Tinnitus Began First Week of June 2020 After Wim Hof Breathing

[JONabes]

The thing that's weird is the sensation would come and go when I least expected it and it does happen less often now. It feels like not all noise but certain sounds provoke it more than others. I'm thinking it has less to do with the volume and more to do with the frequency and wave form or something like that.

That's spot on in my experience - sounds around 1 kHz with a sharp attach (percussive sounds) make my ear flinch whatever the volume.

My ETD flare ups have all happened the day AFTER I've been exposed to sounds like this at work (or long periods of talking) - it's almost like a hangover. The twinges in my ear/head happen during the sound exposure though and though they don't seem too bad at the time, I'm now relating them to building up a big 'ETD debt' that has to be paid over the next few days.

I'm in the lucky position of only working two days a week at the moment due to COVID-19 and so it's given me a good opportunity to experiment with this sound exposure/rest dynamic. I've cancelled all my work and now have at least 4 weeks clear as my ear (specifically my Eustachian tube health) is the most important thing to me at the moment.

has been pushing through with the sound therapy and seems to be improving and is less susceptible to the fullness and pressure change

I'm going to do this once I've had a few 'ETD + hyperacusis free' days (I'm just recovering from a flare up that began last weekend). I'm going to train it gradually, start with 30s and build up slowly from there. I really do notice a profound improvement to the tinnitus with it, but the tinnitus is of secondary importance to ETD symptoms for me at the moment!

I feel like overall anxiety causes more of the flutter for me and may induce some of the pressure as well.

When I'm practicing the piano (I'm restricted to an low volume organ sound whilst wearing noise cancelling headphones to not trigger any ear flinches) I really notice that, when I'm concentrating, I get the tension/fluttering thing. I'm not sure I would even notice if I wasn't wearing the closed-back headphones - they accentuate any vibrations going through my body (the sound of my heartbeat is clear as day when using the headphones for example). It doesn't seem like it's only stress and anxiety that causes this tension for me, but any concentration/intense focus. It had occurred to me also that concentrating on the piano in this way must be causing a hell of a lot of nervous system activity/traffic, and brings me back to @MrC6688's earlier comment about 'hearing our central nervous system'.

I think more than anything we need time

Yeah man, I've been too eager to rush back into normal life, it's now my sole purpose to do anything that allows me rest/space to heal.

 

[JONabes]

For me, being what CBD is and from my experience with it, it's difficult in my mind to connect it with aggravating tinnitus symptoms

It took me weeks to accept that my cannabis use was exacerbating the tinnitus!

Although that is the full profile of cannabinoids that I take, not just the CBD. I don't think it makes it worse overall, just when I'm high. It does heighten all the other senses though so makes sense that it would intensify any auditory stimulation, be it internal or external.

Glad to hear you're on a steady recovery @Renfrey!

 

[Renfrey]

It took me weeks to accept that my cannabis use was exacerbating the tinnitus!

Although that is the full profile of cannabinoids that I take, not just the CBD. I don't think it makes it worse overall, just when I'm high. It does heighten all the other senses though so makes sense that it would intensify any auditory stimulation, be it internal or external.

Glad to hear you're on a steady recovery @Renfrey!

Have you tried using just CBD without the cannabis (THC)?

 

[Renfrey]

Going to try the Tinnitus Mix soon for a few nights and see how that goes.

I finally got the Tinnitus Mix to download. Are you going to try it with the full Koss headphone setup? Since I got it to download, I think I might order some of those headphones and try this whole thing per instructions.

 

[Lukee]

Did it at least give you a more restful sleep?

Not that I noticed. Though a lot of people I have talked to in general have told me you need at least a week to see benefits form CBD for any purpose.

In regards to CBD, I think it's important to always use a very high quality, potent, full spectrum (expensive) brand.

I tried a medicinal prescription brand. Canada is very much like CA when it comes to marijuana laws and we have some of the best CBD and THC products up here. I do want to try and get my hands on pure CBG oil as that supposed to be the real deal stuff for inflammation and neuro issues. I was also thinking, since CBD is an anti-inflammatory, maybe that's what's been helping your recovery. It's possible that it's helping the healing timelines.

Me thinks it might be good for the headaches you were having too.

