What's Your Definition of Mild Tinnitus?

[PureNoise]

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?

 

[rdz]

I'm not sure what would be considered mild, all I know is that for me I can't hear it when I take a shower. At night I could hear it even with the TV on but I have it on a low volume because I don't want to bother others.

 

[coffee_girl]

I think it's a scale from 0-10... Mine is around a 2 I think. Sitting in a car with all windows up I can hear it, lying there at night I can hear it. If a window is open a crack and outside noise gets in... I cannot hear it. If fridge starts humming I cannot hear it. If TV volume is on 10 I cannot hear it. If dog breathes, cannot hear it.

My first year of tinnitus: can hear it over TV sounds at 50... can hear it over traffic, can hear it on freeway.

 

[PureNoise]

I think it's a scale from 0-10... Mine is around a 2 I think. Sitting in a car with all windows up I can hear it, lying there at night I can hear it. If a window is open a crack and outside noise gets in... I cannot hear it. If fridge starts humming I cannot hear it. If TV volume is on 10 I cannot hear it. If dog breathes, cannot hear it.

My first year of tinnitus: can hear it over TV sounds at 50... can hear it over traffic, can hear it on freeway.

The whole first year? Holy god. I thought it faded a lot and got better at 6 months and you habituated at 8 months?

You went through more suffering than I initially thought. I don't hear mine outside unless it's a quiet building or a bunch of motorcycles rev up near me (mild hyperacusis probably) and I can sorta hear the tinnitus outside in that moment.

In a quiet room I can currently always hear it. I'd say mine is a 5-6/10 even though I mainly hear it in quiet rooms.

In silence it's too loud to ignore and really gives me bad anxiety and the pitch is so harsh.

TV on volume 15 (it goes past 60) and I can faintly hear the higher pitch sometimes. Fridge buzzing blocks my tinnitus too.

I'm about 5 months in and this is where I am. Am I in a good spot for being 5 months in to have a lot more fading, and it potentially getting much quieter in silence over the next 6 months?

Where you're at sounds like exactly where I want to be. Then the tinnitus won't affect my career or life or leisure time.

 

[Digital Doc]

Unfortunately, this is yet another area where we have poor definitions of terms when it comes to tinnitus.

I think of mild tinnitus as only being heard in a quiet room, and masked with anything louder than this in terms of background noise.

 

[PureNoise]

Unfortunately, this is yet another area where we have poor definitions of terms when it comes to tinnitus.

I think of mild tinnitus as only being heard in a quiet room, and masked with anything louder than this in terms of background noise.

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

 

[coffee_girl]

The whole first year? Holy god. I thought it faded a lot and got better at 6 months and you habituated at 8 months?

You went through more suffering than I initially thought. I don't hear mine outside unless it's a quiet building or a bunch of motorcycles rev up near me (mild hyperacusis probably) and I can sorta hear the tinnitus outside in that moment.

In a quiet room I can currently always hear it. I'd say mine is a 5-6/10 even though I mainly hear it in quiet rooms.

In silence it's too loud to ignore and really gives me bad anxiety and the pitch is so harsh.

TV on volume 15 (it goes past 60) and I can faintly hear the higher pitch sometimes. Fridge buzzing blocks my tinnitus too.

I'm about 5 months in and this is where I am. Am I in a good spot for being 5 months in to have a lot more fading, and it potentially getting much quieter in silence over the next 6 months?

Where you're at sounds like exactly where I want to be. Then the tinnitus won't affect my career or life or leisure time.

I habituated at 8 months because at 6 months my condition improved (making it possible to habituate)... but it didn't decrease in volume over night... it was painstakingly slow with good days and bad days... even at 1 year 2 months i was still having 2 days a week where it was very loud... but it steadily went away and the good days became good weeks/months. This is why everyone recommends people wait 2 years to establish their tinnitus. Personally I think you're on the right track!

