SNHL (Sensorineural Hearing Loss) = No Hope of Tinnitus Getting Better?

[punkaddict]

Well, here I am again in this dark void.
Not really expecting much can come from this but thought it was worth a shot to ease my mind

I've mentioned before that I have SNHL in my right ear (to be confirmed by ENT) and I'm just really unsure what to expect.
I've heard people mention that detectable hearing loss means permanent or very long lasting tinnitus.
But I've also heard anecdotes of people that had hearing loss/acoustic trauma being recovered in a couple months or years.
Are they lying? Were they extremely healthy? Did they get steroids and/or HBOT?

I know no-one can really give me a straight answer but I need to clear my head of this ambiguity, I'm so stuck between preparing for this for 2+ years or I should have this true/false hope of it just going.
I'm scared of what I'm doing now affecting a positive outcome (medium headphone usage, smoking, drumming) or I should just keep doing those things as I'd have it anyway and I should enjoy myself.

So far I've done 5 HBOT sessions 2-3 months in (all I could afford ), taken Magnesium citrate daily and NAC before and after gigs. Dr. Dismissive gave no mention of steroids because apparently my hearing was a-okay after using a tuning fork I still eat crap, try to keep hydrated, hate exercise but like walking and running.

4 months in, any hope at all?

 

[Rb86]

I'm in the same boat. I have faith because I had improvements over the first 3 weeks. I'm on week 4 now and think I have a shot.....some days it's crushing and others I think I can do it. Rinse and repeat.

 

[punkaddict]

I'm in the same boat. I have faith because I had improvements over the first 3 weeks. I'm on week 4 now and think I have a shot.....some days it's crushing and others I think I can do it. Rinse and repeat.

Good on you man, any rapid improvements is likely a good sign. Not sure if I've had many of those, I get quieter moments but no constant reduction. It changes a lot during the day. Day= Night = Morning=

Did you get your hearing checked? Are your reductions consistent?

 

[GregCA]

after gigs.

What gigs?

 

[Rb86]

Good on you man, any rapid improvements is likely a good sign. Not sure if I've had many of those, I get quieter moments but no constant reduction. It changes a lot during the day. Day= Night = Morning=

Did you get your hearing checked? Are your reductions consistent?

Yes I did almost 1 month ago. 35 dB loss at 6 kHz. I went on prednisone for 2 weeks, during which my pitch changed every 3-4 days. Once I got off, some things came back and took another week to improve. Now I just have the hiss and one high tone, which fluctuates in volume throughout the day. It mostly hasn't changed for a week.

I've read all sorts of improvements on people after 2 months, 6, 8, a year, 15 months, 2 years etc. Everyone's timeline is different but if you continue to eat healthy, stay hydrated, and fully protect the ears in louder situations, I feel you're going to improve with time. Sleep is mega important. The first 2.5 weeks I needed Benadryl every night. Sometimes I woke up after 3-4 hours and needed a second dose. Now I just take 10 mg Melatonin and I usually stay asleep 6 hours which is an improvement for me. Normal was 8 hours prior to tinnitus. I'll get there.

 

[punkaddict]

What gigs?

Gigs I play I guess, I would rarely go to gigs myself as I'm fine with spotify. I wear plugs too, I just cant give up on my band because of this, I worked so hard to get it

 

[punkaddict]

fully protect the ears in louder situations, I feel you're going to improve with time.

What do you think if headphones? I'm a huge user so I turn mine down. You think that's good enough?

 

[GregCA]

Gigs I play I guess, I would rarely go to gigs myself as I'm fine with spotify. I wear plugs too, I just cant give up on my band because of this, I worked so hard to get it

Your T is fairly new, and you have an opportunity to "get better naturally". It seems unwise to stress your hearing apparatus during a period when it may be trying to heal.

I'm scared of what I'm doing now affecting a positive outcome (medium headphone usage, smoking, drumming) or I should just keep doing those things as I'd have it anyway and I should enjoy myself.

So far I've done 5 HBOT sessions 2-3 months in (all I could afford ), taken Magnesium citrate daily and NAC before and after gigs. Dr. Dismissive gave no mention of steroids because apparently my hearing was a-okay after using a tuning fork I still eat crap, try to keep hydrated, hate exercise but like walking and running.

4 months in, any hope at all?

Something to consider: quit smoking, hold off on drumming for a while, only use very low volume when using headphones, stop eating crap, stay hydrated. Basically, try to live a healthy life.

If you're using an acoustic set, I'd strongly suggest a transition to an e-kit so you can keep drumming while protecting your hearing.

Good luck!

 

[Rb86]

What do you think if headphones? I'm a huge user so I turn mine down. You think that's good enough?