Thinking of trying the CBD a bit longer term and see if it helps with the headaches and head pressure. That's probably my first or second concern along with ETD issues.

Is it louder than your maskers and sound therapy? Does it reduce any after listening to sound therapy?

Not usually louder than maskers. For most of the day, especially if I'm busy, I don't notice it and sometimes it gets really quiet even around a quiet environment. If I'm around noise and stimulation, rarely will I hear it.

I finally got the Tinnitus Mix to download. Are you going to try it with the full Koss headphone setup? Since I got it to download, I think I might order some of those headphones and try this whole thing per instructions.

I bought a cheap MP3 player and the Koss headphones. I have done weirder shit in my life to fix problems and am fully willing to try anything to fix this issue. It's a little be voodoo for me but I guess you don't know until you try it. Someone just posted a reply on the thread saying it worked for them after only a week. I will start tomorrow night and let you know how it goes.

That's spot on in my experience - sounds around 1 kHz with a sharp attach (percussive sounds) make my ear flinch whatever the volume.

My ETD flare ups have all happened the day AFTER I've been exposed to sounds like this at work (or long periods of talking) - it's almost like a hangover. The twinges in my ear/head happen during the sound exposure though and though they don't seem too bad at the time, I'm now relating them to building up a big 'ETD debt' that has to be paid over the next few days.

I'm in the lucky position of only working two days a week at the moment due to COVID-19 and so it's given me a good opportunity to experiment with this sound exposure/rest dynamic. I've cancelled all my work and now have at least 4 weeks clear as my ear (specifically my Eustachian tube health) is the most important thing to me at the moment.

I'm going to do this once I've had a few 'ETD + hyperacusis free' days (I'm just recovering from a flare up that began last weekend). I'm going to train it gradually, start with 30s and build up slowly from there. I really do notice a profound improvement to the tinnitus with it, but the tinnitus is of secondary importance to ETD symptoms for me at the moment!

When I'm practicing the piano (I'm restricted to an low volume organ sound whilst wearing noise cancelling headphones to not trigger any ear flinches) I really notice that, when I'm concentrating, I get the tension/fluttering thing. I'm not sure I would even notice if I wasn't wearing the closed-back headphones - they accentuate any vibrations going through my body (the sound of my heartbeat is clear as day when using the headphones for example). It doesn't seem like it's only stress and anxiety that causes this tension for me, but any concentration/intense focus. It had occurred to me also that concentrating on the piano in this way must be causing a hell of a lot of nervous system activity/traffic, and brings me back to @MrC6688's earlier comment about 'hearing our central nervous system'.

Yeah man, I've been too eager to rush back into normal life, it's now my sole purpose to do anything that allows me rest/space to heal.

This is really interesting. I haven't been able to tie the flutter to any particular noise except that I usually get it in the morning when entering my truck, I think shortly after starting it. Might be the engine/exhaust noise that might be setting it off along with the colder morning weather. I'm going to start to pay attention to the cues and see what sets it off. As far as the fullness after noise, I haven't noticed that either. I work 6 days around noise so I guess I don't get the break to verify it. Some days are definitely louder than others but I am going to pay attention to it moving forward. You might be on to something and knowing what is hurting us, might help us heal faster.

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time with the extra tone and flutter. Have you tried Magnesium?

 

[Matchbox]

Lukee and Cernuto,

Yes, Wim is aware and acknowledges the tinnitus. He has a page written about it in his book. I posted it on pg. 4 of this thread, but here it is again.

Here's what Wim says when this question is posed:

My ears are ringing after the breathing practice - is this normal?

This effect is known as "tinnitus", a condition with a wide range of causes and manifestations.

For some people, practicing the WHM either induces or exacerbates the ringing, while for others it changes the pitch. Conversely, those dealing with chronic tinnitus often find relief from its concomitant anxiety in the calming effect of the breathing techniques.

The connection between tinnitus and the WHM has various possible causes. Medical research shows a direct link between pulsatile tinnitus and anemia, which the WHM may ameliorate through the elevated oxygen intake. The breathing exercises also increase neural activity in the auditory brainstem, where the brain processes sounds, possibly causing auditory nerve cells to become over-excited.

