This is a condensed version of
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...itus-recently-this-info-will-be-useful.25741/
1. Many people eventually get to hear silence again
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
2. After reading the posts on this forum over the past 10 months, I learned that in many cases T tends to fade: it gets quieter and its pitch gets lower (often changing to a hiss or even a soft hiss) so that it is easier to ignore. So in the worst case scenario if your T doesn't go away, what you are hearing now is likely not going to be the sound that you will get stuck with.
3. Many others, including me, found that staying away from even moderate noises (like that of a vacuum cleaner, blender, lawn mower, and hair dryer) promotes healing.
5. There are countless posts on this site where people describe how they found out the hard way that hearing protection like ear plugs or muffs can provide a false sense of security, and not be enough to protect you. Here is a sample:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-religious-purposes-in-nyc.24448/#post-294691
6. Most spikes are temporary spikes (few become permanent). Temporary spikes can last a surprisingly long time:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/head-movement-spikes-tinnitus.25179/#post-290614
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-do-your-tinnitus-spikes-usually-last.23110/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-was-your-longest-spike.22099/
When you get a spike, it is natural to panic and assume the worst. My advice is to wait three months or so. If the spike is still there, as loud as ever, at that point you might start worrying about this spike being permanent.
7. If you get a new acoustic trauma, it might be a good idea to take prednisone. {You can find more details about prednisone at the link at the top of this post.}
8. You might hear that if your T doesn't go away in 6 months, it is permanent. That is a myth. "Six months" is just a time interval that insurance companies use to classify a condition as being chronic. It has no medical basis.
Multiple sources seem to use "2 years" as their rule of thumb. See, for example
https://www.ncrar.research.va.gov/Education/Documents/TinnitusDocuments/01_HenryPTM-HB_1-10.pdf
"A general guideline is that tinnitus of at least 12 months duration has a high likelihood of being a permanent condition (Dobie, 2004b). However, it also has been suggested that a person must have experienced tinnitus for at least two years before it should be considered permanent (Vernon, 1996)."
If your T keeps fading but is still audible 2 years after onset, there is no reason to think that it will stop fading after 2 years.
It will most likely continue fading. A number of members of this forum had stated that the first time they got tinnitus, they eventually got to hear silence after 12-18 months. This is evidence contradicting the statement above from that Dobbie 2004 study.
9. Many people on this forum got their T as a result of ultrasonic dental cleaning. There is no reason to take this risk. Insist that your dental hygenist cleans your teeth manually. I never heard of a hygenist declining such a request. Manual cleaning is as good as ultrasonic cleaning, and it doesn't cost more.
10. Beginning today, commit to taking better care of your teeth. You want to minimize the number of dental procedures you undergo.
It is probably not a good idea to wear ear plugs or even ear muffs during a dental procedure because of occlusion effect. You will want to ask your dentist to drill for at most 5 seconds followed by a 10 second break. If a laser can't be used, find a dentist who uses electric-powered drills (as opposed to the traditional air-powered drills) as they are supposed to be quieter. For more details, check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/dentist-laser-vs-ordinary.2791/#post-272983
11. Many people get their T as a result of an ear infection. Do what you can to prevent an ear infection. For more information, check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...tus-disappear-for-a-second.23966/#post-295711
12. Many get T after doctors remove wax from their ears using microsuction or syringing. There is no reason to take that risk. Ask the doctor to remove the wax from your ears using manual tools. I think the name of one of the tools is curette. Another tool looks like a wire loop. Make sure to use special ear drops for two weeks prior to your appointment to soften the wax. Also make sure that the person cleaning your ears is a doctor who has a lot of experience (and not a nurse with little experience).
13. If sleep is a problem for you, there are several things you can try.
Amitriptyline (10 mg) is non-addictive and it didn't make me drowsy in the morning.
You can also try taking melatonin, but make sure not to take too much of it.
https://vanwinkles.com/the-dark-side-downsides-side-effects-of-melatonin
"In 2001, researchers at MIT concluded that the correct dosage for melatonin falls between .3 and 1 mg."
Make sure you use some sort of sound enrichment. It is very helpful. The idea is not to drown out T, it is to give you something else to listen to, besides your T.
