Waiting for ENT — Clueless About Symptoms: Tinnitus, Pulsatile Tinnitus, Ear Pain, Crackling & More

[H225]

I've been feeling kind of hopeless lately just waiting for a measly phone call from an ENT to maybe diagnose me correctly so I figured I'd create an account here and get some advice from some people who've experienced tinnitus first-hand since ENTs are basically useless. I'm 18 and I've experienced pulsatile tinnitus for around 4 months and ringing for just over 2 months.

I don't want my post to be too long but I feel the easiest way to describe my history with this constant nightmare whistling is by writing a timeline. By posting this I hope to get some form of advice or possible causes or relieving methods. Not only that but future sufferers can read this timeline, see similarities between me and themselves and get proper treatment before it spirals out of control like the way it did for me. Here goes.

So at the start of this year, for Christmas I ordered a new pair of headphones. I listened to these headphones quite a bit for around 14 hours every day - when I took them off I had stabbing aches in my ears for hours on end, almost every time I used them. I noticed my pulsatile tinnitus slowly develop and get louder when I was wearing my headphones until it became really noticeable. Sometime afterward my ears started to feel sore and ache constantly and my ears felt like they needed to pop. I went to a GP about it and they gave my ear spray and they said I had an outer ear infection.

The soreness went away after using the spray but the heartbeat and increased blood pressure around ears remained. From then on my hearing was dulled, and I chad trouble hearing people properly unless I was facing them. I went to a GP about that they didn't do anything and said as long as it didn't get louder it was alright. No referrals, no follow ups, nothing. They also found nothing wrong with my ears when examining them and my blood pressure was normal.

Months afterwards my family stated getting colds and my computer fans felt uncomfortable to listen to and they made my ears ache and sore. I got hyperacusis / noxacusis and a stabbing pain in my ear and my ears felt full. I couldn't get out of bed for weeks or take baths out of fear of hurting my ears. I Started to develop the occasional high pitched ringing that haunts me till this day and a shivery fever. This is also when I noticed my ears crackling - it may have started before then but it didn't cross my mind that it meant anything. Then I needed antibiotics for the now diagnosed bacterial middle ear infection that filled my ear with fluid that just wasn't draining. This was at this time I was Referred to the ENT. It didn't get completely better and I got a second round of antibiotics and during this time and the fever went. Sometime during the second round I felt a large amount of draining from my ear. As soon as this draining happened, I felt dizzy for hours, and a weakness in my knees. I got an urgent appointment with the ENT and had to wait two weeks before I then got diagnosed with labyrinthitis. Right after getting home after being diagnosed I felt really dizzy and vomited for the entire evening. I felt constantly dizzy afterwards and had to lie down on my sofa and even sleep on it for 2 days - literally couldn't get up. My symptoms eased and I could quickly walk in a straight line and squat down without any weakness in my knees.

Back to the present day and as of writing this on Friday the 3rd of June, my symptoms of labyrinthitis have gone but crackling, popping, pressure and pain deep in ears remains. One of my nostrils remains constantly blocked and it swaps between the right being open, left being shut and vice versa. Ringing that started with the infection that needed antibiotics and the heartbeat remains.

I've recently tried steam therapy and a nasal spray and the steam therapy helps to quieten the tinnitus for a couple hours before returning to normal. The nasal spray works to open my sinuses but when they do open, I get sinus pain and sometimes I get small amounts of blood and bloody mucus coming from only my right nostril.

My parents recently forced me to a family barbecue and caused me to have a setback. Dog was barking all the time, loud music blaring - the works. Had to sit upstairs in some family cousin's room for 5 hours in silence while my ears ache like hell and I could hear new tinnitus developing, making me incredibly anxious. It reminded me of when I first developed the ringing from the infection - the noise cutting in and out and then slowly becoming more consistent and then constant.

So, what a wild ride and it's not over yet. Honest opinions - at this stage how likely am I to return to normal? Any possible causes for the ringing to still be there after 2 months? And anything apart from steaming that could help me relieve symptoms? Tried acupressure from a book - didn't work. Thanks for helping me through one of - if not the hardest time of my life so far!

 

[Michael Leigh]

So, what a wild ride and it's not over yet. Honest opinions - at this stage how likely am I to return to normal?

