Tinnitus Since Childhood — Now I Notice a Faint Bubbling/Ticking Sound in My Ears

Hello! This is my first post on Tinnitus Talk, so I apologize for the length of this post. I have a lot of questions/concerns. I've looked here before, but I do not see very many posts about tinnitus similar to mine.

For background, I am 20 years old. I believe I've had some form of mild tinnitus my whole life. I had frequent ear infections as a child and even had tubes inserted. I recall as a child I would be in a quiet room and just hear a humming noise, though I never assumed anything was "wrong" or damaged with my hearing.

Last year, I found out what tinnitus was and I discovered that the noise I hear when it's quiet is not something that everybody else hears! I had been going through some anxiety at that point, so I worried about it for a day or two, and then I stopped thinking about the tinnitus.

Recently, I think I've been going through what many of you call a "tinnitus spike," and I have been a nervous wreck. Full disclosure, I have been going through a lot of anxiety and depression recently due to family, financial, and personal issues, so I'm not sure if I was triggered to the point of my tinnitus spiking, but now it is all I can think about.

For the last week, I've been hearing my usual humming at louder volume, but I also believe I have developed a new sound, which is distressing to me as it's not as constant and easy to ignore as the typical hum. The best way I can describe it is as if it's a very light popping/bubbling/beeping sound, though it is not constant. I guess it sounds like pop rocks? But higher pitched. I am usually able to mask the humming noise, as I've had it my whole life, but I hear this new noise even through all of my masking efforts (I have a fan and TV in my room and I frequently use the balanced noise feature on my iPhone). Again, the popping/bubbling/beeping noise is not constant, but it is frequent - I hear it at random intervals, but sometimes every few seconds.

Is this tinnitus? Or could it be something like spinal fluid moving around in my neck? I've never noticed this noise before, but I wonder if my new hyper-awareness of my already-existing tinnitus has just drawn attention to any noise I hear.

I do hear crackling when I yawn, swallow, chew, etc - I've had this since I was about 13 years old after a bad flu and it has never gone away. I also grind my teeth in my sleep so I may have some form of TMJ, though I don't experience jaw pain and only sometimes experience ear fullness. Is it possible ETD or TMJ could be causing this new noise? I also have to adjust my headphones settings on my iPhone 15 points to the right because I do not hear as well in my right ear sometimes. Though other times, I hear just fine out of my right ear.

I started going back to therapy and I am going on anti-anxiety medication because tinnitus has been dominating my thoughts recently. Sometimes, I turn on my noise-cancelling headphones and turn off all surrounding noises just to "check" my tinnitus sounds. I worry that my brain is training itself to search for any noise I can't explain and treat it as permanent tinnitus that will get louder in my future. It has made sleeping and studying impossible. We've talked about an OCD diagnosis as I meet much of the criteria, on top of the health anxiety I've already been diagnosed with.

I worry that the anxiety/depression/sensorimotor OCD I am experiencing will make it difficult to re-adjust to my tinnitus. Again, I've always heard the humming - but now the humming is all I can think about and now I am hearing these new slight popping/buzzing/beeping noises. I am grateful my tinnitus is not as loud as many of the stories I read and I am deeply sympathetic to those suffering from this horrible symptom.

————————————————

For those who don't want to read this long post (I completely understand), I just have a few general questions as I am new to this community:

• Do any of you have similar experiences in anxiety/depression making you notice new noises in your tinnitus? Or simply noticing your tinnitus all the time after almost never noticing it? Does this necessarily mean my tinnitus is louder? Or is my brain just noticing it more?
  
  
• Is it possible that TMJ/my issues with my Eustachian tubes are causing this new sound?
  
  
• Does anyone else hear a very slight popping/beeping/buzzing sound, similar to pop rocks, that is not constant but instead can be heard every few seconds intermittently? Is this type of tinnitus sound generally linked to any particular cause?
  
  
• Will anti-anxiety medication (I just recently started Sertraline/Zoloft) make my tinnitus worse? I have read reports of tinnitus being caused by Sertraline and similar medications, but I have read that this is not always the case and helps some people. However, I haven't read much about people already experiencing tinnitus going on Zoloft.
  
  
• Will my tinnitus get worse as I age, since I've had it since childhood? If so, is it possible to habituate to multi-tone/loud tinnitus that gets worse with age?
  
