Purple Noise — Can It Make Tinnitus Worse?

[Fangen]

I accidentally put on some purple noise on a T relief playlist. It felt horrible in my ears, like it was some kind of pressure. Felt the T increase, now I am scared I might have damaged my ear and caused T go go even worse?

HELP!!

 

[Cheza]

I think you'll be fine. You had a bit of reactive tinnitus to the purple noise, but that's all. Your anxiety about it is what you need to deal with. Take deep breaths, listen to some extremely relaxing music (not on headphones), and try to stay calm.

I am not familiar with purple noise, but I've listened to violet noise before in an attempt to find something to bring about residual inhibition. It sounds like something sizzling in a frying pan. If it's actually a different sound than purple noise, it might help you.

 

[glynis]

Hi Fangan,
I'm sure your ears will settle and no damage done.
Their are a few coloured sounds to try and 3 free downloads on tinnitus talk.
Always remember to keep the sound set below your tinnitus or mixing point.
I find white noise best for me as got use to it with my maskers and now duel purpose hearing aids.
Their is a lovely music CD I love listening to its by Seamus Byrne called The Healer and has two relaxing tracks on you might like to listen too I play at the tinnitus group I run with another lady when they relax with their feet up on our relaxing chairs.....lots of love glynis

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Fangen

HI Fagen,

We have chatted before so I know a little background on your tinnitus. There is a good chance your recovery will go well, although it might not seem that way to you at the moment. The fact that you're in the early stages of tinnitus is also a good sign. Many people habituate within 6 months and sometimes it can go completely away. For this reason, many ENT Drs prefer to see a patient after 6 months, unless there are additional problems associated with the tinnitus: Deafness, balance problems or dizziness.

I understand the discomfort that you are feeling and the way tinnitus has probably taking over your life at the moment. Making you constantly focusing on it etc. These things are quite normal so try not to worry too much. However, many people that are new to tinnitus, understandably want it to go and will try everything possible to achieve this goal. That is precisely what they mustn't do.

The best treatment for tinntius in the early stages is to leave it "alone" and give the ears and auditory system time to heal naturally. Using sound therapy (sound enrichment) is fine but it has to be done in the correct manner.
If you have been listening to purple noise or any audio through over-head headphones or in-ear headphones please don't do this even at low volume. It is quite acceptable to listen to it through a mobile phone or attached it to a docking station. Any portable device will suffice. As Glynis says, keep the sound level below your tinnitus.

Keeping away from loud music/noise and not using headphones (even at low volumes) in my opinion, is the best way someone can help themselves who are new to tinnitus, as there is a good chance of habituating quickly and it's possible for the tinnitus to go away. I hasten to add, should habituation happen quickly or the tinnitus goes away, one now needs to be careful of exposure to loud sounds. Therefore, use noise reducing earplugs in environments where sound levels are likely to be high.

Michael

 

[Natalie Roberts]

It sounds like something sizzling in a frying pan.

Thats what my T sounds like..Especially when it's reactive.. Like something sizzling in a frying pan or a loud hiss/static noise. Super irritating..

And @Fangen my T is really reactive to certain sounds. For example, the television or car radio makes my T sound much, much louder. Also, the faucet in my bathroom, my electric toothbrush and road noise. If I keep things relatively quiet (tv volume, car stero, etc) my T is much less in volume. As time is moving on, I have more days where the reactive level is lower and that seems to be getting better. From what I've been told here reactive T is pretty normal in the beginning.

 

[glynis]

@Natalie Roberts ,
Great your coping a lot better and sounding so positive..lots of love glynis

 

[Nucleo]

It most certainly can, just like any other sound, provided it is loud enough.

 

[wishingluck]

Thats what my T sounds like..Especially when it's reactive.. Like something sizzling in a frying pan or a loud hiss/static noise. Super irritating..

You have read my own exact thoughts. That's exactly how it feels to me.
Even so, I have been using purple noise for months for exactly that reason, 24/7. It helps me because it helps to drown the T.

I do not at all think it has worsened, if anything it has improved, although I am not saying that the purple noise is the cause for that. But I have been having lot less spikes at night, my worst case scenarios.