I believe the onset of your tinnitus was caused by headphones, which happens to be one of the most common causes of tinnitus. It is listening to audio at too high a volume, often without realizing it and using them for long periods without giving the ears sufficient rest.

This type of tinnitus is known as noise induced, and many people make a good recovery in time. For this to happen it is important that you follow my suggestions otherwise you risk the tinnitus getting worse. Stop listening to audio through any type of headphones, even at low volume. This includes earbuds, AirPods, headsets, noise-cancelling and bone conduction headphones. Please click on the links below and read my posts for additional information on tinnitus, that you might find helpful.

Any possible causes for the ringing to still be there after 2 months?

No two people will experience tinnitus the same. Recovery from this type of tinnitus can take 6 to 18 months, sometimes longer. The ringing will reduce in time as your brain learns to habituate and eventually push it further into background. You should try to avoid quiet rooms and surroundings especially at night by using low level sound enrichment. More about this is explained in my post below titled: New to Tinnitus, What to Do?

And anything apart from steaming that could help me relieve symptoms? Tried acupressure from a book - didn't work. Thanks for helping me through one of - if not the hardest time of my life so far!

Wait on your appointment to be seen at ENT. I suggest that you do not buy any potions or tablets for treating tinnitus or seek private help. I get the impression you live in the UK. If this is the case, please know that you will get the best treatment and long term aftercare for tinnitus under the NHS that no private clinic can match in the UK.

ENT doctors are highly qualified physicians, so it's important that you are seen by them so a thorough examination can be carried out on your auditory system. They don't treat tinnitus but they do treat underlying medical problems within the auditory system that cause tinnitus and there are many.

If your tinnitus is noise induced as I suspect, then ENT will refer you to Audiology to see an audiologist if necessary, for tinnitus and hyperacusis management. Various treatments are available that are mentioned in my thread below titled: Tinnitus, a Personal View.

Your ENT doctor might decide not to refer you to Audiology straight away. There is a good reason for this. The best treatment for tinnitus in the early stages, providing there is no underlying medical condition causing it, is to leave the ears alone to heal by themselves. More information about his is covered in my posts.

I wish you well,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[H225]

@Michael Leigh, sorry to bother you, but it seems like I'm not getting any traction going with this thread and I was hoping to ask a couple of questions. I'm still very new and confused about everything tinnitus related. If it's not much of a bother I would be very grateful if you could help me out and clear things up before I eventually panic myself into getting stress tinnitus.

Not only that but I've realised that when writing that post my memory was a bit fuzzy of how my tinnitus started. I've rewritten parts of my timeline so they better fit what actually happened. I say this because I was wondering if this new timeline would change what the cause of my tinnitus could be.

Thank you.

Timeline

Starts from Paragraph 3 - My ears felt the need to pop as they couldn't pop by themselves. I told the GP about the crackling as well. I kept using my headphones. from then on my hearing was dulled, I noticed at school I couldn't hear people properly unless I was facing them. I went to a GP about that they didn't do anything and said as long as it the pulsatile tinnitus didn't get louder it was alright. They suggested Valsalva manoeuvre for crackling and popping. It didn't do anything to relieve the popped feeling and the crackling remained I had so I stopped doing it. At this point I could actually do the Valsalva but it was still a little difficult, required a bit of pressure and hurt when I did it this is also why I stopped. They found nothing wrong with my ears with a physical examination and my blood pressure was normal. I continued to use my headphones.

My ears started getting sensitive. Every time I would put on headphones and listen even for a couple of minutes it would make my ears sore. I stopped using headphones but I was still using my computer and sitting right next to my computers fans for around 6 hours everyday as well as going to school.

About a couple weeks later, my family started to get colds. My ears started to really ache during a school day and I went out before lunch break and sat at home. My computer fans felt uncomfortable to listen to and they made my ears ache and sore. I had a sore throat for a short time as well. So for the rest of the day I gave the computer a break. When I woke up the next day I then got hyperacusis, and I got a stabbing pain in my ears and my ears felt full. I had to sit in bed all day and I developed a fever and noxacusis. After a day I developed a humming and strong gusts of wind for tinnitus. After waiting for 4 days and it not clearing up I phoned the doctors to get a GP appointment. On day 6, The day before I was the GP I developed occasional high pitched ringing which became constant since. This is also when I really noticed and started to pay more attention to my ears and at this time I noticed they were crackling really loudly. Then I needed antibiotics for the ear infection.

