Tinnitus from Close Proximity to Fire Alarm — This Is So Awful

[Coldinhere]

During the first few months after the onset of my tinnitus (back when I haven't been aware about any of the above) I had been taking Amitriptyline to help me sleep and I ended up feeling good about the experience.

Do you sleep ok now Bill? Are you still masking or are you able to rest without it?

 

[Coldinhere]

Have they ever both been present at the same time, or would you say that the high pitch tone has replaced the idling engine sound?

No they've both been together. Idling tinnitus has only been in left ear. I've had the very high pitched shrill in both ears and it feels like across the whole back of my head.

The idling tinnitus also is 'physical' I can feel it pulsing although not to my pulse it has got its own agenda.

 

[Bill Bauer]

No they've both been together. Idling tinnitus has only been in left ear. I've had the very high pitched shrill in both ears and it feels like across the whole back of my head.

The idling tinnitus also is 'physical' I can feel it pulsing although not to my pulse it has got its own agenda.

In that case it's a good development. A switch To a high pitch noise would be the opposite of healing. Hopefully within 6 months your high pitch tone will fade and become a hiss.

Yes both, hair dryer and vacuum cleaner have both been used by me. Do you think they could have caused a spike/different tones to appear?

Anything is possible.

While I agree some people here go overboard with hearing protection, this increase in noise sensitivity after wearing hearing protection is only a temporary one. It is not the same thing as the brain turning up the auditory gain when there is a permanent loss in hearing.

With regards to noise exposure that isn't dangerous to most people, I developed a new tone in my right ear after a noise exposure at work back in October. I spent about half an hour in an area that I would estimate was at most 90db, but it was probably less than that. I had deeply inserted large foam earplugs at the time, but apparently that was not enough protection. That tone has not gone away, and it's not some psychosomatic spike. Spikes in volume are somewhat relative in my opinion, they can be attributed to stress, lack of sleep, noise exposure, diet, etc., but completely new tones that do not go away are something different.

What is safe for you may not be safe for me. And the fact is there has been no good study done assessing the vulnerability of already damaged auditory systems. The gold standard for dangerous noise levels is based on old data from OSHA where they looked for permanent threshold shifts of 10db or more at 2000, 3000, or 4000 Hz. As we know now, you can have fairly significant auditory damage without having a permanent threshold shift in those three ranges. There is also a lot of industry push-back when OSHA tries to make safety guidelines more strict (I haven't seen this with noise levels, but I have seen it with chemical safety guidelines). Moreover, it's very likely that some people are more genetically predisposed to hearing damage than others.

What I'm getting at here is I agree with you that some people really do go overboard with hearing protection, and obsessing about noise is not healthy, but it irritates me when people adopt this attitude of "well it works for me therefore it must work for you" or "it's safe for me therefore it's safe for you". No one can say that.

There have been many more experiences like the one above shared by people here. One might want to learn from those people's mistakes and attempt to reduce one's noise exposure. Of course you don't want to go overboard, as this can become debilitating.

Did the noises bother you at all when you got exposed to them? Normally the people who get spikes after noise exposure expose themselves to noises that they had never paid attention to in the past, despite the noises sounding too loud and feeling uncomfortable.

If I were you, I would be easy on my ears and stay away from loud and loudish noises whenever it's easy to do so. (In your case you could ask your daughter to vacuum, while you step out or wear muffs in another room.) You could experiment with this for 3-4 months, and then expose yourself to, say, the noise of a vacuum cleaner for a short time. If you get a spike afterwards, you will want to continue staying away from noises. The good news is that after 2-3 years you will become more resilient and will be able to handle most of those noises (or at least you could begin vacuuming while wearing muffs+earplugs and be ok afterwards).

 

[Coldinhere]

There have been many more experiences like the one above shared by people here. One might want to learn from those people's mistakes and attempt to reduce one's noise exposure. Of course you don't want to go overboard, as this can become debilitating.

Thank you.

Did the noises bother you at all when you got exposed to them?

No not at all. I have days when putting dishes and glasses in the washer make me grimace and other days when it doesn't seem to affect me. I did plug my ears when I used a set of clippers on my hair a few days ago but that was a day after I felt things were going downhill again. I will plug in future for vacuuming, hairdryer.
My daughters 8 years old so would rather be dancing to tic tok videos than domestic housework

The weird thing is the day of the smoke alarms going off (if it indeed that incident that caused my problems) I didn't cup or plug my ears I just ran down the stairs to my mother in laws to see what had happened. I felt no pain at the time, uncomfortable sure but no ringing in my ears, sensitivity, hot ear, absolutely nothing at all that would indicate a acoustic trauma until 5/6 days later with a gentle humming of that 'idling engine' my left ear.

 

[Bill Bauer]

until 5/6 days later with a gentle humming of that 'idling engine' my left ear.

