Reactive Tinnitus — Removal of Reactivity. Is It Possible?

[BrysonKingMe]

Your so called reactive tinnitus which is an oversensitivity to sound (hyperacusis) is a result of further noise exposure which doesn't necessarily have to be loud.

Sigh, no, it happened the day after I took a benzo.

 

[missingsilence]

Why wear hearing protection all the time? That will only make you more sensitive to sounds. I can understand wearing them when exposed to loud noise/sounds but other than those times it's not advisable to wear them. It's important to find a way over time to make your ears less sensitive to noise.

At what decibel level should we put in our earplugs?

 

[MindOverMatter]

At what decibel level should we put in our earplugs?

In general over 85 dB (prolonged sound exposure) if you have issues with loudness, sensitivity, and the likes.

However, if your measured LDL is way below this, you need to be more careful.

But, at one point, it's all a matter of balance to when protect and not. Remember that if you protect precautiously to possible loud sound exposure, you strengthen a pattern of fear towards sounds.

A constant fear driven "what if..." mind to life is not easy to deal with...

 

[missingsilence]

In general over 85 dB (prolonged sound exposure) if you have issues with loudness, sensitivity, and the likes.

However, if your measured LDL is way below this, you need to be more careful.

But, at one point, it's all a matter of balance to when protect and not. Remember that if you protect precautiously to possible loud sound exposure, you strengthen a pattern of fear towards sounds.

A constant fear driven "what if..." mind to life is not easy to deal with...

Would you say it is safe to be around noises 70 to 75 dB without earplugs?

 

[BrysonKingMe]

I'm starting to align myself with this take as time goes by too. It's been slightly over a year and while my loudness hyperacusis has downgraded to mild, almost cured at times, the reactivity can still be ever so prevalent however.

I think your reactive tinnitus is similar to mine where the reactivity will instantly get triggered by a continuous sound source. Let's use your AC as an example because the same applies to me too. When the AC is on and running, the tinnitus will compete with the AC noise. The higher the fan speed, the more louder your tinnitus will get instantly. But once you turn the AC off, your tinnitus will instantly go back down to a lower baseline. There's no lingering spikes. Sometimes there could be a spike, but more of less that's not the case (for me at least).

This kind of reactivity is instantaneous and depends on certain types of noise in your surroundings.

Well mine rides over AC/pretty much anything and then doesn't come back down for the rest of the day. There are many types of reactive tinnitus. I just had to sell my house and move to another place with quieter AC. So for someone like @Michael Leigh to say this is hyperacusis, when I am literally living it, is ridiculous.

Then today it is imperceptible after a shower... again... because of BENZOS. Not noise damage. Jesus.

But I'm not trying to hijack this girl's thread. It is a thing. End of story.

 

[MindOverMatter]

Would you say it is safe to be around noises 70 to 75 dB without earplugs?

For most people it's safe, yes, as sound at these levels - generally speaking (!) - is harmless. When you have sound sensitivity/reactivity and such, you might feel annoyed or spike due to it. Normally only temporary though, but this is very individual. We all experience this somewhat different. To me it's often more about the frequency and type of sound, and not necessarily only about loudness.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Well mine rides over AC/pretty much anything and then doesn't come back down for the rest of the day. There are many types of reactive tinnitus. I just had to sell my house and move to another place with quieter AC. So for someone like @Michael Leigh to say this is hyperacusis, when I am literally living it, is ridiculous.

I decided not to reply to your previous post because I realize you have a lot to learn about noise induced tinnitus and what can cause a resurgence in the condition after a long habituation period. You are now being disrespectful and therefore, I will not be corresponding with you further. If you continue on this path I will place you on ignore.

Goodbye and I wish you well,
Michael

 

[UKBloke]

To me it's often more about the frequency and type of sound, and not necessarily only about loudness.

Exactly my situation too.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Exactly my situation too.

Same. Mine doesn't just spike louder, it makes the frequency go higher pitch or behavior haywire. Hard to explain. Hard to ignore it sometimes. Gradually worsening (higher pitch and more frequent haywire episodes).

 

[BrysonKingMe]

I decided not to reply to your previous post because I realize you have a lot to learn about noise induced tinnitus and what can cause a resurgence in the condition after a long habituation period. You are now being disrespectful and therefore, I will not be corresponding with you further. If you continue on this path I will place you on ignore.