Questions

Could it have been the ear infection that caused my tinnitus or noise trauma or a combination of both - as in my ears were already damaged so it didn't take long for tinnitus from ear infection to happen? Or was it a coincidence that my noise related tinnitus just so happened to start when I got the ear infection? I can't remember exactly how I got it, I think I may have woken up with it along with the fever.

My ears crackle loudly and I have trouble equalising pressure in car journeys. I tried using steroid nasal spray yesterday but I couldn't get it into my Eustachian tubes because of being unable to perform Valsalva. I showed signs of ETD before the infection and this concerning me that I'm still showing signs. Especially since pulsatile tinnitus occurred around the same time the crackling and need for popping did. Is this ETD caused by noise trauma and now it's too damaged to open correctly?

Since the steroid spray didn't enter my Eustachian tubes it spiked my tinnitus with a loud high pitch ringing and along with the new morse code tinnitus from my setback. I was actually kind of recovering before the setback. I started to be less bothered by it and could hear it quieter in more places and the noises were consistent. Is there any real way of telling if it'll go down to previous baseline? If my tinnitus is acoustic trauma related and now I've had another trauma, will it have a lower chance of complete recovery?

Does a change in noises indicate a healing or worsening or temporary spike of tinnitus? I remember at the second run of Amoxicillin when the infection went away, my dog whistle noise frequently changed to a cicada. My humming frequently changed from ear to ear until the clump of fluid or mucus came out and then it settled. Due to the setback and steroid spray it's happening again. But this time the dog whistle hasn't come back and has stayed as a cicada for almost the whole day. Any clue as to what it is?

Any suggestions for food? Broccoli, salmon, beans? Supplements? Magnesium? I've heard about it helping recovery or lessening tinnitus. I've no clue how effective it'll be for my recovery but eating healthy and letting the body properly function can't hurt, right?

I ever since the setback I keep getting fleeting tinnitus without going deaf often. Around once every 20 or so seconds. One sound in one ear at a time. Is this something to be worried about?

I'm just totally clueless and any sort of clarification would greatly help my outlook and reduce stress. The more I know about it, the more I understand and the less I worry. In fact, if I knew %100 that my tinnitus was permanent I would be trying to get on with my life instead of stressing over it. It's been so exhausting for the past couple of days having to deal with all these new possibly permanent changes in the ringing and having to get used to them again.

Thank you 100 times again!

 

[Michael Leigh]

Hi @H225.

Please understand you are not bothering me, as I am here to try and help people that are having difficulty coping with tinnitus. This condition isn't easy to deal with especially in the early stages which you are in. Therefore if you follow my suggestions, I believe they will help to make your life easier.

Print my post above and the ones listed in the links. Take your time and read them, that way you will absorb and retrain the information better, rather than reading them on your phone or computer monitor.

Print the posts that I am going to mention below which are available on my started threads. You might be tempted not to do this but believe me you will not be helping yourself. It is a lot to read but once you understand what tinnitus is all about, your life will become easier, stress will reduce and tinnitus will become less of a problem.

Does a change in noises indicate a healing or worsening or temporary spike of tinnitus?

Tinnitus fluctuates a lot in the early stages but this usually calms down with time.

Any suggestions for food? Broccoli, salmon, beans? Supplements? Magnesium?

Stay with your normal diet. I suggest that you start taking Magnesium tablets and Ginkgo Biloba. You can buy these from Holland and Barrett.

I ever since the setback I keep getting fleeting tinnitus without going deaf often. Around once every 20 or so seconds. One sound in one ear at a time. Is this something to be worried about?

As I said, tinnitus will fluctuate a lot in the early stages. Regarding any hearing impairment that you may have, wait for your appointment at ENT, as you will be given a thorough examination of your auditory system. Try not to worry.

I'm just totally clueless and any sort of clarification would greatly help my outlook and reduce stress.

Once you read all my articles you will no longer be clueless about noise induced tinnitus, which is what I think you have.

When you go to Holland & Barrett, enquire about St John's Wort. This is a herbal medicine that helps to reduce stress. Kalms is also good and available at most chemists.

