Unique Presentation of Tinnitus? It's Only Triggered by Loud Volume or Certain Frequencies

[Eighties]

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for a bit, but as of two days ago I've officially been diagnosed with tinnitus.

I've never heard anyone describe symptoms like mine so I thought I would share as some might find my situation interesting and maybe others have similar experiences.

While I can't be certain, it could be from exposure to loud music possibly combined with the use of statins. I'm told age can also play a factor. I have a hearing loss in the 4000 Hz to 8000 Hz range, above normal human speech. This is a change from my last hearing test approximately 7 years ago.

The ENT I saw seems to think that isn't the case and the only thing he suggested was I try Ginkgo Biloba for a month to see if it helps.

Here is the thing about my tinnitus. It isn't like any other descriptions I've heard thus far. It isn't a persistent ringing. In fact, the noise isn't persistent at all. It only seems to be triggered by overall loud volume or certain frequencies. There isn't even an accurate way for me to describe the sound. The closest approximation is wine glasses hanging on a rack and vibrating off each other when there a truck passing by outside, yet it's more of an electronic sound. For anyone who has seen the movie The Mothman Prophecies, it is eerily similar to the voice of Indrid Cold when he called John Klein on the phone.

I was curious as to whether anyone else here has a similar form of tinnitus as it seems to be unusual based on what I've been reading.

 

[Elinor]

People use terms differently here, but I believe what you are describing falls under the many subcategories of 'reactive tinnitus'. It's typically used to describe a tinnitus triggered/spiking briefly or long term after a certain sound or frequency, or a type of tinnitus only being perceived during a certain sound or frequency and variations of these two. While other members bang on about how these forms of tinnitus don't exist.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I was curious as to whether anyone else here has a similar form of tinnitus as it seems to be unusual based on what I've been reading.

Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities @Eighties and no two people will experience it the same. Therefore, your tinnitus is unique to you, although people do share some similarities. Exposure to loud noise is one of the most common causes of tinnitus.

If you have been listening to audio regularly through headphones, earbuds, headsets, AirPods or bone conduction headphones, then it's likely your tinnitus is noise induced. Similarly, if you regularly listen to loud music through speakers, play music in a band or go to places where loud music is played, again it's likely your tinnitus is noise induced. If this is the case, my advice is not to listen audio through any type of headphones even at low volume. I advise that you keep away from loud music too. Please click on the link below and read my post.

I tried two statins that made my tinnitus worse, the third caused other unpleasant side effects, so I have chosen not to take statins at this time.

All the best,
Michael

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