To ask for reassuring stories about tinnitus?!

[VeepVeep]

I posted last week that i was having a bout of tinnitus, and whether to stop my exercise class (which plays loud music).

I am here again! It's 10 days later, and it's still 24/7. There have been long stretches where it's low level, but at night I have had several unsettling nights - even listening to a white noise app - and then it freaks me out as it feels like it's never going to go.

I have seen my GP, and as it's unilateral (in one ear) he sent me for an urgent referral and I used my health insurance. I saw an ENT consultant who is going to test my hearing and I'll have an MRI but he was pretty a) nonplussed 'tinnitus is a medical phenomena' was the opening line. He doesn't think they'll find anything in the tests, so what I took from him is that it's something I'll have to live with.

He 'didn't think' it would become persistent - most people he sees have intermittent tinnitus - but obviously can't say.

He also told me a) it had nothing to do with listening to music loud on my earphones in my thirties when i went running b) not to change a thing about my life now. ie.keep going to my classes.

I feel really wretched about it today. The night was bad. I feel very scared that it's going to hang around FOREVER. I work in silence. I love silence. And I'm terrified that;'s gone for good.

Please, does anyone have any reassuring personal tales? Or any thoughts?

Thanks all

Oh god, I've just posted about losing my hearing and getting tinnitus after having flu. I'm really hoping it will go away. It just started when I woke up with a blocked ear.

I've had it for years and have tried everything. I have NHS hearing aids that play white noise to counteract my tinnitus when it becomes too much to bear.

@falaff - my friend got bad tinnitus after flu and it went after a couple of weeks. I hope this is the same for you.

VeepVeep - please stop blaming yourself - stress will just make it worse. Your consultant has told you it wasn't caused by the earphones. This isn't your fault - it's just one of those shitty things.

And your consultant also told you that it probably won't be permanent. So there is hope. And if it persists you've had some excellent advice on here to help you cope.

Just take it one day at a time.

I had unilateral tinnitus several years ago. It started completely randomly one day when I was sat on my own in a silent room! Had MRI and hearing tests which were normal. It lasted for around 6 months, then became intermittent, then went. It occasionally returns now but only for a short time. I do wonder if it was stress related (I was going through the adoption process at the time). Hoping you have a similar outcome

I'm not sure when mine started, I know it's been there for a few years but the thing that finally brought it to my attention was after a gig. I'd got that after gig whistle but it dint go the next day. This was December 2016. Prior to that it had been much quieter. I can say without doubt mine is my own fault.

I had hearing tests and the mri. All clear. I have hearing loss at higher frequencies so I struggle to hear well in situations where there is background noise but there is nothing really that can be done for that.

You just need to find ways of living with it. Easier said than done I appreciate.

From what i can gather. there are 2 types of tinnitus. the one the doctor can hear and the one you only can hear.
( Ruling out cancer which the MIR will pick up) and making sure that there is no ear wax build up.
The one that this thread is about is the type that only you can hear.
This type falls into 2 categories.

I type accompanied with hearing loss
2nd with no hearing loss.
This type of tinnitus is your brain cranking up the amplifer in your head.As it is trying to hear sounds that are no longer there.

Some people find if they get a hearing aid the tinnitus goes. Or they can habitualized the tinnitus with music.
2nd with no hearing loss.
This one is most likely stress related. Reduce stress, reduce the tinnitus. So mediation exercise and less coffee, more water.. Do the things that make you happy and see if it reduces.

The idea that the amp in your head is cranking itself up, might be why everything feels so loud to you.. I went to a theatre with my friend, everyone else was sitting fine, but i was wincing at the volume.

If you wiggle your jaw does it get a bit better? then it might be blocked nose eustachian tube( google it )

Mine went away eventually, although every time I get a cold it comes back mildly
I found ear plugs or headphones helped

I have tinnitus. When it started around 5 or 6 years ago I was absolutely devastated as I love silence and music. Had hearing tests and hearing aids as some hearing loss was diagnosed. Never wore the aids as they reallyndistirted sound. I very rearley think about it now. I just live with it. I notice it when I am tired or stressed because that’s when I really want silence. It no longer upsets me at all. I do wish it was not there though.

I really hope yours diminishes or disappears. If not so many do gradually manage to live with it successfully. Good luck.

So, is all noise induced tinnitus permanent?

Think somenhave experience of it disappearing and some above report that. Good luck op.

Sorry to say I have had mine for 10yrs. I don't know what caused it. My old dr did offer to refer me, but what for? They can operate if there is damage but I risk losing my hearing completely.

I have heard that it can be down to partially losing your hearing, and your brain trying to match the frequency you should be able to hear, not sure if that is true.

