Will My Tinnitus Ever Go Away? More Prone to Noise-Induced Tinnitus?

[Zora]

Hi Guys,

I am sorry that I am posting another thread withe the question "will my T go away?" I know that no one can tell 100% but please read my story!

2014 - someone screamed in my ear with a megaphone over 1 hour. Loud music as well. T INSANELY loud for 3-4 afterwards then quickly faded.
After that I always went to the club with earplugs, and had no ringing.
Dec. 2015 - listening to music via earphones on MAXIMUM volume for 8 days, so much that my ears hurt. Even after 2 days I noticed buzzing, I kept ignoring it.

Now, after 1.5 moths, my Tinnitus slowly faded from a maybe 7 to a 3-4. So what do you think ? Because of the prior damage I believe that it might go down to a 2, but it will never go away? (

But what makes me crazy the most is that I wont be able to live my Life without fear. because "We are now prone to damage" and also "hearing loss and noise induced T is cumulative" at least thats what I read, and its making me so miserable.
I am only 20 I still have to go to uni, and find a job and so on...The thought of T getting worse is driving me crazy and is making me depressed

 

[Sebastians]

No, it won't go away. Period. Now PLEASE get on with life and accept your condition. Don't ever again do stupid sh/t to your ears, find new hobbies and become a better person. Do sports, find studies that don't involve loud environments, and become as succesful in life as you can be. You owe that much to us and to yourself.

 

[Zora]

@Sebastians did you do all that? Why do I owe this to you?

 

[Sebastians]

You owe us -and most of all yourself- a BIG success story. this means going to uni, getting your degree and your dream job. Perhaps, in a few years from now, you will realise T made a better, stronger person out of you. There's a world of cool things you can do with T. Become a succesful writer, programmer, architect, photographer, whatever.
Just don't be stupid and waste your time clubbing. You'll have to adapt your lifestile somewhat.
It's as simple as that.

 

[ceauses97]

The truth is that it doesn't go away for most people. If it does, great, but I don't think it will. Even if it does, your brain will just make up those noises because thats your new "normal". This is what silence is to you from now on. Accept it and move on.

EDIT: Your only chance for it to go away is if you keep away from silent environments for atleast 6 months. In that time limit, your tinnitus could go away and your brain will adapt back to the silence it had before.

 

[Zora]

Ok ok I get it. Its hard and I will try. Derealization was already supposed to make me a better person.
@Sebastians
But what about the being more prone to damage/cumulative thing?
I mean obviously I will never go to a concert or the club again, but I will study rhetorics. And this means that there is going to be a lot of discussing, maybe screaming. The fear of increasing T and not being able to live normally scares me.

 

[Atlantis]

I am only 20 I still have to go to uni, and find a job and so on...The thought of T getting worse is driving me crazy and is making me depressed

It can get worse or better!

 

[Aaron123]

It is certainly possible that it will go away. Perhaps not likely, but certainly possible - particularly since it has only been a couple of months. Depending on exactly when it began, you could look into AM-101 trials if there is one near you.

But what about the being more prone to damage/cumulative thing?

I don't have citations from academic studies handy, but I believe the following:
1) The effect of noise exposure is cumulative.
2) I'm less certain about being more prone to damage. I believe I have read that. However, I did ask my ENT a similar question and his response was that a loud noise that wouldn't have damaged my ear a year or two ago won't damage my ear now. That said, I tend to protect my ears around noise that I think may be "on the borderline" - I will wear protection when I use a power tool that I would have used in the past without protection or when I use my lawnmower. (Yes, I probably should have protected my ears in the past...)

What this means practically is that you do your best of avoid damaging noise (or wear good hearing protection) where possible - clubs, loud headphones, guns, loud machinery, etc. At the same time, try not to be afraid of every loud noise. Also, where tinnitus is concerned avoid periods of silence. I still use power tools and mow my lawn, but I wear hearing protection when I do. I also generally have a fan or some other background noise on when it would otherwise be silent.

