Tinnitus from Acoustic Trauma Is Brain Damage... What Are You Doing to Treat It?

[Layla23]

Hey everyone.

I had tinnitus for a year and then suddenly 3 months ago I developed reactive tinnitus, hyperacusis, brain zaps, exploding head syndrome, eye floaters, visual snow, seeing flashing white lights while waking up, among other symptoms. I thought I was the only one and it turns out there's so MANY of us experiencing these other non-ear symptoms... and we all merely had severe acoustic traumas.

Did you know that 60 PERCENT of people with visual snow have bilateral tinnitus?!?

It has never been more clear to me than now that once tinnitus becomes brain tinnitus instead of just good old ear tinnitus... it's now brain damage.


Are we really supposed to just let symptoms progress?! I mean don't people with traumatic brain injuries get treatment? Aren't we considered as suffering from TBI's? The diplomats in Cuba that got attacked with sound and later suffered tinnitus were treated medically as having traumatic brain injuries.

Am I missing something here? Should I be getting treatments to prevent more damage? I don't see people really talking about this.

 

[JohnAdams]

I'm trying DIY gene therapy to induce regeneration of my cochlear stereocilia by ingesting large quantities of curcumin. So far, no real tangible objective results going into week 3. I may be just flat out stupid to think this will work.

 

[robHing]

Are we really supposed to just let symptoms progress?! I mean don't people with traumatic brain injuries get treatment?

Good question.

 

[Luman]

........ eye floaters, visual snow, seeing flashing white lights while waking up, among other symptoms.........

@Layla23, Have you visited an ophthalmologist regarding the visual symptoms? I had floaters and received laser treatment for vitreous detachment, which is very common in poeple over 50. This was in 2016, about 1.5 years before my tinnitus (which is bilateral) started, but I'd had ear fullness and sporadic other problems with my ears and hearing for over 30 years. I currently have hyperacusis and some other symptoms you mentioned, as well.

 

[Wolfears]

Hey everyone.

I had tinnitus for a year and then suddenly 3 months ago I developed reactive tinnitus, hyperacusis, brain zaps, exploding head syndrome, eye floaters, visual snow, seeing flashing white lights while waking up, among other symptoms. I thought I was the only one and it turns out there's so MANY of us experiencing these other non-ear symptoms... and we all merely had severe acoustic traumas.

Did you know that 60 PERCENT of people with visual snow have bilateral tinnitus?!?

It has never been more clear to me than now that once tinnitus becomes brain tinnitus instead of just good old ear tinnitus... it's now brain damage.


Are we really supposed to just let symptoms progress?! I mean don't people with traumatic brain injuries get treatment? Aren't we considered as suffering from TBI's? The diplomats in Cuba that got attacked with sound and later suffered tinnitus were treated medically as having traumatic brain injuries.

Am I missing something here? Should I be getting treatments to prevent more damage? I don't see people really talking about this.

The main problem is that the medical community as a whole could care less about Tinnitus and most so called medical professionals only know of tinnitus from watching/sleeping through a boring a 15 minute video from med school.
Another problem is the fact, that there is more money to be made from selling antidepressants and various coping schemes, than selling a one time cure.

I'm pretty sure the know how is out there, but it's not being used to benefit mankind...on the contrary.
Anyone who remembers the Delgado bull experiment from 1963 must realize, that if back then they had the brain mapped out to the point of being able to stop an angry charging bull via remote, induce any emotion from rage to euphoria and move people's limbs against their will, just imagine what we can do now over 50 years later.

Accounting for the natural progression, I'm pretty sure that there are classified government projects out there, in which the human subjects can be "downloaded" with any visual images or AUDIO sounds right along with the "right" thoughts.
Yet they say they can't cure tinnitus...right.

 

[another sean]

I'm trying DIY gene therapy to induce regeneration of my cochlear stereocilia by ingesting large quantities of curcumin. So far, no real tangible objective results going into week 3. I may be just flat out stupid to think this will work.

I think you might have better luck experimenting with fasting and firing up stem cell production. There are threads about it. Or do both.

 

[dpdx]

After I got a second acoustic trauma from the vemp. I developed all of those conditions. I have visual snow, dark eye floaters, entopic phenomenon, starbursts, etc
Tinnitus damages the sensory part of the brain.

 

[Wolfears]

I think you might have better luck experimenting with fasting and firing up stem cell production. There are threads about it. Or do both.

It would be actually interesting to see Tinnitus stats from countries, where fasting is widely practiced due to religious reasons.

 

[Tinniger]

... to induce regeneration of my cochlear stereocilia

Are you sure, that your cochlear stereocilia are damaged?

 

[JohnAdams]

Are you sure, that your cochlear stereocilia are damaged?

Nope. I only suspect it. I also suspect I may have some kind of nervous system damage, inflammation. I was taking ototoxic drugs and playing very very loud music.

 

[EarHair]

I suspect it is like how American Football players, Hockey players, Boxers, etc. get CTE and post concussion syndrome from head hits, tinnitus forms from too many ear hits. Every concert, gun shot, firecracker somehow messes the brain and after dozens and hundreds of events (or a handful or even one big one) you develop tinnitus.

I think I read a study a while back where they exposed rats to extremely loud noises and there were literally lesions on the brain compared to the ones that weren't.

