Tinnitus Caused by Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss — Update at 7 Months

[GregCA]

@CAgirl sorry for the delay. Been pretty busy! I'm doing reasonably well these days. Not great but way better than the first couple of years when I was debilitated. For me it's just been extremely slow progress with a lot of ups and downs. The downs have gradually got further apart. I can go several hours without noticing my tinnitus now which I never thought would be possible as I have very loud T (not masked by shower, Hoover etc).

Good to hear from you brownbear! Glad you're doing better.

 

[brownbear]

@GregCA You too! It's pretty crap isn't it but what can you do? I just try to have fun every day, even when I can't face it. How you getting on?

I have developed an obsession with downhill mountain biking! Lots of falls and injuries. Hard to focus on tinnitus when you're flying through the air about to hit a tree.....

 

[brownbear]

@CAgirl . I see you are very early in this process. Lot's of people see a reduction in the first year or even later. Even if you don't it'll be ok.... you'll just have to take up extreme sports like me to take your mind off it!
Seriously though I wish you well. Stay calm, breathe, better days will come.

 

[Thuan]

@brownbear Since you're an ENT doc, I suppose you keep up with the medical community and research. What are your current opinions on it, especially with this forum's hyped companies like Frequency Therapeutics and Hough Ear Institute, especially since they're aimed towards restoring sensorineural hearing loss?

 

[brownbear]

@Thuan I'm optimistic but no more optimistic than I am about current hearing restoration methods that don't reliably improve tinnitus.

 

[FGG]

@Thuan I'm optimistic but no more optimistic than I am about current hearing restoration methods that don't reliably improve tinnitus.

Have you had a chance to listen to Frequency Therapeutics' Tinnitus Talk Podcast by any chance?

 

[CAgirl]

Hi @Candy -

I read this post from 2017 where you describe your tinnitus. I am one month out from an acoustic trauma and I would describe mine exactly the way you did in this quote. Has anything changed or improved since then? How are you coping?

Thanks,
CAGirl

 

[GregCA]

@GregCA You too! It's pretty crap isn't it but what can you do? I just try to have fun every day, even when I can't face it. How you getting on?

Like you. Hanging in there. Trying to keep life going and make the best of it. Keeping an eye out for regen medicine and hope for new breakthroughs. It is what it is!

I have developed an obsession with downhill mountain biking! Lots of falls and injuries. Hard to focus on tinnitus when you're flying through the air about to hit a tree.....

Good for you! Definitely helps to find something else that fights for brain attention.
Take care!

 

[Gb3]

@brownbear does your good ear feel stuffy all the time?

 

[brownbear]

@Gb3
No I just have a low rumbling vibratory hum in my good ear. Been there for a year now. I seem to get a new tone every year unfortunately but luckily so far none of them come close to the badboy in my left ear which I'm still struggling with after 4 and a half years!

 

[Gb3]

@Gb3
No I just have a low rumbling vibratory hum in my good ear. Been there for a year now. I seem to get a new tone every year unfortunately but luckily so far none of them come close to the badboy in my left ear which I'm still struggling with after 4 and a half years!

You haven't habituated to it at all?

 

[brownbear]

@Gb3
I am in a far better place than I was but it's not quite the bed of roses I imagined this far down the line. I'd still walk across hot coals for a cure....

 

[Ed209]

@Gb3
I am in a far better place than I was but it's not quite the bed of roses I imagined this far down the line. I'd still walk across hot coals for a cure....

Being an ENT Dr yourself, do you believe clinical knowledge is lacking in this area amongst medical professionals?

Sorry to hear you're still struggling mate. I just wish we could find a real treatment that would end the misery of millions once and for all.

 

[ThomasC]

The main noise I hear is a loud high pitched hiss in my left ear which is in time with my pulse.

What do you mean by that ? Do you hear a pulsatile high pitch sound ? If you can also make it quieter by firmly clenching your jaw, then there is something you could do about it.

 

[SadMan]

Recap - I developed sudden sensorineural hearing loss in my left ear on the 27th July 2016. I have had severe tinnitus since then. I have multiple new sounds now. The main noise I hear is a loud high pitched hiss in my left ear which is in time with my pulse. I am not able to mask this sound at all - I can easily hear it in the shower. I also have a constant high pitched tone which I hear outside my head. In my left ear I get bursts of clicking sounds that sound like a typewriter about every 20 minutes. If I wake in the night (not often) I get a low droning sound in my good ear.

Current status
The good news:

1. It no longer affects my sleep at all. In fact I look forward to bed time as I often feel quite exhausted by the day with tinnitus. I wonder whether that might be a difference between those with severe and mild tinnitus. I notice that with many of the patients I see with milder tinnitus that they can't hear it at all during the day but they dread the night time when it becomes more obvious. I wonder whether when it is blasting at you all day you are just looking forward to the peace that sleep brings

2. I have resumed all my normal activities. I would estimate that I spend about 50% of my day feeling comfortable with my tinnitus.

3. I am much healthier and exercise regularly and drink less alcohol

The bad news:

1. I have experienced almost no habituation with regard to perception. I feel as though my mind is constantly still aware of the sound and this leads to endless rumination about it. I do however seem to be able to do this now alongside my normal day

2. In the other 50% of my day I feel uneasy about my tinnitus and somewhat restless.

3. I still have moments of high anxiety/panic with it, but this now seems to happen about once a week or so rather than several times a day!

4. Every morning is still a real struggle for the first hour or so. It feels like an electrical storm in my head when I get up. My head feels like it is vibrating with the tinnitus.


So there we are. Things are not great and I think it will be along time before I start to not notice for any significant period of time, but I feel as though I am getting glimpses of light at the end of tunnel.

Hello. 98 days ago I got tinnitus from a sudden loud noise from the headphones. I am now in the 4th month.

Our situations are pretty much the same. My ringing is the same as yours.

Are you sure you were not exposed to a loud noise?

I am very depressed. Hasn't there been any reduction in your tinnitus after 6 months? Have you taken antidepressants?