Go to my started threads and print the articles mentioned below. Put them in a folder and refer to them often. This will help to reinforce positive thinking.

Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? The Habituation Process, How to Habituate to Tinnitus, Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset, Acquiring a Positive Mindset, From Darkness Into Light, Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? Habituation and Tinnitus Treatments, Tinnitus and Negative Counselling, Is Positivity Important? Tinnitus And Mental Health, TRT As I See It, Hyperacusis, As I See It.

Try to calm down and relax.

All the best,
Michael

 

[H225]

@Michael Leigh, thanks for the advice and reassurance. You're basically my therapist at this point!

But today I've developed a really loud and low bassy noise. It's louder than every other noise so far and I think it might be pulsatile because depending on my head position it changes. This is especially terrible since I was actually very quickly getting used the noises and starting to fade them out. I'm not looking forward to sleep. I do just hope I end up recovering but the setback I think isn't going back to its previous noises or volume because it's been 4 days. It's probably a permanent change so it's got me down and probably extended my recovery time by a lot - If I can recover completely at all now. I just really hope it can still fade away now that more damage has been done. But apparently the younger you are more likely you'll heal better so there's that at least.

It turns out I must still have had hyperacusis after all that time. Once you have noise induced tinnitus I guess you really can't be too careful above 70 dB or even lower. I'm not even sure how I'll be able to drive or work since certain noises in cars really get to me. But now that I have read your posts I will be more insistent from now on to my parents if they want to try and drag me out anywhere because my ears are very sensitive and irritable to certain noises and frequencies.

Today I got some Magnesium oxide with Zinc tablets - there were many different types so I asked an employee. They said that 2 in one tablet was good for tinnitus. Also got NAC tablets - in the hope of recovering some damage but the trauma was 4 days ago now so I'm trying it out of desperation and possible future acoustic traumas / shocks. All of them were from H&B. Couldn't find other ones in the shop. Will look into other supplements you suggested.

I will definitely continue to read more of your posts tomorrow and hopefully it'll make me more at peace. I will try to get an early nights sleep tonight. I got my ENT phone call tomorrow, I will give an update. Thanks again for the help!

 

[Michael Leigh]

I will definitely continue to read more of your posts tomorrow and hopefully it'll make me more at peace. I will try to get an early nights sleep tonight. I got my ENT phone call tomorrow, I will give an update. Thanks again for the help!

You are welcome @H225.

You must give the healing process time because this is not a quick fix. Tinnitus changes a lot in the early stages and will calm down in time. I explain this in many of my articles. Remember to print them, then take your time and read them. I cannot impress upon you enough how important this is. Once you understand tinnitus, your anxiety and concerns about it will reduce as you go through the habituation process. All that you are going through is normal because this condition can affect a person's mental and emotional wellbeing immensely. Things will get better, believe me.

Incorporate positivity into your life by engaging in the things you like to do. You like to express yourself through writing which is good but at the moment your emotions are all over the place. This is understandable considering all that you are going through. Just slow things down and try to relax. Play some low level soothing music when at home to help facilitate this. Gradually your focus will be taken away from the tinnitus.

Remember to use sound enrichment at night by placing a sound machine by your bedside, keep the volume low. Sound Oasis, sound machines are good and specifically make for people with tinnitus. Model S-650 is popular.

Try not to restrict yourself too much from normal everyday sounds. I understand you maybe sensitive to sound at the moment but you can do a lot to help yourself. More about this is covered in my post: Hyperacusis, As I See It. Noise reducing earplugs can help a lot with this but should be used purely on a temporary basis.

All the best,
Michael

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

I will definitely continue to read more of your posts

Be weary of Michael's advice. Some have gotten significantly worse following it (me included), especially about hyperacusis. You should not be doing anything that makes your ears feel slightly uncomfortable. Magnesium tablets (magnesium oxide) will not be absorbed by your body, liquid magnesium is the only thing that might help a bit. You should not be doing any activities that can be dangerous for your ears, at least for a while.

ENTs will not help. Yeah it's unfortunate but that's the truth. Their advice is awful, they know nothing about tinnitus, even less about hyperacusis. They will most likely advise you to live life normally and not avoid noise at all, which is horrible advice. This is a fact proven by hundreds of people on this board. Their advice is dangerous. Sound "therapy" provides nothing except maybe some masking if your tinnitus is quiet enough. It's not a "treatment".

