The Psychology — or Physiology — of Tinnitus Spikes

[PeteJ]

Imho, it's new auditory information and the brain "reports to the ears" or vice versa.

I don't think tinnitus spikes from stress or anxiety alone. However, I do find my tinnitus goes "extra crazy" or ramps up the 'screaming' at night which I don't understand.

But, I have been stressed out a lot from the tinnitus and from not working and my tinnitus didn't 'change' or spike.

 

[Sven]

Hi @Sven

no problem.

I tried to pm you but are not allowed. Maybe you could write to me and I Will reply?

That's odd... I changed a setting now and now I hope it works. But I'll send you one anyway.

 

[GabyM36]

The one I get in my head, that comes and goes when I'm tweaked, doesn't hold a single tone, but rather squiggles around a bit, truly like a bit of an electrical current. It's that squiggle that I find the hardest to deal with - very tough to ignore when it's literally moving around.

But (to this point) I've been fortunate, and that squiggle only seems to last 1-3 days before subsiding back down. I'm in day two right now, and it's already backed off a good amount. Your troubles sound a bit more constant (though as you said, it disappeared last time and you didn't even notice!).

I wish you well, and a speedy recovery. Good for you to realize that it's the same as last time though - if it went away once, it's exceedingly likely to go away again.

Hey Matt, I'm experiencing the same thing? How is yours doing?

 

[Marcus Skye]

Tinnitus is a strange bird. I don't really get "spikes", even though many days are louder than others.

I'm having a "quiet morning" today, which means it's there but not bothering me.

There are times when it sounds objectively louder, and these are predictable. Jet flights, traveling on highways, any prolonged exposure to loud noise, stress, over / under eating, and especially first thing in the morning or in a very quiet room.

The oddest thing is that I can feel it "turning on" as I wake up from REM sleep, and I am quite sure this is physiological. The brain turns off some sound sensory data during our sleep, see: https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/28289/what-senses-are-active-while-sleeping.

Separately, @Markku what about the feasibility of a global Go Fund Me? Could we in this community set up our own research institute, hire our own doctors? If not that, could we offer prizes for demonstrated progress? Accurate, inexpensive diagnosis tool: 1 million dollar prize. Cure: 10 million dollars? Plenty of celebrities and military veterans have this. In these individuals, there's opportunity for endorsements that could lead to funding.