Check out
http://mynoise.net/
Or buy a device like the ones below
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-S-5000-Deluxe-Therapy/dp/B018KUVEOM/
https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Koala-Concentration-Relaxation-Sufferers/dp/B01FRW2WBA/
14. Airplanes {To see this tip, click on the link at the top of this post.}
15. Look into taking supplements. There is a lot of information about supplements on this forum. Some supplements you might want to investigate (those are the ones I have been taking) are: NAC, Magnesium bis glycinate, Vinpocetine, ALCAR (N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine), Vitamin B complex, Ginkgo Gold, and Zinc. For more details on each supplement - use this forum's "search" function.
16. When you get a full ear sensation it is a sign that you hurt your ears. Do not use Valsalva maneuver - it will not improve your full ear sensation, and it can do more damage to your ears (as evidenced by multiple reports on this forum).
17. Many people get T as a result of taking ototoxic medication. From now on, you will want to ask your doctor to prescribe medication that is the least ototoxic of all medications he or she can use to treat you.
You can also use the brochure below to check whether the drug you have been prescribed is ototoxic:
http://hlaa-sbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ototoxic_Brochure.pdf
If you live outside of U.S., and your drug is not listed, make sure you use the U.S. brand name for your drug when you search this brochure. Some drugs are listed in this brochure but they cause tinnitus in very few people. You can learn this information by going to
https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/XXXXX/tinnitus/ (replace XXXXX with the brand name of the drug, for example
https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/prednisone/tinnitus/ )
The way to interpret these is: for Prednisone, since 1998, only 720 reported getting T as a side effect. This is low - imagine how many people took prednisone in the U.S. since 1998. We also see that over 65% of the patients developed T after taking Prednisone for over a month. So this means that if you take prednisone for less than a month (as will be the case if you take it for acoustic trauma), your risk is pretty low.
18. Be careful when it comes to the tests done by your audiologist. If you search this site, you will see many stories involving Tympanometry test. For example
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/beware-of-the-tympanometry-test.23097/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-tympanometry-safe.18558/
It is possible that you might run into trouble if Acoustic Reflex Test is done (or that they do a Tympanometry test as part of acoustic reflex test), see
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/warning-acoustic-reflex-test.25645/
20.
http://hyperacusisfocus.org/research/earplug-use-2/
"While there are over 2200 posts on hyperacusis setbacks in the patient forum on chat-hyperacusis.net, no academic papers could be found using a pubmed search."
The fact that there have been no published studies regarding what causes permanent and temporary T spikes, means there is no scientific reason behind doctor advice to only protect your ears against noises that are known to damage the inner ear. They are basing this advice on studies that talk about what can damage healthy ears, whereas what can hurt us hasn't been studied (and the overwhelming number of testimonies on this site imply that sounds that can hurt us are Way quieter than the sounds that can damage healthy ears).
21. I protected my ears from even moderate noises, and wore earplugs whenever I was outside. My hyperacusis (H) got better and eventually I was free of H. It is possible that this happened becasue I would make sure to watch TV with volume set to medium. If you do that, you ensure that you are exposed to the kind of noise that will not hurt your ears, while building your tolerance to noise and healing your H.
22. Many of us believe that it is a good idea to never use headphones again, even at low volume. For more details, check out the thread below
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/isnt-it-ok-to-use-headphones-even-at-low-volume.25287/
23. Early on, you might consider HBOT treatments. {For more information, click the link at the top of this post.}
26. If you can't get your mind off of memories of how you got T, don't worry - it gets better. A joke eventually stops being funny. Likewise, T and memories of how one got T eventually stop eliciting a strong emotional response...
27.
https://www.coopersafety.com/earplugs-noise-reduction
https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media...how-to-use-the-noise-reduction-rating-nrr.pdf
25. Here is a good overview of possible treatments. Use this forum to search for information about each treatment that you might be interested in
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-—-possible-treatments-—-modern-medicine.26045/
19. Turns out that it is natural to relax and begin taking unnecessary risks once one's T goes away.
(e.g., see post 1 and 10 in
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/i-ruined-my-recovery.25514/ )
As a result, many people eventually have their T return. It is a very traumatic experience. We are given only a limited number of second chances. If you are fortunate enough to get a second chance - don't throw it away.
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