder after that. It did not. Instead a new Hshhhhh sound started coming from my both ears. But it changes. Sometimes i don't hear it from my left ear, but there is a screaming sound in my head. And it changes constantly during the days. Also a new criccet sound in my right ear ... Now i am not sure why this happened, because at this time i decreased the Pregabalin to twice the dosage.

I went to a neurologyst and they found that some blood vessels are making contraction(?) right in the area of the ears on both sides. He prescribed me Vasodilators and a slight sedative.

Right now i am taking Betaserc+Ginko+Cavintone+Pregabalin. Also i take some supplements - Zinc, Fish Oil, Selenium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B Complex, Shusler's 7(Magnesium disulfate) ... I feel like an ambulance.

My question is - can the loud music got me into this mess? I mean ... getting all those new noises ... Or could it be the drugs? Is there any hope that they will calm down? I feel desperate ... I could sleep last night only because the "hushhhh" sound became a high frequency whistling and i managed to distract from it ... It is horrible ...

Sorry for my bad English! And sorry for reading all this

 

[GregCA]

My question is - can the loud music got me into this mess?

Loud music is certainly a known cause for hearing issues, not matter how you hear it (headphones, speakers, etc).

 

[CaRd]

I know that ... But i never liked loud music, so i never listened to such. Even with my headphones i always tried to keep it lower. I guess the damage is done anyway ...

 

[GregCA]

Have you done:

• a hearing test
• an MRI
• a blood test
• a CT scan

 

[CaRd]

Hearing test i have done in previous visitation when the sound was only from my right ear. All was fine.
MRI - no. No one seems to care to give me such advice. They think it is not something important, because i have no hearing loss and no vertigo.
Blood test - no.
CT scan - yes but without contrast. They said it is all right.
Doppler Ultrasound Exam for head blood vessels. That's where they found the spasm in both right and left upper part.

 

[Michael Leigh]

My question is - can the loud music got me into this mess?

Exposure to loud noise and sounds especially through headphones is the most common cause of tinnitus. If you listen to music through headphones, then I advise you to stop at least for a while (preferably never use them again). Please click on the link below and read my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View, that you might find helpful.
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

 

[CaRd]

Although i quite agree about that, i can't stop thinking the problem is somewhere else. Also i was smoking too much these days and smoking cigarettes seems to make it worse. But just that sound ... the other one is not reacting. Tomorrow i will do another hearing test and i will ask for tympanometry this time. Last time that the hiss sound disappeared and became a whistling in my brain i was doing the Valsalva Move. Will see ... But i also want to try some drastic detox therapy. I mean a few days of hunger without water even. It is called "Dry Hunger" and it is very refreshing for the body, getting rid of the toxins and restarting the immune system. In one of our forums(Bulgaria), a person got rid of his tinnitus by doing that and some oxygen therapy. It is worth a try in the early stages i guess ...

And about the headphones - i sold mine. That was the first thing i did. I really like to listen to good quality music, and hate the loud ones. So headphones were my best option for crystal clear sound at home.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@CaRd
Do what you have to do and I wish you the best of luck. However, please remember this: If you have been listening to music through headphones regularly, or going to places where loud music is played. These things are the most common cause of tinnitus.
I wish you well.
Michael

 

[CaRd]

I did listen to headphones, but not loud ... Although it is still a risk as the sound waves are too close to the ears. I know that and always tried to protect them. As for the loud places ... maybe once or twice per year that could happen by accident. I really hate loud clubs ... I have issues with my smell sense(almost have none) since i was a child, because i had asthma and they gave me too much chemicals. So my other senses are a bit hightened, especially my hearing ... But still, that would be a really bad turn of events. You protect something your whole life and it gets broken in the end

 

[billie48]

My question is - can the loud music got me into this mess? I mean ... getting all those new noises ... Or could it be the drugs? Is there any hope that they will calm down? I feel desperate ... I could sleep last night only because the "hushhhh" sound became a high frequency whistling and i managed to distract from it ... It is horrible ...

Welcome to the forum. Loud music/noise exposure or acoustic trauma is only one possible cause for tinnitus. But
there are many causes 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, 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. There are more causes out there and they may be less common as the ones above. Check if you have problem lately with one or more of these problems.

