Tinnitus Veteran with a Sudden Spike

[Stoptheringing]

28 years ago, after getting off a plane, I noticed my ears were ringing. I've had ringing in my ears before, but it typically only lasted a few minutes and faded away. This ringing didn't stop, and hasn't for 28+ years. For the most part, "T" has become a part of me, and I've been able to manage it, ignore it, whatever....however within the past couple weeks, the volume has increased significantly, to the point it is almost overwhelming. I'm not sure what caused this sudden spike, but I am thoroughly bummed about the possibility this new pitch will be my reality. Has anyone experienced such chronic "T" with a sudden spike in volume? Any suggestions?

 

[MikeGreen]

I havent got the answer for your question although I would like to express my sincere sympathy towards what happened to you. You see there are people who took a big risk here, go to a loud concert/listen to loud music without caution like me. Then there are people like you. Who just did an usual days thing like stepping on a plane and got T from it. Its very horrible that something like that happened. I mean, millions of people travel with airplanes and you dont see the majority with such issues.
But Im sure you are strong and can face any difficulty if you have been with T for 28 years.


I wish you foremost health and happiness.

 

[Stoptheringing]

Thank you Mike. I think it's time I see someone about this again. Other Dr's have always brushed it aside saying there was nothing they could do. I'm glad I found this site

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum @Stoptheringing and we here can understand your challenge. A sudden spike can be caused by many reasons. Hope it will return to baseline soon.

There are many causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including drug reaction or side-effects, ear or Eustachian tube infection, ear wax build up, ear drum injury, fluid build-up feeling pressured, TMJ,TTTS, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma, neck muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's, barotrauma from flight, grief for the loss of love ones, untreated sleep apnea, elevated stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc.

If you have any of the above, then it can point you to the right direction to see if the cause is fixable. In the mean time you may want to mask the new T level so you won't be stressed out. Anxiety and stress are bad for T. The following are some masking suggestions. Take care. God bless.

1) Mask at bed time so you can sleep better. Find whatever sounds/music that are soothing to you. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for this, or a computer with speakers.

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds.

3) If you have computer and speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds too:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: http://mynoise.net/

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Stoptheringing,

Welcome to the site!

You should make an appointment to your friendly, neighborhood ENT. He or she will look into your ears, ask you questions like 'have you been sick recently, taking any medications, exposed to loud noise', etc. By all means make sure the doctor also gives you a hearing test. This way you will have evidence of your hearing status. Good luck!

 

[Stoptheringing]

I do have high blood pressure, high stress, neck issues and have had TMJ! Looks like a BINGO. I know I need to follow up on this spike thing pretty soon. After 28 years of this, having the volume increase is not enjoyable

 

[LAnative]

How are you doing now buddy?