My tinnitus began on day 10 after the incident that caused it. It is common for this to happen.

If those noises are the reason you got a significant worsening of your tinnitus, you might reconsider doing the vacuuming yourself. Surely your daughter can vacuum once every 3-4 weeks, and surely living in a somewhat dustier house is less of a problem than a tinnitus spike.

 

[Coldinhere]

My tinnitus began on day 10 after the incident that caused it. It is common for this to happen.

Ok thanks didn't realise this was common. I thought you may have symptoms that appeared straight away. I felt no pain at all just slightly uncomfortable, as most people are when a smoke alarm sounds.

If those noises are the reason you got a significant worsening of your tinnitus, you might reconsider doing the vacuuming yourself. Surely your daughter can vacuum once every 3-4 weeks, and surely living in a somewhat dustier house is less of a problem than a tinnitus spike.

Yes, it's not worth the risk. I'll sort something out.

Another awful night, sub 2 hours

I'll call the doc in the morning, I need something to get/ stay asleep. Even if I don't end up using it.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I thought you may have symptoms that appeared straight away.

I had ear fullness appear right away. But others haven't had any symptoms right away.

 

[Coldinhere]

@Bill Bauer

Ok thanks for the info. I've taken a few days off, I find this place can be overused and researched and therefore disadvantageous but equally its full of great people with a lot of help to offer. Finding the right balance still.

Thank you to all that have helped me so far, I genuinely mean helped.

The update on me is things are still very changeable.

I still have the night pitched ever so slightly oscillating shrill but the idling engine humming has returned and is constant drone now rather than intermittent. Some times I wake without it completely but with an hour or two it's back.

New symptoms : Tingling sensation around my the back of my head and forehead, very light, but strange. My tinnitus changed with external noise. The fish tank filter in our living room makes a noise like a sink tap slightly flowing and bubbling into pool of water and that adds a little sharpness to my oscillating tinnitus.

On zopiclone so I can sleep. Trying to have half a dose (3.75mg) instead of a whole tablet but took a whole one last night.

Really would like to come off those ASAP but just can't fall asleep naturally at the moment.

Hate the way tinnitus seems to dominate my every thought and it's definitely causing issues with my daughter, much more snappy with her which I feel terrible about after. I guess I have a lot of pent up anguish still. I just really want to go back to the father I was with her. That would kill me the most if I couldn't. Its just so hard to find something else to occupy my mind.

Keep saying to myself what others have said, that the "first three months are the hardest" but in finding it tough finding any kind of solace. I guess this is the absolute worst time to get tinnitus

 

[Bill Bauer]

Hate the way tinnitus seems to dominate my every thought

This is normal for tinnitus sufferers. Seconds after one manages to get one's mind off of tinnitus, one gets a thought "what's that noise?"...

If you are among the lucky ones for whom it eventually fades, this stage shouldn't last longer than 3-6 months...

 

[Coldinhere]

Hi all, Idling engine noise that seems to be originating from my left ear also seems to be causing a tingling /vibration across my head. Incredibly annoying, maybe built up anxiety together with tinnitus stress has ramped this up? . I get very mild headaches from this too, normally start early evening.

Been off the zopiclone last couple of nights and sleep has been more broken, maybe I should use it for 4/5 days consistently to see if more sleep improves things?

Definitely a little sensitive to 'clinking/high pitched banging noises'.

Nose seems blocked, normally left side nostril side (same as bad ear) but sometimes both are a bit stuffy.

What I really don't understand is that I used a nasal decongestant from the 10th April for 7/8 days and my tinnitus almost completely subsided (got 90% better after just two days) . I told family and friends that I was on the mend and began to live my life again.

Virtually no issues until May 1st (so nearly two weeks) but then tinnitus slowly returns? I'm confused, could it be that ETD hadn't completely cleared up and it's resurgence corresponded with me stopping the decongestant?

Cheers

 

[Coldinhere]

What I really don't understand is that I used a nasal decongestant from the 10th April for 7/8 days and my T almost completely subsided (got 90% better after just two days) . I told family and friends that I was on the mend and began to live my life again.

Virtually no issues until May 1st (so nearly two weeks) but then T slowly returns? I'm confused, could it be that ETD hadn't completely cleared up and it's resurgence corresponded with me stopping the decongestant?

Anyone had a similar experience?

Currently my T is a faint sometime moderate high pitch. It's like my head is plugged into a tiny electrical current.
I feel mild vibration sensation sometimes too at the back of the head and forehead.

I can cope reasonably during the day although thoughts are with me all the time (@Bill Bauer @Michael Leigh have advised me this is normal) but it's at night that I really struggle. Both getting and staying asleep unless I take zopiclone which I'm really trying not to use.

I'm trying to almost mask with nature sounds, as advised and I'm also trying other distractive noises but without much success.

Any sleep advice? Pillow speakers a good investment?