The scientific community continues to grapple with the particulars of tinnitus, but has established that the phenomenon itself is harmless. We have found that in the vast majority of cases, the ringing disappears with repeated breathing practice. If you find that, after several weeks, the noise persists or intensifies, some underlying physiological condition may be at play, in which case we recommend you consult a medical professional.​

Wow.

This is the biggest load of scapegoating gaslighting BS I've ever heard. God forbid what you're doing with WHM is killing auditory neurons and actually causing tinnitus... because if he admitted fault, he'd get sued.

 

[JONabes]

Have you tried using just CBD without the cannabis (THC)?

I'm in the UK so I can't get hold of it. What's left in the vaporiser after using it is supposed to be mainly CBD, might try that!

Sorry to hear you are having a hard time with the extra tone and flutter. Have you tried Magnesium?

I haven't tried any of the supplements yet, going to start trying them one by one, see what works.

 

[Lukee]

Wow.

This is the biggest load of scapegoating gaslighting BS I've ever heard. God forbid what you're doing with WHM is killing auditory neurons and actually causing tinnitus... because if he admitted fault, he'd get sued.

Absolutely. I am really upset that this guy is going around pretending to be the second coming of Christ when he knows he is hurting people. He is a real con artist.

I will say one thing that really stood out when talking to a researcher: tinnitus is a common phenomenon in meditation. This absolutely blew me away. He said even non-aggressive forms of breathing and meditation have been known to cause tinnitus and it's usually "accepted" as a right of passage and means you are advancing your meditation. The Sound of Silence by Ajahn Sumedho mentions tinnitus 3 times in his book like in this passage, "Some people, when they recognize it, develop aversion to it – they think it's tinnitus or something."

I find it intriguing that after so many years, this phenomenon still gets swept under the rug and is correlated to some higher level of meditative power. I'd rather take the silence.

 

[Renfrey]

Not that I noticed. Though a lot of people I have talked to in general have told me you need at least a week to see benefits form CBD for any purpose.

That's interesting, because it always hits me the hardest during the first few days of using it. Most likely due to my low tolerance levels when starting and the dosage amount. Maybe you could try upping the dosage?

I tried a medicinal prescription brand. Canada is very much like CA when it comes to marijuana laws and we have some of the best CBD and THC products up here. I do want to try and get my hands on pure CBG oil as that supposed to be the real deal stuff for inflammation and neuro issues.

Cool. Sounds like you got it handled.

Not usually louder than maskers. For most of the day, especially if I'm busy, I don't notice it and sometimes it gets really quiet even around a quiet environment. If I'm around noise and stimulation, rarely will I hear it.

Good that it's not louder than the maskers. I was just wondering how loud it was, because you recently mentioned a loud hiss phase going on 24/7.

I bought a cheap MP3 player and the Koss headphones. I have done weirder shit in my life to fix problems and am fully willing to try anything to fix this issue. It's a little be voodoo for me but I guess you don't know until you try it. Someone just posted a reply on the thread saying it worked for them after only a week. I will start tomorrow night and let you know how it goes.

I think I'm at that voodoo point too. I just need to order the headphones. I listened to the Tinnitus Mix for the first time while sleeping last night, but only on speakers. That would be great to hear how it goes with you.

 

[Renfrey]

I'm in the UK so I can't get hold of it. What's left in the vaporiser after using it is supposed to be mainly CBD, might try that!

Hmm. But from what I've read, CBD is now currently legal and available in the UK. Is that not really the case?

 

[JONabes]

Hmm. But from what I've read, CBD is now currently legal and available in the UK. Is that not really the case?

It is legal, but not in any concentrations that would do anything except placebo.

 

[JONabes]

@MrC6688, @Lukee, @Renfrey and everyone - has anyone experienced weird changes in their tones over the course of all this? My newest (1 kHz sine wave left ear) is switching sides seemingly on a daily basis. The quality of the tone is changing too like from a perfect sine wave into a more resonant, glassy tone, and then intermittently beating sometimes too.

I'm actually happier with this than the constant, symmetrical 'muted tv' sound as I'm thinking the change means it must be healing? I don't know, but I'd love to hear if anyone else is experiencing the same.

How is your ear pressure/pain @Lukee? Are you still getting the headaches?