Goodbye and I wish you well,
Michael

Just because I don't agree with you, doesn't mean I'm being disrespectful. I am telling you what happened to me.

But now I know that no medications can cause reactive tinnitus, and everyone here who suffers from it is lying.

I was blind, but now I can see the light! Thanks Michael!

 

[andronici]

it happened the day after I took a benzo.

What benzo were you taking / what dosage / for how long? It made your existing tinnitus become reactive?

 

[SmallRonnie]

Why wear hearing protection all the time?

If I don't wear hearing protection here all day, then the noise of the fridge gives me a lot of pain. Even getting pain now through earmuffs from probably typing.

 

[BrysonKingMe]

What benzo were you taking / what dosage / for how long? It made your existing tinnitus become reactive?

I cold turkeyed in 2020 after 4 years of 0.5mg/day with no issues.

I reinstated in January, which was a horrible mistake. Right after electrical tinnitus started, but it followed a distinct pattern of 1 day on, 1 day off. When it's bad, it's literally catastrophic and I cannot function.

I just made the connection in July -- my idiot TRT specialist said it was my anxiety so I've been poisoning myself for 6 months straight. As I wean off I've been getting more good days, although all my mornings are shit now. So I'm really hoping once I'm off completely, it'll settle down.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Just because I don't agree with you, doesn't mean I'm being disrespectful. I am telling you what happened to me.

But now I know that no medications can cause reactive tinnitus, and everyone here who suffers from it is lying.

I was blind, but now I can see the light! Thanks Michael!

A person is entitled to their opinion and if they don't agree with something I say, I haven't got a problem with that. When corresponding with someone especially in writing, it is important to be respectful even when you disagree. It was your choice of words I had issue with and not that you disagreed with me.

You refer to your TRT specialist as an idiot, and this clarifies my point and shows the type of person you are.

Respect and manners are very important.

Michael

 

[andronici]

I cold turkeyed in 2020 after 4 years of 0.5mg/day with no issues.

I'm glad you had no issues -- benzo withdrawal can be a nightmare from what I've read.

I reinstated in January, which was a horrible mistake.

Yeah, reinstating psychiatric medication can cause massive issues. I had a horrible adverse reaction from trying to reinstate Fluoxetine, which is how I wound up getting tinnitus, hyperacusis, ear pain, plus a host of other non-ear issues.

my idiot TRT specialist said it was my anxiety

Doctors are always quick to blame things on "anxiety" or "depression," it's so frustrating.

I'm really hoping once I'm off completely, it'll settle down.

I hope so, too! I have my fingers crossed for you. Glad you are getting some good days.

 

[BrysonKingMe]

I had a horrible adverse reaction from trying to reinstate Fluoxetine, which is how I wound up getting tinnitus, hyperacusis, ear pain, plus a host of other non-ear issues.

Good news is I know a guy who had bad tinnitus from Fluoxetine for 6 months, then it faded to almost nothing.

 

[ZFire]

To me it's often more about the frequency and type of sound, and not necessarily only about loudness.

Exactly my situation too.

Add me to the list too. The type of sound will bring back reactive tones I haven't heard in a while. It stays with me for a few days (a week at most), then dies down. I always anticipate its return.

 

[Eliska]

Thank you @Michael Leigh for your reply and links, I will go through them.

My tinnitus is directly connected to middle ear infection. I had it for two weeks, took antibiotics and then the tinnitus appeared. I had no prior acoustic trauma. I occasionally used headphones and live in a big city, but that's all.

Sometimes toxic metabolites from bacteria can travel to inner ear and damage hair cells.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Thank you @Michael Leigh for your reply and links, I will go through them.

My tinnitus is directly connected to middle ear infection. I had it for two weeks, took antibiotics and then the tinnitus appeared. I had no prior acoustic trauma. I occasionally used headphones and live in a big city, but that's all.

Sometimes toxic metabolites from bacteria can travel to inner ear and damage hair cells.

You are welcome Eliska. As I previously mentioned, an ear infection can cause tinnitus. Once the infection clears up the tinnitus usually subsides but it can take a while.

All the best,
Michael

 

[Jcb]

Some people still riding on that high tinnitus horse I see...

 

[Marcuso22]

If I don't wear hearing protection here all day, then the noise of the fridge gives me a lot of pain. Even getting pain now through earmuffs from probably typing.

