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Interesting. I’ve never tried it myself. I never found any evidence that it helps, so I never bothered.

There’s a lot of fluff in many of these responses, and to be honest, I couldn’t bear to read them all. I’ll keep it short. Your tinnitus will change in the early days, and it usually won’t settle on a baseline for a while. From what I’ve read, you already had tinnitus before taking NAC, so it’s...

You can use a saline spray, but I would not use decongestants or steroids.

Give it a good one to two weeks before worrying too much. Most of my spikes haven’t lasted longer than that. Easier said than done, I know.

Sorry to have to welcome you to the forum. Your story is familiar to most of us, so I’ll keep my response short. During the first three months, try to limit sound exposure to around 60 dB whenever possible. After that, slowly begin introducing more sound, but avoid staying in environments...

It’s hard to pinpoint the cause, but I agree with you. If it were stress-related, I think it would’ve happened earlier. It could be from the medications. Honestly, tinnitus is such a beast that sometimes there just isn’t an obvious or straightforward answer. It’s very hard to sleep during the...

I agree with these ENTs, and I don’t agree with the fistula theory. You have an obvious cause: physical damage. If it were a fistula, it wouldn’t appear immediately after being slapped. It would likely have been an ongoing issue instead.

Sorry to hear that, Tracey. It’s very hard for people to understand—tinnitus is similar to hidden disabilities. Only those going through it can truly sympathize with you. I think the hearing aid option isn’t too bad, though my guess is that a week probably isn’t long enough to have a meaningful...

Sorry that you are here. Things can get better; we all remember what it was like in the beginning. It’s very hard to stay positive, so I won’t patronize you, but I want you to know that it can improve. Substances can definitely cause tinnitus. Are you a headphone user? Have you been around any...

Cruising along this thing we call life.. tinnitus has been spiked for the last couple days, stressful things are happening though. Usually settles back down.

Fleeting tinnitus is what it’s called when it happens for a short duration, and many people experience it, even those without permanent tinnitus. I agree with you about the headphone issue. Some days masking sounds help me a lot, but other days it feels like they make my tinnitus louder...

How’s your blood pressure? Any issues with your ears, such as vertigo, dizziness, or feeling unbalanced? It could also be from your neck or stress, since it’s all closely connected to the ears and the vagus nerve.

I’m sure drugs and alcohol wouldn’t help much. Some people say alcohol lowers their tinnitus, though drugs have mostly made it worse in most accounts I’ve read. I don’t know—I don’t drink or use.

Sorry to hear that. It must bring you down a bit, since communication with loved ones is such an important part of life, and having that taken away can feel horrible. Have you looked into hearing aids for the affected frequencies?

Oddly enough, I’ve experienced this before—actually in the ensuite bathroom at my old house. The strange part is that it only happens in your house. Sometimes I think logically that if it doesn’t happen anywhere else, it can’t really be you. I’m much more sensitive to certain sounds than my...

Everyone’s different, but since shingles attacks the nerves, that’s the first thing I’d be blaming. I think some foods and drinks affect certain people and not others, so I’m not sure about that. I certainly don’t think they cause it. Shingles, on the other hand…

Yeah, when I wake up to go to the bathroom, sometimes it’s way louder than my baseline. I think it might be from suddenly waking up during REM, but I don’t really get it in the mornings. Go figure.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. This condition is almost impossible to understand unless you have experienced it yourself. You’re doing the right things. Gradual exposure to everyday sounds is important, as long as nothing is too loud. It sounds like your initial onset included hyperacusis as...

I sometimes experience a similar sound, like a strange hum. I have had it for the past two years, but I am not sure what caused it. It happens along with my usual tinnitus sound.

I personally suspect it is related to B12, as its effects are limited to the nervous system. My tinnitus also seems to improve when I keep up with my B12 shots. However, there could be multiple factors involved.

Has anyone else experienced this before? I used to have it for short periods when I was very anxious. With my current medication, I do not really experience anxiety anymore. However, this started right around the time my pet, a beloved member of my family, had a seizure last night. I was quite...

Everyone has different issues and levels of loudness, but when I think back to when my tinnitus first started, I was a mess and could not even watch TV. I slept all day, anywhere I could. I always used a pedestal fan pointed at my face to sleep, and I still do. To be fair, I have always needed...