All the best
WL

 

[wishingluck]

It most certainly can, just like any other sound, provided it is loud enough.

In other words, it would have to be quite loud. If not, it's ok.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

You have read my own exact thoughts. That's exactly how it feels to me.
Even so, I have been using purple noise for months for exactly that reason, 24/7. It helps me because it helps to drown the T.

I do not at all think it has worsened, if anything it has improved, although I am not saying that the purple noise is the cause for that. But I have been having lot less spikes at night, my worst case scenarios.

All the best
WL

When I first started looking for sounds that may mask my T violet noise was one that sounded the most similar. I actually got that description "someone cooking french fries in a greasy frying pan" from someone else who described it and it's pretty much exactly what I hear when my T is reactive. Otherwise it's like a loud hissing/white noise sound. So weird. I don't mask with anything for the most part I just deal with it as my T prefers silence.

 

[wishingluck]

and I am very impressed by you, Natalie. If you can avoid the masking, I think this is the preferable thing to do, by far, for masking is a crutch and is never as good.

I became so dependent from masking that I get really uncomfortable as soon as the battery of my mp3 player runs out, then I rush to insert a readily charged one.

I don't think I have experienced reactive tinnitus, but I do get random spikes. Fortunately they are infrequent and go away after a while.

all the best
WL

 

[Jptsr1]

I try to set my mask just below the level that I perceive my T to be. Then after a couple minutes pass I can turn the mask down even further and still get relief. Some days I can get away with just doing one ear. Rain noise does best for me but not hard rain that sounds like white noise. The kind of rain where you can single out drops and still have a constant drone in the background. NO THUNDER CLAPS. Whatever you choose do not set it loud enough where it will do more damage. Find the sounds that will help you cope with the T but not do further harm.

 

[wishingluck]

I try to set my mask just below the level that I perceive my T to be. Then after a couple minutes pass I can turn the mask down even further and still get relief. Some days I can get away with just doing one ear. Rain noise does best for me but not hard rain that sounds like white noise. The kind of rain where you can single out drops and still have a constant drone in the background. NO THUNDER CLAPS. Whatever you choose do not set it loud enough where it will do more damage. Find the sounds that will help you cope with the T but not do further harm.

very much similar to you. I mixed two files, one with purple noise and one with falling rain, no thunder claps either of course. Last thing we need is to feel more relaxed and then 'BBBBRRRRRRAAAANGGG!'



And strangely enough , my hyperacusis and fullness improved. I don't know if it's the purple noise, but this is what Jack Vernon advised for hyperacusis in his excellent (but old) book about tinnitus. He advised pink noise, though

 

[Dr. Ancill]

No, purple noise will not worsen your tinnitus. In fact, no particular sound will do this. What may do it is exposure to a high volume of any sound for a length of time. Even with tinnitus, your auditory system is not fragile. It is likely your anxiety has led to a perception of increased volume of tinnitus.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

and I am very impressed by you, Natalie. If you can avoid the masking, I think this is the preferable thing to do, by far, for masking is a crutch and is never as good.

I became so dependent from masking that I get really uncomfortable as soon as the battery of my mp3 player runs out, then I rush to insert a readily charged one.

I don't think I have experienced reactive tinnitus, but I do get random spikes. Fortunately they are infrequent and go away after a while.

all the best
WL

Thank you. I don't mask primarily because my T is reactive and gets more annoying and loud when I listen to music or watch tv and the few times I have tried with white noise or other sounds it just irritates me even more.. My T really is more quiet when I don't have a lot of other sounds going on at the same time so I just prefer it. I will admit though, at work when I'm wearing my headset there is a sort of white noise quality in the background and it does appeal to me since I cannot tell if its my T or the headset (usually its the T, though I think). I think if I could find a masking sound that was comfortable to me I would be all over it to avoid having to listen to this noise. For now though, quieter seems better! How did you get your T?

 

[wishingluck]

In fact, no particular sound will do this.

Sorry, no.

It's not just the volume, it's the frequency too. High frequency noise can make more damage at lower levels than low frequency noise at higher level.

