What's Your Definition of Mild Tinnitus?

[Julien87]

Tinnitus that can be heard only in a silent room or very near silent room.

That's also my definition. My tinnitus is mild, I do not hear it when I am using my laptop. If this changes I will not consider it mild anymore ^^

 

[RishRamsey]

Objectively, I don't think that is necessarily severe tinnitus, it could be moderate to high moderate.

I can hear mine in busy traffic sometimes, when it's bad, if I listen and sometimes I can't help but hear it. I try not to focus on it, which works much of the time as I become more habituated, and to me this indicates that it's not really bad enough to call severe.

In busy traffic you mean out in the open, or sitting in the car?

 

[Rogi Cetpla]

A lot of people say they wish they had mild tinnitus, that mild tinnitus is easy to habituate to and that if you hear your tinnitus mainly just in a quiet room then it's mild.

But what if it's high pitched and seemingly loud that you can hear it with the TV on in a quiet room?

What if it's so hard to ignore the sound because of its intensity and loudness in a quiet room?

How would you define mild tinnitus?

Having had Mild, Intrusive and Very Intrusive Tinnitus I would define as follows:

MT: You hear it sometimes (usually at night or very quiet environment. You are mostly in control and can mask it easily.

IT: You hear it most of the time in daily activities (usually masked by louder noises; i.e. outside traffic, rivers, showers, ...). You are still more or less in control and, even though more difficult, can still mask it.

VIT: You hear it all the time in daily activities (nothing masks apart from wearing headphones/EarPods with music and/or colour noise generated or cranking up music and/or colour noise on speakers at home). You no longer have control and very difficult to mask without further damaging your hearing.

I have dealt with the former two and even though difficult have always managed to habituate in the end. Am currently dealing with the later... an all together different beast... I am nevertheless hopeful my body and mind will adjust in the end...

 

[HootOwl]

I had mild tinnitus for 8 years and to this day I remember it vividly. A single low oooommmmmm that was neither loud nor piercing, just present so to speak.

Only hear it in quiet rooms and quiet streets. It would "build" in silence but immediately drop off if any external sound was introduced, such as someone talking softly, or low music or a computer fan.

Hell, I couldn't hear it during my exams in college because the scratching of the pencils would drive it away. Chewing gum could also silence it.

This to me is what mild tinnitus is. If I could get back to this without any of the hissing/brain fuzz/loud reactive noises I would consider myself cured.

 

[Don Tinny]

If TV sound doesn´t mask it, I think it´s -at least- moderate, not mild.

 

[PeteJ]

It sounds like most don't know what mild, moderate or severe is.

The guy who said "you will know" was right but the OP disagreed. He was wrong. I know because I have experienced all "three."

If you go outside and hear it, it can be any of those. It depends on the environment outside. A loud busy street with traffic or a quiet park? You need some context to compare the tinnitus volume. Also, if it's possible to judge how many dB - outside but especially the tinnitus volume. Even a rough estimate.

I can't mask mine. I hear it outside with traffic and with the tv on. I don't know how I sleep at all. I use a fan but it doesn't matter. I want to sleep around 11 but I am often up anywhere around 1 to 4am. I don't want to be.

If you can mask it sometimes and don't hear it in certain situations, I think that's moderate. I think most people seem to have various states of mild to moderate at least from what I read in this thread. It doesn't help either way so I am just making my own interpretations and observations, FWIW.

 

[MattS]

So if I can mask my tinnitus with volume 6 playing pink noise on an iPhone in an otherwise quiet room, it's mild?

I think if the fridge hum removes your tinnitus, you have mild tinnitus. Like 2-3/10.

 

[MRItechssuck]

Today nothing is masking mine... in the car with the AC fan on full blast, nope. Shower... nope... bathroom fan... heck no.

I think hearing aid/maskers (normal hearing with loss over 8 kHz) are in my future... however long I can make it.

 

[astaff14]

I feel like to define the different levels of it also has to do with how you respond emotionally to it as well. Like 75 dB traffic doesn't mask mine, usually only the shower does & sometimes not even then but I'm coming to the point where it doesn't feel too bad because I'm not constantly focusing on it, so I'd call that mild-moderate.

 

[Striveon]

I had mild tinnitus for 8 years and to this day I remember it vividly. A single low oooommmmmm that was neither loud nor piercing, just present so to speak.

Only hear it in quiet rooms and quiet streets. It would "build" in silence but immediately drop off if any external sound was introduced, such as someone talking softly, or low music or a computer fan.