  
• Finally, sorry for such a long post/so many questions, if my tinnitus is related to possible ETD/TMJ, is it possible that this tinnitus will reduce? If it's true that my tinnitus is related to childhood ear infections as I suspect, is there any hope of it reducing/going away as I get older?

Again, I am so sorry for such a long post. I've just been a ball of worry lately and it has really made my life difficult. Tinnitus is all I can hear/think of for most of the day, and I spend hours out of my day "checking" my tinnitus to see if it's there. I understand that so many people have it worse than me, but my health anxiety has made this situation so much difficult to deal with and process.

 

You stepped in shit when you became acutely aware of chronic tinnitus and the monster that is anxiety. The two go together almost naturally especially when stress is a factor. Although I would hope with your tinnitus history that this new anxiety inducing awareness is short lived. Keep in mind you've been able to dismiss and keep this condition from controlling your life brilliantly until now. And I believe you will get back to that naturally learned behavior as soon as some stress and anxiety is managed. If that means a mild antidepressant/anti-anxiety med for a short time, then so be it.

Just a couple things I might note:

• I personally don't have a TMJ issue so if that is part of the problem I am at a loss. Although others here could be helpful.
  
  
• Take all advice with a grain of salt. This condition tends to make many people a little crazy.
  
  
• Protect but don't be overprotective. If you actively listen for your tinnitus you will 100% find it every time.
  
  
• If you're going to go the medicine (antiwhatever) route. Give it time to work. Allow 3 to 4 weeks and see how you feel. A lot of people bail after the first tiny side effect and never see any benefit.
  
  
• Stay busy. Stay active. Play light masking anytime it's quiet. (I like lofi hiphop) Do anything beside look for the noise.
  
  
• Meditate and stay positive.

Hopefully you won't need Tinnitus Talk long at all. Best of luck.

 

Thank you for your reply! I definitely hope that I can return to how it was before. I wonder if my anxiety and hyperfixation are causing these new sounds that I've been noticing and that are making it more difficult for me to ignore.

I am starting Sertraline, taking my second dose today. I hope this helps me get my mind onto other things. So far, I've been in this state of near panic for about 10-12 days. Some days are better, some are worse, but I still think about tinnitus for hours out of my day, especially the past couple days as I've been hearing the "pop rocks" type sounds.

 

Hi @Jack2024,

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk.

I agree with @BrOKeN_1's advice.

No two people will experience tinnitus the same, although they will share some similarities in the way it behaves. Tinnitus is an integral part of a person's mental and emotional well-being and cannot be separated from it which means, the way one perceives their tinnitus will be unique to them. Therefore, I advise that you try to stop comparing the way your tinnitus behaves to anyone else, because this can increase stress and anxiety. The more you focus on it, the louder and more intrusive it can appear.

I understand this isn't always easy but please keep in mind, stress can make tinnitus worse and tinnitus can make stress worse, so it can become a vicious cycle which is something you don't want. When stress is properly managed, it often has a beneficial effect on the way tinnitus behaves, by helping to make it less noticeable as the brain is able to push it further into the background. The medication that you have been prescribed can help to keep stress and anxiety under control. This doesn't necessarily mean you will have to take the medication long term.

You may have ETD and TMJ issues that could be making your tinnitus more intrusive, so it's a good idea to be examined by an ENT doctor and Orthodontist to check your jaw.

Please go to my started threads and read: Positivity and Tinnitus, Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset, How to Acquire a Positive Mindset, Tinnitus and Mental Health, Keeping Things Simple with Tinnitus.

I think you should try to see an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus management as I believe it will be helpful. I am a believer in using sound enrichment for tinnitus but it needs to be used correctly. Please click on the link below and read my post: New to Tinnitus, What to Do? Sound enrichment should be used during the day and especially at night by placing a sound machine by the bedside. I know you have had tinnitus a long time but you might find some of the information helpful.

Tinnitus and listening to audio through headphones even at a low volume do not go well together, particularly when the tinnitus was noise induced. Even though your tinnitus may not be noise-induced, I advise that you stop listening to audio through any type of headphones for a while and see how you get on. By all means listen to audio through a portable radio etc. at reasonable volume.

All the best,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum