Weird Low-Pitched Tinnitus Nightmare: It Sounds Like Bassy Music or Car Idling

[paxmachina]

Hello, tinnitus sufferers. I'm going crazy with anxiety at the moment, and I'd appreciate any input on my situation. Can anyone relate to this experience?

I'm 38 years old and living in the Netherlands. For the last 2.5 weeks, I've had some new tinnitus that is making life a nightmare. I've always had some high-pitched ringing since being a teen (and blasting music on my Discman in the back of the car). However, this is something new.

It started after an evening at a loud bar with no ear protection. I was there for about an hour and a half; it was pretty noisy but not deafening (we were still sitting around talking, raised voices, but we didn't need to shout at each other to be heard).

Since then, I have had a very loud throbbing low-frequency hum in my right ear only. It's incredibly disturbing - it sounds like the neighbor next door is playing bassy music or a car idling. The weird part is that at the start of each day, when I wake up, it is completely gone. I have a few hours of blissful quiet until about mid-afternoon when it starts to appear slowly. By about 7 PM, it's a full-on throbbing hum. Honestly, it feels like the room is shaking or my head is vibrating.

The next weird thing I've encountered is this: I mentioned the hum is not there in the morning. However, after I wake up, I have these strange distortions in my OTHER ear… I can have my left ear on the pillow of my bed and listen to the traffic outside with my right ear, and I can hear a distorted mirror image in my left ear despite it being muffled. When I get up and walk around, it's so disorienting; it's like any sound in the room has a strange crunchy quality on the left side.

Throughout the day, I also have a 'full' feeling in my ears, and I get a mild headache, which is more pronounced with loud noise.

I'm super stressed about this. It doesn't make sense to me to have got such severe tinnitus from being at a moderately loud bar for less than 2 hours. But with each day that goes past, I'm starting to freak out more and more that it's permanent. My doctor looked in my ear and even removed a bit of earwax with irrigation, but it didn't help. Now, I'm seeing an ENT doctor, but not for a couple of weeks; in the meantime, I feel like I'm going to go crazy, feeling like I've permanently damaged my ears.

Can anyone relate to this at all? I find it so maddening; if I have hearing damage-induced tinnitus, it's odd that the hum could disappear for the first half of the day. I think the hairs in the cochlea getting knocked over permanently triggers that frequency to fire. I'd be grateful if anyone has any input; thanks for reading.

 

[MindOverMatter]

Since then, I have had a very loud throbbing low-frequency hum in my right ear only. It's incredibly disturbing - it sounds like the neighbor next door is playing bassy music or a car idling. The weird part is that at the start of each day, when I wake up, it is completely gone. I have a few hours of blissful quiet until about mid-afternoon when it starts to appear slowly. By about 7 PM, it's a full-on throbbing hum. Honestly, it feels like the room is shaking or my head is vibrating.

Yes, I can 100% relate to this.

You have been through an "acoustic trauma", due to your previous fragile ears.

This has happened to me as well - pretty much feeling exactly the same way you described it in the quote. There is also a great component of stress and anxiety mixed into this, which in turn makes it worse.

I would say there is a good chance that this humming/throbbing (bassy), vibrating feeling sound in your ears and head will pass with time and rest. Do not expose yourself to anything loud for the next few months.

To me, it sounds like a mix of hyperacusis and tensor tympani syndrome.

 

[Tryn2BHopeful]

I have something very similar to this, but I don't get it all the time. It's never there in the morning and toward the end of the day it picks up. It also almost always disappears in the presence of other sounds, and I generally only ever hear it at my house. I am convinced I am picking up on a low frequency that exists in my home and am more sensitive to it. Very strange.

 

[RunningMan]

Mine is similar in that I usually only notice my low-frequency tinnitus when I am at my home, but it appears that is because of the lack of other background low-frequency sounds compared to what I had at work, driving, and biking. With low-frequency noise in the environment, the low-frequency tinnitus fades away. But I have heard it miles away from home when stopped at a quiet place. Always from the left ear only. I've had this for over 3 years and initially used to think the sounds were real.

 

[paxmachina]

I would say there is a good chance that this humming/throbbing (bassy), vibrating feeling sound in your ears and head will pass with time and rest. Do not expose yourself to anything loud for the next few months.

To me, it sounds like a mix of hyperacusis and tensor tympani syndrome.

Thanks for this. Did you get a diagnosis of tensor tympani syndrome? I've not heard of it before. Am I right in saying it eventually subsided for you? I can see why the anxiety would exacerbate it for sure. I'm trying to keep calm as much as possible for the short term.

I generally only ever hear it at my house. I am convinced I am picking up on a low frequency that exists in my home and am more sensitive to it. Very strange.

That is bizarre. I can hear it when I'm away but it is especially pronounced at home. I think being alone at home (I'm single) doesn't help as it means you end up monitoring the subtle house sounds around you when there's no one to distract you.

 

[MindOverMatter]

Thanks for this. Did you get a diagnosis of tensor tympani syndrome? I've not heard of it before. Am I right in saying it eventually subsided for you? I can see why the anxiety would exacerbate it for sure. I'm trying to keep calm as much as possible for the short term.

My audiologist told me/confirmed to me that it is the tensor tympani muscle acting up.

It was gone for a long time, but has come back several times. Sometimes for weeks, sometimes only for days or hours.

Bad sleep and stress are known triggers to me, and of course, if I get struck by some loud, sudden noise exposure.

But yes, for most, it (TTTS) will go, eventually, if you can get in control of your stress levels and hypervigilance - and last, but not least, stop monitoring it. I know all about how hard that is, but it's the truth.

For your possible loudness hyperacusis, I would suggest to get a consultation with a skilled audiologist if there is no change for the better in 4-6 months. Rest up your ears, and protect when needed. Try to be around soundscapes that are soothing for you - at a volume and frequency tolerated.

 

[Tryn2BHopeful]

With low-frequency noise in the environment, the low-frequency tinnitus fades away.

Yes I use the Space Station sound from the Ambi app for Windows when I am working on my computer and that kills it.

 

[RunningMan]

Yes I use the Space Station sound from the Ambi app for Windows when I am working on my computer and that kills it.

I've had it in my left ear for over 3 years. It's variable like distant subwoofers, traffic, wind gusting, just the very low frequencies. Fortunately, it's faint a lot of the time or goes away with those external low-frequency sounds. Over 2 years ago, I would sometimes run a fan overnight to help mask it, but it's pretty minor compared to the high-frequency tinnitus that I have now, so I normally don't bother trying to mask the low-frequency tinnitus anymore.

I've had TTTS also since June, but it's very different from this low-frequency tinnitus. The TTTS is more fluttering or individual thumps that can happen in either ear but only one at a time. It's only occasional, so easier to deal with. It seems to get triggered sometimes when tensing up muscles or touching head/neck or moving my head, yet very inconsistent. I can't correlate it to times of highest anxiety, and the frequency of occurrence hasn't really changed over these months.

 

[Mister Muso]

I have this sound too. It used to come and go, and even sound louder in different rooms and buildings. Though it's loud every day now, I hardly notice it. Try YouTube for the famous "easyJet jet sounds" that seems to help a lot of people. Also, I find listening to audiobooks can help dampen it down somehow.