Hell, I couldn't hear it during my exams in college because the scratching of the pencils would drive it away. Chewing gum could also silence it.

This to me is what mild tinnitus is. If I could get back to this without any of the hissing/brain fuzz/loud reactive noises I would consider myself cured.

What made your tinnitus louder?

 

[Lilah]

Volume alone, without considering emotional response, I would say:
Mild tinnitus - only hear in quiet room (without some sort of masking sound like loud fridge)/when you sleep
Moderate tinnitus - able to mask with everyday sounds (TV, traffic, during commute, restaurant, etc.)
Severe tinnitus - unable to mask with everyday sounds

Considering emotional response, I would say:
Mild tinnitus - don't notice tinnitus (despite volume), able to function/work at pre-onset level, no sleep issues, no anxiety/depression
Moderate tinnitus - notice tinnitus sometimes, tinnitus can be distracting but able to function/work at pre-onset level most of the time, sleep disturbed sometimes, some anxiety/depression
Severe tinnitus - unable to take mind off the sound, unable to focus/work properly, major sleep issues, anxiety/depression

Everyone's bar may vary. One person's everyday sounds may be different from another person's.

 

[HootOwl]

What made your tinnitus louder?

Several things: the first worsening was idiopathic but the rest are due to acoustic traumas (possibly ambien in one case)

 

[RishRamsey]

Having had Mild, Intrusive and Very Intrusive Tinnitus I would define as follows:

MT: You hear it sometimes (usually at night or very quiet environment. You are mostly in control and can mask it easily.

IT: You hear it most of the time in daily activities (usually masked by louder noises; i.e. outside traffic, rivers, showers, ...). You are still more or less in control and, even though more difficult, can still mask it.

VIT: You hear it all the time in daily activities (nothing masks apart from wearing headphones/EarPods with music and/or colour noise generated or cranking up music and/or colour noise on speakers at home). You no longer have control and very difficult to mask without further damaging your hearing.

I have dealt with the former two and even though difficult have always managed to habituate in the end. Am currently dealing with the later... an all together different beast... I am nevertheless hopeful my body and mind will adjust in the end...

How did it get worse? Do you also have hyperacusis?

 

[Rogi Cetpla]

How did it get worse? Do you also have hyperacusis?

I rode my motorcycle... which I hadn't done in 10 years...ironically only because I had habituated to my previous tinnitus level(s) and felt comfortable enough that, providing I had custom made earplugs, I would be alright... I was until my 5th ride...

I initially had hyperacusis after my initial onset of tinnitus 10 years ago but, unfortunately (I say unfortunately as had I still had it I would have never attempted to ride again) things greatly improved over the years... and no longer had it until this last flare up.

Anyway...fast forward today an I am now part of an « exclusive » club of people who have Very Intrusive Tinnitus...a level of intensity and noise level which I never thought was possible. At this stage I also have « reactive » tinnitus which some people say is hyperacusis...

I am now almost three months into this and no respite... I have always habituated in the past and am hoping/praying that I will be able to do so again...

 

[friend74]

the thing is, if you would have asked me this 8 years ago i would have said its pretty severe. if you would ask me now i would be slightly happy to have it like 8 years ago. it may have to do with the perception of it. who knows.

 

[Mister Muso]

When in a quiet room, my high frequency hissing settles down but my bass rumble can be deafening. "60Hz Sound" on spotify masks it but can aggravate my hiss a little (though better than Easyjet on YouTube).

In a louder environment my bass rumble disappears but my hissing can react and gets louder. Unless I've had a spike when I have moderately loud ringing that can usually be masked.

So overall I would say I'm in the mild to moderate category after 8 months. The first 4 months were loud and scary, but seems to be starting to settle.

 

[Rafalek73]

Since February this year, I've had a significant, terrible deterioration. It is only masked by music at the level of 80dB upwards. I can hear it always and everywhere; on the street, in shopping malls, in the shower. Sometimes I have better days that give hope, but usually the next day brings worse. Sometimes, after waking up, I have a dozen or so seconds of silence and then tears are flowing through my polycyclics of happiness.

 

[friend74]

Since February this year, I've had a significant, terrible deterioration. It is only masked by music at the level of 80dB upwards. I can hear it always and everywhere; on the street, in shopping malls, in the shower. Sometimes I have better days that give hope, but usually the next day brings worse. Sometimes, after waking up, I have a dozen or so seconds of silence and then tears are flowing through my polycyclics of happiness.