If you want to "heal" or "habituate" like Michael says, you need to take it easy for a while. You are still in your early stages and have a good chance of remission.

TRT is nonsense, a scam, and a waste of money.

"Longitudinal analyses showed no difference between partial TRT or TRT compared with SoC, or partial TRT compared with TRT, on TQ, TFI, or THI total scores. Comparison of changes in mean score from baseline to the 18-month visit also showed no difference between treatment groups."

Effect of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy vs Standard of Care on Tinnitus-Related Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Just be very careful with sound. And you might improve if you give yourself time.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@H225, be careful, don't listen to negative thinking people like @AnthonyMcDonald who are always looking for someone to blame. I explain about this in my thread: Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset. You must try and guard yourself against these people.

Take care,
Michael.

 

[H225]

Hmm... I'd rather be safe than sorry and I guess it's different for everyone. The only real thing everyone agrees on with this type of tinnitus with hyperacusis is just to lay low. I can't really do the things I like as going on my computer just flares it up, I do like to draw however. So I'll stay inside, draw with the TV on just barely audible and walk in circles around my garden. Luckily I live on a no through / side road so I don't really get too much noise around here. Except from the occasional fire or car alarm going off or motorbikes revving or racing. So I'll wear my ear defenders when I'm in my garden. Maybe I could get ear plugs and double up when I'm going round in circles in the garden as well.

Also spoke with the ENT specialist and yep, they gave no advice and no treatment. They literally said just wait for the Tinnitus Retraining Therapy - which I was promised back when I first visited them a month ago. I have no clue when I'll be contacted by the clinic who's giving me the therapy either.

Also yesterday I spoke with my local GP practice about antidepressants and sleeping tablets. They said to go to ENT about it. I talked about it to my ENT - they said to go to the doctors. Eventually managed to get an antidepressant and my dad's picking them up today for me. I've heard some antidepressants can cause or intensify tinnitus so I'll have to look at what kind they've prescribed me and check just to be sure. I've accepted they're all kinds of clueless when dealing with tinnitus sufferers and they're just sending me around in circles. The best thing I can do is help myself and stay quiet, protected and reassure that if I keep doing this, I might go into remission well enough to only hear it when I'm going to sleep. I'm young and I'm in the early stages. I'll implement both of your advice: Stay low but stay positive.

Staying quiet and positive is the most I can do. I'm also sharing this page with my parents. They can see all these updates and conversations and hopefully they'll understand that they can't drag me out anywhere less, let alone in a car. I can't risk it getting any worse and hopefully they'll let me stay inside for those supposed 6 to 18 months to heal and just let me briskly walk in the garden. And hopefully when reading this they'll understand the risks and volatile nature of hyperacusis.

Will stay positive and try to keep my chin up, and maybe with these antidepressants I'll get to sleep better and stop my uncontrollable crying fits.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

TRT is nonsense, a scam, and a waste of money.

"Longitudinal analyses showed no difference between partial TRT or TRT compared with SoC, or partial TRT compared with TRT, on TQ, TFI, or THI total scores. Comparison of changes in mean score from baseline to the 18-month visit also showed no difference between treatment groups."

Effect of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy vs Standard of Care on Tinnitus-Related Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Just be very careful with sound. And you might improve if you give yourself time.

Your same article shows this though *shrug*

 

[Michael Leigh]

Will stay positive and try to keep my chin up, and maybe with these antidepressants I'll get to sleep better and stop my uncontrollable crying fits.

This is the right approach @H225. Your ENT have told you what I have advised you to do. Relax and keep calm and give it time.

My advice is to keep away from reading tinnitus articles on the Internet. Many of these papers are written by people that have never experienced tinnitus. They may be medically qualified but this does not make them tinnitus specialists.

Keep away from headphones and try to engage in your normal activities.

Best of luck,
Michael

 

[DaveFromChicago]

@H225, be careful, don't listen to negative thinking people like @AnthonyMcDonald who are always looking for someone to blame. I explain about this in my thread: Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset. You must try and guard yourself against these people.

To Anthony McDonald:

I guess that Michael Leigh has reached a new level of truly neurotic paranoia when he accuses you of "always looking for someone to blame."