 

[Sebastians]

You won't live normally, you will live more cautiously perhaps, more aware of the dangers of noise exposure. You are young so you will adapt and survive, and be succesful in your studies. Invest in good earplugs and if things get too loud for you in class, perhaps talk to your professors and ask for an alternative means of evaluation.
It's not like you'll be studying sound engineering or composing or anything like that.

 

[Alue]

EDIT: Your only chance for it to go away is if you keep away from silent environments for atleast 6 months. In that time limit, your tinnitus could go away and your brain will adapt back to the silence it had before.

Any data on this?

 

[ceauses97]

Any data on this?

My words.

 

[noisebox]

Why avoid silence. Silence cannot harm. My T loves me to sleep in silence, it helps recovery.

 

[ceauses97]

Why avoid silence. Silence cannot harm. My T loves me to sleep in silence, it helps recovery.

If you want the brain to adapt to its new normal, then go ahead, enjoy your "silence". But in a acute phase, avoiding silence is what you should to for better chances to recover.

 

[Zora]

@ceauses97 I agree with noisebox and alue. It is so weird. Some say "avoid anything above 80 db" and then someone said "I will try to avoid any noises above 65db for at least one year"
Apparently no one knows the answer.
I mean, the first instinct is to stay in silence. Especially after noise-induced T. You should trust your instincts I'd say.

 

[daniel1111]

Hi @Zora,

I don't know if your T can go away completely. It may do but I feel like it likely won't. It could continue to get quieter, but at least I think you'll notice it less and less over time. I am sure that you will be able to cope with it much better and live a completely normal life.

My experience has been similar, noise induced from too many loud headphones sessions. I also worried about the risk of making it worse, but I think that can only happen if you abuse your ears again. I've been going out, not to extremely loud clubs but certainly bars with music playing at a decent volume. I've been to the cinema a few times, and I listen to music every day with my headphones, I just make sure I'm not listening at 90+ dB and for longer than the safe exposure times which I think are plenty fine. Now I listen to music with an 85dB peak I actually enjoy it more, I can hear the details in a much more balanced way with nothing being drowned out.

As for things outside of your control, like loud noises in public, they are just that, out of your control. So there's no need to worry about them. The only thing you could do about that is live like a hermit and not go anywhere, that's not a life and would lead to depression which can affect your tinnitus and attitude towards tinnitus greatly.

I was a few weeks into a horrendous time with my tinnitus at new years eve, and walking home from work some kids mishandled a firework in the streets that went off less than 5m from my head. I had instant 10/10 tinnitus and for a few days I was so worried that it had made it worse permanently. I realise that my worrying about it being worse, and my listening to see if it was worse actually made it worse. It wasn't worse at all in reality, which leads me to believe that I'm not at a huge risk of worsening my T. Of course where I can, I take precautions.

I also go to the concert hall once a month, where loud passages of music can apparently reach 110dB or so, and the long and loud clapping at the end is pretty loud too. But this SPL is not sustained, and has never affected my T.

One way to also look at it is that now you have some knowledge about sound levels and hearing loss/tinnitus, and you have a chance to take care of your ears better. Instead you could've done some silly things and ended up with 10/10 tinnitus permanently and the quality of life that comes with that.

I would say that in your first few months of tinnitus it's good to keep your ears even more protected. I can't say if you are actually more prone to damage in that phase, but at the very least it would stop you worrying if you had damaged your ears more if you try to sleep one night and notice a little spike in T which could be unrelated.

Staying in silence is a double-edged sword in my opinion. I believe you habituate to T more if you can hear it and not mask it or drown it out with other sounds. On the other hand, you hear it more in silent environments and that can get you down, which is especially tough for those in a deep depression phase about their T.

Regards and best of luck,
Daniel

 

[Nucleo]

Looks like you have noise induced tinnitus. It's been here for 2 months now so I suspect it's here to stay.

