Forever hopeful

@SharonBell And he thinks that there’s still a very good chance it’s related to my TMJ. My TMJ related headaches have gotten appreciably worse in the last few weeks along with my tinnitus. I’m getting fitted for a mouthguard. Going back to PT for my jaws. But I’m really terrified this is a permanent worsening and I have no idea how I’m going to live with this.

Yeah a lot of people put different comments on here about medicine and how it affects them. Do you take Trazadone every day?

@SharonBell At night. Also take hydroxizine.

@MindOverMatter, went fine but they don’t do extended because there are no benchmarks for higher frequencies not part of the normal soundscape. In other words they don’t expect us to hear dog whistles. Now I have hope the TMJ treatment works.

Good luck with TMJ treatment @Forever hopeful . Ive been there myself, many times. My TMJ issues has gotten a lot better after extensive treatment, home exercises and bite guard made by a specialist dentist.

@MindOverMatter Did your tinnitus improve at all?

I do sometimes wonder if the occlusion effect we experience does more harm to our ears and tinnitus than the surrounding noise we are trying to protect from. I wear ear protection of some form outdoors due to my reactivity, but the occlusion effect can be very loud and intense, especially when talking and eating.

@MindOverMatter Agreed but every place is loud now. And I find myself angry when others come in to dine and ruin my quiet.

@DeanD. Hope not. I try really hard not to eat crunchy things. Last night the sound of my voice wasn’t very loud because the ambient noise was loud enough. I noticed the occlusion effect of my own voice mostly it’s quiet around me. Which is almost never the case in a restaurant.

@SharonBell Looked online to see if congestion can cause head noise. And it all pointed me towards tinnitus. Whaaat? It’s not like I have it normally. Tuesday tried to take a nap and my head started making the noise and nose itched. This am I woke up and I turned over and it started making that noise so got up b/c it was irritating. The minute I got up it stopped. 10 hrs later I have a full blown head cold.

@SharonBell It never used to bother me because I always assumed was related to my head cold because it was the only time it ever happened to me. I wonder if I’m just freaking out about it because I’m in a spike and I’m just freaking out about everything right now.

I think mine is from my extended high frequency hearing loss. I know the brain causes my noise because I have hair cell damage and then the brain is coming up with sound to take the place. Mine is all the time.

Pure tone is the worst. I get it very rarely thankfully, but when I do get it, it's tough to deal with. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Sorry to hear about your Mom. Stress can really negatively effect this condition. Praying for you and your family today.

I will keep you in my prayers @Forever hopeful

@BrOKeN_1 @Ryan Scott Thank you both. Worst year of my life on top of other medical issues and this awful condition.

Agreed. So unfair. And I take care of my hearing.

Going through (what I hope is) a high pitched spike of my own. When the pitch gets even higher it always worries me more, as my spikes are usually volume related.

Hope your spike subsides soon. Crazy that in the year 2023 this is still a thing.

@Robster The higher pitch is the worst. Like a table saw in my ear. Probably not as loud as I experience it but so HF. Hear it over everything. Had a few good days and now back to screeching. The worst part is not being able to mask. Freq too high. Hope you get some relief.

It will go back down. I just got over another spike.

Mo8409. Thanks. Sure hope so. It’s so annoying when you’ve been doing well for a while and then all of a sudden bom. Per my DecibelMeter and it was only 70 dB to 80 every now and then. It was outdoors so it’s diffused. It wasn’t even a giant party maybe 40 people. Still kicking myself. I mean I know it certainly wasn’t loud enough to damage my hearing. But I have to remind myself that noise makes tinnitus worse.

Hello - I would say far from being a fool. Happy you did not miss out. The anxiety from missing out may have been worse for your T. With that sound level spike should be temporary.

@Nick23 Sorry. I’ve literally been off ofTT for a few months. I guess you can tell the pattern of T spikes by the frequency of my posts.

As for the prednisone, sometimes if have a really spike. I always do about 21 days. The first 2 weeks at a higher dose 60/ 50/ 40 mg.

@Nick23 I usually use it if I suspect inflammation. Because that’s really the only point of taking it. I’ve had hearing loss in the past and it’s really helped. Right now I’m on it because I’ve been sick and I have a massive massive spike going on right now with reactive T. I think the worst spike I’ve ever had.

@Nick23 started couple hours after I was out to dinner for my birthday a week and a half ago. Very loud restaurant but I used what I thought was pretty ample protection. But I also came off the heels of being sick for 3weeks. It’s so hard to know what causes a spike. And now evidently reactive T is a form of hyperacusis. My Audiologist said it could be that I’m overprotecting. All I know is I want it to end.

Should of listened to my instinct and left. Part of me was worried people will be sick of me moaning about sound and my ears so I stupidly stayed. My bf and mum both have T and they were not affected at all by the noise no spike or nothing. Just me as per usual. Euuggh feel so stupid. @Forever hopeful

Aslo managed to catch a cold which caused me to cough so bad my head felt like it was going to explode and also TMJ has flared up. So many causes that it's hard to pinpoint one. Knowing my luck it'll be the fair. I'm so careful around sound too and have been for 18 months. I hope despite everything you've had going on you are fairing well @Forever hopeful

@Strawberryblonde, After a brutal month long spike it is finally calming down. Not at baseline bit much better. Dealing with mom in hospice was too much. Had to step back and start taking care of myself.

;{

@Forever hopeful. I'm sorry for your loss.

Sorry for your loss, may he rest in peace.

@Forever hopeful, Losing your parents can be very tough. Sorry for the loss of your dad.

@Forever hopeful I'm doing good this week. Feeling the closest to my old self than I have in a long time :) is anything helping you with your MEM at the moment?

@Strawberryblonde, so happy to hear you’re doing better. Fingers crossed that it continues. My MEM isn’t too bad right now. I usually get it every 2 days. The anxiety of waiting for it to happen is worse I think than when it happens. I’ve also developed an eye twitch on that side as well. Trying to massage my jaws fir TMJ. I also take a small dose of clonazepam and I think that that helps with the MEM

Fingers crossed that it dissaptes to a point that its not bothering you as much @Forever hopeful

What type of sound do you hear when you say ringing?

I completely understand how wondering if any particular loud sounds or situations will spike us or give us a new tone or base level.
25db plugs should be good protection for a restaurant as I use 20db ones and not had a spike yet.
It's definitely anxiety playing a high part in my T as I assume I'll get worse with most sounds.

It ruins spontaneous fun or activities always wondering if its gonna be noisy when no one else would bat an eyelid.
I went into a coffee shop today to get a bite to eat and drink to go and didn't use plugs cause it was only for 10 mins at most but with background music on kitchen noise and loud children my T feels more buzzy and head feels tight. I guess my ears still can't handle too loud of a sound.

Years ago something like this I wouldn't think would spike my T and it never did. Now it's a whole new ball game :( @Forever hopeful
I hope you find some relief with all that you are going through with this invisible enemy.