Freerunner

I don't know if I am going to survive this. Tinnitus and H are on its severest form. Literally.

Hearing ailments are awful I grieve for you my brother, you have the fact that your case is still acute it can and usually does get better in time. None of this is meant to diminish the authenticity of your suffering I know you're hurting but only to give real hope.

@SD7 it is literally 10 times worse since the onset and I wonder how am I going to manage? It spikes like hell for no reason. It is god damn loud with 6-7-8 tones spinning together in both ears. H is severe I have to wear earplugs all day at home and it used not to be the case. I have a job that does not allow me 100 % work from home. It is so hard and I think I might soon be gone for good.

There was no music - just 7-8 people talking. I was wearing earplugs and even made regular breaks every 30 minutes or so .... Now everything pierces through the earplugs and causes me pain and discomfort. Fucking 21 century plague

Tinnitus is more bothersome than ever and spikes from taking a deep breath

Geeze man :(

Like my ears are hot and there is ache

I cannot even bear my own voice for longer period of time. How is this torture going to end? How am I supposed to go to the office for work and not loose my job and life? Why is there so many different tones inside my head which are raging for no reason?

Try not to use earplugs at home, it its will only cause stress to your ears, and humidity inside your ears. To beat H you need to expose your ears to normal sounds. It is better if you just hold your fingers to your ears when you need to.
I know how it feels. My own voice used to knock me off my feet. It takes time, bit H will get better. And when H gets better T tends to ease a bit too.

@Wrfortiscue Yeah true, it can get better both objectively (volume, intrusiveness etc) and subjectively (habituation). The 2-3 mild-moderate tones I initially developed, disappeared after a few months and they were replaced by other less intrusive milder ones. The damn thing is unpredictable as fuck, but time most likely works in favour of us...

@aura , hiss(reactive ring), whoosh, zap, morse code, screech, tea kettle, head tinnitus

@Freerunner , just like me! I don t have the tea kettle( yet) but a crystal glass sound effect .

I have always have a morse code sound, right from the beginning. I actually prefer it to my other many sounds.

@Steph1710 maybe you got used to it? I really hate it.
The " morse code & crystal glass" combo puts me on straitjacket mode.

Hey @aura when u say Crystal glass do you mean like a clanging of glasses? I have this oscillating metallic hiss with painful metal zings that might match that.

I like your optimism @danielthor but quick question, you need to know the cause of your Tinnitus in order to treat with stem cells correct?

@IntotheBlue03 Yeah after reading about it for some time now; from what I understand stem cells will only work for tinnitus if your tinnitus is related to immune system dysfunction, as stem cells primarly work as immune-modulators. There’s actually no proof that they cross the blood brain barrier and become nervecells or anything like that

@Zugzug Have you heard what danielthor just said about stem cells? Your issues were caused by autoimmune disease, yes?

It's usually temporary. Can take a long time for things to settle. Sometimes it's overnight, sometimes it takes weeks, sometimes months. I don't think one event at moderate volume would be catastrophic. Rather, it's cumulative.

Well, it is still bad. My tinnitus is really bad . It spikes much more and I have way more sound distortions than before...

It calmed down but not fully. My baseline changed and new screeching sounds appeared.

I’m
Sorry cafes are usually the quieter outings of mine but some have blenders etc

Allow your ears to heal. Setbacks happen

It was 75 db according to my app but I know think it might have been louder. I think it is not just a setback but a permanent worsening. So far my spikes has been cleared for 2 days top. Now it is different. Tinnitus is raging and H is the worst. I barely slept 3-4 hours wil 6mg melatonin and atarax

@Freerunner The screeching can go down. Mine can get to what I call an "angle grinder" for a few days and then revert back to a more tolerable ring.

Do you have pain with your hyperacusis?

@Stacken77 , Yes, now I do have pain. Previously, I had mild pain from time to time but nothing too serious.
I woke up today, H was okay, went to work, and I am now in the office. It is pretty quiet since it is a big open space and only a bunch of people are coming due to Covid. However, without exposing to loud noise, my H is bad, I man really bad now. I have not had it that bad.

I might recover a bit from H, since I done this in the past, but every change in T so far has been permanent (new sounds coming and staying, getting louder with time). At least H was bearable - I could listen to the TV at a normal volume, listen to music a bit. I did not wear earplugs while at home, only when vacuuming and doing the dishes.

From several days - all sounds have been noticeably louder, except the hissing which is reactive. So all sounds that appeared as slight ones over time are now raging. I mean ... I am a bad case or what? Is the H giving me all these sounds?