Who, precisely, are you "blaming", and for what? Allowing Jastreboff to be taken seriously such that TRT was then regarded as a conclusive method so that real research on eliminating this was impeded or never attempted?

And, what's the deal about "guarding yourself against such people."? He sounds as crazy as the Puritian Judges who admonished their congregation against associating with witches.

Curiously, he frequently chastises other posters for "disrespectfully" addressing him, but becomes reflexively offensive when any portion of his commentary is questioned.

I am gratified that several new posters are calling him to account for disseminating all sorts of counterproductive, junk advice.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

Your same article shows this though *shrug*

View attachment 50458

Yep, passage of time and natural remission. Those quotes just enforce that TRT is the same as SoC aka letting time pass.

Not saying that it's completely worthless, it can definitely help some milder cases with little to no hyperacusis (aka stable quiet room anxiety types) but I wish it wasn't considered the only way for every single case. I appreciate your positive posts and replies and I am glad the forum has a bright person like you

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

I am not being negative like @Michael Leigh says. Just the opposite. You have a very good chance of remission if you take it easy. If being on the computer flares you up you have to be careful with noise. I do not want to you end up like me who was told numerous times to continue living normally and mask as much as possible with noise generators and ended up catastrophic. I wish I would have been warned on how bad it can get if I am not careful. I wish you the very best and I am sure you will improve with time.

@H225 TRT is dangerous with your level of hyperacusis and I really do hope you avoid it (also seeing as it's a waste of money anyways). And be very, very careful with the antidepressants you take. There are plenty of posts here to read up on about them. Sending hugs

 

[Michael Leigh]

@H225, if ENT refer you to audiology and it is recommend to try TRT, please do it. You will be fine so don't worry. Don't listen to people that have never had this treatment. You will be under guidance with a hearing therapist or audiologist.

Michael

 

[LilCC]

Be weary of Michael's advice. Some have gotten significantly worse following it (me included), especially about hyperacusis. You should not be doing anything that makes your ears feel slightly uncomfortable. Magnesium tablets (magnesium oxide) will not be absorbed by your body, liquid magnesium is the only thing that might help a bit. You should not be doing any activities that can be dangerous for your ears, at least for a while.

ENTs will not help. Yeah it's unfortunate but that's the truth. Their advice is awful, they know nothing about tinnitus, even less about hyperacusis. They will most likely advise you to live life normally and not avoid noise at all, which is horrible advice. This is a fact proven by hundreds of people on this board. Their advice is dangerous. Sound "therapy" provides nothing except maybe some masking if your tinnitus is quiet enough. It's not a "treatment".

If you want to "heal" or "habituate" like Michael says, you need to take it easy for a while. You are still in your early stages and have a good chance of remission.

TRT is nonsense, a scam, and a waste of money.

"Longitudinal analyses showed no difference between partial TRT or TRT compared with SoC, or partial TRT compared with TRT, on TQ, TFI, or THI total scores. Comparison of changes in mean score from baseline to the 18-month visit also showed no difference between treatment groups."

Effect of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy vs Standard of Care on Tinnitus-Related Quality of Life: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Just be very careful with sound. And you might improve if you give yourself time.

Seriously my friend, be really careful with Michael's advice, he seems to give the same advice to everyone whether the condition is tinnitus or hyperacusis. He thinks TRT fixes everything despite TRT being based on pseudoscience. I'd follow advice from anyone BUT Michael. Best wishes my friend.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Yep, passage of time and natural remission. Those quotes just enforce that TRT is the same as SoC aka letting time pass.

Not saying that it's completely worthless, it can definitely help some milder cases with little to no hyperacusis (aka stable quiet room anxiety types) but I wish it wasn't considered the only way for every single case. I appreciate your positive posts and replies and I am glad the forum has a bright person like you

Thanks for the kind words. I am currently doing sound therapy with an audiologist. She has treated very severe hyperacusis folks so I'm willing to give it a shot.

I am allowing more sound in but I'm clumsy and I drop metal things that clank and well my ears are paying for it.

She advises to plug up when needed and allow sound slowly. If I get better maybe it can encourage others. I'm not catastrophic, but I have 5 reactive tones that can be fairly quiet or loud and piercing buzzing or painful at any time.

