Perfect Hearing, Why Do I Have Tinnitus?

Took another audiology test. Perfect hearing, no surprise. Nothing but 5 decibels and above. The ENT can't explain why I'm having T. It's more of a hissing on the left side of my head. Sometimes it can ring.

I don't know what to do anymore. I know it's recent but I feel like something could be pressing the auditory nerve is this possible? T is always linked to hearing loss or medication but I don't have either.

Please give me suggestions of things to do to help.

 

I don't remember what you did to diagnose your T:

• MRI
• CT-SCAN
• Full blood panel

Try to get a clinical picture.
Also, understand that just because the audiologist didn't find any hearing loss doesn't mean you don't have any hearing loss. Yes, I know it's weird, but there is such thing as "hidden hearing loss".

 

I took a Audiotory brain stem response Test (ABR) and I passed that. And I think that looks for hidden hearing loss.

The audiologists said that hearing loss occurs in the hair cells first even though I told them it does damage to the Audiotory synapses first.

People who have hidden hearing loss also have difficulty understanding people on loud environments because the damaged auditory nerves don't work as well I read and I don't have that.

Well the ENT diagnosed my T he said by definition any noise you hear in your head or ears that isn't coming from the outside world is T.

Do you suggest an MRI, CT scan or full blood panel? I never heard of these having to do with T and the doctor didn't say anything about them.

I've gone so far to think that maybe it's a parasite in my head but that sounds crazy.


@GregCA

 

Well these diagnostic tests are meant to start a fishing expedition to see if there is anything abnormal that is spotted.
For example the MRI could find a mass that is pushing against your auditory nerve. It's unlikely, but you want to rule it out.
The CT may find a demineralization of your otic capsule.
The blood panel may find a deficiency in vitamin D...

Not saying that's what you will find of course, but these are things you could find, and take you to the next step in your diagnosis.

 

There are many possibilities why you have tinnitus.

• Do you have any bad allergies? Sinus infections and blocked Eustachian tubes can lead to ETD and tinnitus.

• Compacted earwax; although I'm assuming your ENT ruled this one out.

• Vascular problems near the ear.

• Acoustic neuroma, but this is incredibly rare and usually on one side. An MRI rules this one out.

• High blood pressure can potentially cause tinnitus.

• TTTS. This is usually accompanied by clicks or thuds in the ear.

• Stress. Sustained anxiety can cause all sorts of problems that manifest as physical symptoms. Tinnitus is one of them.

• Hidden hearing loss (nerve damage) or upper hearing loss. Clubs, concerts and power tools are all leading causes for this. Try and get an audiogram up to at least 16k.

• Maybe a dietary deficiency, but this is unlikely.


If you haven't had it long then the best advice is to stop reading about it and ignore it completely as best as you can. You can make matters worse by becoming obsessed with it which won't help you in anyway. Eat well, exercise and continue with any hobbies that put a smile on your face. It could well fade away completely given time, or you'll most likely stop caring if you stop giving it negative attention.

 

Is it possible I had an ear infection and didn't know it, but saw an ENT a week later and no infection? Is it possible that that could have caused the T?

 

It's unlikely in my opinion. Ear infections are generally really painful and would be hard to go unnoticed.

I think you're clutching at straws. Finding a cause for tinnitus is notoriously hard, and it could any number of things. The leading cause is acoustic trauma from too much noise exposure.

 

Hi @Michael Sullivan Not everyone that has tinintus has hearing loss. I have had tinnitus for many years and don't have any hearing loss according to my consultant. I have had many hearing tests over the years and all the readings show I have above average hearing.

Now to your situation. I read your first post, which says you were in an acoustic chanber and listened to loud music for around 1hr? You then experienced tinnitus? Exposure to loud noise is the most common cause of tinnitus, so perhaps being exposed to the loud sound that you have mentioned has caused your tinnitus. It is likely that your symptoms will improve with time. I advise you not to listen to music through headphones even at low volume. I have written an article on tinnitus that you might find helpful titled: Tinnitus, A Personal View. You can acccess it by clicking on my Avatar, and choosing "started treads" it's in the list.
Best of luck
Michael

 

@Michael Leigh

The was present very soft at night after but on March 2nd it became very present. I am really careful about my hearing and don't wear earbuds anymore.
So in the 3 month window is usually wear I find out if it'll go away or stay?

