Ringing Tinnitus Spike and Going Insane — Could Earbuds Have Caused This?

[Seymour]

Hey,

1. Stop using earbuds at high volume, it is definitely not good for you ears. Headphones are recommended, and at low volume.
2. Try to sleep without sound, or even with earplugs. I actually find that sleeping with earplugs in total silence helps my tinnitus.
3. Take at least magnesium and b6 vitamin supplements. They work well for tinnitus AND stress AND sleep.
You can also try other supplements such as curcumin, omega 3 (fish oil), and spirulina. These are known to be generally good for health, and anti-inflammatory.

4. This might be the most important, a lot of people with hearing loss have reported a great great improvement with hearing aids, so I believe it could be a solution for you and might work like a charm.
Actually, there is even ads on national TV for tinnitus in my country (France), at 20h which is audience pike, and which are promoting hearing aids (which means that there is business behind, but also that it's working, they wouldn't pay the highest ad price if it wasn't).

Best of luck

My best friend is actually a hearing therapist and he's going to screen me for hearing loss and refer me to an audiologist and then help me choose a hearing aid.

As for ear buds I wouldn't say I use them at loud volume though. But I'll switch to headphones. For now I just won't use anything for a while.

I do take magnesium and will try the other stuff. I'm scared of sleeping with ear plugs cause I don't want to push them into my ear canal too far inadvertently.

What's crazy is that I sometimes get periods where I briefly forget about tinnitus and then I realize it and the tinnitus goes back up. It's like if I could find a way to stop thinking about it my brain would sort of tune it out but now I'm always looking for it or telling myself not to look for it which does the opposite urrrgh

 

[Seymour]

It's strange but earplugs hurt my ear canal a bit and they tend to slide back out. I can also sometimes feel tickles in my ear like there's liquid that is leaking out but there is none.

In any case I'm seeing my family doctor today so I'll have her take a look.

 

[Seymour]

Sometimes it's like I know my tinnitus is at my baseline level but I can hear it way more now because I freaked out about it. Other times I know it's louder but I swear there are times when it's not even that loud and it seems like my brain is just zeroing in on it all the time now that I've given it attention.

 

[Digital Doc]

I honestly don't know what to do lol. I think I'll try ear plugs.

Give it a try. Not really much to lose here, and potentially lots to gain.

 

[linearb]

Really?!

no.

I'm assuming 87db is at her nostril? measure again at your head level on the pillow.

intermittent 87db exposure doesn't alarm me, but I do sleep with silicone plugs when around snoring or other noise, to improve my sleep quality

 

[Seymour]

I went to the doctor turns out I have a bad case of glue ear. She thinks that's what's causing the tinnitus spike and prescribed a nasal spray to unclog Eustachian Tubes so the fluid can drain.

makes sense?

 

[Seymour]

Well my tinnitus was way better from waking up until 4PM when it spontaneously started spiking again.

It's encouraging that I had half a day of milder ringing though.

 

[Seymour]

Just an update in case some people in a similar situation come across this thread and want to know how it evolved.

Things are starting to get better. I can still hear the tinnitus if I look for it but for the past few days I have stopped hearing it constantly and sometimes forget about it for hours.

I take nasal corticosteroids every day as prescribed for my blocked ET and glue ear. Seems to work as my ear sounds less muffled and tinnitus less intrusive.

Yesterday I was at the hospital with my gf for pregnancy related stuff and we were waiting in a completely silent room and I realized afterwards that I hadn't heard my tinnitus even if this silent environment. Of course when I had that realization I started hearing it again.

So I seem to have some hope. It's stilllouder than before but definitely getting better.

 

[Gabriel]

I had glue ear. And had the exact same treatment. I didn't have tinnitus from it though, just my eustachian tube was blocked.

I think it will greatly improve your tinnitus because you will hear better.