Is This Normal for Tinnitus? If You Can Get a Handle on the Fear, Will It Calm Down?

Hi,

In the last couple of weeks, I've developed much worse tinnitus than I've ever had in the past. I've talked about this in another post. At night, I have tried listening to nature sounds and music but it hasn't helped at all. I wake up with a noise so intense and loud that I can't believe I'm really experiencing this. I also wake up very hot. The sound is like an electrical hum and it takes over my head until morning after I'm up awhile and get my hearing aids in. My old tinnitus was never like this. This is something new and so scarry. I also hear clicks in my right ear that I've never heard before which is happening now but that isn't all the time.

My question is, if you can get a handle on the fear, will this calm down? The night madness I mean. Can my brain get use to this? I'm terrified right now, I just need your help. Thanks.

 

Sorry to hear that sgal, I don't know why that's happening, it just scares me that t can suddenly get worse too

 

I know you said you use nature sounds to help sleep, but have you tried using white noise? I use an app call White Noise and when I use the nature sounds, they aren't as effective to me as using white noise. My T is high pitched, so the white noise does attempt to mask it better than using the ocean, rain or a simulated fan.

 

I feel for you, I'm sorry your going through this. Are you listening through ear buds or is it playing in the room? I have found that using ear buds, although convenient will raise the T level for me. As for waking up hot, have you ever had your thyroid or hormones checked. This isn't the cause of your T but perhaps it's aggravating it. Just a thought. Good luck to you I hope things calm down for you.

 

Calm down and relax, sgal. It may be temporary. Even if it stays, your brain will find its way to get used to any sensation you don't emotionally and negatively reject. At this stage, the new sounds are quite alien to the brain. It is still trying to figure it out. You need to calm down for the brain to not perceive it as a threat. Try to seek medical opinion on your new condition first. If they can't find anything, then your best bet is to stay calm and be more positive. Your brain can handle the new sound as long as you don't act so freaked out by it.

I was in the same shoe a few years back. I was so freaked out by my ultra high pitch T and piercingly hurtful hyperacusis that my negative & emotional reaction aggravated the suffering. They brought relentless anxiety and panic attacks which made the T & H so much harder to cope. I thought I would never be able to recover from that. But I am back to normal right now living an enjoyable and productive life. I always think back that had I not reacted so fearfully to the T & H at the start, perhaps my journey with them would not have been so difficult and I would suffer much less.
Wish you the best and God speeds your recovery.

 

sgal ive got a simple solution that will work for you,even though there is no noise at night while in bed put your hearing aids in .To hell with what the docs say ,just be a rebel!!! See what it does for you i hope you will have a pleasant surprise.

its the only way i can sleep.
Wish you well ,pete

 

was there any trigger you remember that brought this?

 

Thanks Michalbio, I haven't tried white noise but that may provide some relief. Where do you get white noise?

 

Thanks so much Lulubug. I don't use ear buds for fear they will make my hearing worse. I have a hearing loss and wear hearing aids. It's hard for me to wear them at night because they're not very comfortable but I have at least worn them for a while before falling to sleep and listening to ocean waves. I think having my hormones and thyroid checked is a very good idea.

 

Thanks, I think this is the best advice I can get. Did you find any medical help for your condition or was it mostly a matter of time and acceptance?

 

Yes, this was either brought on by a virus/infection that affected my sinuses and left ear, OR by meds I was given to deal with the virus/infection. I was put on some powerful medications including Ciprodex ear drops, clindamycin and mometasone via a powerful nebulizer. I've been off of all those drugs now for several weeks. I'm very suspicious of the Ciprodex. On the eigth night on that drug, I put the drops in my ear and left them there while I slept. I did that because my ear was hurting. During that night, I woke up with ringing in my left ear which I'd never experienced before. I came off that med the next day but was on the clindamycin and mometasone for another week. It was while I was on the clindamycin that I first started waking up hot and sweating at night.

Out of fear that my problem had been caused by an ototoxic reaction to the meds, I asked to be put on a short course of prednisone but it didn't help with the ringing and I hope it didn't make things worse! The strange thing is that the T seems to have gotten slowly worse since I came off the meds.

While going through all this I've had some shocks that I'm sure haven't helped. I found out that the ENT that had thrown that arsenol of drugs at me had botched a sinus surgery 3 years ago leaving a hole in my nasal septum and had never told me about this. He also refused to respond when I asked if the meds I was taking could be causing tinnitus. I went to a new ENT who discovered the septal perforation and also said he didn't think I had ever had an infection but just a virus. Sorry for going on so long but in a way, it feels good to get this all out in writing.

 

Sgal, i feel your frustration. I am in the same 'terrified' mode you are in. I am experiencing an elevated level of T. I wish Tuesday I would have just canceled by new dentist for a cleaning that triggered a loud spike during using some ultrasonic tool. It def bought it up to a new level.

Billie48 has a very positive story. I am hoping we will be in the same situation and move forward and try not to get drawn into the fear and let the brain adjust and adapt. Let's face it, through the years of tinnitus, it's always been a new level and adaptation. Be well.

If you have an iPhone or android you can download a white noise app. The app I have is called white noise.

 

Your posts always cheers me up buddy

 

Thanks AnneG for the kind words. Mabuhay ! Just trying to bring some positives to shed some light amid the darkness of tinnitus sufferings of newer sufferers.

 

I want to thank everyone who replied to this thread. When I feel like I can't stand any more, coming here and reading some of the positive comments helps a lot. It really is a strange condition. I saw an ENT yesterday who didn't think the new tinnitus was caused by the medications I was on. He contributed the problem to physical and emotional stress. This is in contrast to the last ENT I saw. This new ENT recommended bio-feedback as a way of dealing with T. Has anyone tried that? The doctor's point was that there is a definite connection between stress and T. That's undoubtedly true but so many other things seem to effect it too. I'm hanging in there and I believe things will get better in time. I just didn't think after having to habituate to T once, that I'd ever have to do it again. I do wish that I could know for sure that the Ciprodex didn't cause this. It's actually much more comforting to think that the changes in T that have occurred are from natural causes within myself rather than medicine.

 

Thanks for your post. Yes, I hope both of us will find that we are in recovery mode as we accept the T and get busy with the things in our lifes that matter to us. Mine really is louder and sometimes, it just grabs my attention. That happened to me today as I was writing so I decided it was time to get something to eat and maybe get outside. Best of luck to you. I hope you're feeling less terrified and calmer. I'll be watching for your posts.

 

Lulu, I've forgotten if I've already responded to your post. Thanks for the idea of having my thyroid and hormones checked. I'll look into that.

 

Hi, unfortunately, I'm a side sleeper and my hearing aids are behind the ear so they hurt when I lay on them. There is a product I discovered called Sleepphones. They may provide an answer for me. I wouldn't wear my hearing aids but I would have sound right by my ears and also, not in my ears like ear buds. Might be worth a try.

 

i sleep on my side and my hearing aids are behind my ear as well !!! Your not copping out are you? lol

 

How do you do that? You must have one big fluffy pillow. Maybe I'll try putting foam between my head and the hearing aid. LOL

 

ive got 2 big fluffy ears