I am a musician, and I know that from guitar amps. The amp that sounds brighter seems to be much louder than the amp that has a darker sound (less highs and more lows) even thought the wattage is exactly the same. Yet the loudness changes.

Therefore, high frequencies are potentially more dangerous than low frequencies. I am pretty sure about that.

The same thing happens in hyperacusis. The person is far more sensitive to high frequencies than low frequencies.

For that matter, even people who DON'T have hyperacusis are more sensitive to high frequencies. These are much more 'penetrating' than low frequencies at lower levels.

Also, I don't agree at all about how 'anxiety' can 'increase the perception of tinnitus levels'.

I keep hearing that stuff from every doctor. Loudness is NOT something subjective. A whisper is not the same as an explosion. Your radio flat out is not the same as your radio at the lowest volume. An F1 car sounds much louder than a Fiat Punto. It's the same with tinnitus. Anxiety it's not there first and then there's a 'perception', it's the other way around, you perceive first and then you get afraid.

No one is afraid of something that causes no fear. No one is 'anxious' about something about which there's no reason to be 'anxious' about, unless that person has psychological problems.

With regards
WL

 

[wishingluck]

there is a sort of white noise quality in the background and it does appeal to me since I cannot tell if its my T or the headset (usually its the T, though I think)

that's exactly the reason why I use masking 24/7. It seems to disperse the T, to dilute it, and makes me say to myself that I am not sure if I am hearing the T or the noise. Even both is better than just T for me.

Violet noise is much more cutting than the others. Maybe you find masking irritating because of hyperacusis, instead of T ?

Jack Vernon, in his book, recommends to listen to pink noise at the highest comfortable level to learn to tolerate noise again. Strangely enough, since using violet noise, my hyperacusis seems to have improved a lot, but as I said elsewhere, I have no proof that it's because of the masking.

As to how I got T, good question. It's likely due to a very short blast I got from the mp3 player. But I am not sure, because doctors seems to confuse you, rather than help. You hear stuff like 'it might be stress'. I never understood how the heck 'stress' causes tinnitus. How about Holocaust survivors? I never hear them saying they got tinnitus in the concentration camps.

Maybe it was a combination of many things, one other factor for me might have been grief that I am going through. Another was that I was taking Ibuprofen.

But generally I don't believe T is caused by psychological stress or what not. The noise blasts were likely the cause. Maybe Ibuprofen helped that too. It happened in a very stupid way.

What happened was, I would take a shower and would set my mp3 player to play with it's internal little speaker. The problem was, the speaker is so small that you have to turn the volume full up to hear anything. Then, I would finish showering, get dressed etc, and after about 10 minuts I would go back to get the player, I would then connect the headphones and would FORGET that the damn levels were at full blast. I would hear a blast for like a fraction of second, before I would stop it by literally rip the cord of the earphones. I trained in martial arts years ago and my reflexes are very natural and very fast. If I am reading a book and you are at the other side of the room and you throw a tennis ball at me, my hand will instinctively try to grab the ball even though I can't see the ball arriving, or seeing you throwing it.

I got away with this blast thing for about 3 times. They all lasted a very tiny fraction of second, much faster than the blink of the eye.

The last time I wasn't so lucky. But like you, I am still not convinced about many things. (got MRI for this reason, and still not convinced entirely )

 

[Atlantis]

All types of noise can make tinnitus worse if it's loud enough!

 

[Natalie Roberts]

that's exactly the reason why I use masking 24/7. It seems to disperse the T, to dilute it, and makes me say to myself that I am not sure if I am hearing the T or the noise. Even both is better than just T for me.

Violet noise is much more cutting than the others. Maybe you find masking irritating because of hyperacusis, instead of T ?

Jack Vernon, in his book, recommends to listen to pink noise at the highest comfortable level to learn to tolerate noise again. Strangely enough, since using violet noise, my hyperacusis seems to have improved a lot, but as I said elsewhere, I have no proof that it's because of the masking.

As to how I got T, good question. It's likely due to a very short blast I got from the mp3 player. But I am not sure, because doctors seems to confuse you, rather than help. You hear stuff like 'it might be stress'. I never understood how the heck 'stress' causes tinnitus. How about Holocaust survivors? I never hear them saying they got tinnitus in the concentration camps.

