Spontaneous Recovery Stats: Many Recover (3 Studies)

[John Meyers]

Seems to help in what John?

Seems to help provide more periods of unnoticeable T during the day. -- Not sure why but I do feel more relaxed as well.

It's only been a week and I chose these 3 supplements since they got the best reviews from other T sufferers.

Even if they only give me the placebo effect, I am fine with that.

 

[John Meyers]

I hope your spike went down again? I don't think I'll ever go to a live music event again.



Yes, I haven't yet given up hope that it may still go away completely. I've even come across a case where it went away after four years.



Same here, except I was driving and thus sober. The music was uncomfortably loud and I wanted to leave, but decided to stay because my friend really wanted to see the last band. I'll probably regret that decision for the rest of my life.



I took a hearing test (up to 8kHz) one month after the noise exposure, and it only showed one or two dips of 10dB and 20dB in the very low frequencies. The ENT told me that anything below 25dB is not indicative of hearing loss, and described my hearing as "acute". Even if my hearing is fine, there's no doubt in my mind that I did very severe damage to my hearing, given that I still experience pain for no apparent reason seven months after the exposure. I'm going back for my six-month follow-up in a few weeks, when I'll probably take another hearing test. Do you have any measurable hearing loss?

The ENT said that I had very slight hearing loss in my Left ear, however, that was probably there before since it is my Right ear that has the "24 hour dentist drill".

If you have pain, you should still keep seeing the ENT. -- I only stopped since they can't do anything for T..

 

[Casper]

The ENT said that I had very slight hearing loss in my Left ear, however, that was probably there before since it is my Right ear that has the "24 hour dentist drill".

Dentist drill? That sounds like a very high frequency. Have you ever tried to measure to determine the exact frequency? I've given up on trying to find my frequency, but I suspect it's a small range of frequencies somewhere around 2-3kHz. It's definitely not a pure tone, which is what I experience when I get fleeting T.

If you have pain, you should still keep seeing the ENT. -- I only stopped since they can't do anything for T..

I'm going back to the ENT in a few weeks for my six-month follow-up. Last time I was there, he simply looked in my ears, throat, and nose and told me that my ears look good. This can't be true, because I constantly have this feeling of fullness in one of my ears (it's strange how it seems to switch ears every few days). Steam inhalation provides temporary relief. I think I'm going to write a detailed post on here of questions to ask him before my next appointment.

 

[DaveB]

This can't be true, because I constantly have this feeling of fullness in one of my ears (it's strange how it seems to switch ears every few days). Steam inhalation provides temporary relief.

Do you think you might have Eustachian tube dysfunction? Maybe the pressure in your middle ears is unbalanced. You might try holding your nose and gently and i mean GENTLY blowing air until you feel your inner ears inflate (this is called the Valsalva maneuver). I will warn you that it's been reported on the forum that doing this hard might hurt your ears and cause T actually.

 

[Casper]

Do you think you might have Eustachian tube dysfunction? Maybe the pressure in your middle ears is unbalanced. You might try holding your nose and gently and i mean GENTLY blowing air until you feel your inner ears inflate (this is called the Valsalva maneuver). I will warn you that it's been reported on the forum that doing this hard might hurt your ears and cause T actually.

I'm pretty sure that I have some form of ETD, but every source online states that the only real treatment is to wait for it to clear up by itself. Yet, I've had it for seven months now. I've done the Valsalva maneuver before, but only very gently. I can feel my ears "pop" while doing it, but the relief doesn't last long. This is why I believe there is a physical problem in my ears (in addition to the original noise exposure, but possible as a result of it), but so far my ENT has been unable to find it.

 

[MBH]

my ENT also said its nothing to worry about, and could not get me out fast enough. I request a masker and she said I was not loud enough, I don't know is an 8 in my head loud enough

 

[Michael Leigh]

my ENT also said its nothing to worry about, and could not get me out fast enough. I request a masker and she said I was not loud enough, I don't know is an 8 in my head loud enough

As I have said to you @MBH, I don't advise you to go down the route of using a masker/white noise generator at this time. These are specialist devices and have to be used correctly. ENT doctors prefer to start treating tinnitus after a patient has had it for 6 months. There is good reason for this. The ear is a delicate and sophisticated organ. Starting treatment too early could make symptoms worse. The best treatment for tinnitus in the early stages is to do nothing. Use sound enrichment especially at night. If you are feeling stressed have a word with your GP as something can be prescribed to help settle you. Please read my articles on tinnitus in the links I have sent you. If you click on my "started threads" you can read more articles and I suggest you read: new to tinnitus, what to do?

