Tinnitus Loudness — the Nitty Gritty...?

[Jazzer]

With regard to that elusive concept of habituation, is actual volume the determining factor?
25 years of low level Tinnitus - no problem.
3 years of high level Tinnitus - a problem?

 

[Philippe79]

I was wondering that myself.. Just to add.. Could other factors be the frequency, the tone (whether single or multi), or one ear or both. Do these things have any bearing or as @Jazzer says 'is it based solely on the volume?' I also would have thought, tinnitus that's bad one day but is even worse the next... and so on... would be harder to habituate to, whereas a consistent eeeeeeeeeeeee, would maybe be a lot easier! Another example could be, someone like myself (who has a loud hissing noise) compared to someone, who's tinnitus isn't as loud but hears multitable tones.

 

[Lorac]

I feel tinnitus. The volume of my tinnitus is loud when I am in a loud environment but not too loud in my quiet home. The constant ear fullness and burning sensation stands in the way of my habituation. If I ever stop feeling the tinnitus, I will post my success story.

 

[sandra72]

I think its for everyone different. I have T for 3.5 years. At the beginning it whas very hard but after i habituation i mostly did nog care about the T anymore. But 5 weeks ago after a holiday and a flight my T is different. More louder in the morning and different souds and I hate it. I feel like i am new to T again. I am in a dark place and I hope it will reduce again to my old T.

 

[Philippe79]

But 5 weeks ago after a holiday and a flight my T is different.

Sorry to hear about your troubles @sandra72 . Do you suffer from ETD? Just curious as to how your tinnitus is different since flying.

 

[sandra72]

Sorry to hear about your troubles @sandra72 . Do you suffer from ETD? Just curious as to how your tinnitus is different since flying.

I really dont know. i feel pressure in my ear. I must say i whas very tense because there whas a lot of noise. It maked me nervous and scared. When i got home the T whas mild but after 2 days it became worse and it still is. I did have some days when the T is mild but it goes way up some days.

 

[fishbone]

With regard to that elusive concept of habituation, is actual volume the determining factor?
25 years of low level Tinnitus - no problem.
3 years of high level Tinnitus - a problem?

You can still habituate with a high pitch/volume tinnitus. I have and mine is high pitched and loud.

 

[Screamin Ears]

Could other factors be the frequency, the tone (whether single or multi), or one ear or both

Do these things have any bearing or as @Jazzer says 'is it based solely on the volume?'

Definitely, my T was about 6.5Khz but has now changed to 10.5Khz and the higher pitch is much harder to cope with, also have multiple tones now, my volume has also doubled or tripled and that is also very hard to cope with.

 

[TinniTom]

I think so too, although it's hard to believe for me at the moment. Probably my T is as loud as ever but it feels terrible at the moment. My T become much worse 2 years ago (if I'm honest I can't imagine someones T is much louder than mine) and it was really hard to live a normal life again but I managed it somehow even though T was back in my mind every day. Since that I had bad days and better days and thats why I would say it is possible to habituate but it is much more difficult and you need a very strong mind.

If T isn't noticeable during the day (when you are outside, watching TV, listening radio, talk to someone..) it's easy to habituate. I'm not saying mild T can't be a problem for someone but it's not comparable when you have serve T (when you can hear your T over almost everything). This is really a complete other level.

Sorry for being a bit negatively today.

 

[sandra72]

If T isn't noticeable during the day (when you are outside, watching TV, listening radio, talk to someone..) it's easy to habituate.

I agree. I have some days when i dont hear it outside, in de car, watching tv and i feel happy. Ik am a whole other person. But when its loud en i can hear it over everything, i feel misserable and i hate it and i dont like my live anymore.

this is a couple times a week. My T is different sinds a couple of weeks. More bad days now and I hope there will be more good days in time than bad days.

 

[Rainbowsheep]

I read somewhere that research has suggested that the sound and percieved loudness does not differ among those who have habituated and those who have not. I can't remember where but I will try to find it once I am on my computer

 

[Makrohn]

@TinniTom

I just have to reach out to you since we have been suffering the same amount of time, and I have been coping OK the last 18-20 years but now my T has changed and I am again going slightly mad.
Like you, I cant imagine anyone having worse T than me... I have 2 sounds in one ear, and 3 in the other. They all fluctuate daily in all kind of ways, making it terrible to habituate. I agree 100% that a strong mind is needed to be able to cope with this. I also have a moderate hearing loss, making things even more difficult and the T harder to mask.

Now I am pretty sure, there is almost no hour of the day I dont think or hear my T besides when I´m asleep.
I hope that some relief is soon available for us, until then, our mindset is our strongest weapon.

 

[TinniTom]

Many thanks @Makrohn it feels good to know I'm not alone with this monster. Of course there are a lot of people here which suffering but it's quite different if T is mild.
I'm very sorry yours is fluctuating but I'm sure you will handle it somehow even though it takes some time.
Although I'm struggeling at the moment and it's hard to belive that I can get back to normal life I'm also sure that it will happen! Even though it will take again 1 or 2 years or longer. Never give up hope!