Nice to Meet You All! 6 Days with Tinnitus.

[Capricornus]

Hello everyone!

So, where do I begin?

For 6 and a half days I've been suffering from a constant hissing/refrigerator sound i my ears, mostly in the right one, that won't go away. I only hear it when when I'm in a quite room, and of course when I'm going to bed. It all started this Saturday/Sunday when I came home from a loud club and noticed that my ears were ringing. I have to admit, I love going to clubs and gigs - listening to music is one of my biggest passions in life, but I rarely experience ringing ears after a night out. What I mean is that I haven't got any indicators of being in some sort of "risk zone" before this event occurred. Of course, it was still stupid. I wish i protected my ears from the very beginning.

Now to the "interesting" part. About 2 weeks before the incident my friend randomly told me about his tinnitus, and since I'm a hypochondriac I immediately started hearing a beep/hiss in my ears. The noises stayed with me for about three days, then I calmed down and it stopped. I get easily stressed about things. So... I forgot about this hypochondriac event and went on with my life. Little did I know about what was going to happen.

The last couple of days have been difficult for me (I've been panicking and crying a lot). Now I've reached a point where I'm trying to stay positive since I'm not disturbed by the T during daytime. I've been taking vitamins and magnesium every single day. I have no trouble sleeping at night, but I've still been using an app with rain sounds just to mask the T (I've heard that it is good for the brain to focus on something else as rehabilitation). I can't help to think of what would have happened if I didn't get to know about my friend's T in the first place. Would the ringing just stay for a couple of hours and then go away? I don't know if stress/anxiety could be a factor, or if it simply is noise induced.

I need some advice from you guys. You seem very nice and supportive, so please help me out on this one!

 

[glynis]

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk.
Loud music like clubs can cause tinnitus and then worrying about your sound can cause anxiety.
Hopefully over the next few days it will settle down and wearing hearing protection in future will help you.
Some doctors will prescribe prednisalone after noise exposure if you are having a tough time in the first few days.
Keeping sound on around you set below your tinnitus at night will help your brain adapt and push the tinnitus sound to the background.
Keep posting for support...lots of love glynis

 

[Capricornus]

Thank you @glynis for your answer. I've been thinking a lot of prednisalone, but I'm scared of the side effects... Is it a good idea to take it if an ENT wants to prescribe it for me?

 

[glynis]

A few days course is fine and follow their advice on dosage .
Try stay calm and relax as that will help you....lots of love glynis

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Capricornus,

Welcome to the board!

You will be fine. Just avoid exposure to loud noise/music.

Over time, it will get better as you habituate to it. Just do not fight it. Anxiety and stress will turn to confidence as your mind gradually accepts it and files it into the 'not important' file cabinet of your brain. Millions upon millions of people have it in America alone. Best of luck!

 

[Capricornus]

Thanks @MikeL1972. I'm feeling calm, even though the T is still present. That's a good improvement I think! Listening to "sound therapy" everyday seems to help me a lot.

What are your opinions on prednisalone? I'm going to see an ENT on Wednesday.

 

[maltese]

@Capricornus hello my friend!

I'm in a very similar situation.

Everything is the same. Except, it's 7,5 days for me. And I wasn't really clubbing/listening to loud music a lot. No signs of improvement yet, but that's okay.

The biggest difference between our stories is the loudness level. I'll make you feel better, maybe: I can hear mine on top of most everyday sounds. If I really listen to it, I can hear at top of almost all sounds 24/7, so I'd consider it mine to be loud. You can only hear it when it's quite. You're lucky, I'm jealous

You should read the last post in this thread: https://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/tinnitusforum.aspx?g=posts&t=462

I feel like reading it calmed me a lot, and gave me some direction.


EDIT: and yeah, I have anxiety and all of that. Just trying to not think about it much. Surprisingly enough I sleep ok, I don't use any noise generators (at night). T bothers me so much more during the day

Anyway, your T is not so loud, it doesn't bother you during the day. Chill. Sounds like it very well might be going away.
What really helps me sleep is just repeating "I can hear this sound, but it's ok. I won't hurt me" in my head. Let us know how is it going.

 

[Capricornus]

Hello @maltese!

I'm so sorry for you. Hang in there! It's a good thing that you can sleep at night. Have you tried to use some maskers, just to "train" your brain not to focus on the T during night? Maybe it will help you even more. I believe a positive attitude is the most important thing, even though it can be difficult sometimes. You seem to address that, which is a very good thing!

I believe that my T is mild, and that there's a good chance that it will improve. Have you tried to incorporate any vitamins/antioxidants in your life?

EDIT: I read the link that you posted. Very inspiring, and I agree on the fact that you shouldn't let the T control your life. Still I'm up for testing maskers and being more healthy though. The most important thing, in my opinion (which the post also suggests), is to remain calm even though the noise is there. Anxiety is the worst enemy!

 

[Capricornus]

Okay... So a very strange thing happened. I no longer experience a problem with my right ear (I can just hear a faded hiss if I cover my ears), BUT suddenly I have started to hear a ultra high pitched noise in my left ear which is super LOW in volume. I can barerly hear it because of it's high frequency and low volume. Still annoying since I can feel a piercing sensation from time to time. What is this?