Before you can find a cure for the cause(s) of your T, it is important to manage your T so you won't be so stressful, as stress and anxiety as well as resultant sleeplessness can aggravate T. Generally, if you can keep positive and calm, your condition may improve. This is because right now you are under the limbic nervous system and function in fight or flight mode which makes everything a lot worse. When you keep positive, calm and relax, the more normal parasympathetic nervous system will take over from the limbic system and with that you will definitely improve. The less you are stressful and anxious, the more likely T will improve over time. You may want to consider masking your T. Try to keep the masking volume below that of T. If you have done so, here are some suggestions. Take care. God bless.

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.

 

[CaRd]

Thank you very much for the support! I think that is one of the problems right now - stress. I am brely sleeping and things get worse by the day. Last night i managed to calm myself and fall asleep but then i woke 40 min. after that with a panic and could not sleep after that. When i started taking one of the drugs(for epilepsy) which is supressing the central nervous system, i was very calm and the symptoms got a lot better. I am trying to improove that but the new sounds are making it hard. Last night there was even a new one, like clock ticking. I constantly blame myself for being so stupid and going to a loud place, but i guess if there is no hearing loss it's allright and i will mange.

Masking sound i don't want to use, because all kind of noises, not coming from a natural source are making it worse for now. I even stopped listening to music ... If i enter a room with TV working, i start picking some low frequency sounds and it is terrible ... My ears were always sensitive, but this is a whole new world right now.

This forum hs given me a great support! Now i will try to relax and hope that T will go away some day. I am still young at 32 so i guess if i give my body a chance it can heal itself over time. I am starting to think more positively by the day. Something good comes from all this - i will quit smoking(for the third time), will improve my quality of life(food exercises etc.). And ... what does not kill you, makes you stronger they say

God bless you all and keep the hope alive!

 

[vermillion]

@CaRd
Hello. I just wanted to tell you my experience cause i went with similar syptoms. Similar. Not the same. Everybody's T is a different story. I believe that you cannot exlude the possibility of the drugs affecting the situation. In my opinion, given that tinnitus is a very complexed symptom located in the brain, nervous system's ( anticonvulsants etc) drugs have a possible impact on tinnitus, since they mess up with brain functions. We just don't know the mechanism. Some people claim benefits from drugs, others the contrary. Personally when i tried a drug cocktail (with anticonvulsants among others) my T started to add sounds in it's repertory. Good luck to with your research my friend. All the best.

 

[Bill Bauer]

My question is - can the loud music got me into this mess?

Yes, of course.

Now that our ears have been compromised, we have a price to pay when exposed to sound levels that healthy people don't even notice.

 

[CaRd]

@CaRd
Hello. I just wanted to tell you my experience cause i went with similar syptoms. Similar. Not the same. Everybody's T is a different story. I believe that you cannot exlude the possibility of the drugs affecting the situation. In my opinion, given that tinnitus is a very complexed symptom located in the brain, nervous system's ( anticonvulsants etc) drugs have a possible impact on tinnitus, since they mess up with brain functions. We just don't know the mechanism. Some people claim benefits from drugs, others the contrary. Personally when i tried a drug cocktail (with anticonvulsants among others) my T started to add sounds in it's repertory. Good luck to with your research my friend. All the best.

Hi there. Did those extra sounds stayed for good after you stopped medicating?

 

[vermillion]

Hi there. Did those extra sounds stayed for good after you stopped medicating?

Unfortunately they are still here. Who knows, it may be a random event or not. We are in the dark here.

 

[CaRd]

I knew i should not take the anticonvulsant after seeing all the side effects ... Well what's done is done. I guess i will never know for sure Thank's for the info!

 

[Applejuice]

Welcome to the forum. New sounds are annoying and discouraging. But you are not alone in this.

Look out with music and noise. I would evade loud noises for a while.

@billie48
I might've stressed too much about my T. What kind of stress are we talking about? I've passed my anxiety and I sleep better. I'm trying to relax but it is difficult. I can't really ever get into that chill mode like I used to. Is that too much? Am I too late with not stressing?

 

[April]

Welcome! It sounds as if you are exploring a lot of possibilities for helping your T. Be sure to keep us informed of any treatment that has positively influenced your condition. I have reactive T with hearing loss in both ears and it has been a difficult journey. In case you are unfamiliar with the term 'reactive' T it is when I am around any sound at all it makes my T louder. I wear ear plugs when I shower as the water sound is really hard on me. I had to give up listening to music as it is very tinny and I can't understand any of the lyrics anymore because the T overshadows everything. I have made a new life for myself and I get by. I'm not as social as I was before T as I get very stressed in social situations because the reactive T gets so loud and I can barely understand speech but I focus on keeping a positive outlook on life and concentrate on all the things I can still do that my T doesn't interfere with.

