Tinnitus Stopped in My Left Ear for 2 Seconds...

[Kiddi]

Hi guys, I've had constant tinnitus in both ears since October, I had a bad cold, a long flight AND acoustic trauma in the space of a couple of days. Also I have hearing loss in both ears, being a drummer since I was about 12 years old.

Anyways, it has been constant, but changes throughout the day. Sometimes more aggressive, and sometimes very fluctuating and irritating.. like a balloon leaking air.

I would say it's about a 4-7 most days, unless I'm really tired when it can go up to about 8 or so. I can still sleep most of the time without sleeping aids of any kind. I couldn't at first but I've gotten used to it.

Tonight I was sitting in total silence and reading about watches (I'm an amateur collector) when suddenly the hissing stopped in my left ear (which is usually the louder one) for about 1-2 seconds.. and then slowly came back.

Anyone here ever experience this? It this good, or bad?
I was so surprised I almost started laughing.

At least it gives me hope that it's still changing even 6 months in.

Hope you are all doing good and fighting on.

 

[Holly1987]

This has happened to me too, it was quite unnerving, I thought I had gone deaf! Unfortunately it didn't last long!

 

[Kiddi]

so, nobody else with any similar experience? I'm just wondering what it could mean, if anything.

 

[jay777]

hi in the first 2 months, it stopped 2 times for 20 minutes, has not been repeated since, 6 months in now

 

[Tinker Bell]

This happens to me often. I have had hearing loss and tinnitus for more than a year. Like Holly, I thought I was deaf the first few times it happened.

I tried to detect a pattern for me, but there really doesn't seem to be one. Maybe it's the brain trying to reset.

 

[Samir]

So you have a hiss and a balloon like tone? Or am I reading this wrong? You have two type of sounds? What's the nature of your acoustic trauma if I may ask?

It's not unusual that tinnitus completely disappears for some time and then appears again. This has happened to me a few times. For me it only lasts a few seconds, I would say about five seconds at most, and typically in the morning as I am waking up and still feeling drowsy. As I become increasingly conscious the noise starts to appear again.

 

[Proteo]

That's just about the same as what I have. And I had that 5-second bubble of silence twice now (so like once every 2 or 3 months).
What do you think of my idea of treating this like a broken jaw?

 

[Proteo]

My post has been moved to here.

 

[Kiddi]

So you have a hiss and a balloon like tone? Or am I reading this wrong? You have two type of sounds? What's the nature of your acoustic trauma if I may ask?

It's not unusual that tinnitus completely disappears for some time and then appears again. This has happened to me a few times. For me it only lasts a few seconds, I would say about five seconds at most, and typically in the morning as I am waking up and still feeling drowsy. As I become increasingly conscious the noise starts to appear again.

I have hissing in both ears. sometimes it's steady, sometimes it's like a ballon leaking air with varying pressure. I have a couple of tones, in my left ear it's very high pitched and so low I almost never notice it, in my right ear it's lover and more notieceble, specally when I'm tire and it starts to change pitch every second.

I had in-ears (Im a musician, and some equipment failed and I had super loud noise in my ear for a couple of seconds. Enought to make me scream.)

I'm not hopeful it will ever go away, but I'm always hoping it will get better, since it has done so a little since original onset about 6 months ago.

 

[cspc]

This happens to me often. I have had hearing loss and tinnitus for more than a year. Like Holly, I thought I was deaf the first few times it happened.

I tried to detect a pattern for me, but there really doesn't seem to be one. Maybe it's the brain trying to reset.

Your brain tries to ignore the signals from the damaged hair cells. But it already has a history of sounds in memory. So it replaces the faulty signal with these sounds (if you have a damaged frequency, it finds the frequency in a sound you heard recently - within the previous day usually and plays it over).

I know this because I remember that after an audiogram my t plays sounds from the test.

 

[Tinker Bell]

Your brain tries to ignore the signals from the damaged hair cells. But it already has a history of sounds in memory. So it replaces the faulty signal with these sounds (if you have a damaged frequency, it finds the frequency in a sound you heard recently - within the previous day usually and plays it over).

I know this because I remember that after an audiogram my t plays sounds from the test.

I have significant loss for all frequencies above 6k. My tinnitus is very high pitch, but it does not sound like all of the frequencies I've lost nor any sound that I have heard within the previous day — or ever.

I don't doubt that my brain is trying to fill in a lost frequency or a couple. Too bad we can't pick what it plays!

 

[Samir]

Too bad we can't pick what it plays!

I had in-ears (Im a musician, and some equipment failed and I had super loud noise in my ear for a couple of seconds. Enought to make me scream.)

I hear ya pally, I had the same type of thing happen to me. Really, really loud squealing noise went through my head due to failed audio device. I jumped and pulled the earphones out real fast but it was too late. I didn't realize the severity of it at the time, so I was dumb enough to continue to use them. Problems started to show only in the weeks and months that followed. First a super low rumbling sound, barely noticeable, then the hissing static, and then the ringing sound, then the left ear started to click.

I wish I could turn back the time, but I can't. What's done is done. I no longer use in-ears. I avoid using any type of headphones or earphones. If I really have to use them at some occasion, I use the big circumaural models, the kind you use in a studio, and I put the volume on low setting.

If you are still active with your music making and you rely on using headphones, I would strongly recommend getting those specially designed headphones with built in limiter. There is a company in the UK that specializes in this type of thing, they make them for BBC technicians and other professionals.

 

[dm222]

This has happened to me too, it was quite unnerving, I thought I had gone deaf! Unfortunately it didn't last long!

did it feel like something blast near to your ear? I had that once, really scary.

 

[Tinker Bell]

did it feel like something blast near to your ear? I had that once, really scary.

For me, it's not exactly a blast but it definitely is an odd feeling. Like something suddenly turned off.

 

[Nick NY]

I had this happen to me this morning, and it has happened a few times in the past (but very irregularly - like maybe once every 6 months). Lying in bed and it just completely dropped out in my left ear (my worse ear) and I had *total* quiet for about 2 seconds. My ordinary tinnitus in that ear is 3 tones, 2 constant tones and one piercing hiss that oscillates and I've written a lot about. It was a wonderful 2 seconds. I wish we could understand what that is and compel it with some orthopedic fix or medicine. Alas, back into the nightmare...

 

[Gman]

Yes it happens to me. Sometimes not sure if it is the sound cutting out or my hearing.

 

[Contrast]

tinnitus would only get louder if your hearing cut out

a dude on this forum somewhere severed his audiotory nerve on a bike accident and has horrible tinnitus and no hearing in that ear.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

If tinnitus stops completely for a few seconds then oxygen based systems are often involved which gets really complicated in finding the exact reason. Many times NAC, magnesium - muscle and sometimes iron - blood might help.