Reactive Morse Code Tinnitus and Sound Sensitivity: My Experience and Questions

morgank89

Member
Author
Feb 7, 2025
2
Tinnitus Since
01/01/2025
Cause of Tinnitus
Noise or infection
Hello,

First of all, I just want to say I am sorry that we are all here. This is an awful and lonely condition.

For the past few months, I have had chronic congestion, which I have experienced around this time of year for the past couple of years. My ears felt clogged, and I had ringing in one ear, similar to what I had last year.

I have been heavily involved in the music scene and have spent half of my life at gigs and loud bars. A few weeks ago, I attended three music events in one week. At the last one, I started noticing that my left ear was picking up a high metallic broken speaker like tone, and the music sounded distorted. This has been coming and going in intensity.

I decided to see an ENT, who said my hearing was above average, but my tympanometry showed that my eardrums were rigid. Since I have had lifelong issues with Eustachian tube dysfunction, they prescribed Prednisone.

After two days on prednisone, I developed Morse code tinnitus in both ears. At first, it was faint. I had to plug my ears and listen carefully to hear it. Then, it became more noticeable. Now, on top of the Morse code tinnitus, I also have reactive Morse code beeps that sound slightly different. This happens with everything, fans, the TV, and other background noise. At first, I genuinely thought it was coming from those sources because it seems to blend in with external sounds.

Of course, I also made the mistake of checking my hearing with YouTube frequency tests, not realizing that could be harmful.

I see that everyone's experiences with hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus are different. I believe mine is true reactive tinnitus because the Morse code sound is coming from inside my ears. If I plug my ears, it becomes quieter, but I can still hear it.

I do not understand why this seems to affect such a small subset of people. I have noticed that many who experience this also have OCD or health anxiety, both of which I struggle with.

Does anyone believe the Susan Shore device could help with this specific condition? I know medications are generally discouraged, but I may have to take the risk because my mental health is really struggling.

I would love to hear from others who also experience reactive tinnitus that originates inside their ears and not just over external sounds like fans and TVs.

Thank you 😊
 

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