Many thanks

 

[Bill Bauer]

Virtually no issues until May 1st (so nearly two weeks) but then tinnitus slowly returns?

Are you saying that you didn't hear your tinnitus for two weeks?

I feel mild vibration sensation sometimes too at the back of the head and forehead.

That's unusual...

Currently my tinnitus is a faint sometime moderate high pitch.

Have you tried playing the sounds of crickets in your bedroom? Masking sound ought to help you sleep. The idea is not to play it so loud that you can no longer hear tinnitus. The idea is to give yourself something else to listen to besides tinnitus. Of course initially you will be focusing on tinnitus. Hopefully within 15 minutes or so you will begin to mostly focus on the sounds of crickets.

Try taking Amitriptyline. It is nonaddictive and it doesn't make you feel drowsy the next day.
Having said this, whether or not it's a good drug to take is a complicated question.

Large doses of Amitriptyline (50-100 mg, as opposed of the normal 10 mg that one uses to help one to fall asleep) has been used as a treatment for tinnitus.
https://www.researchgate.net/profil...e_Tinnitus/links/5502051c0cf24cee39fb28c8.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0079612307660245

Just like most potential tinnitus treatments, Amitriptyline can cause tinnitus (or make tinnitus worse) for a very small fraction of the people who take it:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269881107082126

During the first few months after the onset of my tinnitus (back when I haven't been aware about any of the above) I had been taking Amitriptyline to help me sleep and I ended up feeling good about the experience.

Many people on this forum have had a similar experience with this drug.

 

[Coldinhere]

Are you saying that you didn't hear your tinnitus for two weeks?

@Bill Bauer within 48/72 hours of taking the nasal spray decongestant (on 10th April) my symptoms improved. The tinnitus faded and I had days of silence partnered with nights with some faint T but a few days later this went as well.

I thought I was pretty much cured. I stopped the nasal decongestant after 7/8 days as prescribed and had another 8/9 days with no issues until 30th April when I started hearing a fuzzy high pitched noise that felt like it was across the back of my head when I lay down. Had T ever since.

I have been told by my GP not to go back on the decongestant even though I feel congested in at least one of my nasal passages most of the time.

I had a telephone conversation with ENT Consultant last week and he said that my T may be a combination of ETD, stress, alarm and grief. He said my Post nasal drip a week or so before the smoke alarm incident may have signified some problems/inflammation weakness that the alarm made worse.

I still don't understand how the decongestant worked so well if I had acoustic damage but he said that it may have helped a little with Eustachian tube dysfunction but the T im suffering now is as a result of the previously mentioned combinations.

I'm not convinced by him {it was only a telephone consultation, though he does want me to go for tests after covid19 restrictions are lifted) and I'm totally confused with how/why my T got better for a short period.

I'm going to continue following advice on here, or maybe restart the decongestant in a few days.

Cheers

 

[Bill Bauer]

restart the decongestant in a few days.

Did any of the doctors mention what the downside of using that decongestant is? If there is no downside and potential for upside (no tinnitus or at least of you learning that decongestant works, helping your doctors to give you a correct diagnosis), it makes sense to restart using it.

Your case is complicated, and unlike anything I've read about here. Hopefully a good ENT will be able to make sense of it...

 

[Coldinhere]

8/9 days with no issues

I've gone through my whats app messages for the period 10/4 - 30/4 to my mum/friends and "no issues" was an exaggeration. In these WhatsApps I've mentioned things like "slight ringing in ears in the morning " "it's definitely working" "so much better" "hardly notice it" "nearly 100%" etc

What isn't in doubt whatsoever is that after taking the decongestant things massively improved. During that period I had hours, days and restful nights with no feeling of T.
It was definitely fading fast.

I'm wondering if a middle/inner infection was/is still present though I have never had any symptoms like ear pain or discharge, vomiting etc.

Yes I think I'll restart the decongestant, doc was concerned that I may get rhinitis medicaments ( a condition of rebound nasal congestion suspected to be brought on by extended use of topical decongestants).

Cheers @Bill Bauer

 

[Bill Bauer]

I've gone through my whats app messages for the period 10/4 - 30/4 to my mum/friends and "no issues" was an exaggeration. In these WhatsApps I've mentioned things like "slight ringing in ears in the morning " "it's definitely working" "so much better" "hardly notice it" "nearly 100%" etc

I guess this proves that your tinnitus CAN improve. So hopefully eventually this will happen again. Rebound nasal congestion is a small price to pay for a chance to lower one's tinnitus.

 

[Coldinhere]

Rebound nasal congestion is a small price to pay for a chance to lower one's tinnitus

Yes, agreed.

Had most of the day today with very mild T that came back to usual level at about 6pm. Can't get used to it all when it's so changeable, appreciate that this *might* be a good sign in terms of future recovery.

 

[Mikkijan]

@Coldinhere I've just read all your story. How are you doing now?