Maybe it was a combination of many things, one other factor for me might have been grief that I am going through. Another was that I was taking Ibuprofen.

But generally I don't believe T is caused by psychological stress or what not. The noise blasts were likely the cause. Maybe Ibuprofen helped that too. It happened in a very stupid way.

What happened was, I would take a shower and would set my mp3 player to play with it's internal little speaker. The problem was, the speaker is so small that you have to turn the volume full up to hear anything. Then, I would finish showering, get dressed etc, and after about 10 minuts I would go back to get the player, I would then connect the headphones and would FORGET that the damn levels were at full blast. I would hear a blast for like a fraction of second, before I would stop it by literally rip the cord of the earphones. I trained in martial arts years ago and my reflexes are very natural and very fast. If I am reading a book and you are at the other side of the room and you throw a tennis ball at me, my hand will instinctively try to grab the ball even though I can't see the ball arriving, or seeing you throwing it.

I got away with this blast thing for about 3 times. They all lasted a very tiny fraction of second, much faster than the blink of the eye.

The last time I wasn't so lucky. But like you, I am still not convinced about many things. (got MRI for this reason, and still not convinced entirely )

They are guessing my T is caused by pregnancy hormones or mild hearing loss in one ear. However, I do believe my stress and anxiety played a huge part in my tinnitus. I was under an enormous amount of stress this year and then almost crippling anxiety kicked in. when my stress and anxiety is under control my t actually doesn't seem as loud to me vrs when I am under a tremendous amount of stress it's much louder.

I don't know that I have hyperacusis or just reactive t it's hard to say as I haven't seen an audiologist or anything just an ENT and got a hearing test. Oh well. It is what it is I guess!

 

[Fangen]

Hi guys!

Thanks for all your replies, I did not have it loud, since I wanted to make sure the sound would not go over my T. I know I had it at a lower volume, so I guess it should be fine.
I still have increased frequency and louder T since I heard the noise. Maybe little quieter but still not like my "normal" level. Is this due to stressing over it?

 

[glynis]

Hi Fangan,
Yes it could be.
Tinnitus can fluctuate daily,hourly etc but hopefully your tinnitus will go back to its base sound your more use too....lots of love glynis

 

[Jptsr1]

......., Is this due to stressing over it?

It is for me. My perceived volume and pitch always fluctuate with my anxiety level. The only time I feel I have an increase that is not stress or anxiety related is when I am in a very quiet environment.

 

[Natalie Roberts]

Hi Fangan,
Yes it could be.
Tinnitus can fluctuate daily,hourly etc but hopefully your tinnitus will go back to its base sound your more use too....lots of love glynis

'
My t fluctuates hourly and daily! It's super annoying but at least I have breaks from it or times where it is less.

 

[michael k]

Hi..I've have had a hissing sound in my head for about 5 years in that time I have had a few periods of great stress and anxiety and in this time the hissing is loud and at its worse. When I first noticed the hissing I was having a bad time not sleeping etc .. and one night i was on my couch trying to sleep when I heard a loud bang which startled me ..a few minutes later was when I started to hear the hissing sound which I have had ever since..now I have been off work for 6 months accident at work...since my accident I have had a lot of anxiety. stress needless to say the hissing in my head has been hellish I have had to got to the doc been prescribed citalopram for anxiety I still hear the hissing but I find it bearable early days tho I feel that the hissing and the Anxiety.stress are very much connected does any one else agree
Thanks for reading. if you have any ideas to help me it will be much appreciated
M

 

[Michael Leigh]

HI @michael k
It might help getting a referral to ENT so tests can be carried out on your auditory system. If you sleep in a quiet room, I suggest using a sound machine at night for "sound enrichment" If you listen to audio through headphones then I advise against this, as there is a risk of making the tinnitus more intrusive even at low volumes. However, not everyone with tinnitus is affected by headphone use so it's your choice. Please click on the link below and read my post: Tinnitus, A Personal View, that you might find helpful
All the best
Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/