 

[JONabes]

I find it intriguing that after so many years, this phenomenon still gets swept under the rug and is correlated to some higher level of meditative power. I'd rather take the silence.

There are elements to tinnitus which are psychoacoustic/auditory perception related i.e. your brain 'overcompensating' for natural hearing loss, not unconsciously filtering out the sound of your nervous system etc and then there are elements that are just down to damage.

The question is which of these elements do WHM/mindfulness affect?

With the WHM my money is on it doing some sort of damage/shock.

When I read about how the 'tingling' that he describes as a positive effect of the method is actually the effect of severe hypoxia that I was putting myself in every day.

I do wonder what the hell is happening where this guy can influence millions of people to do the same thing without there being any intervention from some sort of regulator (the internet regulator? I don't know...)

With meditation it's probably more the auditory perception route. Just my theory though.

What can we all do to effectively alert others to the dangers of this?

 

[stev3po]

Hey all,

New to this thread, but I've had tinnitus for a year now, and it has gone up and down since I got it. I'm still not sure what caused it but after and MRI, 2 different ENTs, 2 audiograms (which show above average hearing) and countless days of depression and stress, I believe mine was caused by an ear infection/water getting into my inner ear.

I wanted to comment on this thread because I had something happen to me while trying Wim Hof breathing. I've tried it a few times before and liked it, but recently I tried again. This time (about a week ago) I did three rounds using his app. It felt great. But after the third round I noticed a wave of hissing (on top of my normal sound, which is a ringing). The hissing was very loud and I was mildly freaked out, but also still relaxed from the breathing. It faded within a minute, and I was back to my normal baseline of ringing.

This phenomenon made me interested in why that would happen, given I'm already 1 year in to my tinnitus. I'm 100% grateful it didn't persist, because it was much louder than my baseline. And is this a clue to what's causing my baseline tinnitus?

Any help appreciated, but for now I'm still investigating. It may be jaw related, ETD, or something else. Pinched nerve in my neck?

Steve

 

[Lukee]

How is your ear pressure/pain @Lukee? Are you still getting the headaches?

Headaches are a bit better. Not sure what's causing them but I'm thinking either sinus, tension from neck and/or TMJ. It's like a constant mild headache all the time and a little pressure like I have a cold or sinus infection. It comes and goes. Ear pressure is a lot better and almost gone (or so it seems). Unfortunately, the tinnitus is louder than ever over the last two days. It's a loud hiss that I can pretty much hear constantly. Before, for most of the day, I could only hear it if there was no background noise. I stopped stretching my neck for a week and started to take vitamin B1 in a high dose. Not sure if either one has to do with it but both possible. I have also been around a lot of noise at work and my kids literally screaming their heads off in my ears. Hoping for some good days coming up. Glad your changing tones are bringing you some comfort.

Thiamine (vitamin B1) is said to help with nerve damage and has been miraculous in treating some neurological disorders. I was taking it to help with my tinnitus as well as energy and overall well being. Helping for sure on the energy level but I wonder if it's turning up the gain on my hearing and causing higher static.

 

[Lukee]

Hey all,

New to this thread, but I've had tinnitus for a year now, and it has gone up and down since I got it. I'm still not sure what caused it but after and MRI, 2 different ENTs, 2 audiograms (which show above average hearing) and countless days of depression and stress, I believe mine was caused by an ear infection/water getting into my inner ear.

I wanted to comment on this thread because I had something happen to me while trying Wim Hof breathing. I've tried it a few times before and liked it, but recently I tried again. This time (about a week ago) I did three rounds using his app. It felt great. But after the third round I noticed a wave of hissing (on top of my normal sound, which is a ringing). The hissing was very loud and I was mildly freaked out, but also still relaxed from the breathing. It faded within a minute, and I was back to my normal baseline of ringing.

This phenomenon made me interested in why that would happen, given I'm already 1 year in to my tinnitus. I'm 100% grateful it didn't persist, because it was much louder than my baseline. And is this a clue to what's causing my baseline tinnitus?

Any help appreciated, but for now I'm still investigating. It may be jaw related, ETD, or something else. Pinched nerve in my neck?

Steve

Hey Steve, sounds like what a lot of us have gone through, unfortunately it stuck around for us. We haven't come to a solid conclusion just yet but we are hopeful we can find some answers as to what's going on and how to fix it.