I wouldn't use them at all. And I'm also a musician so I get it but, your ears need a lot of time to heal. When I do some louder things I use foam inserted plugs, and if it's really loud I use muffs over that. I'm not taking chances. I mowed the lawn like that and got a spike for a day. So please, give it time. You can listen through regular speakers at lower volumes

 

[GregCA]

What do you think if headphones? I'm a huge user so I turn mine down. You think that's good enough?

I use mine at low volume.

 

[punkaddict]

Your T is fairly new, and you have an opportunity to "get better naturally". It seems unwise to stress your hearing apparatus during a period when it may be trying to heal.

It may seem unwise, but it also seems unwise to give up my music career I've been working so hard to get. I'm only 18, I can't just give up my dreams

Something to consider: quit smoking, hold off on drumming for a while, only use very low volume when using headphones, stop eating crap, stay hydrated. Basically, try to live a healthy life.

I'll keep these in mind. It's just so frustrating, I either live life like always to try and mentally recover, or I make drastic changes to my life to make my life more boring with a tiny chance of physically improving. I'm so stuck

Cutting headphones and drumming may not seem like huge changes but it just means so much less distraction. If I had concrete proof that it works to cure or significantly reduce, I would employ in a heartbeat, but there's not. I could be f#$%ed for life no matter what I do.

I'm not looking for minor conditional improvements, I'm looking for permanent major reductions

 

[GregCA]

It may seem unwise, but it also seems unwise to give up my music career I've been working so hard to get. I'm only 18, I can't just give up my dreams

Nobody's talking about giving up your music career. If you don't take it easy, you may actually completely compromise your music career (not convinced? research this forum for testimonies from musicians). Conversely, if you take a break for a while, you may heal to the point that you could actually have a music career, provided you make a few changes.

I'll keep these in mind. It's just so frustrating, I either live life like always to try and mentally recover, or I make drastic changes to my life to make my life more boring with a tiny chance of physically improving. I'm so stuck

There's no drastic changes: it's a temporary break on activities that stress your hearing, and generally healthy changes (quit smoking, eat healthy, etc). There is virtually no downside in taking this path: you can always resume your current lifestyle after your "health break".

Take it from another drummer who's gone through that himself and keeps playing regularly with headphones.

 

[punkaddict]

Nobody's talking about giving up your music career. If you don't take it easy, you may actually completely compromise your music career (not convinced? research this forum for testimonies from musicians). Conversely, if you take a break for a while, you may heal to the point that you could actually have a music career, provided you make a few changes.



There's no drastic changes: it's a temporary break on activities that stress your hearing, and generally healthy changes (quit smoking, eat healthy, etc). There is virtually no downside in taking this path: you can always resume your current lifestyle after your "health break".

Take it from another drummer who's gone through that himself and keeps playing regularly with headphones.

I guess I just don't know how long this will be, I've already been smoking, playing drums and gigs and listening to headphones at low volume since onset. I may do it until I notice a decrease but it may never come. And it also means more monitoring.

 

[GregCA]

I guess I just don't know how long this will be, I've already been smoking, playing drums and gigs and listening to headphones at low volume since onset. I may do it until I notice a decrease but it may never come. And it also means more monitoring.

Looks like you've already made your choice.

Good luck!

 

[punkaddict]

Looks like you've already made your choice.

Good luck!

Did you notice any improvement from your health break?

I haven't so much made my choice, it's just no one told me these could be risk factors

 

[PeteJ]

Yes I did almost 1 month ago. 35 dB loss at 6 kHz. I went on prednisone for 2 weeks, during which my pitch changed every 3-4 days. Once I got off, some things came back and took another week to improve. Now I just have the hiss and one high tone, which fluctuates in volume throughout the day. It mostly hasn't changed for a week.

I've read all sorts of improvements on people after 2 months, 6, 8, a year, 15 months, 2 years etc. Everyone's timeline is different but if you continue to eat healthy, stay hydrated, and fully protect the ears in louder situations, I feel you're going to improve with time. Sleep is mega important. The first 2.5 weeks I needed Benadryl every night. Sometimes I woke up after 3-4 hours and needed a second dose. Now I just take 10 mg Melatonin and I usually stay asleep 6 hours which is an improvement for me. Normal was 8 hours prior to tinnitus. I'll get there.

6hrs is pretty good, considering.

How long have you taken melatonin? Is it all you take before bedtime sleep?

 

[Rb86]

6hrs is pretty good, considering.

How long have you taken melatonin? Is it all you take before bedtime sleep?

As I'm awakened by my tinnitus tonight and trying another brand of melatonin, it's only been 4 hrs.

Anyway, for about a week or 10 days.

 

[Jibran]

Doctors don't know shit about tinnitus. I hope a few of them get it.