Tinnitus for a Month — And Right Before Starting College

[bellecooper77]

Hello all! I posted a question in the support section and everyone was super nice and helpful so I thought that I would introduce myself and share my story, even though it is a short one.

My name is Belle and I'm 18, and I developed tinnitus about a month ago. I have no idea what caused it or where it came from, but it had in a way taken over my life. My father has tinnitus in one ear, so I'm not sure if it's genetic, my posture is terrible from looking down at my phone and schoolwork all the time, I usually have allergy symptoms around this time and I don't so I have no idea if this is just a symptom of allergies, and I used to listen to music very loudly in order to drown out my sister, who does theatre, while working on my schoolwork. I always seem to have a noise going on around me - when I was younger I would listen to music coming from a CD player right next to my ears until age 7, and then since then I have had a rain machine, as well as an air purifier right outside of my room due to my dad's tinnitus. I love music so I always seemed to be listening to something either from my record player, computer, or (until I developed tinnitus) my earbuds.

I had tinnitus for a day after I went to a concert in December, but it went away. I was hoping this one would simply vanish as well, but here we are. It just hit me one day in April when I was watching TV. I could hear this noise coming up, and normally when a noise like that comes up it goes away (I think someone said its called Fleeting Tinnitus), but this just simply did not go away that day, or the next, or the next, and I've been living with it ever since, with some improvements. I had no exposure to loud noise (however, looking back, I was listening to music at a louder-than-normal volume in a 2.5 hour car ride). It sounded like when someone pulls back their jaw in their head, except at a lower volume, which is weird considering that it doesn't sound like any of the examples I looked up.

After I had the noise for a week, I saw a doctor, and she prescribed me with 5 days of Prednisone, saying that I had some fluid in my ear that might have been causing the problem. I took it, and for the first 3 days I could feel the noise start to go down, but I went to New York City and standing in Times Square, I didn't hear an ambulance approaching. Soon it passed by and I didn't have time to cover my ears. As soon as it did, I could hear the noise return to its normal level, which made me very upset. I finished the prescription with no improvement. A couple of weeks later, I went to an ENT, who looked and said that I have no fluid in my ears and no signs of a sinus infection. I took a hearing test to see if that could be a cause, but to my surprise, my hearing was normal, with the ENT saying that it was actually a little better than normal. So that made me even more confused and upset. I'm someone who likes to know exactly what I do wrong in every situation so I can fix it, and this is driving me insane not knowing what caused the tinnitus since I have no hearing damage. My ENT also told me that it's OK to drink coffee and listen to music with my headphones, as long as no one around me can hear the music. He probably said that because I have no hearing damage, but I'm not sure.

I am a senior in high school and going to college in around 3 months, so the thought of being away from my main support system with this terrifies me. My dad understands what I am talking about, and so does my best friend, who has had tinnitus since our freshman year in high school. Sometimes I will cry in my room because I'm only 18, and I have so much life to live, and I am upset at myself for acting so carelessly with my ears. I will hear a buzzing sound from a AC or a fan and think that its my tinnitus and freak myself out. I can't believe that this is something that I might have to live with for the rest of my life, and it terrifies me more than anything else in my 18 years of living.

However, as I mentioned in my other thread, I have had some improvements. I can hear the tinnitus mostly in silence, however, if I concentrate on the sound I can hear it when doing things like watching TV. The sound has nearly disappeared in my left ear, with it being at the same level in the right, which gives me hope. I listen to a white noise machine at night, which has helped, and when I concentrate on something else, like when running or playing a sport or writing, the sound seems to go away and I forget that I have it. I can't seem to meditate in silence, since my tinnitus is the only thing that I hear, and I have found that if I drink caffeinated coffee that the sound will quietly return in my left ear and get worse in my right, even though in my left it hasn't gone up to the level that it did before (which is very interesting, since my friend drinks at least 2 cups every day, and my dad had to quit caffeinated coffee due to the effects it had on his tinnitus, which were not very good).

It's interesting, however, with headphones. I know that people on this forum hate headphones/earbuds, but when I listen to music at a low level, my tinnitus close to disappears, and as soon as I stop it seems to rev up again. I have no idea why it just happens. I still sometimes listen to music or podcasts to help me paint and listening to people talk about different things in a podcast or getting swept into a song does so much for me mentally. So, is there any chance that i can still listen to music, maybe through headphones such as Beats instead of earbuds?

I'm hopeful that this is caused by something that isn't permanent, as I have read many of the amazing stories of people recovering from tinnitus, but I am so happy to find a community of people who know what I am going through!!!!