 

[Renfrey]

It is legal, but not in any concentrations that would do anything except placebo.

Roger that. I guess there's probably a lot of 'red tape' and hassle trying to have it imported from another country too, right?

@MrC6688, @Lukee, @Renfrey and everyone - has anyone experienced weird changes in their tones over the course of all this? My newest (1 kHz sine wave left ear) is switching sides seemingly on a daily basis. The quality of the tone is changing too like from a perfect sine wave into a more resonant, glassy tone, and then intermittently beating sometimes too.

I'm actually happier with this than the constant, symmetrical 'muted tv' sound as I'm thinking the change means it must be healing? I don't know, but I'd love to hear if anyone else is experiencing the same.

I notice my tones changing mostly when listening to sound therapy recordings. They're not dramatic changes though - very subtle. I don't really think of them as negative changes, but rather as part of the 're-tuning' process of the therapy.

But I have noticed for a while now that my tinnitus is more dominant on one side only. I haven't noticed it switching sides.

 

[Renfrey]

This phenomenon made me interested in why that would happen, given I'm already 1 year in to my tinnitus. I'm 100% grateful it didn't persist, because it was much louder than my baseline. And is this a clue to what's causing my baseline tinnitus?

Any help appreciated, but for now I'm still investigating. It may be jaw related, ETD, or something else. Pinched nerve in my neck?

Hey Steve,

My guess is that your baseline tinnitus is not related to your WHM tinnitus, because it appears you've had your baseline tinnitus long before you tried the WHM breathing (breath holds). I think most of us here are pretty certain that the breath manipulations and holds are the main cause of our particular ringing.

Some of us here are finding decent results with sound therapies.

Here are 2 of them that I'm currently using:

High-Pitched Tinnitus Neuromodulation

Tinnitus Mix

Here's a thread that some of us are interested in:

I Invented a Sound That Knocked Out My Tinnitus

 

[MrC6688]

Hey guys, I hope you've been doing well. So, I was waiting on one last supplement that finally came in the mail and now I've begun my supplementation program.

For the past 2 days I've been consistently doing my Ayurvedic supplementation which consists of taking Dashmoola and Yograj Guggulu in the morning after breakfast, Saraswati Churna after lunch, Jatamansi and Ashwagandha after dinner closer to bedtime.

I will have a full account of how I'm feeling by the end of the week. So far, the Saraswati Churna is definitely taking the edge off and making me feel very relaxed and a bit "stoned" if you will. But stoned as in I have all my wits... just feel very calm, awake in mind, and relaxed. After I take this particular supplement, I barely hear the hissing which is interesting. Saraswati Churna is an Ayurvedic brain tonic so it makes sense. Jatamansi is supposed to have a similar effect.

I'm only 2 days in, supposed to be a 1-3 month program of supplementation so we'll see if this does the trick. I also need to follow a strict Ayurvedic diet that is consistent with my constitutional type.

I will make an effort to post my experiences regularly.

 

[Renfrey]

I bought a cheap MP3 player and the Koss headphones.

I took your lead and bought a cheapie MP3 player and the Koss headphones. I just got them today. Ready for take-off.

Hey, I don't know much about MP3 players. Do you think they pack the proper hardware to put out the right quality sound? It seems that David's real particular about using the right stuff. I don't recall any talk of the actual sound source on that thread- only the headphones.

It should work alright, right?

 

[Lukee]

Hey guys, I hope you've been doing well. So, I was waiting on one last supplement that finally came in the mail and now I've begun my supplementation program.

For the past 2 days I've been consistently doing my Ayurvedic supplementation which consists of taking Dashmoola and Yograj Guggulu in the morning after breakfast, Saraswati Churna after lunch, Jatamansi and Ashwagandha after dinner closer to bedtime.

I will have a full account of how I'm feeling by the end of the week. So far, the Saraswati Churna is definitely taking the edge off and making me feel very relaxed and a bit "stoned" if you will. But stoned as in I have all my wits... just feel very calm, awake in mind, and relaxed. After I take this particular supplement, I barely hear the hissing which is interesting. Saraswati Churna is an Ayurvedic brain tonic so it makes sense. Jatamansi is supposed to have a similar effect.