As long as you are constantly seeing improvements you should be ok, just no more headphones (if you can help it). Tinnitus still affects me sometimes, there are nights where i get scared about my future and possible accidents that might happen... and these moments can get pretty sad =P

 

[PureNoise]

I habituated at 8 months because at 6 months my condition improved (making it possible to habituate)... but it didn't decrease in volume over night... it was painstakingly slow with good days and bad days... even at 1 year 2 months i was still having 2 days a week where it was very loud... but it steadily went away and the good days became good weeks/months. This is why everyone recommends people wait 2 years to establish their tinnitus. Personally I think you're on the right track!

As long as you are constantly seeing improvements you should be ok, just no more headphones (if you can help it). Tinnitus still affects me sometimes, there are nights where i get scared about my future and possible accidents that might happen... and these moments can get pretty sad =P

This gives me hope but also shows me that my fears for the future aren't so irrational.

Like just because I may eventually have mild tinnitus doesn't mean a few nights of loud noise exposure can't ruin that for life. That's so scary. Plenty of examples on the forum.

Can you PM me, I have a question about a tinnitus treatment?

 

[Digital Doc]

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

No, not really. I was thinking that the mild tinnitus was masked with low level background noise, such as the sound of the wind with a window open, or the ventilation system running. Of course, this is still too subjective as the speed of the wind can effect the volume, and some HVAC's are noisier than others.

I took a quick look around, and did not find a definition anywhere in the medical literature.

 

[PureNoise]

No, not really. I was thinking that the mild tinnitus was masked with low level background noise, such as the sound of the wind with a window open, or the ventilation system running. Of course, this is still too subjective as the speed of the wind can effect the volume, and some HVAC's are noisier than others.

I took a quick look around, and did not find a definition anywhere in the medical literature.

Yeah my air conditioner on low masks my tinnitus. I'd say I'm in between mild and moderate at the moment.

 

[jay777]

How would you define mild tinnitus?

Heaven.

 

[Mikejl46]

I would say I have had mild tinnitus, for about 10 years, I would say in the 4 range easy to handle.


I have had a spike in the last 5 months or so. I'm running in the 7-8 range now. Like its all new to me again, hoping it won't get worse. Some days I would need a vacuum cleaner to cover it

 

[Tex]

Mild tinnitus is when you have it and don't know you have it. I heard faint "crickets" in complete silence just before going to sleep at night. I thought everyone did.

 

[Lilah]

I consider my tinnitus severe because I still have sleep issues and take sleep meds.

I do not hear it in the shower or subway. I don't usually hear it walking on the street. I play the radio and tv at low volume and I can hear it loud. I can hear it in the car and airport. Mine is very loud at work and home.

 

[PureNoise]

Mild tinnitus is when you have it and don't know you have it. I heard faint "crickets" in complete silence just before going to sleep at night. I thought everyone did.

Yup that is how my tinnitus started. I'd hear it only at night.

 

[Ken77]

Mild tinnitus is when you only hear it in a very quiet place imho.

Mine fluctuates between mild and moderate, it is very reactive to sound. When I am in a quiet room it is mild (like a 2 /10) but when I am in a room with moderate noise it becomes a 5/10. It bothers me most when I am trying to watch tv on moderate volume. In loud environments (like a busy street) I don't hear it at all.

 

[Ken219]

This gives me hope but also shows me that my fears for the future aren't so irrational.

Your fears are real! 'Hope' is they find better treatments or a cure.

 

[TheDanishGirl]

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

 

[rdz]

I consider my tinnitus severe because I still have sleep issues and take sleep meds.

I do not hear it in the shower or subway. I don't usually hear it walking on the street. I play the radio and tv at low volume and I can hear it loud. I can hear it in the car and airport. Mine is very loud at work and home.

It's then very similar to me, I still hear it at home but if I distract myself I tend to ignore it better until it's time to go to sleep and it's back to the high pitched noise.

 

[Agrajag364]

I think it's a scale from 0-10... Mine is around a 2 I think. Sitting in a car with all windows up I can hear it, lying there at night I can hear it. If a window is open a crack and outside noise gets in... I cannot hear it. If fridge starts humming I cannot hear it. If TV volume is on 10 I cannot hear it. If dog breathes, cannot hear it.

