The Term Reactive Tinnitus

[David S]

@Aegaeon
I was given Widex
https://www.widex.pro/en/products/tinnitus-solutions
I did try the tones but did not like this. I ended up with white noise that gave me most comfort well under my T. You had to go to the audiologist to set them, the noise is adjustable but do not know exactly what we ended up with. I was only fitted WNGs on one side because my T was very low on the other side. This might be wrong. Hope somebody else can answer this.

 

[BuzzyBee]

@BuzzyBee I have hearing loss in my high freq. above 8k. It might be a little worse now but I did not test. I do not really know if it matters. From the day we are born we lose hearing from around 20k and downwards. Once really old we can only hear low freq. Also the tests done also just test a fraction of all our hearing capabilities. Let me know if I can be more specific.

Thanks for sharing that. I often wonder if reactive tinnitus fades in those who have hearing loss -- especially in one hear. Going with the theory that the brain is making extra noise because it's trying to compensate for a lack of auditory stimulation, it would seem the reactive tinnitus would never fade without restoring hearing or an auditory signal. But yours did fade, so that's positive.

In my opinion it seems more likely that reactive tinnitus is hyperacusis and that the treatment would be white noise. Unfortunately it's been tough finding an audiologist who seems to understand enough about hyperacusis. Also, the price of wearing double hearing aids with sound generators is about $7000 out of pocket, thus I wouldn't want to go into sound therapy without being sure it would work. If there's a chance it will just fade away like hyperacusis, then it might be better to put the thousands and thousands of dollars toward therapy.

You also mentioned that an SSRI helped. That's great! It seems like SSRIs really help some but make others worse. I wish there was a way to know.

 

[Shera]

So you wouldn't at least consider that they might be part of the same thing? Maybe just the amount of each can vary: sound tolerance and perception of sound vs reactivity of T to sound.

I guess we know for certain that no one knows exactly what's going on. So much speculation and conjecture.

They very well could be. Like you said it's all speculation and conjecture.

 

[Contrast]

You know, that's a really good question. Really gets the noggin joggin.
View attachment 15206

White noise causes my reactive tinnitus to go eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
so freakin annoying how people keep telling me white noise should help

 

[Michael Leigh]

White noise causes my reactive tinnitus to go eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
so freakin annoying how people keep telling me white noise should help

@Contrast
You have to use white noise correctly and use the proper devices which is: white noise generators. If you use headphones and play white noise or pink noise through them you will not get the right results. White noise generators supply the ears and auditory system with a soothing white noise sound which doesn't sound harsh and overbearing. Even then, some people that have a sensitive auditory system the white noise generators should be introduced slowly. At first the WNG should only be worn for 1 or 2 hrs then taken off for the same amount of time. This should be repeated. Over a few weeks build up the wearing time slowly until 6 to 10hrs total wearing time is achieved. The only way to desensitize the auditory system so it because less sensitive, is by administering white or pink noise through WNGs continuously throughout the day. At night use a sound machine by the bedside. Some people may need counselling with a Hearing Therapist to achieve optimum results.

Michael

 

[fishbone]

@Contrast
You have to use white noise correctly and use the proper devices which is: white noise generators. If you use headphones and play white noise or pink noise through them you will not get the right results. White noise generators supply the ears and auditory system with a soothing white noise sound which doesn't sound harsh and overbearing. Even then, some people that have a sensitive auditory system the white noise generators should be introduced slowly. At first the WNG should only be worn for 1 or 2 hrs then taken off for the same amount of time. This should be repeated. Over a few weeks build up the wearing time slowly until 6 to 10hrs total wearing time is achieved. The only way to desensitize the auditory system so it because less sensitive, is by administering white or pink noise through WNGs continuously throughout the day. At night use a sound machine by the bedside. Some people may need counselling with a Hearing Therapist to achieve optimum results.

Michael

You cannot gain such a solid understanding of this, unless you have decades of experience. You folks are very lucky that this man takes his time and comes here and supports this forum. His knowledge is beyond amazing, learn from him......