Both times I had microsuction, I left with distorted hearing for about a week and a half. It was the same metallic sound, like metal cicadas in response to certain white noise. It is horrible. I will never do microsuction again. It is very loud and painful.

A lot of the time, I do not hear it unless I have a spike. Most days, I do not really notice it throughout the day.

It was very loud. It brought me to tears and suicidal thoughts. I could hear it over everything except when I was in the shower—that was my only solitude for the first month. I heard it 24/7. During the first few weeks, I relied heavily on sound therapy and rarely left my room. I was also...

I hear the same sounds as you. Some of them seem to resemble metallic cicadas. It doesn’t help that this time of year, there are actual cicadas around. I experienced this last year after having a large amount of wax removed, and the same thing happened this year after another large wax removal...

I love the simulation theory, but I think we have too much free will, or maybe it is just perceived as free will. Who knows? The Matrix offers the best depiction of a simulation: one where no one is controlling us piece by piece, but the system as a whole is under control. If we are in a...

It sounds like TTS to me, but I could be wrong.

Please don’t do anything rash. Your situation sounds very similar to where I was when I first got tinnitus. I was already feeling very depressed, and then this on top of it made me seriously consider giving up. But here I am, eight years later, and I’ve had many good times since then. It will...

It’s honestly heartbreaking. We think enough time has passed, we’ve educated ourselves on what not to do, and we’ve taken precautions, yet we still can’t enjoy some of the things we love. It’s such a shame. But you’ve been here before. All I can say is to rest up, keep doing what you’re already...

It took me months to fully regain the ability to sleep and get back to a somewhat normal schedule. I was fortunate to have the flexibility to sleep during the day whenever I finally passed out, as I was working night shifts at a local supermarket. I usually got home no later than 11 p.m. Your...

It sounds like classical tinnitus caused by a concert, similar to the hallmark symptoms I experienced. It might go away or lessen to a more tolerable level, as it has for me. I recommend using masking sounds to help, especially for sleeping. Try rain, wind, ocean sounds, or even soft classical...

I agree with this. It’s best to put the guns away. It’s probably not worth risking further damage, even for a few minutes of enjoyment. Consider finding other hobbies that are quieter and safer for your ears.

Hopefully, it will calm down over time. Give it a few months and see how you feel. In the meantime, try to keep yourself distracted.

Hi @Ciara1987, Tinnitus is a real beast, but I want to help you make sense of it. It is a very complex condition. Most people can attribute it to something like a night out, a loud concert, or years of working in noisy environments. However, there are other potential causes to consider...

Keep fighting, mate. You’re still in the early days, and I think the first four months are the hardest. You’ll face challenges, but you will get through them and succeed. In this case, time is our ally. It’s borderline criminal and feels like kidnapping to keep someone against their will. I can...

Do you mean you experience fullness when lying down? Is it similar to pressure changes? I didn’t experience actual fullness; it just felt strange since it had been blocked for so long.

How are you going these days Matt?

They can only get so close to the eardrum with a curette. In my case, when the wax is soft, very wet, and sticky, and does not break apart, it becomes very difficult for them to remove. Waxsol drops seem to expand the existing wax, making the situation worse. It’s a bit of a shame because some...

What is the alternative when you have impacted wax, and drops or a curette cannot remove it? None of us want this situation, but what other choice do we have? Let it build up, get infected, and worsen? Lose all hearing for weeks?

So bloody damn accurate!

I had some wax removal done, but now both ears feel blocked. I’ll see how things are in the morning.

I’m back a year later with a similar issue. This time, my ear wasn’t completely blocked or deaf for 4–5 days. I’ve had wax removal, which caused similar sensitivity, but it doesn’t feel as loud or intrusive as it did last time. However, the sound reactivity is similar—it’s like hearing cicadas...

Wax removal again, similar to last year, some distortions to sound and sound sensitivity. definitely Not half as bad. Two different techniques used.

Do you think it could be related to the SCM muscle or the Eustachian tube? What kinds of sounds do you react to? For me, it seems like certain sounds, sometimes even white noise, trigger distortions. My distortions sound like an airy rustling, similar to leaves in the fall. This first happened...

It’s very annoying. Whenever I use hearing protection, everything is fine while it’s on, but afterward, I seem to experience a bit of a spike. Alternatively, it might just be an increased perception of the sound.