Reactive Tinnitus on a Whole New Level

So I am walking around and and there is a small tractor on idle motor on a soccer field.
This idling motor is sending my ears a huge EEEEEEEE tinnitus noise.
When the motor stops idling and he drives away it goes away.
I´ve had this happen a few times this last week where my tinnitus reacts to some frequency that an object sends out and basically it reacts with a high pitch tone and pain in the ear. For example interviews on TV done on a phone line, HUGE reaction!

I do feel this is totally different than hyperacusis because there I just react with discomfort to a sound, not by reacting to a tinnitus that is reacting to something that is not perceived to be there.

If I have hearing aids on with sound masking white noise I still hear this reaction which means it has to be in the below 8 kHz range.

Considering the findings from a year ago regarding the pain nerves in the cochlea and hyperacusis it seems that my ears for now are totally fucked up

Does anyone have any idea how I should move forward with this?

How overprotective should I be of my ears? I am now wearing plugs as soon as I step out the door or there is any type of metal sounds involved. Including TV...

Thanks for the read <3

 

mine is reactive. can't watch any tv, listen to any music or use a phone. when I go out I always have to wear ear plugs and ear muffs. protect yourself if you can. it can always get worse.

 

Damn, may i ask how do you cope in everyday life and work?
a couple of weeks ago I thought the tinnitus was the worst thing... now I realise that this reactive thing is by far the most scary part together with the hyperacusis. Can it get any better though?

 

Your nerves can heal. They also may not. There's a drug in clinical trials right now that has a strong potential to heal us.

 

Hi John, mm can´t wait for those trials to get there. My condition seems to be getting worse by the week. Not sure how to treat it properly.

 

Avoid noise. Go check out my posts about that drug to, I've posted videos, science papers, and patent info. If we could galvanize the community, then we could potentially maybe get the approval process sped up.

 

Mmm right now I am truly avoiding noise as much as possible. Are we talking the FX drug?

 

"reactive tinnitus" does not have any evidence of being pain hyperacusis or loudness amplification or any neurotrophic pain

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151109182050.htm

They are not showing evidence of being the same thing.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/researcher-told-me-reactive-tinnitus-is-not-hyperacusis.31078/

 

Hey Contrast,
Read those articles and it is indeed a conundrum since I don't know what to take care of first. My hyperacusis or my reactive tinnitus? And how. Any difference in possible ways to take care of it? Go about it?

Cheers

 

sound therapy can improve hyperacusis with pain but I do not know or anything that will currently help reactive tinnitus unfortunately.

 

Yes. People are all about tinnitus research but unenthusiastic about this drug trial, even though this experiment is probably the most significant tinnitus research happening on the face of the earth, even though it is not specifically, publicly, announced as such.

Right now there could be tinnitus sufferers waking up with this drug in their noggins with less and less tinnitus. This is #1 question.

 

What type of sound therapy are we talking? TRT?

 

So what are your thougts? What should we do. I am all in!

 

@Krolo While my reactivity wasn't as bad as yours or others, I got mine to go down by spending a week in total silence, no talking, no tv, no fan, etc. That worked for me dunno about anyone else.

I still think that reactive tinnitus has a link to hyperacusis, though. I disproportionately see hyperacusis sufferers complain about reactivity.

 

it's been a tough road. I don't know if you could say I've been successful at coping because after 2 years living through this, I developed anxiety panic disorder. I think its shear will that has pulled me through it all. The will to live, find balance and return to calmness. It takes a lot of soul searching. Im very analytical by nature so I go through my thoughts and emotions a lot and problem solve if Im not feeling so great. I make a strong effort to not let negative thoughts and emotions spiral out of control even though they can appear often. Im like a cowboy who is aggressively wrangling in wild horses and being relentless about it. And you are correct, reactiveness is the worst type of tinnitus. For me, its what's altered my life in a negative way the most. not being able to go outside and live. plus most of my friends no longer live in my city so I am isolated most of the time. At home, I couldn't care less about my baseline. but the first year was brutal. it was so reactive I couldn't use an air conditioner. during summer I would have to sit in a 100 degree room nearly every day for a month. its was true suffering. but finally after 3 years, my reactiveness has stabilized just enough that I can handle an air conditioner now. but this anxiety is a who new level. it makes me feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack every single day. so improvement can happen when its comes to reactiveness even years down the line. have hope, stay strong and be safe.

 

Wow, that story. I can't even comprehend how that must be like and the strength you have.
I have a hard time focusing on anything proper
Except being on the computer. Can't do work and focusing on anything is super hard. It is almost like some kind of electrical discharge feeling inside my ears. Taking it day by day is the only way i guess. Not sure how one is supposed to survive it though. What do you do when you go outside. What equipment u use for your ears?

Interesting. Did you use earplugs and headset ontop of that aswell during that time?

It definitely has to have something to do with. It since it came T - > Hyperacusis - > Reactive T

 

I use these ear plugs. And I use a fresh pair each time. I never reuse a previous worn pair so that they are at their strongest.
https://www.amazon.com/HEAROS-XTREME-Canceling-Hearing-Protection/dp/B01JXYH042/

And I use these ear muffs. The general consensus is these are the best you can buy.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Over-Earmuffs-X5A/dp/B00CPCHBCQ/

 

How long did it take for you to feel. Comfortable walking around with. It without feeling weird about it? For me the thought of going out with extra headset on feels like such a stretch right now.. As u can tell i am in the beginnings of this whole mess with H and RT
How do u fare with earwax btw? I tend to get It alot.