Just be as safe as possible with future exposure. With way I got mine, dozens of concerts I think, I really don't think there will be a cure for me. Luckily mine has settled a bit and I've habituated a bit more from my January uptick but no more chances for me.

 

[Joe Bananas]

The main problem is that the medical community as a whole could care less about Tinnitus and most so called medical professionals only know of tinnitus from watching/sleeping through a boring a 15 minute video from med school.
Another problem is the fact, that there is more money to be made from selling antidepressants and various coping schemes, than selling a one time cure.

I'm pretty sure the know how is out there, but it's not being used to benefit mankind...on the contrary.
Anyone who remembers the Delgado bull experiment from 1963 must realize, that if back then they had the brain mapped out to the point of being able to stop an angry charging bull via remote, induce any emotion from rage to euphoria and move people's limbs against their will, just imagine what we can do now over 50 years later.

Accounting for the natural progression, I'm pretty sure that there are classified government projects out there, in which the human subjects can be "downloaded" with any visual images or AUDIO sounds right along with the "right" thoughts.
Yet they say they can't cure tinnitus...right.

Time again to remember the amount of money spent in the USA to pay to veterans who return from Afghanistan, Syria, etc with disabling tinnitus. A non-stop growing amount. Maybe your personal ENT doesnt give a shit about your T but more relevant scientist do care about figuring out a treatment or a cure. And they are fueled with the US need of stop spending giantic sums of money in disability payments.

 

[coffee_girl]

But tinnitus doesn't count as a disability in some states in the USA, unless in extreme and exceptional cases.

 

[dpdx]

But tinnitus doesn't count as a disability in some states in the USA, unless in extreme and exceptional cases.

I think we are all disabled.

 

[Telis]

I have had tinnitus now for almost 5 years caused by barotrauma plus a bad drug combo. I did suffer quite a bit of high frequency hearing loss in the process, but why did this cause tinnitus?

There are people that have become deafened and have no tinnitus. I realize that you have to have some form of hearing loss to have tinnitus (most the time), but you can also have no tinnitus with massive hearing loss. Obviously the brain of a tinnitus sufferer has a some kind of susceptiblity in this regard?

For me, I loose hearing and my brain goes haywire. Is this due to previous brain injuries ? I have a long history of concussions, maybe my brain (at some point) has lost its ability to reorganize itself when changes like hearing loss appear?

I had never experienced a serious acoustic trauma (that I know of) until about 5 weeks ago. I did not have the proper hearing protection on, was exposed to around 105-120db for about 40 min.

I honestly feel as though my cognitive ability has seriously declined since that day, I guess this could be stress maybe. But, I left the event with a serious headache (still have), tinnitus increase 10 fold (calmed to about 3x), messed up blurry vision (still have), no memory of getting home that day, severe memory problems (still have).

Long story short, I feel exactly like I've been physically struck in the head from this noise event, how is that possible? I should have maybe followed the concussion protocol and sat in a dark quiet room, maybe we should all have done this?

I've watched interviews with hockey players saying that they had ringing in their ears, sensitivity to noise and light for weeks after a blow to the head. They had to sit in a quiet room with no stimulation for weeks until it went away. I actually posted about this a few years back, why I didn't think of this after my recent acoustic trauma I don't know. I went home and got drunk, used headphones, had blasting crickets and white noise all night as I could barely hear.

Im also wondering if the brain can heal over time, my original tinnitus had no improvement for 4 years, until I cleaned up my lifestyle, tried a couple of fasts, and saw about a 50 percent reduction. I thought that maybe this was habituation finally, but I was clearly able to mask my tinnitus, where in the past it was almost unmaskable. Also, the brain tinnitus (bouncing around my head, eye zaps) disappeared completely.

Maybe people are mistaking habituation for a actual lowering in volume? This could be very easy to do, maybe time heals, brain heals. I am hoping this is the case. If not, and it's all because of the ear, well I'm just screwed.

 

[robHing]

There are people that have become deafened and have no tinnitus.

My mother has great hearing loss but she does not have tinnitus.
There are about 50% people with hearing problem but do not have tinnitus.
We are the unlucky the other half.

 

[Telis]

My mother has great hearing loss but she does not have tinnitus.
There are about 50% people with hearing problem but do not have tinnitus.
We are the unlucky the other half.

Maybe has something with how fast the hearing loss occurs, small amounts at a time and the brain adjusts itself, large amounts maybe harder to reconfigure properly.

 

[MuffinMan]

"Did you know that 60 PERCENT of people with visual snow have bilateral tinnitus?!?"

This new to me, I hope I won't get that too.

My sister has the visual snow though but no T.

My father has visual snow too but no T.

And my brother has a bilateral T.

My mother claims to have a very mild T

While I have an unilateral T.

Hmm, a genetic predisposition?

 

[Liam_Cairns]

Maybe has something with how fast the hearing loss occurs, small amounts at a time and the brain adjusts itself, large amounts maybe harder to reconfigure properly.

I've heard this from my ent, he said all the people with severe sound induced tinnitus he has come across, have had it from incredibly loud impulse noise or super loud clubs.

 

[JohnAdams]

I've heard this from my ent, he said all the people with severe sound induced tinnitus he has come across, have had it from incredibly loud impulse noise or super loud clubs.

this.