My first year of tinnitus: can hear it over TV sounds at 50... can hear it over traffic, can hear it on freeway.

You should post a success story. I think this is the success story that the newbies don't realise happens to most people. I've experienced both and I know there is such a huge difference between motorway and fridge tinnitus.

 

[CMIH]

I think if you say, "I can hear it when ______", and it doesn't interfere with your life, then it's "mild". That's how mine was. I only noticed it sometimes. Now I can't not hear mine and it's making me crazy. That's my thought on it.

 

[Tweaker]

If you're wondering if your tinnitus is mild or not, then it probably is mild. If it is severe you will know about it for sure; trust me.

 

[PureNoise]

If you're wondering if your tinnitus is mild or not, then it probably is mild. If it is severe you will know about it for sure; trust me.

Nah. I've had severe tinnitus but mine isn't mild at the moment.

There is mild, moderate and severe.

Mild is when you're in a quiet room and you open the window and hear a bit of wind and the tinnitus is completely masked.

TV on low volume masks tinnitus = mild.

Mild tinnitus is like 2-3/10 volume

If you can only faintly hear it in a quiet room, like it sounds not loud at all in absolute silence = mild.

 

[Mister Muso]

This raises the question, what would you class as severe tinnitus? If you can still hear it in busy traffic, for instance? That's me on a bad day.

 

[Agrajag364]

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?

On a mild day I can still hear mine over the TV, but I can't hear it outside.

Can hear it over traffic on a loud day

 

[Luman]

This raises the question, what would you class as severe tinnitus? If you can still hear it in busy traffic, for instance? That's me on a bad day.

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.

 

[bellecooper77]

I was diagnosed with mild tinnitus, so ill explain when I cant and can hear it.
Places I can't hear it - anywhere where there is external noise. For example, in a room with a fan or an air conditioner - it kind of masks it out. Outside. In a coffee shop. Running. At the beach. Inside the shower. Really anywhere that isnt silent. Which leads me to...
Places I can hear it. My bedroom when its silent without the AC going. (With the AC I can still hear it a little bit, but its not as bad). Inside my car before I start it. In my bathroom before the shower starts. Rooms that where I would go in order to get silence before I was diagnosed I can hear it. When I turn off music or my rain machine it rises up. When my ear is pressed against something or I have a hood on. When I really look for the sound and concentrate on it, I can hear it.
So I would say that mild tinnitus would be when someone can only hear it in main silence. However, my tinnitus is weird, in that it will sometimes shift from ear to ear, in the level/loudness (in the morning its often quieter). Sometimes it will shift to be in whichever ear is pressed against a pillow.
To all those who have moderate/severe tinnitus, I wish you guys the best. I could never imagine what you guys go through and I really hope it gets better.

 

[PeteJ]

This raises the question, what would you class as severe tinnitus? If you can still hear it in busy traffic, for instance? That's me on a bad day.

I can hear it with traffic. Before April, traffic could mask it. Back then, my t fluctuated though so when it was/went lower, I wouldn't hear it if there was enough traffic.

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?).

I don't really care whether the shower or steady flow of water masks it or not because you can't do that 24/7.

 

[friend74]

I consider my tinnitus severe because I still have sleep issues and take sleep meds.

I do not hear it in the shower or subway. I don't usually hear it walking on the street. I play the radio and tv at low volume and I can hear it loud. I can hear it in the car and airport. Mine is very loud at work and home.

Like mine. Hanging out with friends at the restaurant is also OK. Being outside helps a bit too.

 

[Ringeee]

I think it's a scale from 0-10... Mine is around a 2 I think. Sitting in a car with all windows up I can hear it, lying there at night I can hear it. If a window is open a crack and outside noise gets in... I cannot hear it. If fridge starts humming I cannot hear it. If TV volume is on 10 I cannot hear it. If dog breathes, cannot hear it.

My first year of tinnitus: can hear it over TV sounds at 50... can hear it over traffic, can hear it on freeway.

So your tinnitus got much better or you habituated to it?