All the best
Michael

 

[John Meyers]

Dentist drill? That sounds like a very high frequency. Have you ever tried to measure to determine the exact frequency? I've given up on trying to find my frequency, but I suspect it's a small range of frequencies somewhere around 2-3kHz. It's definitely not a pure tone, which is what I experience when I get fleeting T.


I'm going back to the ENT in a few weeks for my six-month follow-up. Last time I was there, he simply looked in my ears, throat, and nose and told me that my ears look good. This can't be true, because I constantly have this feeling of fullness in one of my ears (it's strange how it seems to switch ears every few days). Steam inhalation provides temporary relief. I think I'm going to write a detailed post on here of questions to ask him before my next appointment.

It's more like a dentist drill in the next room. -- High frequency but I don't measure it since others have suggested that I should not focus on the noise levels, etc.

Today was actually a pretty good day with hours of me not even noticing Mr T, probably because I was busy running around. -- I'll take whatever I can get..

 

[Phendran]

my ENT also said its nothing to worry about, and could not get me out fast enough. I request a masker and she said I was not loud enough, I don't know is an 8 in my head loud enough

So called "Doctors" like these need to suffer as we do to experience what it is like in order to understand it seems.
It makes me frigging furious when a person whose job is to help and alleviate treats another person with such disregard.

 

[MBH]

Hello, The GP, ENT will not gie me anything. MEds are bad they say. The only thing I done so far is take Tylenol PM, which works most nights, and I do Breathing exercising. If I can get Meds which one to take the edge off?

 

[Casper]

It's more like a dentist drill in the next room. -- High frequency but I don't measure it since others have suggested that I should not focus on the noise levels, etc.

Today was actually a pretty good day with hours of me not even noticing Mr T, probably because I was busy running around. -- I'll take whatever I can get..

It sounds like your T is considerably more intrusive than mine. I'm really glad to hear that you're able to ignore it at times despite that

 

[Bill Bauer]

If I can get Meds which one to take the edge off?

Amitriptyline has helped me to sleep. It is non-addictive, and it would not make me feel drowsy the next morning.

 

[Berik]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4912237/

not sure whether already posted, couldn't find it. Compares results of Am111 and 101 for tinnitus resolution statistics. It seems people with mild to moderate hearing loss have quite a chance of tinnitus resolving in the early phase and at least improving a lot. perhaps some hope for the newly onsets.

 

[humberto]

Has anyone heard of tinnitus going away by itself or with a treatment?

It's already been 2 months for me and not going away.

I am going crazy.

 

[Bill Bauer]

It's already been 2 months for me and not going away.

Has it faded, or changed pitch?

Has anyone heard of tinnitus going away by itself or with a treatment?

Yes, the studies in posts 1 and 37 in this thread imply that it goes away for many people. A number of members of this forum reported hearing complete silence. The bad news is that ears take forever to heal. One person's T ended after 18 months.

You might want to avoid moderately loud noises like that of a vacuum cleaner or blender.

 

[Bill Bauer]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4912237/

not sure whether already posted, couldn't find it. Compares results of Am111 and 101 for tinnitus resolution statistics. It seems people with mild to moderate hearing loss have quite a chance of tinnitus resolving in the early phase and at least improving a lot. perhaps some hope for the newly onsets.

To quote the article:
"In acute ISSNHL, tinnitus loudness decreased rapidly in cases of mild-moderate hearing loss, and tinnitus had completely resolved in two-thirds of patients after 3 months. Hearing recovery preceded tinnitus resolution. When associated with severe-profound hearing loss, tinnitus improved significantly less. Complete hearing recovery and full tinnitus remission were both about three times more frequent in mild-moderate hearing loss patients than in severe-profound cases."
If you read the article, you will see that they stopped observing those patients about 5.5 months after the onset of their T (due to sudden deafness). The results are consistent with people gradually getting better, albeit painfully slowly, for some.

