Sharing an Experience with Fleeting Silence and Seeking Advice

[Ehren M]

Dear Tinnitus Talk Community,

> A word of thanks:
I have read numerous posts here on Tinnitus Talk over the past 2 weeks, and your posts and my short time with the suffering we share have been a moving experience. Thank you all for sharing your stories and tips and making them accessible. This site is truly a blessing and an asset.

> My story:
The short of it is that I experienced acoustic trauma from blowing a Fox40 Classic whistle in short bursts for about 20-30 minutes at a celebration. I've come to discover that the manufacturer rates the whistle at a peak output of 115 dB. Still, I don't quite understand how such a brief exposure to (non-continuous) whistle blowing could cause weeks of distress. Quite baffling... but such is life! The tinnitus set in the day after blowing the infernal whistle, and my first ten days with this were particularly tough. Slight dizziness, trouble focusing, and a high-pitched "shimmering" sound characterized my days, but it's not as intense as some reports I've read. I rarely hear it over the sound of a shower, for instance. Gratefully I have been able to sleep.

I've now noticed that my tinnitus actually is least noticeable when it is quiet, which seems opposite of what many others report. Hearing noise or music appears to exacerbate my tinnitus. After day 10, it changed and is barely noticeable in the morning shortly after I wake up, leaving me to wonder if today would be the day that it would subside... but that hasn't happened quite yet. Uniquely, last night, I woke up around 3 am to crystal-clear, beautiful silence. Later this morning, the tinnitus returned and seems much as it was before, though maybe it's slightly less intrusive today than before. Hard to say. It seems impossible to know whether these trends are a sign of healing or habituation, but I will gladly suspect that it is and remain hopeful that the tinnitus subsides by whatever means that magic may occur.

> My approach to healing:
I wear earplugs now anytime I can anticipate encountering a loud noise. I find it very calming to wear earplugs right now, which runs counter to a number of things I've read online. I have been taking the following supplements, most of them because of their potential efficacy in boosting the immune system against covid19, others because it's my normal routine, others because of tinnitus (Ginkgo biloba and B12):
- Vitamin D (1/day)
- Vitamin B12 (1/day)
- Nature Made Multi Complete multivitamin (1/day)
- Zinc (1/day)
- Magnesium (1/day)
- 5 mg Melatonin (1/day)
- Ginkgo biloba (3/day)
- Krill oil (1/day)
- Biotin (1/day)

Also, I have been meditating on the tinnitus sound in an attempt to facilitate habituation, and trying to shake my fear of the sounds so they are less distracting, as others have written about.

The very curious thing to me that I wanted to share is the quietness I experience in the mornings. It seems to me that my brain has yet to expect the sound when I first wake up, so it's simply not there. But how to harness that brain into NEVER expecting the sound, so that it never appears, is the trick I am now very eager to discover and share with others. Any tips on this would be so very welcomed.

All the best to you all, and may we all find our silence once again.

Peace,
Ehren

 

[billie48]

Also, I have been meditating on the tinnitus sound in an attempt to facilitate habituation, and trying to shake my fear of the sounds so they are less distracting, as others have written about.

The very curious thing to me that I wanted to share is the quietness I experience in the mornings. It seems to me that my brain has yet to expect the sound when I first wake up, so it's simply not there. But how to harness that brain into NEVER expecting the sound, so that it never appears, is the trick I am now very eager to discover and share with others. Any tips on this would be so very welcomed.

Welcome to the forum. Yes your tinnitus being quiet at waking up is not as common as those who wake up to loud tinnitus, myself included. That is what some call the awakening response. But yours is the opposite. I wonder if your tinnitus has other reasons such as some somatic tinnitus triggered by moving neck muscles or jaws, or related to blood flow to the ears. That may explain why lying down and standing up can affect the intensity of the tinnitus. But this is purely a speculation. Meditating with the awareness of the tinnitus sound, if you can tolerate it, is a good idea. Some folks have posted that when they do this, they can gradually lose the fear to the ringing. But everyone is different so if it can help you, all the better.

Take good care. God bless.

 

[Ehren M]

Thanks, billie48.

I feel lucky that I read about the potential success of the fear-abatement-meditation early after experiencing tinnitus. I find that it's helped, and I am sometimes able to visualize the sound of my tinnitus as being similar to the sounds I would hear in the forests of Michigan during summer nights as a child. Chirping and buzzing sounds. Those sounds were lovely partially because they were understood to be temporary

Take care.

 

[Ehren M]

Hello. I would be grateful if someone might be able to provide a bit of insight into some of the changes in symptoms I've experienced over the 3 weeks I've now had tinnitus.

When I'm in a quiet space, the tinnitus is now often a very quiet high-pitched buzz that sometimes seems completely absent. Oddly, however, taking a deep breath or hearing other soft sounds like the whir of my computer's fan results in a buzzing/ringing sound that usually disappears soon after I take away the noise. Louder external sounds don't seem to produce louder reactions in my head, and I don't feel particularly alarmed or pained by everyday sounds, so it does not seem like the cases of hyperacusis I've read about. Is this just my brain trying to re-learn how to distinguish between soft sounds and quiet? Is there anything I can do at home to encourage the healing (except of course being careful to not further aggravate the symptoms)?

Many thanks in advance for any thoughts yall might be able to provide!

 

[Ehren M]

Quick update now that I enter week #5 with this lame condition I was only vaguely aware of before 2021. I realized that my symptoms set in about a week after finishing a 10-day course of Amoxicillin, in addition to blowing a whistle, the latter of which is what seemed to finally set off the tinnitus "alarms".

I had been baffled that whistle-blowing, and not even at the top of my lungs, could cause tinnitus so suddenly, but considering the ototoxic nature of Amoxicillin, that in addition to noise might have been the more realistic cause of my present conditions.

Periods of relative quiet are a bit longer some mornings now than the last time I posted to this thread, and I no longer feel like I'm talking over the tinnitus when I hold a conversation. I'm taking all of that as a good sign and trying to stay calm as time does its work.

Wishing health and peace to all the tinnitus sufferers out there.

 

[AliasM]

I didn't know Amoxicillin was ototoxic. I took 2 x courses back to back right before tinnitus started and another course about 3 weeks later.

 

[CDNThailand]

I didn't know Amoxicillin was ototoxic. I took 2 x courses back to back right before tinnitus started and another course about 3 weeks later.

How quickly after the courses did the tinnitus start, are you sure 100% that was the cause of your tinnitus?