Reactive Tinnitus or Sound Distortion?

[Karam]

So I've recently gotten the worst spike in my life and I don't even know what to do anymore, I need help finding out what's going on with my ears. These are my symptoms:

I have a new tone that feels hollow which competes with all sounds.

Whenever someone talks there's this metallic sound to it

It seems my breathing makes it react

It has this echoing feature to it

Look guys I'm completely going insane I've had tinnitus for quite a bit but this is just something else please could someone explain this?

The main thing is it's so confusing I don't know whether it's loud or mild or severe

 

[Sen]

3 or 4 years ago I had tinnitus that would only appear with external sounds, like running water, people's voices, or the wind blowing. It would sound like flutes, and an echo-like wind tunnel sound, and would disappear in complete silence. This was on top of an already very severe baseline tinnitus.

The "reactive" part did eventually go away, and I no longer hear tinnitus that exists only in the presence of external sounds. I don't remember how long it took, but it was long enough that I was already habituated to it by the time it stopped happening.

I don't have much advice for you, unfortunately, but you are still in the beginning stages. Try to remember that most people eventually reach a point where their tinnitus does not bother them, no matter how loud or intrusive it was in the beginning. Your brain learns to tune it out, and you stop noticing it, much in the same way you don't notice yourself breathing or blinking.

I've largely habituated to my tinnitus, despite its loudness and severity. At its worst it is a minor annoyance these days. I still struggle with hyperacusis and many other symptoms, but that's a story for another day.

 

[glynis]

I think you are having a spike and with your new sound may have developed Hyperacusis that's sensitivity to sound...lots of love glynis

 

[Karam]

Thank you, im starting to wonder if its because of ETD as i was diagnosed with it before i got my regular tinnitus.It is audible in silence but very mild then when it comes to normal sounds it just reacts. Anyways thanks for the replies ill keep updated

 

[billie48]

@Karam, the metallic nature of sound is, as Glynis suggests, a symptom of hyperacusis or H. That is why in my success story I described my H as if something scratching glass with metal, feeling sharp and brittle in the quality. H is actually more scary and limited than T because T is more well known as an illness. We have heard of folks with ringing ears before. But we just don't realize that the ringing can be so intrusive and can be 7/24. But with H it is a total alien sensation to me and most people who have got it initially. That adds the element of fear, anxiety and stress to aggravate things. However, H which develops shortly after T is known to fade over time, like mine did luckily. So at this new stage of your T, be mentally prepared for this and for setbacks (spikes) which can occur at times. The more you understand the nature of the beast, the less fearful you are and hopefully the fight and flight response to T & H will subside to allow us more normal reaction to the challenge of living with them. Here is my success story with the detail of my T & H challenge and how I overcome the fear of them. Take good care. God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-darkness-to-light-how-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

[PaulBe]

Karam I've been 3 years now with this symptom appearing probably 50% of the time now. It used to be around 90%. It's just plain horrible and there's no way to portray it in any other way. Useful descriptions aren't possible because it is such a deep, visceral sensation that is nearly impossible to convey to someone who hasn't experienced it. I think its less intense than it was a year ago so I kind of support Billie's contention that it can fade over time. I think the H began with my sudden onset tinnitus but it didn't become apparent until some weeks later that it was of itself a whole extra set of problems.

Was your ETD diagnosis actually proven in some way or was it an educated guess? Doctors rely more than many realize on presumption and informed guesswork under the assumption that most things just go away by themselves.

 

[michaelbio]

3 or 4 years ago I had tinnitus that would only appear with external sounds, like running water, people's voices, or the wind blowing. It would sound like flutes, and an echo-like wind tunnel sound, and would disappear in complete silence. This was on top of an already very severe baseline tinnitus.

The "reactive" part did eventually go away, and I no longer hear tinnitus that exists only in the presence of external sounds. I don't remember how long it took, but it was long enough that I was already habituated to it by the time it stopped happening.