Most color sounds spike me so it's been fairly difficult.

Wishing you a recovery soon, even if not soon, just something that you can keep building on.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

Don't listen to people that have never had this treatment.

...But I did try it and it made me worse.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

...But I did try it and it made me worse.

It's stuff like this that worries me :/

 

[Michael Leigh]

..But I did try it and it made me worse.

You were not having treatment under the NHS, were you? I am sorry about your situation, but you really shouldn't be giving advice to someone, that is under a health system you know nothing about.

Treatment under the NHS is free at point of delivery. Therefore, any patient in the UK that is referred to ENT and Audiology, has TRT, CBT, counselling, white noise generators, hearing aids, medication doesn't pay for it.

Michael

 

[Michael Leigh]

It's stuff like this that worries me :/

It is this type of worrying that can prevent you from having any success with TRT, or any other tinnitus treatment, as it instils negative thinking. Remember, tinnitus is an integral part of our mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. Stress must be kept under control.

 

[DaveFromChicago]

To Anthony McDonald and LilCC:

Imagine agreeing to follow Michael Leigh's advice in all of its particulars:

1) Unconditionally refuse to read anyone's comments that call TRT into question;

2) Make absolutely sure that you never read any articles of any sort about tinnitus
on the Internet for the ridiculous reason that someone who wrote them may never have had tinnitus (like you should never get a Tetanus shot because no one from the Pharma Supplier or the Administering Doctor ever had Tetanus);

3) Make sure that you regard Michael Leigh as the sole qualified expert on this matter to the exclusion of any other neuroscientist, researcher, etc. in the Entire World (even if they come from, for example, Harvard or Yale Medical School);

4) Vigorously ignore and impungn anyone who reports that TRT either did nothing or worsened their tinnitus; cast suspicion on their motives for reporting this (such as that such an honest, unbiased report nevertheless should be censured for it's "negativity");

5) Cast every aspersion you can on any Private Practitioner of TRT in the UK and vehemently insist that the NHS is the only Institution that can flawlessly carry out this "procedure";

6) Raise a veritable conniption fit when anyone submits any one of the numerous carefully conducted Clinical Trials that concluded that TRT is no more effective than a placebo;

7) Insist that the $4,000.00 - $6,000.00 cost for TRT is justified for the sole reason that many medical procedures are expensive.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

You were not having treatment under the NHS, were you?

So, by your beliefs TRT is supposedly only "effective" in the UK and you disregard all other "specialists"? Do you realize how absurd that sounds?

Just look at @DaveFromChicago's reply, all his points are valid.

Even the price of TRT alone is completely unjustified and takes advantage of people (yes even if it might be free in some places - still, those are tax dollars going into the clinics pocket).

 

[Michael Leigh]

So, by your beliefs TRT is supposedly only "effective" in the UK and you disregard all other "specialists"? Do you realize how absurd that sounds?

I have submitted over 8,000 posts to this forum. If it is possible, please peruse them and you will see I do not talk about the healthcare system in another country. This would be wrong since I have only ever lived in the UK. Please don't misconstrue what I say.

The person you refer to in your post whom I shall not mention, I placed on ignore many months ago because his only purpose was to argue with me. I have done the same with other members and will continue to do so if anyone behaves towards me in a similar manner. Therefore, I do not see any posts by these members and I'm able to carry on in peace and help people with tinnitus who are asking help, which is the reason I visit this forum.

Someone that has tinnitus for over 5 years and preferably has experience of it being severe, I regard them as knowledgeable about tinnitus. If they have worked with tinnitus patients by means of counselling them I regard them as a tinnitus specialist.

An ENT doctor is a physician and treats underlying medical problems within the auditory system that cause tinnitus but they don't treat tinnitus because this is not their area of expertise.

Audiologists that do not have tinnitus and work with tinnitus patients, in my opinion are not tinnitus specialists. They may have knowledge about the way people are affected by tinnitus, which has been gained from corresponding with tinnitus patients, however, they can never fully understand how a person is affected by the condition.

Many audiologists and hearing therapists that work with tinnitus patients. Counselling and administering TRT and CBT, have tinnitus. They were either born with it or acquired it at some time in their life.