You may be eligible for the AM-101 study for the treatment of early onset tinnitus. More info : http://tinnitus-study.info

 

[Zora]

@daniel1111 thank you very much for your reply daniel! wow you are brave..I wouldnt put myself into such noise. I am staying in silence since the onset. I have only been in noisy situations (above 80db) Bout 5 times since then. I rather have depression now, and protect my ears
@Nucleo thank you. I am now 2 months in with having T, i now contacted the am 101 close to my hometown, and send them a contact formular. I hope they take me..and I hope it doesnt last too long. I dont know why I didnt think of this earlier

 

[Sebastians]

Do the am 101, i just had my first injection and it is a bit intimidating at first, but after a few hours the feeling of numbness and obvious T spike got better.
You are young so your eardrum will heal fast, plus you live in a country with great healthcare and doctors. It's low risk and you have a unique shot at alleviating your T.

 

[Zora]

@Sebastians yes I will the woman from the am 101 just called me back to get more infos. she asked how the T happened and what meds I took so far. I hope I answered the questions right so I can get into am 101. Wish me Luck!

 

[Boy Helios]

if it is noise induced smaller chance.

if it is nerve induced than big chance your T goes away.

 

[John Meyers]

Not to be Debbie Downer, but I think that the AM-101 just provides false hope since those who claim it helps would be rehabilitating in 6 to 12 months anyway. -- If you have the time, then go for it since time is the only thing you have to lose with it.

As far as continued noise exposure, don't do it! -- I made the mistake of listening to music on my computer a little louder than average (for 3 hours) a couple days ago. -- I was doing great and then the spike right after I turned it off.. :-(

Eat well (no sugar, coffee, table salt, pop of any kind, or alcohol), exercise, meditate with positive thoughts for 10 min a day, and try not to think about T. -- You can literally spend all day looking for quick remedies, however, the tips I just mentioned will help you the most.

If you are only at a 2, you much better than most everyone else on this forum.

For all the regulars, this older Letterman video was really validating:

Good luck and hang in there!

 

[Zora]

@Sebastians ok so I just got the "no" from am 101 because I didnt have an explosion noise but through headphones. ughhh fuck I put too much hope in this.
scould I have known that they are searchibg for explicit people with explosion trauma? ughhh
@John Meyers

 

[Zora]

@John Meyers what do you mean its rehabiliating in 6 -12 mobths?

 

[John Meyers]

@John Meyers what do you mean its rehabiliating in 6 -12 mobths?

I think that a lot of the AM-101 folks who claim it works are really habilitating but think it is because of AM-101.

They only take sufferers who have had it less than 6 months..

Hopefully, I am wrong. -- Just my 2 cents..

 

[Zora]

@John Meyers hopefully you are right. that means that I dont have to suffer from not getting in AM 101.

 

[Nucleo]

If you want the brain to adapt to its new normal, then go ahead, enjoy your "silence". But in a acute phase, avoiding silence is what you should to for better chances to recover.

So you think more noise in the case of noise damage induced tinnitus is good?

 

[Nucleo]

I think that a lot of the AM-101 folks who claim it works are really habilitating but think it is because of AM-101.

They only take sufferers who have had it less than 6 months..

Hopefully, I am wrong. -- Just my 2 cents..

There is data (posted on those very forums even!) that shows AM-101 shows greater recovery than placebo 100 days after the injections. Please do not spread misinformation.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...dates-and-discussion.6558/page-20#post-119473

 

[Zora]

@Nucleo I dont know if u already read it. But here my opinion: It is so weird. Some say "avoid anything above 80 db" and then someone said "I will try to avoid any noises above 65db for at least one year"
Apparently no one knows the answer.
I mean, the first instinct is to stay in silence. Especially after noise-induced T. You should trust your instincts I'd say.

 

[Boy Helios]

I think a lot of people here don't want their T to go away or don't want to be really cured. People like being part of some group and there is a lot of emotional support. just a hunch.

I do think T can be cured , esp. if it's nerve related.

 

[Zora]

@Boy Helios I see your point. But I have enough community in real life. i just want my T to go away what ur opinion about am 101?
If T is noise induced does it mean its nerve related?