I don't have much advice for you, unfortunately, but you are still in the beginning stages. Try to remember that most people eventually reach a point where their tinnitus does not bother them, no matter how loud or intrusive it was in the beginning. Your brain learns to tune it out, and you stop noticing it, much in the same way you don't notice yourself breathing or blinking.

I've largely habituated to my tinnitus, despite its loudness and severity. At its worst it is a minor annoyance these days. I still struggle with hyperacusis and many other symptoms, but that's a story for another day.

Sounds sort of what I have been going through now. (3 or 4 years ago I had tinnitus that would only appear with external sounds, like running water, people's voices, or the wind blowing. It would sound like flutes, and an echo-like wind tunnel sound, and would disappear in complete silence.). I can't tell if it's hyperacusis or reactive t

 

[Karam]

Guys i understand the ringing in my ears but come on do i have to go through this at my age? This is unfair. ETD was an educated guess, so right now im about to go school and im scared, will i expect this to fade otherwise my life will literally be over common im 15 and im going through this.

 

[Karam]

If this goes ill be the first to update

 

[Michael Leigh]

@michaelbio
A word often used in tinnitus forums these days is: "Reactive" tinnitus. people affected will say something like: " I have habituated but my tinnitus is reactive to certain sounds" or " I have reactive tinnitus". I believe there is some confusion here and will explain.

Someone that has tinnitus especially when caused by loud noise exposure hyperacusis (sensitivity to certain sounds) is often present. If hyperacusis isn't treated the auditory system will always be sensitive to certain sounds even after habituation has been reached. It is for this reason the use of white noise generators (wngs) is recommended to help desensitize the auditory system. White noise generators are used as part of TRT (tinnitus retraining therapy) and must be adjusted correctly as not to irritate the inner ear (cochlear) when wearing them. This treatment is best done under the care of a Hearing Therapist.

When a person says they have "reactive tinnitus", in my opinion, they are not aware they have hyperacusis, which is causing their tinnitus to spike when they hear certain sounds. Although hyperacusis can improve by itself with time, without treatment there is no guarantee. For this reason I often recommend a person to use sound enrichment (sound therapy) as it helps to desensitize the auditory system.

Inside the human body is noisy place but our brain has learned to filter out much of this sound so it doesn't focus on it. Anyone with tinnitus that sleeps in a quiet room risks making their tinnitus more intrusive as the brain and auditory system never switch off. If the brain hears silence while we sleep, it has the ability to increase its background activity and at the same time increasing the tinnitus making it louder and more intrusive. A person might not notice this immediately as it's usually a gradual process

When we are in deep sleep a sound machine supplies the brain and auditory system with sound enrichment. Over time, the tinnitus is pushed further into the background making it less intrusive and will help make the path to habituation easier. It is usually best to have the sound machine playing in the background at a low level (slightly below the tinnitus) without drawing attention to itself unlike a radio. For this reason music is not the best source to use at night as it draws attention to itself.

Michael

 

[DDD]

@Karam Im going through this and I just turned 18. You're not alone. Everybody goes through something horrible at anytime in there life... Age doesnt make a difference. We'll all get through this at some point

 

[michaelbio]

@michaelbio
A word often used in tinnitus forums these days is: "Reactive" tinnitus. people affected will say something like: " I have habituated but my tinnitus is reactive to certain sounds" or " I have reactive tinnitus". I believe there is some confusion here and will explain.

Someone that has tinnitus especially when caused by loud noise exposure hyperacusis (sensitivity to certain sounds) is often present. If hyperacusis isn't treated the auditory system will always be sensitive to certain sounds even after habituation has been reached. It is for this reason the use of white noise generators (wngs) is recommended to help desensitize the auditory system. White noise generators are used as part of TRT (tinnitus retraining therapy) and must be adjusted correctly as not to irritate the inner ear (cochlear) when wearing them. This treatment is best done under the care of a Hearing Therapist.