I know this silence when waking up, too. Makes me wanna sleep forever...

 

[all to gain]

Mild tinnitus is when you can't understand why other people are all suicidal over their tinnitus.

 

[Agrajag364]

Since February this year, I've had a significant, terrible deterioration. It is only masked by music at the level of 80dB upwards. I can hear it always and everywhere; on the street, in shopping malls, in the shower. Sometimes I have better days that give hope, but usually the next day brings worse. Sometimes, after waking up, I have a dozen or so seconds of silence and then tears are flowing through my polycyclics of happiness.

Did anything happen to cause this worsening?

 

[mrbrightside614]

Imho, volume and pitch* determine severity - at least for me. The higher both are, the more severe. Also, a lot of steady tones.
(Some people might not agree regarding the pitch?).

No, this is exactly it, and is my current dilemma. The pitch is so high that no matter what volume it is, it consumes some part of me. I'm at 5 months in and I'm concerned I'll see no further progress without stem cell intervention.

 

[mrbrightside614]

I feel like to define the different levels of it also has to do with how you respond emotionally to it as well. Like 75 dB traffic doesn't mask mine, usually only the shower does & sometimes not even then but I'm coming to the point where it doesn't feel too bad because I'm not constantly focusing on it, so I'd call that mild-moderate.

How would you characterize your sound(s)? How far are you out? Although I oppose habituation as I'm an anxiety prone type A control-all-variables kind of person, I pray that this can one day be the case in the event that all therapies fail.

 

[PeteJ]

No, this is exactly it, and is my current dilemma. The pitch is so high that no matter what volume it is, it consumes some part of me. I'm at 5 months in and I'm concerned I'll see no further progress without stem cell intervention.

Do you have more than one tone? I know I do although it's hard to tell how many. They're not all the same but I can tell there is subtle differences.

Also, it's hard to describe but it's ringing, not whooshing or hissing. The pitch is so damn high.

The sound is almost *painful* but the tones are 'fast moving.* Maybe the sound engineers and musicians can help describe it? Why is it like that?

Hearing loss? Damaged ears? Why?

It's so intrusive that it's not just "heard" from the ears but the brain/head.

How are researchers going to treat something like this?!? Hopeless!

 

[astaff14]

How would you characterize your sound(s)? How far are you out? Although I oppose habituation as I'm an anxiety prone type A control-all-variables kind of person, I pray that this can one day be the case in the event that all therapies fail.

I have a couple tones usually though sometimes I'm lucky and will only get the hiss (like right now) But often I have a few rings, ones about mid tone, I get a Morse code one, the hiss and a regular more high pitched tone variably throughout the day. For the first two weeks or so after my noise trauma I had several alarm sounding tones as well which now only come when I hear an alarm or siren or whatever for an extended time. And not nearly as badly as when it first happened.

I'll be one month out from my fire alarm trauma tomorrow, though I've had tinnitus for a year and nine months.

I get opposing habituation, the loss of control of HAVING to hear ringing all day long certainly takes a toll. Staying busy has helped me, as well as making sure to not spend much time alone as I'm much more likely to focus on it then.

What's your t like/ how long have you had it for? Cause?

For me the hardest part has definitely been the hyperacusis and ear fullness

 

[Rafalek73]

Did anything happen to cause this worsening?

Yes, a very strong blow of the head against the wall during a fall.

 

[mrbrightside614]

I have a couple tones usually though sometimes I'm lucky and will only get the hiss (like right now) But often I have a few rings, ones about mid tone, I get a Morse code one, the hiss and a regular more high pitched tone variably throughout the day. For the first two weeks or so after my noise trauma I had several alarm sounding tones as well which now only come when I hear an alarm or siren or whatever for an extended time. And not nearly as badly as when it first happened.

I'll be one month out from my fire alarm trauma tomorrow, though I've had tinnitus for a year and nine months.

I get opposing habituation, the loss of control of HAVING to hear ringing all day long certainly takes a toll. Staying busy has helped me, as well as making sure to not spend much time alone as I'm much more likely to focus on it then.

What's your t like/ how long have you had it for? Cause?

For me the hardest part has definitely been the hyperacusis and ear fullness

This is my worry. You sound like you're still in the afraid to be alone/need constant distractions to tune it out, and you're a year and a half further along that me.

Unfortunately I believe if one can't have peace and the ability to be still—soaking in everything passively, one cannot be happy. I think I may spring for the stem cells sooner rather than later.