I'm only 2 days in, supposed to be a 1-3 month program of supplementation so we'll see if this does the trick. I also need to follow a strict Ayurvedic diet that is consistent with my constitutional type.

I will make an effort to post my experiences regularly.

Good to hear from you. Great news about the improvements, please keep us posted. I've been in a spike now for a few days and I'm just praying it's not permanent because I can barely mask it.

I took your lead and bought a cheapie MP3 player and the Koss headphones. I just got them today. Ready for take-off.

Hey, I don't know much about MP3 players. Do you think they pack the proper hardware to put out the right quality sound? It seems that David's real particular about using the right stuff. I don't recall any talk of the actual sound source on that thread- only the headphones.

It should work alright, right?

I'm not an audio expert but I think as long as it plays the bitrate which I think is 1411kbps you should be ok. From what I read, most cheap MP3 players will do it. I just got my mine yesterday so will try and start some therapy tonight. I had a really bad night and barely slept, pretty much feeling the same I did in the first two weeks. This sucks.

 

[Renfrey]

Hey guys, I hope you've been doing well. So, I was waiting on one last supplement that finally came in the mail and now I've begun my supplementation program.

For the past 2 days I've been consistently doing my Ayurvedic supplementation which consists of taking Dashmoola and Yograj Guggulu in the morning after breakfast, Saraswati Churna after lunch, Jatamansi and Ashwagandha after dinner closer to bedtime.

I will have a full account of how I'm feeling by the end of the week. So far, the Saraswati Churna is definitely taking the edge off and making me feel very relaxed and a bit "stoned" if you will. But stoned as in I have all my wits... just feel very calm, awake in mind, and relaxed. After I take this particular supplement, I barely hear the hissing which is interesting. Saraswati Churna is an Ayurvedic brain tonic so it makes sense. Jatamansi is supposed to have a similar effect.

I'm only 2 days in, supposed to be a 1-3 month program of supplementation so we'll see if this does the trick. I also need to follow a strict Ayurvedic diet that is consistent with my constitutional type.

I will make an effort to post my experiences regularly.

Whoa, those sound like some damn good results with the Saraswati Churna, Mr. C!

I'm definitely throwing that one on my herbal list.

 

[Renfrey]

I'm not an audio expert but I think as long as it plays the bitrate which I think is 1411kbps you should be ok. From what I read, most cheap MP3 players will do it. I just got my mine yesterday so will try and start some therapy tonight.

Cool. I think you're right.

I had a really bad night and barely slept, pretty much feeling the same I did in the first two weeks. This sucks.

Sorry to hear that, bro. I had a rough night last night too, with minimal sleep. It was my first night trying to sleep with headphones. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I don't think the sound itself was the problem, but more of just trying to get comfortable with them on. Towards the end of the night (morning), I figured out a way to not wear them directly over the ears and lay down more comfortably.

I'm going to try and wear them most of the day too and see how that goes.

 

[Lukee]

I tried Tinnitus Mix last night with the correct hardware. I only got through about two hours of it before I woke up and took off the headphones. I woke up a couple times throughout the night, probably unrelated. I have slightly higher hissing this morning but not sure if it directly from Tinnitus Mix or being around loud machines for the most part of the day yesterday.

 

[Lukee]

@MrC6688, give us some good news Mr C!

How is the treatment going?

 

[JONabes]

@Lukee, sorry to hear about the intensity increase for you - at least the pressure and pain aren't bothering you anymore (I hope!)

I had the extended audiogram yesterday - it was fully legit; anechoic chamber, closed back headphones etc. Up to 16kHz. I don't have the consultation with the specialist till Wednesday but to my untrained eyes they're not the results I was hoping for - I've basically got the hearing of a teenager (I'm 37) all the way up to about 10-12 kHz where it then rapidly drops off to just scraping the bottom of normal hearing at 16 kHz :-(

Classic high frequency hearing loss and from what I've been reading would explain the fuck out of the high pitched 'muted tv' sound.

Although that's really not what's bothering me, I can totally live with/ignore it. Just hoping the specialist will be able to help me with the pressure/pain/sensitivity to sound!

I will keep you posted.

