Worried

[Imshael]

Hi guys!

It seems as if my tinnitus has been getting better over the last week or so. Two days ago, however, I had a lot of pain in my neck, and my tinnitus spiked even though I had been inside in silence all day long. Yesterday when I woke up, however, I could hardly hear it, no matter how much I tried.

It has been snowing more or less non-stop for five days, and everything is so beautiful outside. So, with a new pair of earplugs, I decided to go for a long walk. Didn't get very far before realizing that my earplugs made me hear every step I took really loudly (occlusion effect, if I understand correctly?). The choice was either some temporary sounds, with few cars and such passing me, or a constant loud sound from my own steps. So I took them out. This town isn't that loud this time of year, it was morning and few people outside. I really enjoyed my walk, it was beautiful and I smiled like a child on Christmas day basically the whole time. When I got back, I didn't really notice any difference. Was the tinnitus louder than when I left? Yes. Louder than the day before? Far from it.

When I woke up today, it was louder than when I woke up yesterday, but not as loud as two days ago. Still much better than it was when it increased a couple of weeks ago. I don't regret the walk, it was beautiful and I was happy. But now I'm really worried that I ruined it. That it will get worse and worse.

I honestly don't even know what I wanted with this thread. Share my stupidity and my worries, I suppose.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I don't regret the walk, it was beautiful and I was happy. But now I'm really worried that I ruined it.

If you haven't been exposed to any loud noises during your walk, then I don't think you need to worry. T fluctuates a lot in the short run. What you should care about is the long run - the monthly trend. It is not a good idea to track the changes of your T on an hourly or even daily basis. All that matters is whether it is better today compared to how it was a month or two ago.

 

[Imshael]

@Bill Bauer thank you for your time and advice. There where the occasional tractor clearing snow, but not anything extreme. Before my T, I wouldn't have cared about them at all, but now I'm unsure what's too loud and what's not. I guess that's why I worry, because I don't know what my limits are anymore. I'll try to follow your advice and not get stuck on how it changes from day to day.

 

[Apolonia]

If you haven't been exposed to any loud noises during your walk, then I don't think you need to worry. T fluctuates a lot in the short run. What you should care about is the long run - the monthly trend. It is not a good idea to track the changes of your T on an hourly or even daily basis. All that matters is whether it is better today compared to how it was a month or two ago.

Mine seems to be worse now when I compare IT to the time I Got it... IT progressed to both ears. From a mild piiii in my right ear IT became a sshshshsshsh/piiiiii/ Morse vode/crickets/waves... IT also likes to ''collaborate" with other high Frequency environmental Sounds so IT makes a New sound( Just Like when mixing Colors)... I am really Lucky that my brain so lazy that IT Just Got tired from listening so IT Just ignores the Sounds... Although, when Sounds are piercing then IT is a little bit harder to ignore... I have a terrible ear fullness right now from entering a really warm bus after spending some time outside in the coldness....

 

[Bill Bauer]

There where the occasional tractor clearing snow, but not anything extreme.

Even if it is a spike, the spikes from those things that healthy people don't even notice are normally temporary. In that case, it is just a small setback.

You may want to carry Peltor muffs with you and when you hear an approaching snow plow truck, you may want to put them on and wait for the truck to pass.

 

[Bill Bauer]

p.s. Those small setbacks are unavoidable. You can minimize the number of times you experience those temporary spikes, but you will not be able to eliminate them.

 

[Imshael]

Even if it is a spike, the spikes from those things that healthy people don't even notice are normally temporary. In this case, it is just a small setback.

Didn't know that. Makes me feel a bit calmer, thank you!

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@Imshael You said that you don't have hearing loss and that you clench your teeth in an another post. If your neck hurts on occasion before getting an increase in tone, even days before, then I see this as a warning sign. If walking increases tone, then your mild tinnitus might be related to posture/motion/movement. This could connect to forward head bending causing muscles spasms in lower neck or an accident where you fell with head, neck and jaw being jerked.

So if walking increases tone then you may have an unbalance frame, having one leg shorter than the other, one hip lower, both with a noticeable difference in shoulder height when looking into a mirror. All of this is a major cause of tinnitus. Most likely it's the neck, the C1-C2 disc area which causes you to clench teeth. Wearing headphones while walking hard or with bending neck can increase strain on your neck. This can all tie in together. Try using pillow support under your neck at night, maintain good posture and control forward head bending. By doing this, your T could disappear.

 

[Sven]

Hi. Don't you have any clue what caused your tinnitus? I'm thinking, that if it's not caused by loud music or noise, are "normally" loud noises dangerous at all?

 

[Bill Bauer]

Didn't know that. Makes me feel a bit calmer, thank you!

People have been sharing details about their temporary and permanent spikes, and this is a "rule of thumb" that seems to work for most of those cases (and for my personal experiences). I also recall several posts when people got what seems to be a permanent spike after a minor shock, but for those cases it seems to be the case that those people have had a large number of these micro acoustic traumas before a micro shock that "broke the camel's back."

The above is a pattern that I noticed, but of course it is possible that there are outliers that don't fit the model/rule of thumb...

 

[Bill Bauer]

I'm thinking, that if it's not caused by loud music or noise, are "normally" loud noises dangerous at all?

I think that if normally loud noises give one temporary spikes then it is a good idea to avoid those noises no matter what the cause of one's T is.

 

[Sven]

Of course. Nobody wants spikes. Just curious.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Of course. Nobody wants spikes. Just curious.

I think one's body's reaction to noises is more important than the original cause. If one got T as a result of an acoustic trauma and one never gets spikes, then one might consider not working as hard to not be around noises.

 

[Imshael]

Hi. Don't you have any clue what caused your tinnitus? I'm thinking, that if it's not caused by loud music or noise, are "normally" loud noises dangerous at all?

I actually have no idea what caused my tinnitus. Probably headphones or loud noise, but might have been something else, such as stress or EDT (not sure if I have that, still waiting to go to the ENT).