When a person says they have "reactive tinnitus", in my opinion, they are not aware they have hyperacusis, which is causing their tinnitus to spike when they hear certain sounds. Although hyperacusis can improve by itself with time, without treatment there is no guarantee. For this reason I often recommend a person to use sound enrichment (sound therapy) as it helps to desensitize the auditory system.

Inside the human body is noisy place but our brain has learned to filter out much of this sound so it doesn't focus on it. Anyone with tinnitus that sleeps in a quiet room risks making their tinnitus more intrusive as the brain and auditory system never switch off. If the brain hears silence while we sleep, it has the ability to increase its background activity and at the same time increasing the tinnitus making it louder and more intrusive. A person might not notice this immediately as it's usually a gradual process

When we are in deep sleep a sound machine supplies the brain and auditory system with sound enrichment. Over time, the tinnitus is pushed further into the background making it less intrusive and will help make the path to habituation easier. It is usually best to have the sound machine playing in the background at a low level (slightly below the tinnitus) without drawing attention to itself unlike a radio. For this reason music is not the best source to use at night as it draws attention to itself.

Michael

Thanks for the informative response!

 

[Karam]

@DDD thank you bro well get through this

 

[Karam]

@DDD thank you well get through this

 

[al3xisnic0le]

DId this "reactivity" ever go away? I'm going through the same thing right now and I'm going insane.

 

[Gordon Steinberg]

Anyone still around to provide an update? I have recently acquired this reactivity trait, as well, unfortunately.

 

[kamil1364]

I have this too, oh God it's so depressing. With normal tinnitus you have that luxury to drown it out in other sounds, but this... it's plain terrible. I am just 18 and I feel that my life is completely and utterly ruined. If this thing doesn't resolve I am pulling the trigger.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I have this too, oh God it's so depressing. With normal tinnitus you have that luxury to drown it out in other sounds, but this... it's plain terrible. I am just 18 and I feel that my life is completely and utterly ruined. If this thing doesn't resolve I am pulling the trigger.

HI @kamil1364

Noise induced tinnitus can be difficult to adjust to in the early stages but it will get better. Please click on the link below and read my post Jass.

Take care
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...th-in-ear-headphones.42610/page-2#post-553462

 

[kamil1364]

HI @kamil1364

Noise induced tinnitus can be difficult to adjust to in the early stages but it will get better. Please click on the link below and read my post Jass.

Take care
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...th-in-ear-headphones.42610/page-2#post-553462

Dear Michael
You seems to be ,,veteran" of tinnitus community. Thank you for your response.

Although I don't really have ,,pain" hyperacusis, I experience some kind of morse code beep over certain sounds like fans, white noise or car engines. I follow your advice and I use sound enrichment and brown noise at night in hope it might help to resolve the problem in (hopefully near) future.

Also I am sorry for being too negative at times, but I feel it is understandable when faced with such mysterious condition.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Dear Michael
You seems to be ,,veteran" of tinnitus community. Thank you for your response.

Although I don't really have ,,pain" hyperacusis, I experience some kind of morse code beep over certain sounds like fans, white noise or car engines. I follow your advice and I use sound enrichment and brown noise at night in hope it might help to resolve the problem in (hopefully near) future.

Also I am sorry for being too negative at times, but I feel it is understandable when faced with such mysterious condition.

@kamil1364

Dear @kamil1364

Thank you for your kind comments. Yes, I am a veteran to Noise induced tinnitus and hyperacusis like many others in this forum, that are equally as knowledgeable and those that know more than me. I am confident that your tinnitus will improve with time so try to be patient. I know it's not easy what you're going through so there's no need to apologize for feeling negative as it's hard not to feel this way in the early stages.

Please take your time and read my posts in the links that I have given to Jass, as they will help you through this difficult time. If you are feeling stressed have a word with your doctor who may prescribe something to help you relax. Take your time and read my posts and more than once if possible.

Take care things will get better.
Michael