Not sure what you mean by 'here'. Is that in your home, apartment or office? My fridge compressor creates a louder tonal sound in my right ear but over time with using sound therapy, it masks it & is less noticeable even without sound therapy depending on time of day. It's usually very noticeable first thing in morning & when I don't get a good night's sleep. The compressor is working hardest when it first comes on & just before it shuts off. This directly coincides with when the sound I perceive is most noticeable.

If you're able to replace your fridge, you may want to see if that helps. First see if other people's fridges causes you same problems. At first when I was aware of this happening to me, I tried to use earplugs but that only made my tinnitus worse even though I only wore them for a brief time for couple weeks. The reason it's not advisable to wear earplugs all day or even for hours at a time is because you can end up with a very bad case of hyperacusis, meaning your sound tolerance will be much lower than normal, creating another major issue. Best to find an alternate safer method to help you with your ear pain.

 

[SmallRonnie]

Not sure what you mean by 'here'. Is that in your home, apartment or office? My fridge compressor creates a louder tonal sound in my right ear but over time with using sound therapy, it masks it & is less noticeable even without sound therapy depending on time of day. It's usually very noticeable first thing in morning & when I don't get a good night's sleep. The compressor is working hardest when it first comes on & just before it shuts off. This directly coincides with when the sound I perceive is most noticeable.

If you're able to replace your fridge, you may want to see if that helps. First see if other people's fridges causes you same problems. At first when I was aware of this happening to me, I tried to use earplugs but that only made my tinnitus worse even though I only wore them for a brief time for couple weeks. The reason it's not advisable to wear earplugs all day or even for hours at a time is because you can end up with a very bad case of hyperacusis, meaning your sound tolerance will be much lower than normal, creating another major issue. Best to find an alternate safer method to help you with your ear pain.

I mean in my home. My workplace is in the same room as a fridge but I might move it to a new room.

I went to a therapist who encouraged me to get back to my life so I was adding more sounds in all the time. I just went too far with it and got back to worse than square one. I've had burning pain in my ears in silence for the past month. Actually I had one day without pain; when I was wearing earmuffs all day long.

I feel like I need to wear earmuffs until the pain goes away because I'm only making it worse if I don't cover up and it'll never recover like that. I just woke up and I'm in burning pain already. The only noise is some cars driving by outside. Maybe the pain is because yesterday I tried letting in a little noise from my fridge.

 

[Aline Mohymont]

This is just so not true Michael, I read you saying this all of the time but reactive tinnitus is not always hyperacusis. It can be separate, and often is. I don't have hyperacusis, I had my LDLs tested and they were within normal range. Nothing sounds too loud to me. How would you explain that?

People have tinnitus that rides over everything. My tinnitus is quieter in a quiet room. AC sets it off, as well as riding in cars, etc.

It can come from many different things, not just hyperacusis.

It is the same thing with mine. My tinnitus is caused by ototoxic medication, not by an acoustic trauma. My tinnitus is loud all the time, high pitch hissing, but it gets louder with every sound and will compete with everything to be louder to a point that it won't let me hear anything else. Forget about watching TV. After a few minutes, I struggle to hear anything that is not just the actors talking and the music. And even the dialogues and scores get lost into my tinnitus after a while.

And then there are the distortions where songs I used to know don't sound the same anymore. And that the fun starts when I'm near a light bulb or any electronic devices emitting low frequencies. I hear those frequencies as popping Krispies. Then there is the microphone feedback effect I hear over running water, fans, ACs, fridges, microwaves, city traffic, etc. How do we deal with that?

But coming back to reactive tinnitus. I can't even scratch my head without making my tinnitus increase in volume. I would be ok if my tinnitus would stay at its baseline, but it doesn't. It's just hell. I'm 3 months in with these conditions.

 

[Nick47]

It is the same thing with mine. My tinnitus is caused by ototoxic medication, not by an acoustic trauma. My tinnitus is loud all the time, high pitch hissing, but it gets louder with every sound and will compete with everything to be louder to a point that it won't let me hear anything else. Forget about watching TV. After a few minutes, I struggle to hear anything that is not just the actors talking and the music. And even the dialogues and scores get lost into my tinnitus after a while.

