Woke Up at 4 am — Tinnitus Is Getting Worse

[Bill Bauer]

On a technical note - it has changed pitch and sometimes I might think it could fade out

Did it become less high pitch? Or has it changed from a high-pitch tone to a hiss?

T takes months/years to fade. If it is better now than it was 2 months ago, it ought to continue fading.

It is a good idea to protect yourself against violent noises like a metal door slamming, or moderate noises like the vacuum cleaner or a blender. I don't think it makes sense to worry about the sound of the fridge or the sound of the computer - I don't believe those sounds can interfere with your recovery.

 

[Angus William]

Did it become less high pitch? Or has it changed from a high-pitch tone to a hiss?

It's very siiiiii high pitch in left ear. I cant tell anymore so much because it has sent me half mad. Is it better or the same? If I thought it was the same I'd lose the plot completely. It's getting better.... i think.

 

[dpdx]

I'm experimenting a bit. Been to scared to do much but tonight would be first night without a plug in left ear, even though it's there. I got light open music on.... I'll never wear headphones at a volume again though. I also know why my left ear is fried, when I rest to computer I lean on my left and press the headphones in. Like when you lean your hand on your chin style. Pressing the headphones in on that night was bad.

I cringe at loud noises and a harley tard went by the other day but my T seems consistent, nothing seems to make it worse, but I have been to afraid to press it and I wont.

Dont ever wear headphones/earbuds again. Did you do your audiogram above 8khz, have you done DPOAE (outer cochlea cell test). I also have a loud intrusive tone right now in my ear. I can hear it over the tv and the classical music I am playing on my laptop.

 

[Angus William]

Dont ever wear headphones/earbuds again. Did you do your audiogram above 8khz, have you done DPOAE (outer cochlea cell test). I also have a loud intrusive tone right now in my ear. I can hear it over the tv and the classical music I am playing on my laptop.

I did go to the doc - he was some Indian guy so he wasn't much help. Kept asking "so you want a hearing test" - the guy could barely speak English. So I said "yes, hearing test" (what a stupid thing to say) and that's as far as I've been. I've never had an ailment this long. I feel knackered. This thing is very.... I was careful, so I'm very sad. Not the worst ailment. not like a broken spine, but it's going to be damaging if it doesn't heal soon, beyond hiding it.

 

[dpdx]

Yeah this is pretty bad. You need to find a better audiologist. I think you will be fine by next year...you are just soo early into this.

 

[Angus William]

Yeah this is pretty bad. You need to find a better audiologist. I think you will be fine by next year...you are just soo early into this.

Yeah but you and I both know there's nothing that can be done. There is no cure. I've looked at everything known to man about this thing. It's a wait and see scenario.

 

[Bill Bauer]

but it's going to be damaging if it doesn't heal soon

Ears take forever to heal. Hopefully it will fade to the point where it will become possible to bear within the next 3-6 months.

It's getting better.... i think.

Let's hope for the best...

 

[john paul]

it has effected my sleep patterns that now I'm awake all night mostly. Horrible.

I found myself in this vicious circle after a couple of months and it was hard to break. It really effected my mental health in a bad way. Pre T i used to love staying up all night trading crypto currency and watching youtube videos but sadly i just cant allow myself anymore.

 

[HearsToHope]

Hey buddy, I'm new to this crap too. I've had it real bad for about 3 months and today was the first good day I've had. I had to go on meds for the anxiety (starting those was TERRIBLE -- talk about horrible side effects at the start). Once I relaxed and stopped getting so angry at the ringing, it finally started getting less annoying and got quieter on its own. Something to do with how the brain works; it can't ignore the ringing if you're scared or angry at it. I think I had to come to terms with the fact that I really screwed up too, when I went to all those metal concerts, even if I did wear hearing protection.

We'll see if things keep improving for me; I'm optimistic. I'm optimistic for you too. Don't be ashamed to get professional help like I did. I'm not even a bit ashamed of it. Anyone who doesn't understand is simply plain ignorant about how hellish this stuff can get.