 

[vermillion]

People with a bad outcome are over-represented on this forum. People who recover don't come here. As long as it is not the case that 100% recover, you would expect lots of people to have T a long time after an acoustic trauma. According to that study 30% don't recover. This group is over-represented on this forum.

I am a little skeptical about this. I mean if there were so many people that literally recovered, we would have tinnitus remission stories apart from those with habituation. Those who habituated why bothered to report so many times? Yes probably those who were cured they didn't want to bother but i cannot believe ALL of those who experienced remission automatically have the same mindset not to bother. If spontaneous remission during 2 years was statistically high, i believe we would have more success stories of that kind. In the success stories you can find people that god rid of their tinnitus usually after the first weeks from the onset but super rarely after 2 years.

 

[Paulmanlike]

I am a little skeptical about this. I mean if there were so many people that literally recovered, we would have tinnitus remission stories apart from those with habituation. Those who habituated why bothered to report so many times? Yes probably those who were cured they didn't want to bother but i cannot believe ALL of those who experienced remission automatically have the same mindset not to bother. If spontaneous remission during 2 years was statistically high, i believe we would have more success stories of that kind. In the success stories you can find people that god rid of their tinnitus usually after the first weeks from the onset but super rarely after 2 years.

It's because it's untrue. Spontaneous recovery after 2 years is rare.

 

[jjflyman]

I think the word "spontaneous" might be a little misleading. I don't think it means you go to bed one night with Tinnitus, and wake up in silence. I think the recovery from noise induced T is very slow and gradual, so by the 2 year mark, "most" noise induced T sufferers see significant improvement or total recovery.

 

[GregCA]

To quote the article:
"In acute ISSNHL, tinnitus loudness decreased rapidly in cases of mild-moderate hearing loss, and tinnitus had completely resolved in two-thirds of patients after 3 months. Hearing recovery preceded tinnitus resolution. When associated with severe-profound hearing loss, tinnitus improved significantly less. Complete hearing recovery and full tinnitus remission were both about three times more frequent in mild-moderate hearing loss patients than in severe-profound cases."

We still have a big question mark about whether restoring hearing is going to have an impact on T. At least in this case, there is a hunch about causality links.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Those who habituated why bothered to report so many times?

The person who hears T 24/7 but is not bothered by it too much is still being reminded of T every day (if not every waking hour). Eventually they might share their story. In contrast, someone who starts hearing silence won't be reminded of T, and so will be less likely to share their story here.

 

[vermillion]

The person who hears T 24/7 but is not bothered by it too much is still being reminded of T every day (if not every waking hour). Eventually they might share their story. In contrast, someone who starts hearing silence won't be reminded of T, and so will be less likely to share their story here.

Actually I would think the opposite. If hypothetically after 1 or 2 years my tinnitus resolved, I would report it for sure due to the excitement.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Actually I would think the opposite. If hypothetically after 1 or 2 years my tinnitus resolved, I would report it for sure due to the excitement.

It never resolves overnight. It keeps fading over a period of months. So the excitement is spread out over months, and by the time it disappears, one is already used to not being bothered by T.

I would probably NOT report it for fear of jinxing it.

 

[GregCA]

It never resolves overnight. It keeps fading over a period of months. So the excitement is spread out over months, and by the time it disappears, one is already used to not being bothered by T.

Not only that, but many T sufferers are told that they need to stop thinking about T, and that if they do it may come back "to their consciousness", so once they feel like it's gone, I doubt they want to "jump back into the T pool" and risk a resurgence.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

Guys, tinnitus definitely can go away or get so close that it doesn't matter. I've listed a handful of people in this thread that improved to a point where it is a non issue.

I am living, breathing, proof of how much it can improve. Just a recap:

I started off with extreme tinnitus that would modulate a whole octave when I moved my eyes. It was like a laser beam through my head and could be heard above literally anything. It felt like the roof of my mouth was a tesla ball from trigeminal involvement. I'd sit in my 1 BR NYC apt with the dishwasher, washer, dryer, two AC units, and TV on - and it'd be blaring above all that noise. I didn't sleep more than 2 hours for 4 months.

My tinnitus truly bothers me about 3-4 days a month. I'm in a 60db room right now and can barely hear it at all. It's been 16 months. I have an ever present hiss, but the ringing has largely subsided, and continues to subside. If I spend 3-4 days in the country it gets even better. City noise sucks.