 

@Michael Sullivan
There is no time frame with tinnitus. Many people new to the condition habituate within the first 6 months to 1 year and it can sometimes go away completely. I advise you to try and avoid quiet rooms and surroundings especially at night by using a sound machine by your bedside. More about this is explained in my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View. I advise you to Print it if you have a printer. It is long but I feel it will help you.
I wish you well.
Michael

 

There's no real time frame. The acute and subacute time scales are just arbitrary parameters that have been set. They don't really have any fixed meaning. Some peoples tinnitus has known to completely go after a year, two years, ten years and more. It's true that the probability of this being a reality dramatically reduces the longer you have it, but it's never impossible. Three months is the standard ENTs wait it out time frame, so it's more likely to hang around if it hasn't gone in the early phase.

In my opinion, if it's loud, it's unlikely to go if it's been more than a week. There's no scientific reason behind this however, it's just based on all the anecdotal evidence I've read and know of from people in the real world.

 

I also have very good hearing. My hearing therapist who specialises in T said I was a 'classic case' of T being brought on by anxiety. I am to have a CT, you may want to discuss this with your doctor but I wouldn't worry. T is so unique to the individual; you should speak to a psychiatrist to have your mental health evaluated (you may depression etc. without even knowing it) and also with a hearing therapist/audiologist who specialises in T. Since you were told by your audiologist that he is lost as to what has caused your T, I would thank him for his time and go speak to someone who is a specialist in T who can help you. I received pretty much the same words from an ENT, but he was able to put me in touch with an excellent T specialist who could help me further.

I haven't heard 3 months being the timeframe, but I have read both 6 months and 18 months, but I would disagree with any set timeframe. There are people (like Julian Cowan Hill) who had T for over 20 years before finding the solution that worked for them. Never accept that your T is permanent - you will improve one way or the other, be it habituation, it going away on it's own, or you finding the solution to resolving your T. It does improve in the vast majority of cases and that is backed up by the research; read the British Tinnitus Association's website (or ATA, which I'm sure will have the similar information).

 

Although a couple of the proposed tests for hidden hearing loss rely on aspects of the ABR, the standard ABR test done at your ENT or audiologist is not testing for hidden hearing loss.

Given what we know now, it isn't surprising that people have tinnitus and also "perfect" hearing as measured by pure tone audiometry. Keep in mind it tests a small number frequencies stopping at 8 kHz. Thus, it misses any high frequency hearing loss, any notches in between frequencies, and any more subtle issues such as synaptic damage.

The basic hearing test is outdated, and much better tests are needed. At a minimum, high frequency testing should be standard. The need for this and the ability to do it are not new (Fausti, et al. (1979). A system for evaluating auditory function from 8000–20000 Hz. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 66, 1713–1718.). Beyond that, once tests for HHL are available, they should be part of regular testing.

 

I just came back from audiologist, this time I was in a proper soundproof booth.

I have perfect hearing. No hearing loss. Just a slight botch at 8khz,but that sound could have been masked because I swallowed at the same time or breathed too loudly.

Anyway. Happy that I have no hearing loss.

 

You could still have hidden hearing loss or hearing loss beyond 8khz.

 

So you have no hearing loss in the human voice range, good. You could and probably have hearing loss above 8 hz, like most of us here that are told we have no hearing loss by an ENT or audiologist.

 

Yes. I asked why they don't do over 8 kHz, they just don't. They offered me TRT (or similar), but I said I think about since my situation has improved.

I admit I have hard times to concentrate sometimes because of this.

I really got no answers there but she was very helpful and even told me how the ear works and why we "hear" tinnitus.

 

What was her explanation about why we "hear" tinnitus?

 

This forum seriously needs a FAQ, the answer is most likely hidden hearing loss, especially if you have a history of noise exposure. It's literally a stale meme for new comers to ask this question.

 

Damaged haircells in ear (cochlea) and brain makes up the sound since it doesn't receive data anymore from those cells.

Also about how our brain things the noise as dangerous and that is why it sounds so loud and stress etc can make it louder.

I personally don't believe in that theory. Since stress or anything doesn't change my T sound at all. It's been pretty constant. I do have louder T days as well but not as much as before.

She also told not to be in silence, but to keep some background noise always available.

She said nothing about headphones though... "if you listen music, keep the volume reasonable, and listen trough speakers rather than headphones"