Struggling with a Sudden Worsening of Tinnitus After Eleven Years

[sandra72]

Since January, my tinnitus has changed. It has gotten worse, much worse. I have had it for almost eleven years now, and for the last four years I could handle it well. It stayed in the background. I only heard it in silence, and there were almost no high tones anymore.

A lot has happened in the last few years. There has been a lot of stress. I have been ill and have a chronic condition. That is why I started taking Oxazepam. After about eleven months, I stopped taking it. I took one per day, and very occasionally two. The stupid thing is that I stopped all at once. I had withdrawal symptoms, but my tinnitus stayed the same. There was no increase at that point. That only came later.

I have a granddaughter who is one and a half years old, and she can make quite a lot of noise. I protect my ears when I am with her. She even imitates me now, putting her hands over her ears. I also went to an arcade once, where there was a lot of noise, but I did not stay very long.

I had a hearing test, and my ears are a little worse than they were eight years ago, but still not bad enough for hearing aids. I have mild hearing loss.

I feel miserable and depressed, and I cannot see a way forward. I do not know how to deal with this. It is loud. I hear a beep of around 4 kHz. I hear a noise, a hissing sound. It sounds like static, as if flashes shoot through my head, and I hear it above everything, even in the shower.

Now my question is: can this still improve? Why is this happening after so many years when it was just fine?

 

[Brave Zebra]

Sorry to hear your tinnitus got worse. Mine did as well this year, after about twenty years, so I can relate. It can be a challenge to relax when you hear the tinnitus over everything else.

Would you say the hissing you perceive flickers, rather than being a consistent flat tone?

I think, with time, your brain could definitely adapt and things could improve. There is always hope. You could get a blood test to rule out deficiencies or other possible causes. I have done the same and recently started having massages because my muscles are very tense.

 

[SueX]

I feel sorry for you. I have that static or hissing sound too. Yes, I hear it even in the shower. I even heard it while I was in the MRI machine.

When I first got tinnitus, I was able to mask it with general everyday sounds, but this static or electrical sound is very piercing.

I hope we can both habituate to it!