What does your tinnitus sound like?

[ILikeToBeBesideTheSea]

I'm so worried that I'll never get used to mine as so many different noises/fluctuations. I have different tones in each ear which can fluctuate pitch or come and go intermittently and a general high pitch static sound that feels like it comes from the head but presume it's both ears. Anyone else have changing/fluctuating tinnitus? (Only had it 3 months so far......)

Aww I have had mine ten years after an ear infection where I lost a lot of hearing in the one ear, I currently wear an hearing aid which greatly reduces the awareness of the tinnitus. I have several sounds and believe it or not you will get used to it. I seriously wanted to die the first year I had it and it drove me nuts. Your brain will adapt and filter it out, the less you care about it the better the chances of it fading into the background!

I was worried that I had so many different sounds, I wasn't sure that was typical of tinnitus. The ear noises aren't noticeable unless in a quiet room, the head noise is always noticeable, hard to stop focusing on it! Did you do anything differently to adjust to it?

Anyone else?

Accept it!! I went through hell with it, saw about three ENT surgeons privately as the thought of living with it was a nightmare. My local hospital had an audiologist who explained what it was etc and not to fear it as the brain will turn amplify it as it considers it a threat . I was sat reading and honestly didn’t notice mine until I read your post !! You will adapt I promise you . Look at the BTA website

Yes I agree you will definitely attenuate. Stress makes it worse so try to accept that it's there and not get worked up about it. I barely notice mine. I've had it about 20 years.

Do look for causes though as it could be things like vitamin deficiencies so may be fixable. If not your brain will adjust don't worry. It is horrible when it first starts.

Has either of yours faded at all or just simply stopped listening to it?

It is horrible but the best advice I had was from an audiologist who said "make friends with the sounds". I thought she was mad but I get it now. If you perceive them as annoying they become more intrusive and upsetting. If you try gently saying to yourself Oh I like this whistling one, it does lessen the anger and frustration. It does get better over time, not in that it goes away, bit you will notice it less. You can get some good apps that help you listen past the tinnitus. The BTA are really helpful.

Thank you for the positive replies. I have used the BTA website on and off but I get scared about the stories of people who are still struggling years later. I feel like they put an overly positive spin on it when it's obvious lots of people struggle for years. I hope I end up like all the PP who have learned to ignore it/not let it bother them.

Mine sounds like high pitched static. Ive tuned out to it most of the time. Its loud tonight though.

Ive had it in one ear for about 2 years. It's a fairly high pitched "white noise" type sound. Mine doesn't change tone or level. I notice it more some times than others. Guess I'm stuck with it forever now, but I've learned to "tune it out".

Mine is just a constant level. In both ears. Well. It sounds like it is coming from my head not my ears.
I don’t notice it during the day until all of a sudden I can’t hear anything else around me and the ringing gets a higher pitch and much louder. These instances are happening more and more.

I’m sitting here now in the quiet and it is ringing. I tend to listen to audio books when I go to sleep. Stops me from hearing it.

@Justgivemesomepeace Hopefully not because this post made you think of it!

I get a high pitched kind of constant tone. It's annoying when I notice it but I can ignore it somewhat.

The more you see it an an annoyance the harder it will be to tune out! It’s horrible when you first get it but you will get used to it, mine is always there but not always heard of that makes sense. I get the occasional spike where it annoys me again but that’s usually when I am tired or stress . Something I read helped me, it’s said it’s your own auditory system which has become heard! That took the fear out of it for me. Just think if you wanted to you could listen to your own breathing, that could become annoying too if you considered it a negative thing . Lose her fear and the tinnitus becomes better! Don’t read all the negative stuff as it makes it far worse

I wish it would stop changing though, new noises on and off and changes in volume/tone. Hard to get used to it when it doesn't seem to stay the same.

Had mine for about 12 years now. You know when you’ve been to a gig or a club and your ears ring afterwards and you feel a bit deaf but you can still hear everything? It’s like that but in the background. I only notice it when a. I see the word tinnitus or someone mentions it (like the game! Which I have just lost 😠) or when I’m in bed and it’s quiet. I learned to tune it out. I’d probably miss it if it went away.

Knowing what's caused it might help to accept it. Just woke up with it along with misaligned back teeth/tight jaw muscles one side but ENT said unlikely to have caused it especially since it's both ears.

High pitched static unless I’m going to have a vertigo attack, at which point it becomes a low rumble, rather like hearing a tumble dryer from a couple of rooms away.

I've had tinnitus in one ear for a couple of years now. It has settled into a high pitched sound, but fairly quiet if that makes sense, I don't really notice it except when I am lying in bed at night.
But when I first got it, the sound would change quite a lot, I once woke up in the middle of the night convinced I had left a tap running in the bathroom but it was the sound in my ear!

Mine was a fairly high-pitched constant tone, but in the last year or so, it's been like a family of grasshoppers in my ear....
My other ear occasionally joins in too.
I'm pretty sure the escalation is due to stress.
Background noise definitely helps me, and I'm thinking about getting hearing aids to help (I do have some hearing loss).

Yep mines a high pitched ringing too. I have it in both ears but it's much worse in the ear that was syringed 2 years ago and left me in terrible pain for months afterwards.

TBH now I can only really notice it at night as I'm distracted from the sound during the day. It does keep me awake some nights and I notice it is definitely worse after using headphones (difficult when I wear headphones for work calls!)

@NotCornflakes hopefully it'll settle down for me too

High pitched static here too and only notice it if I listen for it or if it's quiet.
Sometimes it sounds like a helicopter is in my ears it's that flapping sort of feeling and my eardrums actually feel like they are pulsating

A high pitched flatline sound, never changes. I’ve had it twenty plus years and wear hearing aids that play white noise when I can’t cope.

I've had mine for many years. There is an overall hissing buzzing noise, then on one side a sound like a choir humming or an organ playing that goes up and down a scale of a few notes, on the other side it sounds like old machinery clanking and grinding, and recently I've been getting a loud high pitched whistle like a cornet being blown.
They are all much worse when I'm stressed or tired.

It can be distressing, though I've learned to live with it. Mine built up gradually over the years, so I suppose that has helped me adjust to it, though I'm almost always aware of it.