My cause was a head on collision on June 19, with airbag deploy blowing out my HF hearing. The low whirring tone was present immediately but I mistook it for summer construction because I could only hear it in my bed at night, or when it was really quiet. I awoke on July 19th to the dreaded perpetual EEEE sound. I am so unhappy.

 

[astaff14]

This is my worry. You sound like you're still in the afraid to be alone/need constant distractions to tune it out, and you're a year and a half further along that me.

Unfortunately I believe if one can't have peace and the ability to be still—soaking in everything passively, one cannot be happy. I think I may spring for the stem cells sooner rather than later.

My cause was a head on collision on June 19, with airbag deploy blowing out my HF hearing. The low whirring tone was present immediately but I mistook it for summer construction because I could only hear it in my bed at night, or when it was really quiet. I awoke on July 19th to the dreaded perpetual EEEE sound. I am so unhappy.

I should have made myself more clear, up until my noise trauma a month ago my tinnitus didn't bother me at all. I lived my life like I didn't have it and even when I did notice it there wasn't any negativity associated because I didn't find it bothersome. I'm in the process of rehabituating to it now as before, well, I don't even know how to rate it because it didn't bother me. where now i'm probably at a 4/10 with good times of 2-3, and the hyperacusis is much worse than I had it initially as well which is definitely making it harder. So really I am only one month into trying to habituate.

Have you gotten hearing tests or anything? Thought about hearing aids? Definitely seems like you'd be a good candidate for them. I saw a piece of advice on here before that basically says you need to try and desensitize yourself to responding to the tinnitus like it's a threat. Remind yourself "it's ok- this is normal now. It's ok, this is normal now." eventually it will help a little, at least it has for me.

I'm sorry you're so unhappy. It's so fucking cruel to go through something like a head on collision and then have to deal with tinnitus on top of the other injuries you probably had. I do think there's a possibility it will fade for you though, at least the ringing as your body continues to heal from your ordeal.

 

[mrbrightside614]

I should have made myself more clear, up until my noise trauma a month ago my tinnitus didn't bother me at all. I lived my life like I didn't have it and even when I did notice it there wasn't any negativity associated because I didn't find it bothersome. I'm in the process of rehabituating to it now as before, well, I don't even know how to rate it because it didn't bother me. where now i'm probably at a 4/10 with good times of 2-3, and the hyperacusis is much worse than I had it initially as well which is definitely making it harder. So really I am only one month into trying to habituate.

Have you gotten hearing tests or anything? Thought about hearing aids? Definitely seems like you'd be a good candidate for them. I saw a piece of advice on here before that basically says you need to try and desensitize yourself to responding to the tinnitus like it's a threat. Remind yourself "it's ok- this is normal now. It's ok, this is normal now." eventually it will help a little, at least it has for me.

I'm sorry you're so unhappy. It's so fucking cruel to go through something like a head on collision and then have to deal with tinnitus on top of the other injuries you probably had. I do think there's a possibility it will fade for you though, at least the ringing as your body continues to heal from your ordeal.

This reassures me a little bit, I suppose. You must be mentally more resilient than I to be able to have perceived it as a problem—although if mine had stayed at that simple whir I may not have ever seen it as a problem, so who knows.

My hearing is fine at 2 kHz, 4 kHz, 6 kHz, and 8 kHz but the test that was administered was callously brief and shallow. My hearing wasn't exactly matched properly but my foolish audiologist said that it was in normal margins of error. I have no confidence in the test administered, nor her actual reading of it. I've been pleading the boards to supply me with a decent audiologist and no one has mentioned anything of the sort.

"it's okay" i guess, because what other choice/response can I provide? My jaw is super fucked up apparently and I'm seeking treatment for that but doubt that it will meaningfully alter the character of the tinnitus more than time. I guess I just have to be patient and invest more faith in habituation than science, but I don't know how. I just can't shake it.

 

[mrbrightside614]

If it makes you feel any better, I had two 3T(?) MRI's conducted within 10 days of each other and it spiked my tinnitus so bad that I ended up in a psych ward over my insomnia. The third tone that may have been brain zaps disappeared after I re-established my sleep patterns. I'd say it took a month or two to go down.

 

[GoatSheep]

I ended up in a psych ward over my insomnia.

Same thing happened to me. Went to the emergency room for help. Talked to a social worker. They interpreted my desperation as suicidality and pink slipped me.