It's been horrendous, I am still very much struggling, it's like I've had my whole life taken away from me. I've not been able to do anything really for the last three months. What is worse is that I didn't even need the acupuncture in the first place, it was just a tiny bit of ringing that I had for not even two weeks. I had visited the audiologist and it was more about him freaking me out because of having mild/moderate hearing loss in both ears, but that wasn't showing up on my tinnitus levels back then so I should of just concentrated on what I was actually experiencing rather than fearing what could possibly happen, hence looking for 'quick fixes' because I was worried about the mild ringing getting worse. This has certainly been a huge lesson to learn and massive obstacles to deal with.
The acupuncturist put three big needles on the crown of my head, biggest mistake to of done. I haven't a clue why she put three, I know Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncturists do often treat the head when they work on conditions but three, all close to one another too, I am not sure why she did that. The tinnitus hadn't increased until the early hours of the next day, I was woken up by a tortuous sound in my head and then from there the nightmare began, they were screams, screeches, musical tinnitus, drilling, all sounds fluctuating between the head and ears, she also gave me hyperacusis. The tinnitus was very severe at first but after I managed to calm myself down, I did notice the volume slightly decreased, from a piercing sound to a slightly softer one, it was still bad though, but over the time I was able to manage it better despite it still being very loud, no means habituating to it, very much constantly fixed on the noise every minute. Then I get COVID-19, which has been another huge obstacle to overcome, this unfortunately worsened my tinnitus and hasn't decreased in volume since, plus it's added some new tones, including a loud engine humming that is vibrating my whole head.
I think with yours, you will be fine, the fact that you have already started to notice that the volume has decreased is a good sign, give it time. You are only a week in aren't you? My ENT also said the same thing, that acupuncture can't make it worse but I disagree with that statement. I think acupuncture has it's uses for pain relief and that's it, it should never be used on tinnitus, it's too complicated of an area to be worked on. I would love to know the answer to why acupuncture can make tinnitus worse myself but it is such a grey area. My brain is truly frazzled from doing so much research and getting no where. Have you followed up with your acupuncturist and explained what has happened?
Oh Jesus I'm so sorry. That sounds so much like exactly what happened with me, except I've had horrendous tinnitus in the past -- but I had surgery to correct and was just finally feeling better a couple of months before this happened.
But I had dental drilling two weeks ago (root canal re-do), which very depressingly increased my tinnitus to medium (was improving some though). I was in the midst of hoping that would improve. And I didn't even go to this guy for acupuncture! I also thought I caught COVID-19, and was having headaches I didn't have before. So a friend suggested Chinese medicine might help. That's what I wanted to try. When I arrived, I learned that he performed acupuncture, so I thought it might be worth a try.
Then exactly like you -- the rest of the day was fine. Then I woke up early the next morning to a variety of very loud noises. I knew instantly that the acupuncture was the reason. I am very careful in life, eat healthy, exercise, and avoid loud noises totally. So I know something was terribly wrong.
Those freaky noises have mostly subsided but the volume now is higher -- definitely enhanced.
Were you vaccinated from COVID-19? I'm just wondering if that gives any protection from tinnitus worsening. I understand when people with tinnitus don't get vaccinated. It's terrifying because the vaccines can make tinnitus worse for sure. After a lot of thought, despite being pro-vaccine, I decided to get my booster in December. I was just too worried that vivid might make my tinnitus worse.
Have you tried taking NAC, Tinnitus Formula (Arches), and maybe Curcumin, B12, and Magnesium?
You will get better. I am extremely depressed but it DOES get easier. I have good moments in life. The worst for me right now is that even my machines don't block the noise (they did before). And the sound is there first thing in the morning pretty loud. Before mornings were very tolerable and I didn't even need the speakers until mid afternoon. My tinnitus gets worse as the day goes on. Now I immediately need my speaker right beside me before I even get out of bed. And sleeping had been much better but is suffering again -- waking often and not sleeping enough. That's the worst. And I refuse to take medication that could make it worse and have other bad side effects. I'm a runner and that helps with anxiety and depression but it isn't enough.
I just started the supplements after as long break from them. And I'm hoping and praying this will get better. All of my previous spikes eventually went back down but I'm really worried about this one - two punch from the dental drilling + acupuncture. It's definitely not subsiding the way it usually does. I've had a few spikes that lasted 1-2 months from medication. I just have to pray this falls into the same category.
One other thing. My ENT is really good, very experienced, and has bad tinnitus himself. He's extremely well-respected by other doctors in my community. He says that there is a very promising tinnitus treatment with a high cure rate in clinical trials now, and maybe ready to go by 2023. That date might change because of COVID-19 issues. But still. He said there have been many trials but this one supposedly is really helping a lot of people. So there is hope.
And even that never happens. You will get better. It takes a long time but some aspects get easier. A lot of my life is still very affected. But I do have some good times. It helps to be around other people, do a project, or get outside. I know that's easier said than done.
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