And then there are the distortions where songs I used to know don't sound the same anymore. And that the fun starts when I'm near a light bulb or any electronic devices emitting low frequencies. I hear those frequencies as popping Krispies. Then there is the microphone feedback effect I hear over running water, fans, ACs, fridges, microwaves, city traffic, etc. How do we deal with that?

But coming back to reactive tinnitus. I can't even scratch my head without making my tinnitus increase in volume. I would be ok if my tinnitus would stay at its baseline, but it doesn't. It's just hell. I'm 3 months in with these conditions.

@Aline Mohymont, yes mine is similar. Are both of your ears affected?

 

[Gb3]

No, I got tinnitus in 2016 and it faded to 0.1%. Never noticed it, ever. Even if I tried to hear it, I wouldn't be able to hear it. Nothing would spike it, ever.

I got reactive tinnitus from benzos. And this woman got reactive tinnitus from an ear infection.

You do not know everything sir, and you need to respect that it is a real condition that people suffer badly from, or else you are doing everyone a disservice.

Why were you taking benzos if it was quiet?

 

[BrysonKingMe]

Why were you taking benzos if it was quiet?

I smoked a giant bong rip, did not sleep because it got loud (always does, but it was a little worse after the car alarm), woke up after like 1 hour of sleep to loud tinnitus. Fell asleep, it was back to pretty much normal. Freaked me out so I thought taking Clonazepam would be a good idea -- it was actually the worst idea.

I told my psych that I only wanted to take it for spike days, he said "stay ahead of it and take it every day".

My loud before Clonazepam was being able to hear it over the TV, but not outside.
My loud now, after reinstating Clonazepam, is being able to hear it over a jet engine.

But keep in mind I cold turkeyed in 2020 after 4 years of 0.5 mg/day. I was never told you weren't supposed to take it for more than 2 weeks, and my old psych said I could just stop since it was a "baby dose". I actually didn't have any bad side effects when I c/t'd-- in fact, my tinnitus got substantially better to the point where nothing would spike it, not even no sleep or alcohol or weed.

Reinstating must have created a paradoxical reaction -- literally the day after all these crazy electrical noises started, and then it got worse and worse for the following months. But it was blamed on anxiety by the audiologist I went to see, and my current psychiatrist. So basically I stayed on the drug that was causing this back and forth shit for 6 months before tapering.

So basically, while I did ask for the Clonazepam, I was failed by 2 psychiatrists, 1 TRT idiot, countless doctors, and the scammers in Korea.

Some days are like before, like this morning -- woke up to almost my old baseline, which is nothing. Other days are like a laser beam in my head. My taper will take 300 days at the rate I'm going at now.

Don't touch that shit!!!

 

[Gb3]

@BrysonKingMe, so you were seeing a psychiatrist prior to getting your tinnitus? May I ask what for?

 

[BrysonKingMe]

@BrysonKingMe, so you were seeing a psychiatrist prior to getting your tinnitus? May I ask what for?

No, I was not. I found him online and he had availability the next day. If there was a bit more spacing between the freak out and me getting that first bottle of Clonazepam, I probably would have realized it was the Clonazepam the first time I took it again.

The happiest time of my life was from 2020 - end of 2021, benzo free. It felt like someone had pulled me out of a cloud.

On BenzoBuddies, there are reports (rare) of electrical/reactive tinnitus starting after just 1 dose of benzo, with no prior use. Again, that is probably super rare, and my discontinuation method definitely attributed to this now. It is maddening going from near silence to shrieking electrical lasers in my head.

 

[Aline Mohymont]

@Aline Mohymont, yes mine is similar. Are both of your ears affected?

Yes. It's very loud. Constantly high hissing that I can even feel physically in my neck and ears. And it gets worse with noises.

 

[Forever hopeful]

Well mine rides over AC/pretty much anything and then doesn't come back down for the rest of the day. There are many types of reactive tinnitus. I just had to sell my house and move to another place with quieter AC. So for someone like @Michael Leigh to say this is hyperacusis, when I am literally living it, is ridiculous.

Then today it is imperceptible after a shower... again... because of BENZOS. Not noise damage. Jesus.

But I'm not trying to hijack this girl's thread. It is a thing. End of story.

Weird. I've heard of benzos causing tinnitus if one stops them abruptly but I've never heard of it causing reactive tinnitus. Most people report it cuts their volume down. Strange but I guess meds can do all kinds of things.