Op, I got used to mine. It's irritating for sure, and after a loud period of time it sounds extra loud and like my whole head is ringing. White noise doesn't help me. I listen to stories on my phone at night when I struggle with it, it's the only thing that overrides it.

Thanks again. I'm trying to stay calm and get used to it gently

I have tinnitus that came on in my twenties. I blamed going to raves and thought I had brought this on myself. Unfortunately I have in the last few years developed thyroid disease and that tinnitus has worsened so asked for it to be checked out.

The audiologist confirmed I have NO nose induced hearing loss and therefore my tinnitus could not have been caused by noise. Apparently you can't have noise induced tinnitus without NIHL. Which was very reassuring that at least it wasnt my fault!

Apparently tinnitus can be caused by issues with the brain not being able to filter out unwanted noise rather than the ears. Unless your tinnitus developed straight after one if your classes it's unlikely to be the cause. It won't be because if listening to loud music a decade or more ago. If loud music is the cause you would usuallly get a high pitched noise right after the event. Usually this goes away. If the damage is permanent it doesn't go. It doesn't come on weeks or months later.

Stress and anxiety makes tinnitus much worse so try to calm down about it. It is not always permanent and even if it is people will attentuate ie the brain adjusts so you don't notice it any more.

I however don't want to make it worse by going into loud environments so keep meaning to get some custom earplugs that filter out noise. I'll link below to the ones I am thinking of. This means you can still enjoy things but the decibels are lowered or the worst if the noise filtered out in simple terms. In the meantime I use wax earplugs. But these are like being underwater when wearing and you can't really hear what's going on or talk to anyone. These were recommended to me by the audiologist but you do keep having to make sure they are sealing your ears.

Have you had your MRI yet? MRIs are bloody loud! I wore my wax earplugs under the headphones they provide and it was still loud but had no change in my T doing this and am happy this blocked enough of the noise to be safe.

If it looks like this is going to be permanent get some counselling and think about a mindfulness course to help you cope with it. You really will get used to it and it will become quieter. Anxiety definitely makes it louder so try to just relax with it. You can live with it. You might just have to make a few changes.

Could the amplification of the hearing test or the loud MRI make the tinnitus worse? Now I'm worried enough about both of those to want to avoid them!

I have had tinnitus for 10 years. I hear it when I think about it and occasionally notice it at other points but it hasn't got worse and I am very used to it.

Found it very difficult at first but really doesn't bother me now. Hopefully yours gets better, but if not you will learn to get used to it.

They played music for my mri through headphones I think. Didn't notice noise much. 20 mins and done. Reminded me of a sunbed I used when I was young (and daft)

THanks @LL83. I've also read that old MRI machines are much noisier, so I'm going to check what they use!

I've had it since I was a child and was very stressed about it at first. Now I don't notice it at all. Maybe once fortnight I'll notice it.

I don't know if it comes and goes or what but I promise you it's fine. It seems awful at first then is a non issue.

Thank you @Ivegotthree

VeepVeep - when you go for the hearing test, ask them (or ENT doc) to refer you for tinnitus counselling. It will help you.

During the hearing test you will be in a sound-treated room, so the quietness might make you more aware of your tinnitus, just try to concentrate on the test.

The MRI scanners might be loud but it is only for a short time, and it is important to rule out an acoustic neuroma with unilateral tinnitus.

Tinnitus can be triggered by many things, not just noise, but the more you focus on it the more of an interruption to your life it will become. There are various things you can try to refocus on other things, tinnitus counselling should help you with this.

I had a MRI scan about a month back. It was very loud, not least the music they played to drown out the sound of the MRI. But I have detected no increase in tinnitus since the MRI.

When I started noticing tinnitus about 10 years back, I googled, and it seemed the best thing to actively ignore it. I had also in mind early language acquisition - that babies start by begin able to hear everything, but lose the ability to hear sounds that they don't hear around them regularly - so we find it difficult to hear the "kh" sound, or the different varieties of "l", and other cultures find it hard to hear, eg "h". In other words, hearing something is a result of physical hearing and also of brain recognition. So I deduced that if I simply redirected my attention every time I became aware of the tinnitus, I would eventually be less able to hear it. And so it has proved. My ENT consultant confirmed this was a sound approach.

MereDintofPandiculation that is the idea behind habituation.

I dont know if it is available in the uk but i was given medicine that increases blood flow that does work a bit i am suppose to take it 3x a day but forget. i found meditation better.

The doctor said i have stress related tinintus and it just appeared overnight and no hearing loss. I dont feel particularly stressed or anxious.......