I was in a bar with a live band on Monday. I didn't die. Earplugs work wonders. You know how many pro musicians waited too long to start with plugs? MOST of them. They continue to play with proper protection. Clapton is STILL touring. Bone conduction isn't as serious as you think. Bone conduction is the sound attenuated by 40-60 db. That means a 110db concert is 70db at best via bone conduction. And that's at the peak. Show's tend to average more at like, 95db. Very loud clubs average at 105. http://www.audiologyonline.com/ask-the-experts/hearing-loss-through-bone-conduction-522

Most won't even join a forum. And those that do? Not everyone will check back. Most wont, actually, due to superstition. I know its 90% of the reason I'm reluctant to call my progress a "success". Go out in the real world though and you'll be amazed how many people are living with this well, or have recovered from it. I was shocked to realize I know ten plus people who have dealt with this, most of whom have healed in a meaningful way. I've accepted I will never have true silence again. I also realize I haven't had it for years and didn't even notice until it ramped up heavily. I'm fine with that level of T in my life.

 

[VincentWinters]

It is weird how many people I know, or who them selves know people with this. They all seem to be coping.

 

[Bill Bauer]

There's some recovery stats - tinnitus on page S5


http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0194599814545325

"Tinnitus may improve spontaneously. In 1 cohort study,
nearly 50% of patients with significant tinnitus (moderate
severity, sleep problems, or both) improved after 5 years, with
43% of those improved reporting complete resolution and the
remaining 57% reporting only mild symptoms.
In another study, 82% of patients who reported tinnitus at baseline had persistent tinnitus after 5 years, suggesting close to a 20% rate of spontaneous improvement. Similarly, subjects assigned to the "wait-list" control groups of some clinical trials show small, but
significant, improvements in tinnitus distress. The largest spon-
taneous improvement is seen with short duration tinnitus, younger
age, and longer intervals between pre- and post-assessment. For
example, in 1 study, 28% of subjects with acute tinnitus (last-
ing < 6 months) improved spontaneously in a control group that
received only educational information.

The severity of tinnitus can fluctuate. Hallam et al. reviewed the psychological aspects of tinnitus and described a natural habituation process that improves tinnitus tolerance. An observational study of 528 patients seen in otolaryngology clinics found that, regardless of symptom duration, tinnitus severity declined over time in 3% to 7% of patients. Another large cohort study found that 55% of patients with severe tinnitus reported only moderate, or mildly bothersome, symptoms 5 years later."

Looks like about 20%-30% of those who get Moderate tinnitus, eventually recover. However, for those whose symptoms have been improving, it is likely that the probability of recovery is higher than that (it is probably closer to 43% [so 40%-50%], see above). If initially you had only minor tinnitus, your chances of recovery are probably a lot higher...

 

[Bill Bauer]

By the way, the title of this thread says that up to 70% recover. I guess the discrepancy (70% vs. 20% to 30% given by the study in the previous post) is due to the cause of tinnitus. The figures in the previous post are for tinnitus sufferers in general (independently of the cause). The figures in the studies in the first post of this thread are for the people whose T is a result of a one-time acoustic trauma.

 

[dpdx]

this makes me feel so much better.

 

[Bill Bauer]

It makes sense to have the post below in this thread:

https://www.ncrar.research.va.gov/Education/Documents/TinnitusDocuments/01_HenryPTM-HB_1-10.pdf
"A general guideline is that tinnitus of at least 12 months duration has a high likelihood of being a permanent condition (Dobie, 2004b). However, it also has been suggested that a person must have experienced tinnitus for at least two years before it should be considered permanent (Vernon, 1996)."
Link to Dobie 2004: https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BqEq9Re3L5UC&oi=fnd&pg=PA266&dq=dobie+tinnitus+&ots=ekhmg_9Bdk&sig=lmay3bQPRsRcc-GypAfBTNxz1AY#v=onepage&q=dobie tinnitus&f=false

I remember seeing many more sources mentioning "2 years", but I don't have time to find all of them.

Here is an ENT who uses 30-months instead of 24-months.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...it-comes-back-anybody-else.22556/#post-260876

On this forum, one member had T go silent after 18 months.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-tinnitus-sufferer.21913/page-2#post-253700