 

[Simon101]

Hello all! I posted a question in the support section and everyone was super nice and helpful so I thought that I would introduce myself and share my story, even though it is a short one.

My name is Belle and I'm 18, and I developed tinnitus about a month ago. I have no idea what caused it or where it came from, but it had in a way taken over my life. My father has tinnitus in one ear, so I'm not sure if it's genetic, my posture is terrible from looking down at my phone and schoolwork all the time, I usually have allergy symptoms around this time and I don't so I have no idea if this is just a symptom of allergies, and I used to listen to music very loudly in order to drown out my sister, who does theatre, while working on my schoolwork. I always seem to have a noise going on around me - when I was younger I would listen to music coming from a CD player right next to my ears until age 7, and then since then I have had a rain machine, as well as an air purifier right outside of my room due to my dad's tinnitus. I love music so I always seemed to be listening to something either from my record player, computer, or (until I developed tinnitus) my earbuds.

I had tinnitus for a day after I went to a concert in December, but it went away. I was hoping this one would simply vanish as well, but here we are. It just hit me one day in April when I was watching TV. I could hear this noise coming up, and normally when a noise like that comes up it goes away (I think someone said its called Fleeting Tinnitus), but this just simply did not go away that day, or the next, or the next, and I've been living with it ever since, with some improvements. I had no exposure to loud noise (however, looking back, I was listening to music at a louder-than-normal volume in a 2.5 hour car ride). It sounded like when someone pulls back their jaw in their head, except at a lower volume, which is weird considering that it doesn't sound like any of the examples I looked up.

After I had the noise for a week, I saw a doctor, and she prescribed me with 5 days of Prednisone, saying that I had some fluid in my ear that might have been causing the problem. I took it, and for the first 3 days I could feel the noise start to go down, but I went to New York City and standing in Times Square, I didn't hear an ambulance approaching. Soon it passed by and I didn't have time to cover my ears. As soon as it did, I could hear the noise return to its normal level, which made me very upset. I finished the prescription with no improvement. A couple of weeks later, I went to an ENT, who looked and said that I have no fluid in my ears and no signs of a sinus infection. I took a hearing test to see if that could be a cause, but to my surprise, my hearing was normal, with the ENT saying that it was actually a little better than normal. So that made me even more confused and upset. I'm someone who likes to know exactly what I do wrong in every situation so I can fix it, and this is driving me insane not knowing what caused the tinnitus since I have no hearing damage. My ENT also told me that it's OK to drink coffee and listen to music with my headphones, as long as no one around me can hear the music. He probably said that because I have no hearing damage, but I'm not sure.

I am a senior in high school and going to college in around 3 months, so the thought of being away from my main support system with this terrifies me. My dad understands what I am talking about, and so does my best friend, who has had tinnitus since our freshman year in high school. Sometimes I will cry in my room because I'm only 18, and I have so much life to live, and I am upset at myself for acting so carelessly with my ears. I will hear a buzzing sound from a AC or a fan and think that its my tinnitus and freak myself out. I can't believe that this is something that I might have to live with for the rest of my life, and it terrifies me more than anything else in my 18 years of living.

However, as I mentioned in my other thread, I have had some improvements. I can hear the tinnitus mostly in silence, however, if I concentrate on the sound I can hear it when doing things like watching TV. The sound has nearly disappeared in my left ear, with it being at the same level in the right, which gives me hope. I listen to a white noise machine at night, which has helped, and when I concentrate on something else, like when running or playing a sport or writing, the sound seems to go away and I forget that I have it. I can't seem to meditate in silence, since my tinnitus is the only thing that I hear, and I have found that if I drink caffeinated coffee that the sound will quietly return in my left ear and get worse in my right, even though in my left it hasn't gone up to the level that it did before (which is very interesting, since my friend drinks at least 2 cups every day, and my dad had to quit caffeinated coffee due to the effects it had on his tinnitus, which were not very good).

It's interesting, however, with headphones. I know that people on this forum hate headphones/earbuds, but when I listen to music at a low level, my tinnitus close to disappears, and as soon as I stop it seems to rev up again. I have no idea why it just happens. I still sometimes listen to music or podcasts to help me paint and listening to people talk about different things in a podcast or getting swept into a song does so much for me mentally. So, is there any chance that i can still listen to music, maybe through headphones such as Beats instead of earbuds?

I'm hopeful that this is caused by something that isn't permanent, as I have read many of the amazing stories of people recovering from tinnitus, but I am so happy to find a community of people who know what I am going through!!!!

Hi Belle,

Thanks for introducing yourself. I am also new to this board but got Tinnitus back in 2003 when I was 17. So pretty close to your age when I got it. I'll do my best to give you some tips and advice.