 

[Angus William]

My "testing it" the other night was a stupid idea. I think I made it a little worse. Now I know I'm finished. I was a little optimistic, perhaps too much so. Now I'm completely in despair.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I think I made it a little worse. Now I know I'm finished.

After you have T for longer, you will learn to stop paying attention to minor spikes. They are most likely temporary. I learned to pay attention only to the monthly trend and to global lows.

 

[HearsToHope]

My "testing it" the other night was a stupid idea. I think I made it a little worse. Now I know I'm finished. I was a little optimistic, perhaps too much so. Now I'm completely in despair.

Very sorry to hear you're feeling so bad. Note that T can fluctuate wildly from day to day, or even over the space of a few days. You might just be experiencing a spike. Worrying and anxiety will certainly aggravate the condition as well. It very well may be that your worry over the matter could have resulted in a temporary spike.

Note I'm no medical guy but I'm guessing as long as you didn't do anything crazy like using obviously too loud of sounds, you're probably not any worse off, physically speaking. Your state of mind can have a profound effect on your T.

If you're truly worried you may have done something to cause more damage, set up an appointment with a doc and get it checked. After my latest acoustic trauma my hearing test didn't show any additional damage but I do have significantly increased T. How much of it is truly physically a problem with my ear, and how much of it is me mentally, I can't say. T is a strange beast. It's tightly bound to sleep quality in some people (me included), so if you're not getting a good sleep as a result of anxiety, you may get significant temporary spikes from that too.

 

[jjflyman]

My "testing it" the other night was a stupid idea. I think I made it a little worse. Now I know I'm finished. I was a little optimistic, perhaps too much so. Now I'm completely in despair.

Your ears are going to take lots of time to heal. The T will fade, but it will take many months. You wont notice any improvement day to day or even week to week. It is a slow process that can take several years.
I am 23 month in from an acoustic trauma T and it has faded about 90%, but the first year was horrible loud T.
Give it time and lots of it. Sometimes it can take years

 

[dpdx]

Your ears are going to take lots of time to heal. The T will fade, but it will take many months. You wont notice any improvement day to day or even week to week. It is a slow process that can take several years.
I am 23 month in from an acoustic trauma T and it has faded about 90%, but the first year was horrible loud T.
Give it time and lots of it. Sometimes it can take years

This is sadly not the case for everyone.

 

[Angus William]

My T is less today. I now might now know what they mean by "baseline" in that it did go up but it comes down. I also tried something experimental:

If you plug your ear with a finger on the outer bit, then gently then tap the ear and lobe in different spots it matches the T in a spot and gives varying "tiiwung" sounds. If you hit he same tone it of the T, it stops it for a bit. Gently though, and this is experimental. You barely need to touch the ear. tap gently around the ear and then see if it works. Tap tap tap tap tap, like a piano manoeuvre, with maybe one or two fingers. (. . . . . but with two it would be ..... pace.)

I'll see if it helps over days. Gently, as it seems the outer ear appendage is very sensitive through the listening bits. I wore beanies during winter, maybe that stopped the ear from interacting with the inner ear bits.

 

[Angus William]

Ok so... The tap thing will roll away fractional T but not the base. Mine was lower then it got set off by a slamming door of an angry female. Then she did it again! It's lower today but in the dead of morning my cat flicked the xbox stick and that set it off. Very sensitive. (mods should move this thread from the "intoduce yourself" page, I'm not after attention, it would be better.)

 

[Angus William]

Things are better but the T is still there. I can't tell if it's worse. It goes up and down almost randomly now - doesn't go away though. Luckily I can go outside in the world and it seems mostly un-noticable. It seems worse when I sit for long times for TV and movies. I've still got computer equip surrounded in spare longe pillows because I suspect them.

Prob don't try the ear tapping thing too much, prob not at all. Highly experimental and potentially dangerous. There's nothing to be done but wait it out; Worst injury for me, ever.

Take care all.