Hoping the best for you.

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum. New sounds are annoying and discouraging. But you are not alone in this.

Look out with music and noise. I would evade loud noises for a while.

@billie48
I might've stressed too much about my T. What kind of stress are we talking about? I've passed my anxiety and I sleep better. I'm trying to relax but it is difficult. I can't really ever get into that chill mode like I used to. Is that too much? Am I too late with not stressing?

Your T is still relatively new. So even though you want to relax, your body may not truly follow your wish. That is why they say the body is willing but the flesh is weak. So keep trying to relax by various means, like distracting with interesting things to do, getting busy with life, like getting out and live like again, which I call it finding joy amid the pain. There are techniques which can help you relax, like Mindfulness Meditation. Try google it or search youtube and you will find many such videos. You may also learn proper way to deep breathe like using abdomenal breathing. Again search youtube for that to see how it is done. You also may want to consider using some natural herbal stuffs to help calm and relax, such as Melatonin, Lemon Balm, Valerian, Hops, Catnips, Passion Flower, Chamomile, Lavender, Kava, etc. You can do google search or check Amazon.com for each of them to know how people review these products, and see if you can take them as a supplement. Check out this site on using natural herbs for helping to sleep or to calm the nerves.

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/lib...ealth/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia /

 

[CaRd]

T is changing by the day. Now i can't even hear my first T ... Which is bad. As the sound comes from the brain i think. In normal situation it is not bothering me. But as soon as it gets quiet, the sound is horrible. I did my hearing test. The doctor said i can't hear 6000Hz in my left ear, but when he changed it to 20,000Hz all was fine. Still, i can't seem to locate the sound in my left ear. It is still coming from the right. Or at least i think so. I don't hear it when there are any sounds around me. But when i put my hands over my ears it is ... screaming? And it is changing constantly during the day. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but before i took Pregabalin it was more managable. Then when i take it and go to sleep i wake up with that sound being so horrible.

Is that possible? That this drug is making it worse? When i was taking it in higher dosages it just made my old T sound very quiet. When i started lowering the dose, the problems started. Until 3 weeks ago when i went to this loud place ... Will it ever relax? It is constantly changing ... One of the ENT i went to, said that the hearing loss in my left ear is repairable. I just need to spend less time infront of the PC(which is my job) and need to go outside more. And let the blood-vessel-widening(not sure if that is correct) drugs do their job.

One thing i remember from last night. I was asleep, then woke up with that horrible sound and i was verry nervous. But somehow i managed to relax in a minute and the more i relaxed, the more it went away.

My first T is not getting louder. I can barely hear it anymore. It's that second sound, like a drill, that is going more intense. And the hissing sound that i hear sometimes, is like masking noise. It's like my brain is trying to mask the drill ... if that is possible ... But these days when i managed to sleep more, the hsssss sound is almost gone. I hear all kind of noises now, they are changing during the day. I tend to ignore them and go to sleep. I already managed to controll that and accept it. But that panic in the middle of the night ... Horrible ... I wake up affraid without even knowing why, and then i start hearing the sound. If it was caused by the loud music i hope it will calm down in a month or so ... I try to keep the hope up.

Sorry for writing so much ... it just woke me up again and i am quite stressed. I did a long walk outside, and it is getting better i think. Will try to sleep again.

 

[Bill Bauer]

There is a chance that it will calm down in 1-3-6 months...

 

[CaRd]

There is a chance that it will calm down in 1-3-6 months...

I hope so. I keep reading on forums here(Bulgaria) about people that got rid from T after 4-6 months ... So i keep the hope alive. I am affraid of taking prednidone again, because the first time it made my T even worse. It was quiet for a couple of weeks but then ... the sound bacame more annoying and it added the second one(the drill). Which was only from time to time ... but now its "all in". So, for me the risk is higher than the possible gain. I don't understand people who take it on their own ...

 

[CaRd]

Ok, a little update. I already began improving my diet and almost made it to hunger. Whole day with only an apple and 2 apricots. And a lot of water and movement. Less ciggaretes also. I actualy feel verry well. Tinnitus seems to be a little less intrusive, but still wakes me up. Will see about that. I did manage to fall asleep almost immediately.