 

[Michael Leigh]

You cannot gain such a solid understanding of this, unless you have decades of experience. You folks are very lucky that this man takes his time and comes here and supports this forum. His knowledge is beyond amazing, learn from him......

Thank you @fishbone for your kind comments and I would like to say the same about you . It is unfortunate that some people in this forum, give up too easily at the first sign of difficulty with tinnitus. This is not an easy condition to cope with when it is severe, but with time and patience a lot can be achieved.

 

[MidnightOilAudio]

Hi everyone, so since my onset of tinnitus 3+ years ago, I have had 3 occasions where I've had what people call "reactive tinnitus". All spread out about a year about, no common thread between them.

To anyone who hasn't had it, it's hard to describe, mine isn't like a single new discrete tone that gets louder in the presence of sound, it's more like an overlying tone or series of tones that ramps up in response to certain frequencies. In my case, it's to stuff like plastic bags rustling, rushing water, etc.

It is the strangest thing, and a whole different level than just the constant tinnitus. My episodes lost anywhere from 10 min to a couple hours.

My heart goes out to anyone that experiences this regularly/daily.

 

[RSV]

I have reactive tinnitus. What dose it mean to me. Guitar players still play the guitar electric. And it never increases in volume. Mine dose with every noise. Any noise that is over a certian loudness. My pastor and his wife sings, makes CD's, preaches using microphones. Tell me to come to church. Music is really loud.

I used to set at my aut's house on Wendsday sometimes when i did not go for some reason. The church was across the street. Now they are in a different building. I could hear the nusic and praching as if I'm in the first row. His mom had cotten in her ears. We got told he had tinnitus. I did not have it then. Then he met his wife and she had it. He told me she sleeps with the TV on 40 I think? I watch the service through facebook live. I cant be around that loud noise. My pastor said his is louder than church bells. And got it from gun shots.

Mine take is this. Every noise that makes it go up in volume it is reactive. If nothing ever bothers yours. Nothing and it never increases. Then to me it is not active.

 

[Milky Way]

Hi all,
I've been affected by tinnitus for many years. It has deteriorated severely about 8 years ago with a debilitating effect on my lifestyle to the point that I had to quit my full time job back then.

Now I am trying to be more active professionally. The problem is that my ears and tinnitus can't withstand intense phone calls for more than 2 minutes or even less. Four days ago I had two moderately intense conversations over the phone (with a customer service line and a friend), and my tinnitus spiked awfully despite using the phone at a distance with speakers mode on (I've also tried using memory foam headphones with the same problem).

I still haven't recovered from the spike. Would this be considered reactive tinnitus? The tinnitus seems aggravated when I use my ears to focus on musical instruments or phone conversation.

Not being able to handle phone conversations is a massive drawback for work. Anyone here in the same boat and could share some advice or remedies? I eat garlic daily, use garlic oil drops occasionally etc.

 

[Agatha]

Would this be considered reactive tinnitus? The tinnitus seems aggravated when I use my ears to focus on musical instruments or phone conversation.

It sounds like reactive tinnitus.

 

[Michael Leigh]

It sounds like reactive tinnitus.

There is no such thing as "Reactive tinnitus" by this I mean a so called condition. When tinnitus is reactive to certain sounds or all sounds depending on its severity it is usually "Hyperacusis" one is experiencing. Reactive Tinnitus is a terminology that was made up in tinnitus forums and is commonly used but in reality it does not exist.

Michael

 

[Greg Sacramento]

Reactive tinnitus is a generalized subject term which may be just a subset of hyperacusis and is probably due to a collapsed tolerance to louder sounds.

Increasing or decreasing tinnitus has input to anything that can cause tinnitus and that can be complex, not a generalized subject. Spiking tinnitus can also include secondary functionals such as GERD and posture.

 

[Agrajag364]

White noise causes my reactive tinnitus to go eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
so freakin annoying how people keep telling me white noise should help

Yes I've got proper WNG, programmed into hearing aids, and followed the instructions of my audiologist but the white noise they generate seem to make my tinnitus more piercing. I am prepared to believe if I used them in a different way with a build up they might not do this but I am not going take the risk.