It seems your tinnitus may have been caused by noise exposure, so was mine. I went to lots of concerts and played in a band as a teenager and then in April 2003 I woke up with tinnitus. I will tell you how I felt but please don't panic, I'm just going to be honest and want to share my experience .

I got extremely depressed and anxious, it was all I could think about. I honestly could see no way out and was having mental breakdowns everyday. I didn't go to college and just stayed in my room at my parents house, every now and then I would go outside and walk/run just to escape the sound a little.

But don't stress, a year later sometime in 2004 I had my life back. I had completely habituated to the tinnitus and my brain didn't respond to it at all. I ended up going to college later than everyone else but I still did it, got a job, bought an apartment and lived the good life.

Unfortunately, due to getting careless and being completely habituated to this for over a decade, I got careless and didn't wear ear plugs to a Football game and a party. My brain noticed my tinnitus again and I was back to square one. I am currently trying to overcome it for the second time and all the feelings I experienced way back in 2003 came back. It sucks but I am determined I will overcome it again.

Here's what I would recommend, as you are young and you haven't had Tinnitus for long, there is a good chance you can overcome this.

-I would avoid noisy environments as much as possible (looking after your ears from now on is a priority)
-Try not to obsess/stress over it too much but be aware of going into noisy situations and be prepared.
-Go to college and enjoy it, however if you go to parties or social events make sure you wear ear plugs. I have always used foam earplugs by Hearos. You should be able to find them in stores like Walmart if you live in the US. It may feel weird at first but you get used to it, I wore them to every social event, bar, party, NBA game etc.... for over a decade. If you are self conscious about it maybe you could wear your hair down (if you have long hair) and no one will even know.
- I would avoid ear buds for the time being. If you need to maybe get a pair of noise cancelling headphones and keep the volume very low. However I would try to avoid it right now. By all means listen to music via a speaker on low volume if you can
-Keep healthy and don't drink to much booze as this always made it worse for me.
- Good foods and exercise are your friend too
-Try not to stress too much and talk to your family if you need to.

Remember you need to look after your ears for the rest of your life now. I managed for years and then slipped up by not wearing earplugs and boom it was like I went back in time and was 17 all over again. But, I am determined I can get everything back in order, I just have to look after myself and let time take care of it.

One final thing, I would avoid concerts at all costs, If you must go YOU HAVE TO WEAR EARPLUGS. No ifs or buts, you just gotta ok. Hell if I was running the show it would be compulsory to wear ear plugs tinnitus or not, prevention is always the best thing and it kills me that I know many more will suffer from this in the future.

You are not alone and I wish you all the best. Enjoy college, but your health is the most important thing. Look after yourself.

Simon

 

[winstona]

Hello all! I posted a question in the support section and everyone was super nice and helpful so I thought that I would introduce myself and share my story, even though it is a short one.

My name is Belle and I'm 18, and I developed tinnitus about a month ago. I have no idea what caused it or where it came from, but it had in a way taken over my life. My father has tinnitus in one ear, so I'm not sure if it's genetic, my posture is terrible from looking down at my phone and schoolwork all the time, I usually have allergy symptoms around this time and I don't so I have no idea if this is just a symptom of allergies, and I used to listen to music very loudly in order to drown out my sister, who does theatre, while working on my schoolwork. I always seem to have a noise going on around me - when I was younger I would listen to music coming from a CD player right next to my ears until age 7, and then since then I have had a rain machine, as well as an air purifier right outside of my room due to my dad's tinnitus. I love music so I always seemed to be listening to something either from my record player, computer, or (until I developed tinnitus) my earbuds.

I had tinnitus for a day after I went to a concert in December, but it went away. I was hoping this one would simply vanish as well, but here we are. It just hit me one day in April when I was watching TV. I could hear this noise coming up, and normally when a noise like that comes up it goes away (I think someone said its called Fleeting Tinnitus), but this just simply did not go away that day, or the next, or the next, and I've been living with it ever since, with some improvements. I had no exposure to loud noise (however, looking back, I was listening to music at a louder-than-normal volume in a 2.5 hour car ride). It sounded like when someone pulls back their jaw in their head, except at a lower volume, which is weird considering that it doesn't sound like any of the examples I looked up.