I wish you well,
Michael

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

Many audiologists and hearing therapists that work with tinnitus patients. Counselling and administering TRT and CBT, have tinnitus.

Most likely in a mild/moderate unchanging stable form that is more or less easy to live with or habituate to (which is arguably the most common form), as they say. This does not make them an authority to gaslight severe/catastrophic sufferers, which most of them do from my experience (and I've talked to specialists all around the world).

If someone with a stable single-tone squeak they can hear in a quiet room has anxiety issues and extra pocket change to spend on TRT and CBT then all the power to them. I just firmly stand that these methods do not work with unstable/catastrophic/nox patients, yet it is considered to be a valid treatment for all cases, which just isn't true.

I do not consider your advice to be bad advice, per se, I just think that it honestly cannot be applied to every single person.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I do not consider your advice to be bad advice, per se, I just think that it honestly cannot be applied to every single person.

When you have the time please peruse my post history. In many posts I make it abundantly clear that my advice is only advice, it is not absolute and should not be seen as such. I have never said or implied my advice is suitable for every person for the simple reason we are all different.

I trust we can now put an end to this saga, as I do not wish to derail @H225's thread.

Michael

 

[H225]

Ugh eating that much dairy and now my parents forcing me to have my TV on low while my ears still hurt. They aren't considerate enough to be careful with cutlery. New tones and existing ones are louder. I'm spiking again but I actually managed to wake up today and hear almost total silence.

The high pitched ringing is fluctuating in pitch and I can't here buzzing anymore... what a relief. It's weird some of sounds have lowered in pitch and have started to only be in one ear. No idea what any of this means. Wait... buzzing is back.

I came down for dinner and they clanged cutlery so loud and then shouted at me. There's now a high pitched squealey squeaky noise that's so intense than any other noise. Why... I and went downstairs to check if it's louder than the TV and it is. I'm so scared it's going to stay this way.

 

[Shizune]

Ugh eating that much dairy and now my parents forcing me to have my TV on low while my ears still hurt. They aren't considerate enough to be careful with cutlery. New tones and existing ones are louder. I'm spiking again but I actually managed to wake up today and hear almost total silence.

The high pitched ringing is fluctuating in pitch and I can't here buzzing anymore... what a relief. It's weird some of sounds have lowered in pitch and have started to only be in one ear. No idea what any of this means. Wait... buzzing is back.

I came down for dinner and they clanged cutlery so loud and then shouted at me. There's now a high pitched squealey squeaky noise that's so intense than any other noise. Why... I and went downstairs to check if it's louder than the TV and it is. I'm so scared it's going to stay this way.

I'm sorry and I feel for you. Especially at your age, parents are really inconsiderate and may not take you seriously. I know it's hard to convince them this is very real but do you think printing out resources to convince them how serious this is may help? I do not understand why parents do not care about their child's health and just assume they're overreacting. You're 18 now so you're an adult, do they really need to force you to have the TV on?

I was able to convince mine but the result was them kicking me out of the house. Wish everyone's family could be like Tom Maholchic's.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I came down for dinner and they clanged cutlery so loud and then shouted at me. There's now a high pitched squealey squeaky noise that's so intense than any other noise. Why... I and went downstairs to check if it's louder than the TV and it is. I'm so scared it's going to stay this way.

The clanging of cutlery can cause irritation and could be painful at times. Your oversensitivity to other types of sound are all caused by hyperacusis, which is associated with noise-induced tinnitus. This will probably continue for some time but will improve. I have explained this in my threads: Hyperacusis, As I See It and Tinnitus, A Personal View. I hope that you have printed them along with my other threads. Once you understand the reasons this is happening, your stress will reduce. It takes time so be patient.

Noise reducing earplugs can help but should not be used too often. This is also covered in Hyperacusis, As I See It.

Continue using low level sound enrichment especially at night. This helps to desensitise the auditory system.

All the best,
Michael

 

[H225]

You're 18 now so you're an adult, do they really need to force you to have the TV on?

It was advice from the ENT. That's why they're so adamant on making me have my TV on. Even though I've told them that at this stage the TV, even though at almost inaudible volumes, still hurt me and white noise or any masking noise would be detrimental at this stage as any constant noise for me is irritating.

I have no clue what to do and because of them forcing me to do this I've gained so many new noises in 2 days. I hate existence right now.