This Is Not Fun

[Joel Waterman]

Hey,

I first got tinnitus a few years ago, and it was right after flushing my ears with water. I didn't make the connection that it may have been caused by that though because I've gone to a lot of loud concerts and figured that they were the cause. It was not that loud, low frequency, and I was only sensitive to loud concert sounds after that, so started using hearing protection whenever I went to a concert.

Like 6 months ago I noticed that I was getting sensitive to some of the louder sounds at work, so I started wearing g hearing protection at work. Unfortunately, as I later found out it often does, wearing hearing protection so much made me more sensitive, so I wore it more and more.

On one fateful night about 3 months ago I tried to flush my ears out by letting shower water hit both ears for a few minutes. Right afterward I had a new and terrible tinnitus tone (about 15000 hz) and my sensitivity to sound was aweful. Dishes clinking, faucets turning on, my family's voices... all of them felt like a danger to me.

I almost had to quit my job as a candy maker because noises were too loud, but my boss said I could work nights so that I could control the noise levels. That has mostly been working out well, and I just were hearing protection if I'm going to do something loud.

I've been kind of going by the EPA's safe sound guidelines (rather than OSHA's) to try to get my hearing tolerance back up. So basically I try to avoid much unprotected exposure to anything over 70 decibals, but am trying to treat anything under that as safe.

It felt like I was making good progress, but then I did a heat sealing job a couple days ago with plastic for like 20 minutes, and it made my tinnitus spike and sound tolerance go way down.

I'm super bummed out, 'cause it feels like I'm back to square one after like 6 weeks of good progress, and now I'm back to having a hard time sleeping enough after having been getting good sleep for weeks.

I know that most professionals say that sounds can't actually cause more damage to a hyperacusis patient, and I hope that it's true, but now I'm getting paranoid about sounds that I had been adjusting to before. But I really want to build my tolerance up, and hiding from sounds that are lower than 70 decibals is supposedly only going to make recovery more difficult.

I just turned 27, and am really trying to focus on staying functional, because I know that I've probably got a good 50 years left to live, so I need to figure out how to deal with this in a good way. I'm really hoping that this will be temperary, but do realize that for many it can be more permanent condition.

Anyway, that's where I'm at.

Advice: Don't ever try flushing your ears out with water, and if you need to have it done, do thorough research on the pros and cons, and make sure that the doctor or nurse you go to knows what they're doing. I've read that some people go to get their ears flushed by a professional who doesn't do it right, and it makes things much worse for them. I might still have developed hearing problems without my water flushing disasters, but I definitely don't think it would be nearly as bad as it is right now.

Best of wishes to everyone,

-Joel

 

[Rob Hammer]

I'm with you in spirit Joel, hang in there. adjusting to T is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and continue to do. I'm new to this and its not fun at all. I hate it. But I'm going to hang in there and see how i adjust. Ive read more a few stories of people adjusting well by learning coping strategies.
All the best

 

[Joel Waterman]

Thanks Rob. It is a crazy difficult adjustment that's for sure. I wish you all the best continuing to adjust to yours. It's tough, but the success stories people post are very comforting. Just gotta take it one day at a time.
Best of wishes

 

[billie48]

It's tough, but the success stories people post are very comforting. Just gotta take it one day at a time.

Welcome to the forum. Best of wishes to you too, Joel. Sorry to hear your recent struggle but as you have seen period of lower T before this spike, there is a good chance that your T will settle back to that level. The more calm and positive you are, the more likely T will improve over time. Yes, the success stories are sources of comfort and hope. They can give hope and calm the troubling soul of a struggling member, which then can benefit to either calming T further or preventing it from getting worse. Positivity will not cure T but it will help speed up habituation. If we can keep anxiety and stress level down, T will generally be robbed of the fuel it needs to continue to haunt us. Hope all will be well with you. God bless.

 

[Joel Waterman]

Thanks Billie,
Stress and worry are definately killers, so it can never hurt to try to manage them properly and try n keep a positive perspective.

And I'm definitely hoping that your right, and my t will settle down to the old level (and h will get better).

Thanks for your kind words, and best of wishes to you!

 

[Rob Hammer]

I've had a few quieter days. It's been good. The T has turned through today
Though, but my attitude is so much different. I recognize my feelings around the T, acknowledge them, then understand that the volume of the T. comes and goes, as does my awareness of the tinnitus sounds. This strategy is a much calmer appraoch for myself. It seems to be working better.
Wishing everybody a good Christmas and holiday season.

 

[Joel Waterman]

Thanks Rob,
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you as well.