 

[Capricornus]

And it's back to where it was before... Ok, I'm gonna stop listening after it now... Anyway, I've been using Q-tips every single day for the last 3 years. Could I have an earwax build-up on top of everything?

 

[Hopeful1]

Since you T is mild...you should get on with it fine after 2 to 4 months.....it takes a few months for the brain to get used it.......

I think you should give your ears the best chance to recover by eating ideal diet, sleeping well......and relaxing by pursuing your hobbies(no not your music hobbies...human ears are not built to listen to music).

Trust me you will get used to it in few months.....since it is only mild. It may even go away if are relaxed and give your body a chance to recover.

If need any support, you have this forum...many people in this forum know more about Tinnitus than an average ENT.

A water fountain near the bed works better than the phone apps. Happy to help you on coping with T during most difficult initial days, I am sure you wont need any help in a few months!

 

[MikeL1972]

Capricornus, technically you are really not supposed to put anything in your ear. Q-tips are to be used very gently. As for earwax, you would need to go see your friendly ENT to be sure.

 

[Petr]

Thanks @MikeL1972. I'm feeling calm, even though the T is still present. That's a good improvement I think! Listening to "sound therapy" everyday seems to help me a lot.

What are your opinions on prednisalone? I'm going to see an ENT on Wednesday.

Hello. Sorry to hear about your T. Mine started too in the right ear, just hissing high pitch frequency. I got prescribed prednisone 60mg every morning for 7 days. I was too scared of side effects, but the only side effects I experienced is that I'm no too tired and i wake up in the middle of the night a few times. I've been on them for 3 days so far, and got 4 left.

 

[Capricornus]

Thanks for the advices @Hopeful1

Hello @Petr, I hope that you're doing better and that the prednisone will help you with your T. Maybe I should give it a try too.

 

[Capricornus]

I'm quite worried about this "new noise" I experience in my left ear - ultra high pitched sound but super low in volume. It's almost like I can't hear it, but I can FEEL it. Any suggestions?

 

[maltese]

In such an early stage your T might change pitch/volume/sound every now and then. Normal.



BTW, I had an incident of T a bit more like yours (I could only hear in "absolute" silence) a few years ago. It went away after a few days and I totally forgot about it. Don't be stupid like me. Apparently super loud places (like clubs) are not for you. Not worth the risk of T becoming severe.

I know you (probably) don't event think about going to a club now, but don't forget about it as weeks pass and you habituate!

 

[Capricornus]

@maltese Thank you for your calming words. I'll try to focus on other things. Hopefully it will go away, or I'll habituate.

Your right, I'm not planning to ever visit a loud club like that again. It's such a shame that they're allowed to play that loud. Just crazy! How are you feeling by the way? Any improvements?

 

[maltese]

Not sure. I'm really starting to wonder how much is actual sound caused by some ear damage and how much is me being worried/paranoid.

I was sitting in the library, 38dB - 40dB of computers humming, people whispering and typing on keyboards. I tried listening for my T and I was quite unsure if I'm able to hear it at all (very slight high-pitched noise could have been caused by a computer or those funny long lamps). I worked for an hour or two and it stayed that way but then I started reading some "success stories" on this forum.

Now T is very intrusive. Ringing super loud, I can clearly hear it over background noise, even though I don't listen for it.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't just stop reading stuff about T. Maybe it's counterproductive. But it's my 10th day and I'm worried about reaching 2 weeks mark without seeing any improvement.

There is no magic cure, so it's best to just relax. I'll try not visiting this forum and I'll come back at Saturday, my 14th day since the onset.

Take care!

 

[Capricornus]

@maltese I just wanted to tell you that I really hope you're doing better. I totally understand if you want to occupy your mind with other things than reading about T online. Best wishes to you my friend!

 

[Capricornus]

My T is acting strange, and I'm starting to believe that this could be due to my hypochondria and the fact that I'm spending to much time thinking about it. Even though my T is mild (and seems to be fading in terms of loudness), it still jumps around in my head, from ear to ear, which I find super annoying. Why is it constantly changing? I thought it would be a constant sound if you've been exposed to loud noises.

EDIT: It also seems to get almost completely silent from time to time, and then it flares up again.

 

[maltese]

Hi,

It also seems to get almost completely silent from time to time

I really, really, really don't wont to give false hope but T becoming intermittent is never a bad thing hehe.


I don't think there was any "physical" improvement in my case, but during last few days I was doing a better job of "living my life" and not thinking about some imaginary sounds in my head

 

[Capricornus]

It feels like my T has faded a little. It's not as loud as it was before, and it has become more like a soft "buzz" which I'm grateful for. I have been extremely cautious around loud noises, wearing earplugs at the bus, etc. No music in headphones since the day of onset, and I'm trying to get as much sleep as possible. I skipped a concert tonight that I have been looking forward to for over 8 months... I realize that I have to make some sacrifices in order to get better.

 

[Halsy]

You can't "catch" tinnitus. You either have it or you don't. Meanwhile stay away from loud sounds/music... forever. Or suffer forever.