How Am I going to live with this. I am even short of two months and I have worsened more than people do in years to come ... I just want to habituate and live somehow normal live and socialize a bit, but I start to think that would not be possible in the next year at least.

I am 90 percent sure it will not go away so I have to live with it. but God - at least stop it from progressing with such high speeds... It is not normal behavior. I did not find anyone on the forum who has worsened so fast..

@Freerunner, I have no idea as i suffer from reactive T everyday and still havent gotten use to it.

Today I woke up to the usual hiss which throughout the day will become more of a ringing. However it is accompanied with high pitched dog whistle which does not seem to be triggered by any noise.

After 10 minutes laying in bed, the hiss noticeably became a higher pitched tone. What the fuck? Not to mention the electrical buzz in the right ear which I can actually feel and the other screaming sounds which come and go.

Mine has only been changing for worse since the onset (a month ago). I also struggle with hyperacusis. Tinnitus is so reactive I have several spikes a day which last hours. I do not how to handle it.

I did not have a single good day so far. IT has been alright only in the mornings. However, since the Valsalva and the fight with my family, baseline is not hissing anymore and there are many new sounds.

I didn’t have T when I woke up but I do now so I’m assuming it worsened

I can attest that tones do come and go. I raked up 10 tones at one point spanning both ears, which later went down to what I now consider 4. If you can protect and avoid to get more tones, then I think yours can improve.

@Damocles I think I have that conversation tinnitus too… its so hard to describe it…sounds like someone is shouting at me sometimes

I too can confirm what @Stacken77 and @Damocles have said. My onset started in April and I’ve had many tones as well as musical tinnitus that have come and gone. it’s a process that’s going to take time to manage. First year is indeed tough and I’m still struggling at times.

I dont know what it is but I want you to know that things will be okay.

I appreciate your kind words but I really doubt this man .. It all started with a high pitched hiss that I would now kill to have back. Every little thing seems to permanently worsen my tinnitus. I do not find it normal to have 4 more tones developed for 1 month.

I wear hearing protection when outside, when chatting with someone, when in the office - only when I am alone I don't. I prefer to be deaf with one year but not have tinnitus... Really. Unfortunately I really think my life ended with this , which was on top of every other sh*t I was already in and was barely managing to function even before tinnitus.

Even if I had perfect health, which I am honestly far away from - Tinnitus would still have crushed my whole being. I was the guy who always wanted silence - always. I enjoyed sleeping with earbuds so much. I just found a nice silent apartment for rent after my split up and I was kind of happy for this, because I know how difficult this is when you live in a big busy city.

However, God obviously wanted to try me even more and bring me this dreaded condition. I am almost sure I am not going to be a success story even though it has only been a month - I keep worsening constantly since the onset even though I am protecting from loud noises and using ear buds when outside or when even talking with someone ...

Please do not go yet, stay with us a bit longer. You might want to give a chance to some medications first (LDN, Keppra, Gabapentin, Benzos... honestly, whatever it takes to stay afloat). You are still in the very acute phase, chances of major improvements are high for you. Plus, the impression I always had by reading this forum is that hyperacusis after a noise insult clears up quite often.

After I slept, the spike has subsided a bit. However, ear is still muffed and I cannot seem to pop it order to equalize. WTF is happening with my ears... I used to have perfect hearing and one minute caloric test ruined them for the rest of my life.

I am even willing to undertake stem cells procedure and go into debt but the uncertain results are holding me back for now. My ears continue to worsen since the onset even though I am diligent in protecting them. I just do not see it how I am going to get through If I do not get a little bit better. I am also considering laser therapy. What are your thoughts on these procedures, @Damocles ?

@Freerunner With regards to stem cells, @Tau Is in the process of getting it done in Germany. If that turns out a success I would definetely go for it

@Stacken77, are the 3M 1100 foam earplugs good for small ears canals? Or do they have smaller size? Also can you please give some examples as of when do you use foam plugs, when muffs, when both of them? What for example do you use in a car? Thank you that much!

Hey, @Ela Stefan. I think I have regular sized ear canals, and they're comfy for me. I think the 3M 1100 only come in one size, but I think @Damocles can give a recommendation for smaller ear plugs. I use foam ear plugs when outside, and in combination with muffs when driving. For conversations I use high fidelity plugs. I've had to do some experimentation to find what's best for me.

Yeah, narrow ear canals here.

My suggestion would be to give these a try first:
https://www.macksearplugs.com/product/slimfit-soft-foam-ear-plugs/

and if those are still uncomfortable, then go another size down and use these:
https://www.macksearplugs.com/product/dreamgirltm-soft-foam-ear-plugs/