Tinnitus Getting Worse — Why?

[Emma33]

Hi all,

I got tinnitus 8 years ago, after using an ear-bud. It gradually got worse over 2 years before pretty much disappearing very suddenly (after I listened to some loud music one day).

I had 6 years of peace, until I knocked my ear last year and it came back. It came back bad, and got better slowly over 3 months. I had a 2 months of silence and then it slowly came back. It's been back since February, and every week it is worse and now it's hard to sleep.

I just can't work out why it's getting worse and worse - because from reading posts in this forum, it seems like tinnitus is generally stable (with some spikes). Are you can imagine, I am worried about how I'll cope with it getting louder and louder.

I meditate and try and keep an eye on my stress, and I also take some sleep medication a few times a week. Can anyone suggest anything that might help or give some info on why my tinnitus might be getting louder? (I'm trying some Chinese herbs and acupuncture, but no luck yet. I will also give Lipoflavonoids a try, and maybe a GABA/niacin combo.)

Thanks!!

 

[david c]

It seems like you are doing the right things - though I would be careful with the Chinese Herbs as there's a lot of unregulated stuff on the market some of which can do more harm than good.

Sound therapy helps some people somewhat. From what you've described though in terms of knocking your ear and that leading to increased tinnitus, I would definitely get that looked at by a professional as well as a hearing test. (you may have done all this already so forgive me if you have but it's not mentioned in your post).

 

[Emma33]

Hi, that's a good suggestion to get a hearing test. I went to an audiologist 8years ago, when I first got tinnitus, but he was pretty useless, so I didn't think of doing it again. It probably isn't a bad idea though. When you say sound therapy, what do you mean? (Is that TRT?)

 

[Agrajag364]

Hi all,

I got tinnitus 8 years ago, after using an ear-bud. It gradually got worse over 2 years before pretty much disappearing very suddenly (after I listened to some loud music one day).

I had 6 years of peace, until I knocked my ear last year and it came back. It came back bad, and got better slowly over 3 months. I had a 2 months of silence and then it slowly came back. It's been back since February, and every week it is worse and now it's hard to sleep.

I just can't work out why it's getting worse and worse - because from reading posts in this forum, it seems like tinnitus is generally stable (with some spikes). Are you can imagine, I am worried about how I'll cope with it getting louder and louder.

I meditate and try and keep an eye on my stress, and I also take some sleep medication a few times a week. Can anyone suggest anything that might help or give some info on why my tinnitus might be getting louder? (I'm trying some Chinese herbs and acupuncture, but no luck yet. I will also give Lipoflavonoids a try, and maybe a GABA/niacin combo.)

Thanks!!

Crikey, two years then it went suddenly? Hopefully it will do that again this time. Reducing stress is always a good one. You had your ears checked for wax?

 

[Emma33]

Yes, it was very weird, it got worse and worse for two years then just went away overnight (pretty much, it went down to a 1). I am praying it happens again. I haven't had my ears check for wax, but my hearing seems fine, and I'm not blocked up in any way, so I doubt wax is an issue.

 

[erik]

You should always get a hearing test when you first get tinnitus to set a baseline, especially if you haven't had one in a while. Also, if possible get a high frequency audio gram in addition to it since standard hearing tests don't measure higher frequencies.

That way if down the road, your hearing or tinnitus gets worse, you can have it done again to compare the results. You will find that usually your hearing is not worse. I just went thru 2 months of much louder tinnitus which has been aggravating. Finally, yesterday it went down and is down again today. Regardless, I am going to get a hearing test to see if there are any changes. It has been a few years since my last one.

 

[gav01]

I'm in the same boat as you, mine never went away but it has progressively gotten worse over the past few years and then it got worse a couple of weeks ago (people shouting) and last week it got worse again. Like you now I have trouble sleeping and I'm also angry.

Look at these threads

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/n-acetylcysteine-nac.395/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...lly-prevents-noise-induced-hearing-loss.7101/

I've bought a bottle of both and hope to get some relief as at this point in time of my life I have no life.

 

[Emma33]

Hi,

I just wanted to come back and say that since I wrote that post, I started to see some marked changed in my tinnitus. About 3 weeks ago, it dropped by about 70% for three days. Then it came back worse. Then, a week ago, it dropped again and has been quiet for almost a week (I really just notice it at night).

It is back a bit worse this morning, because it has been windy for two days, and wind and rain are the worst for my tinitus!

I was wondering, when tinnitus starts to improve, does it fluctuate like this, going up and down but gradually improving?

Thanks!
Emma

 

[david c]

Hi, that's a good suggestion to get a hearing test. I went to an audiologist 8years ago, when I first got tinnitus, but he was pretty useless, so I didn't think of doing it again. It probably isn't a bad idea though. When you say sound therapy, what do you mean? (Is that TRT?)

I missed seeing your question to me before. In terms of sound therapy this doesn't have to be TRT (which is wearing white noise generators for several hours a day plus counselling). There is a lot of doubt about how effective TRT is, but sound therapy could be just having a sound machine or app on in the background to try to distract from the effects of tinnitus. There are plenty of soothing sound apps out there so no shortage of choice.