Tinnitus and Sound Sensitivity

Hi everyone

I have been reading a lot of your posts in here, and I thought it was time for me to become a member in here my self.

The whole thing started almost two months ago. I noticed that I had a buzzing sound in my head. I have often had that sound in my head after parties and it has always went away the next day. But this time I had just been at home all weekend and it just came out of nowhere. (Therefore I was worried almost immediately. I know now that it would have been better, if I had just stayed calm).

After I noticed the buzzing, I noticed that a lot of sounds were really loud and uncomfortable. But the weird thing is that I had actually noticed that several times before in the weeks before. I had asked my boyfriend to stop the music playing on his phone and I had asked my friend to speak a little lower.

I must say that my tinnitus is not that loud. Sometimes it is louder than other. But if I go outside I can never hear it. Therefore the tinnitus really isn't my biggest problem because I know I will be able to live with that. The problem is that when I'm inside, I'm bothered by people talking, television, radio and so on.

It has turned my life upside down. I can't focus on my studies and I am just so frustrated all of the time. It has been really helpful to read your posts on this side and I hope that I will soon be able to write a "success story" on this forum.

Thank you for reading my post. I hope to hear from some of you.

Julie

 

It is not uncommon for people to realize - upon reflection - that there were early warning signs before tinnitus showed up for good. But the warning signs are often too weak to be taken seriously or even really noticed. Usually tinnitus and the feeling of fullness in the ears is a sign of so-called inner ear overstrain. The inner ear can self heal in the very acute stages; so it is important to recognize the subtle hints in the beginning.

Worrying or not would have had no impact whatsoever on the underlying physiological processes. If tinnitus breaks out, it breaks out, and no mental state can change that. Although staying calm generally does help. But that's for other reasons...

It sounds as if you may have hyperacusis (along with your tinnitus). You may also (additionally) have reactive tinnitus - ie. tinnitus which is more noticeable in certain sound environments eg. driving a car, sitting next to a computer fan, etc.


Most often noise exposure (acute or prolonged) is the culprit behind tinnitus. It is therefore important to protect your ears from now on (= use earplugs in daily situations when things tend to get loud).

 

Hey Julie

Same thing kinda happened here, nothing, perhaps slight ringing here & there before when I think about it but just seemed to come out of nowhere! When it first happened I noticed I too had to cover my ears a lot of the time, everything was too much, this is called hyperacusis, mine however went away after a few months (yay) but now I'm having trouble hearing!

This is something I definitely have, I get a piercing whinning noise in my right ear sitting next to my computer fan, also when hearing the road from my window, really annoying.

I don't know many who do keep calm when this starts out but it's definitely something you should do as much as you can, try & avoid the things that bring it on or make it worse. It's never too late to keep your cool.

All the best & welcome o/

 

Thank you both for your replies!
I don't know how to tag your names so I hope you see this

I have read about hyperacusis and it is my biggest fear. In the beginning i thought that i had hyperacusis, but I'm not sure anymore. Because I have no problem with sounds and loud noise when I am outside. And I have no problem with fans etc; it is actually easier for me to tolerate voices and television if there is a fan running or an open window. It's weird, I know!

Kopesy, what was your hyperacusis like? What sounds where annoying for your ears? I'm sorry you are having trouble hearing now.

 

@JulieMay just put the "@" symbol in front of someone's name to tag them.

Do you still have the sensitivity? I had that early onset for about a month and then it subsided. I think a lot of people have H when they first get T.

I couldn't listen to the TV, had to wear earplugs around my kids, etc, etc... It should get better with time.

 

I don't know why, but it seems when tinnitus starts for many people they also get some form of sound sensitivity along with it. When my T first started, I had trouble with certain sounds more than others and mostly in the kitchen. Ice cubes dropping into a cup, shutting of a microwave door, and setting a dish in the sink were all sounds that caused me to cringe a little bit.

Just don't overprotect your ears or avoid those sounds too much and over time it will get better. It took me about 3-4 months before I realized it went away. It will happen so slowly you likely won't even notice.