 

be sure to check my ear muff link again. I just had to edit it as it was going to the wrong model.

at first I was a bit self conscious wearing ear muffs outside. I initially wore these lower profile black ones so they wouldn't be as noticeable. but then my tinnitus started getting worse from outside noise like when cars would drive by. and so I was loosing the ability to merely go outside. so I said screw that and got the best ear muffs I could find. they made a massive difference in protection and I could go out again and to more places. plus these are super comfortable. You can wear them for hours. but it took about 10 times going out with them until I finally didn't care at all wearing them out. when I go to the YMCA to do cardio in the training pool, I still have my ear muffs on. I must look like a friggen idot wearing these huge things in a pool but thats just how I roll. im hardcore. And after all this time, nobody has said a thing about them except an uber delivery guy who thought I was gaming inside or a few times people ask what kind of headphones I am using for music. most people think they are crazy rare audiophile headphones.

 

@another sean . You sir are a true warrior I must Say! I can see there are a few more steps that have to be done. About ear wax, how u go About that? How loud would u say your T is and what Khz? And doesn't it get way louder with all the protection? Are u able to comminicate at all with them on? And do u use earplugs at home aswell?

And last one, do u use any AD or anxiety pills?
Sorry for all the questions, thanks so much. For your responses

 

I clean my ears with cotton swabs each day. some here advise against it as some have had a bad reaction to it, but I am always very careful when using them and staying near the edge. I also only do it after a shower when the wax is easy to clean and prevent build up. I insist on cleaning my ears because I use ear plugs a lot. If I didn't, then the ear plugs would compact all that wax. So I clean my ears to prevent that from happening.

I can hear my tinnitus in the shower if thats any way to gauge how loud it is. Its around 11khz.

when I wear protection when going out, it does get way louder. but Ive habituated and I know its temporary so im used to it now. it takes about an hour for it to calm back down when I get home. I have very little problems communicating with all that protection. very rarely do I have to ask people to repeat themselves. my hearing test up to 8khz was excellent.

the only time I wear protection at home is when I need to run the garbage disposal, do laundry (washer is on other side of bedroom wall) and when the gardeners come. at one point I had to build and hide in a custom sound proof box when the gardeners came. it was difficult to breath air, but I pushed through it.

I don't take AD. I did have to take anxiety pills on one occasion, three times, because I wasn't able to sleep for 9 days due to anxiety. Ativan was the only thing that would calm heart and mind so I could sleep. but I knew of the dangers of addiction and found natural alternatives which work.

 

@another sean
Thanks for all the answers! Is your T pure tone or is it a mix of stuff? Also any particular suppmements?

I have this weird electic feeling to my T so when I plug my ears it becomes quite crazy with electrical feeling inside the ear canal and cochlea almost.

I also basically have great hearing up til 8khz

 

I only used ear muffs in certain situations and still went to work. But work isn't loud. For me reducing noise to a bare minimum worked. Complete silence is rather difficult to come by.

There is another member with the electric head buzzing. I think this too is a symptom of hyperacusis.

 

Yeah I now actually tried to put on moms earmuffs and my earplugs and well. Alot of T one must say
Do u know which other member has this electrical buzzing?
How did u cope with your T during this time?

 

One word.
Beta blocker!

 

yes, its pure tone now. but in the begging there was like leaky drain pipe and occasional beeping as well.

I don't take any supplements for my tinnitus but I have been told by two chiropractors/nutritionists to give Ginko Balboa a try as it can help about 10% of people with tinnitus. I only take supplements for my anxiety.

I have, in the doctors words, "excellent" hearing up to 8khz as well. My tone sounds like a Salvation Army Christmas bell sped up.

 

Hi Sean, I learned yesterday my T is reactive as well. For example, right now it's a 2/10, but when I attempted to go out for my dad's birthday dinner a couple nights ago, it was about 7/10. Has your T always been reactive? I've had T for almost 10 weeks now, after a traumatic brain injury. I hope it dissipates throughout time.

 

Hi JLP, yes its been reactive since the beginning. But have hope as mine has become less reactive over the years. It took a least a year for me to start to notice and its important not to worsen your tinnitus during that time. Do that and improvement is very likely.

 

I also have the triple whammy of tinnitus, hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus. After two months I've finally had a week when my hyperacusis has been a little more calm off-and-on. However my tinnitus is as reactive as ever. Even a running tap can send it whistling like a kettle. It's as if it has to be the loudest thing in my head, no matter what.

We're told not to over-protect in order for our hyperacusis to get better, but if we don't protect enough, our tinnitus can drive us crazy. Plus I've had two further spikes since my initial one in April, each time raising my baseline from before. I think my baseline level may be starting to come back down again, at the same time as my H has started improving. But the reactivity still kicks in with almost every sound that enters my ears.

If I can lose my hyperacusis and my reactivity, and just be left with my current level of tinnitus, then I'll be a happy bunny.

 

I am surprised @Michael Leigh hasn't already left his trademark comment indicating "reactive tinnitus" is not a thing, but something made up on tinnitus forums. His fixated one-track mind is usually quick to pick up on these discrepancies – and this thread has been on-going since +6 months by now...