After I had the noise for a week, I saw a doctor, and she prescribed me with 5 days of Prednisone, saying that I had some fluid in my ear that might have been causing the problem. I took it, and for the first 3 days I could feel the noise start to go down, but I went to New York City and standing in Times Square, I didn't hear an ambulance approaching. Soon it passed by and I didn't have time to cover my ears. As soon as it did, I could hear the noise return to its normal level, which made me very upset. I finished the prescription with no improvement. A couple of weeks later, I went to an ENT, who looked and said that I have no fluid in my ears and no signs of a sinus infection. I took a hearing test to see if that could be a cause, but to my surprise, my hearing was normal, with the ENT saying that it was actually a little better than normal. So that made me even more confused and upset. I'm someone who likes to know exactly what I do wrong in every situation so I can fix it, and this is driving me insane not knowing what caused the tinnitus since I have no hearing damage. My ENT also told me that it's OK to drink coffee and listen to music with my headphones, as long as no one around me can hear the music. He probably said that because I have no hearing damage, but I'm not sure.

I am a senior in high school and going to college in around 3 months, so the thought of being away from my main support system with this terrifies me. My dad understands what I am talking about, and so does my best friend, who has had tinnitus since our freshman year in high school. Sometimes I will cry in my room because I'm only 18, and I have so much life to live, and I am upset at myself for acting so carelessly with my ears. I will hear a buzzing sound from a AC or a fan and think that its my tinnitus and freak myself out. I can't believe that this is something that I might have to live with for the rest of my life, and it terrifies me more than anything else in my 18 years of living.

However, as I mentioned in my other thread, I have had some improvements. I can hear the tinnitus mostly in silence, however, if I concentrate on the sound I can hear it when doing things like watching TV. The sound has nearly disappeared in my left ear, with it being at the same level in the right, which gives me hope. I listen to a white noise machine at night, which has helped, and when I concentrate on something else, like when running or playing a sport or writing, the sound seems to go away and I forget that I have it. I can't seem to meditate in silence, since my tinnitus is the only thing that I hear, and I have found that if I drink caffeinated coffee that the sound will quietly return in my left ear and get worse in my right, even though in my left it hasn't gone up to the level that it did before (which is very interesting, since my friend drinks at least 2 cups every day, and my dad had to quit caffeinated coffee due to the effects it had on his tinnitus, which were not very good).

It's interesting, however, with headphones. I know that people on this forum hate headphones/earbuds, but when I listen to music at a low level, my tinnitus close to disappears, and as soon as I stop it seems to rev up again. I have no idea why it just happens. I still sometimes listen to music or podcasts to help me paint and listening to people talk about different things in a podcast or getting swept into a song does so much for me mentally. So, is there any chance that i can still listen to music, maybe through headphones such as Beats instead of earbuds?

I'm hopeful that this is caused by something that isn't permanent, as I have read many of the amazing stories of people recovering from tinnitus, but I am so happy to find a community of people who know what I am going through!!!!

Hi Belle, welcome to the forum! Do not let this beast bring you down! You are still young and the T will get better for sure. However, our ears take a long time to heal and you have to have patience to push through the hard days. It's nice to have a strong support system with your understanding family members and friends. That is invaluable for recovery.

I would still suggest you to stay away from extended use of headphones. I know if you put it on low volume it will be ok but don't make it a habit because eventually you may increase the volume bit by bit. I suggest you to wait till your ears are better before you start to use head phones to listen to music again.

Seeing that you are already improving and you are still young, there is a very good chance that you T will fade and possibly go away completely!

Take Care!

 

[billie48]

I'm hopeful that this is caused by something that isn't permanent, as I have read many of the amazing stories of people recovering from tinnitus, but I am so happy to find a community of people who know what I am going through!!!!

Warm welcome to the forum Belle. Living with tinnitus, it is best we stay as positive and calm as possible. This will hold off the limbic nerves from taking over, making T appear much worse. So focus on the positives in your situation. Your T is quite new and you are young. Things can definitely improve. Then you already have times you don't hear your T or got distracted when busy with things that you don't hear your T. These are all good signs that your T is probably mild in nature and have a high chance of fading or getting less intrusive. Another positive is that your father and your best friend both have T for a while and they understand you. Finding support like that is rare, when one's closest circle is able to understand your struggle. You can use them as role model to help yourself not to sink deeper into emotional distress. Negative emotions tend to make T worse, and they also tend to impress on your mind that T is a mortal threat causing it to zoom in on T and amplify its perception and/or sensation.

One thing to remember is that our perception of T can change over time and for many it is changing for the better. The intensity of T and its impact on us can get less and less as the brain is getting used to the repetition, assuming your T stays on (most likely not) and you are more willing to co-exist with T (at least for the time being). This is similar to people moving from quiet place to a noisy city and learning to adjust & adapt to the new noisy environment over time.
The intensity of the impact of the same stimulus (ringing) can decrease over time to the point habituation occurs naturally over time. So try to stay calm and positive that things will improve. Try to live your life normal. Give it some time. Take good care. God bless.