Tinnitus Started After a Long Run and Subsequent Exercise Session

[DannyHarry01]

Hi Guys,

Just firstly want to say that Tinnitus Talk has been ever so helpful and you guys do a great job in rallying around one another and showing support for an otherwise vastly under-discussed condition.

I have only had tinnitus for the past 10 days or so and most admit for the most part it's quite mild and easily covered. Only in quiet rooms does it really start to takes its hold.

My symptoms started after a particularly long run and subsequent exercise session. I bought some new earphones designed for running which are particularly deep-set and have had problems with wax buildups in the past so I & my Dr feel that could be the issue. Unfortunately, due to the current COVID-19 crisis that discussion was via the phone so he was unfortunately unable to confirm visually.

I've been taking olive oil drops for my ears for the past week or so and must admit things have started to improve! I have periods of quiet and the noise is much more bearable than the initial onset. My Hope's were high of recovery until today when I returned home from a walk I had a spike and now the levels seem to be back to square one

I have been taking vitamin supplements: Ginkgo, Cod Liver Oil, Magnesium & Vit B to try and doubly combat the noise and it seemed to be working to some effect but just feel a little pestered by this setback.

I'll also say that I have quite a bad case of health anxiety which wont do me any favours having read some articles on the forum.

Anyway, just wanted to vent on here as I'm sure you've all had similar experiences and wondered if you had any advice for me to take forward?

Thank you again and I hope you are all as well as can be.

Danny

 

[tbuzz89]

@DannyHarry01,

Have you been a regular earbud/headphone user for a while? Especially at loud volumes? Considering you can only hear it in quiet rooms and can be easily masked, I would cease listening to music via headphones completely to avoid any further potential damage in case yours is due to noise exposure.

Since it's easily covered by everyday sounds, you should have an easier time habituating to it while in quiet environments. Please play it safe; stop using headphones and protect your ears around loud sounds to prevent it from getting any worse.

All the best!

 

[DannyHarry01]

Only recently. I've been furloughed by work due to the current crisis so have started running as a new hobby and using headphones. Although I must admit, like most people, I probably neglected the sensitivity of my ears for years - Music too loud, attending concerts, stood too close to speakers etc.
Like I say, it happened after wearing these particular deep-set headphones a couple of times and nearly two weeks in, there is a gradual improvement and sometimes periods of quiet, which are a blessing.

I guess the thing that raised my anxiety was the spike and increase in volume after a few days of gradually lowering but can see that can be common place too.
As mentioned above, I'm still hopeful that it's a case of impacted ear wax and something that can be sorted either through persistent drops or having my ear cleaned, as and when allowed.

But following your advice, I'll definitely stop using headphones immediately and take better care of my ears going forward. Just keeping fingers crossed that I haven't done permanent damage.

Thanks for replying and hope you're having a peaceful day.

Danny

 

[DannyHarry01]

Apologies for anyone bored of my ramblings. Finding writing down my feelings is helping a little but any advice would still be much appreciated.

So good news and bad news. Yesterday I woke up to relative quietness and had also booked in a private consultation with a very good audiologist to clear my wax problem. Cleared using a mixture of water irrigation and a tiny bit of micro suction and hey presto! I had silence, total and lovely silence.

Thought I'd dodged a bullet, rang family and friends, sat and was thankful to he rid of the pesky ringing.

However, the nasty anxious part of me started asking questions: What if it comes back? Is that noise you just heard normal? What does quiet even sound like!?
And from there I was on a spiral for most of the day.
Around 15:00ish I decided to get out of my own head and go for a run and started hearing a click - sort of like Morse code or two electrical cables touching. I tried not to think about it as best I could but must admit that the later it got in the day and closer to bedtime, my stress levels rose and rose about a recurrence of the ringing.
Low and behold at around 22:00 yesterday while settling in bed, the self fulfilling prophecy was completed and I started to experience the dreaded tinnitus again. And it got louder & louder as the night wore on.
I don't know if there's any evidence of this affliction being psycho-symptomatic of anxiety but certainly feel that could be plausible in my case. I was checking my ears all day whilst I should have been rejoicing the fact that I had quiet after two weeks but instead worried and managed to convince myself it would return.

Woke up this morning and the tinnitus is there unfortunately. Quieter then last night but louder than yesterday's relative calm. I'm kicking myself for not making the best of it & just relaxing.

Positives are that after two weeks now I am starting to experience periods of quiet and almost total silence. Which having read the wise words on this forum seems like quite a promising development at this early stage.
Feel I need to really get a hold of my stress & anxiety in order for my body to properly do the work and self heal. Think there are more ups & downs to come but the more I learn the wiser I'm becoming and the more determined I am to defeat this horrible new companion.

Anyway, that's just my update. Apologies for the longevity but feel it helps me to right down my thoughts in order to compute and rationalise them.

Hope you're all well and having a peaceful day.

Danny