I also had an audiologist tell me that while tinnitus is seen as more manageable, hyperacusis/sound sensitivity is seen as more curable.

-Mike

 

Since my tinnitus has gotten unbearably LOUD in the last few months - I've also developed over-sensitivity to certain noises. I rescue birds and certain high-pitched chirps they make feels like a spike in my head. I cringe when I hear those high sounds. I'm hoping you are right, Mike, and it will pass. I'm starting to dislike birds because of it.

 

@OddV - thank you, I really needed to hear that! (the television and your children)
My sound sensitivity is better now than in the beginning. But I also think that my anxiety/stress about it made it a lot worse.
I just feel like my sensitivity is different from other people's experiences. Noise from the kitchen etc is not THAT bad (it was bad in the beginning though). But television and voices are just annoying but only when I'm inside.

@Michael2013 - I guess your audiologist is right. And hope so! I guess I just have to give it time. It would be nice if hyperacusis was more manageable though. I read all these success stories about people who still have tinnitus but have no problem with it. So even if your tinnitus doesn't get better, you will still be able to live like before. With hyperacusis it seems like you have to get rid of it in order to get better. But i know that I need to listen to you guys and stop thinking about the worst case scenario! It's just a difficult situation to be in because I'm reminded of my situation everytime I talk to another person.

Thank you for your answers!

 

@LoNicot - I'm sorry to hear that. Your sensitivity of high-pitch sounds sounds like a thing that many people experience in the beginning of tinnitus like Michael2013 said. I think it will pass for you as well. Hopefully in a couple of months we can both say that we are better

 

@JulieMay The best thing you can do is stay busy, busy, busy and try and push "noticing" it out of your head... I know that's very tough to do, but it does help. A few things for you to consider:

• Check this thread by @I who love music - https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/ I'm trying this now
• You could consider AM-101; you've got up to 3 months post onset to get onto a trial - https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/am-101-tactt1-results-released.1994/ (You might want to investigate this as a Plan B)
• Some people have luck with NAC - https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/n-acetylcysteine-nac.395/

I hope you find some silence

 

hi @JulieMay !! I have kinda of the same thing as you!!! how are you going now?? is it better?

 

I have had T for over 8 years. I have a theory that when you are exposed to ear trauma(in my case anyway) you get temporary Hyperacusic which makes the T appear louder too. It has always subsided for me (maybe er healing) and T has gone to a background noise. I have it again after losing my plugs and ending up in a very loud venue.. so im hoping it goes down as usual..

 

@JulieMay,

Hi and welcome! sorry about your Hyperacusis! It should fade over time. I still have a minor touch of it on occasion, but it's rare. I'm in a year now and T is still there, but sometimes lower now and again. Hang tough and maybe it will resolve itself soon?

Do you have hearing loss also? If so, try a tapered course of Prednisone. you're in the early stages and it may provide some help? It is usually effective within the first 2-4 weeks, but what the heck, give it a shot. Your ENT could provide it, if warranted.

My prayers are with you!

Sailboardman

 

Hi Julie, It sounds like you have some sound sensitivity along with mild T. I think if you just listened to sounds a bit lower, i.e. lower tv, lower music, avoid really loud situations for the time being, you will slowly increase your sound tolerance. It worked for me. Maybe listen to soft sounds like rain, etc. on the computer to gently assist your sound tolerance. Try not to use headphones or earbuds at least for now. It should improve with time.

 

Let me guess, when you're inside the sounds cause you more pain because they spike more strongly, whereas when you're outside they spike less because your body is busy doing physical exercise and there is more background noise outside. I'd bet that you find other people's voices more painful than your own too, for the same reason. And what about the buzz, is it low pitched, does it change in intensity with your pain/sound? I'm thinking that you, like me, could have either or both misophonia or/and middle ear myoclonus with pain, not classical hyperacusis. The jury's still out on our particular kind of sensitivity.