 

[Lukee]

@Lukee, sorry to hear about the intensity increase for you - at least the pressure and pain aren't bothering you anymore (I hope!)

I had the extended audiogram yesterday - it was fully legit; anechoic chamber, closed back headphones etc. Up to 16kHz. I don't have the consultation with the specialist till Wednesday but to my untrained eyes they're not the results I was hoping for - I've basically got the hearing of a teenager (I'm 37) all the way up to about 10-12 kHz where it then rapidly drops off to just scraping the bottom of normal hearing at 16 kHz :-(

Classic high frequency hearing loss and from what I've been reading would explain the fuck out of the high pitched 'muted tv' sound.

Although that's really not what's bothering me, I can totally live with/ignore it. Just hoping the specialist will be able to help me with the pressure/pain/sensitivity to sound!

I will keep you posted.

Wow. It really does fall off in the high frequencies. I can't say whether or not I have high frequency hearing loss (it's likely that we all do) but I can definitely hear 15-16 kHz pretty easily. If we still have pretty good hearing in those frequencies you think that the tinnitus is still caused by it?

I think at the beginning of this thread Matchbox or Greg Sacramento said that it was likely we damaged our highest frequency hearing as they are the most susceptible to damage (probably from hypoxia) which bring us all the way back to this is not ANS related but actually physical damage. With that being said I'm curious if 1) Mr C is getting/will get positive results from his treatment and 2) can we recover, even a bit, from high frequency hearing loss. I think the steroids early on might have helped with some of the damage though I wasn't offered any so I think only Renfrey and Mr C know.

Matchbox seemed to think that some of the damage was reversible with time and I believe that even though most people say that our ears cannot heal, I think they do just really slowly. I am definitely going to be careful around loud noises moving forward as I think they might be worsening my tinnitus over the last few weeks.

 

[Lukee]

Hey Guys,

Spoke to my researcher friend yesterday. He had a call with some Russians. He asked about treatment for tinnitus and one guy said they have success with Vasobral and acupuncture. He was treated with is successfully. Looking it up I found it interesting that it mentions tinnitus from ischemic genesis. If we have damaged our ears from the breath holds, this would likely help.

I just wanted to update everyone and maybe we can look a little into this vasobral stuff and see if it's a viable option. There is only one post on Tinnitus Talk about it and I posted a reply there. Have a look and see if anything catches your eye.

Funny enough, when talking to my researcher friend he said if it was possible to increase the blood flow to the ears it might help. We were discussing the Paul Stamets Stack (Lion's Mane, Psilocybin and Niacin) to help treat our issue and he said it could possibly help between the neurogenesis and the increased blood flow from the niacin. I think Vasobral increases blood to the brain and hopefully ears and eyes.

With all that said, I am really interested in the Paul Stamets Stack and might have a go at it (depending on what we hear back from Mr. C!).

 

[JONabes]

but I can definitely hear 15-16 kHz pretty easily. If we still have pretty good hearing in those frequencies you think that the tinnitus is still caused by it?

I think it's relative - tinnitus can be caused by your auditory system over compensating for hearing loss so perhaps you still have good hearing but if it's less good than before...

which bring us all the way back to this is not ANS related but actually physical damage

I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive. We are talking about nerve cells after all - if our nervous system has been traumatised in some way it could account for all of this - the sensitivity to cold, inflammation (ETD symptoms), the phantom drops of wetness I was getting on the sole of my foot the first 10 days or so...

Matchbox seemed to think that some of the damage was reversible with time

I think his point was the ringing can be reversed over time - I think for me, whatever possible damage has occurred is only really relevant in how my auditory pathway accommodates it, whether it keeps bothering me with inflammation, tinnitus etc. I'm not a sound engineer so losing some ability to hear the very very highest frequencies isn't a massive issue.

 

[Lukee]

BTW has anyone noticed eye floaters? Since this whole WHM tinnitus thing happened I have noticed an increase in black line floaters predominantly in my left eye. It's a little scary and leads me to believe that there was some optic nerve damage done as well during the breathing exercises. Apparently, like the ears, the eyes are very sensitive to changes in blood flow and oxygen, hence ischemia. This all goes back to possibly treating our problem with something that will increase blood flow to the eyes and ears.