2 Months Later, My Tinnitus Is Nearly Gone

Hey,

I got noise induced tinnitus exactly two months ago from a very loud concert. My tinnitus was moderate following the show and stayed that way for the first 5 weeks. Of course I freaked out and it sent me into a mild depression. It was a 5-6/10 on the loudness scale. It only affects my left ear, which is the one I have moderate to severe conductive hearing loss in (~60 dB). I also developed several other tones during that time (left only), but they got pretty quite for a couple days so I decided to see a Dave Matthews band concert. That was two weeks ago (6 weeks after onset) and had a couple days spike but then it went back to baseline... I’m lucky that it did and I’ll be smarter about live music in the future.

I’ve had very quiet tinnitus for the past 7 days now. It’s only really noticeable when I plug my good ear or smoke a joint. If I stay engaged in anything, I don’t really hear/notice it. It’s a 1-2/10 right now as I type.

My road to recovery involved nothing special other than time and plugging my ears in loud environments. No supplements or white noise, etc. I still continue to plug at places like restaurants because I still have some noise sensitivity in my good ear.

I don’t know what to say to those who suffer with chronically loud tinnitus. It’s so awful. I emphasize with you. That said, since I got tinnitus, I have now noticed my eye floaters a lot more so I guess I have a new problem to keep me occupied.

For some, there is light at the end of the tunnel. For others, there isn’t. Don’t mean to be stoic about it... Tinnitus is so wild and relative to the individual.

I felt compelled to write even though my quiet streak is only a week long. I know I would have appreciated this post on May 28th after I first got it.

I’ll be sure to post every week or so.

Peace,
Camp

 

So happy for you Camp!

 

I think this is what happens to most new tinnitus sufferers.

Enjoy your almost nonexistent tinnitus!

 

@Joe Cuber, thanks for your support! Very grateful for your feedback and hope you the best. I’ll be sure to keep you in my thoughts and circle back.

@ajc, I agree and that’s why I made the post. I, like many, can take things to the extremes sometimes and I definitely did with tinnitus at the start. Hope my experience can bring some others peace. Also for sure, I will enjoy the relative quietness for as long as it lasts and I will be a lifelong advocate for ear protection!

 

Dude, same.

 

Yea like what gives. I’ve read a number of us only started to notice our floaters after tinnitus onset. Tried researching an explanation for the correlation, but found nothing so far. I can live with the ones I got now even though they ruin a nice sunny day outside, but I fear they will worsen overtime like tinnitus does for some.

 

I went to an optometrist for the first time ever as a result. My vision has always been 20/20 but apparently I do have slight near-sightedness, which increases your chance of developing floaters come to find out.

She made me feel better about having them, she has them too. Over the last few weeks I've been less focused on it, up to not caring about it at all. It'll pass!

Sunglasses mask most of my floaters outdoors.

 

You must be young. Young people usually get over it quicker and easier but for us older people it just lingers on. Well done.

 

I am young. Turned 29 this past June. Thanks!

 

I went to a Khruangbin concert in Portland, Maine two nights ago and did not experience a spike. I wore a foam plug in my left tinnitus ear and a custom musician plug in the right ear.

The decibels averaged 75-80 the whole concert. It was outdoors. Lasted about an hour and a half and it was a blast.

 

Just to make sure I got it right:

So you went to a very loud concert, you developed moderate tinnitus for 5 weeks, at which point it subsided, so you went to another concert 6 weeks after onset, then the tinnitus spiked for two days and then went back to a mild level. Is my summary correct?

One question, the left ear which was already problematic with conductive hearing loss, did it already have tinnitus or is this your first ever encounter with tinnitus?

Thanks for sharing your story!

 

Yes, that is an accurate summary and the left ear only started ringing on the evening on May 27th this year. The conductive hearing loss has been around for 10+ years. This is my first encounter with tinnitus that has lasted more than a half hour or so after concerts I attended before the one on May 27th.

 

Update. Over 100+ days with tinnitus.

My baseline has consistently settled at around a 2/10, 90% of the time. It only gets louder at night and when I experience some stress. I am a teacher so those spikes come a few times a week while at work. Noise sensitivity in my right ear is still an issue, but custom earplugs have allowed me to resume a lot of social activities and the more I explain my disability to my friends, the more willing they are to accommodate me. Self advocacy is KEY. Don't let your friends or family stick you in environments that could lead to spikes! All that said, tinnitus is still wreaking havoc on my mental health. I miss live music sooooo much. Music is life for me, but were are (slowly) adjusting.

My biggest health issues are no longer tinnitus at this point. #1 problem is sleeping. My psychiatrist gave me a script for Clonazepam to help with that so I've been taking 0.5-1 mg at nighttime. She chose that because I am in the process of waning myself off smoking pot and due to my new found anxiety (thanks tinnitus!). It's only been three days and it's not been to effective. Might need to try a more traditional sleeping medication like Ambien.

The other issue I am dealing with is one I already mentioned in a previous post being EYE FLOATERS. They have become the bane of my existence. I see them nearly everywhere. I saw an eye doc earlier this week who took scans and whatnot and said my eyes are fine/healthy and just like tinnitus there is not really a cure so I better get used to it. At 29 years of age, developing these two issues on top of not sleeping more than 4 hours a night has taking me wayyyyy down, but that means there is only one way to go and that is up! Baby steps is the name of this game.

While I am going through it, I do often remind myself how fortunate I am in other areas of my life. All of us struggling with these conditions ought to count our blessing daily lest to avoid succumbing to absolute darkness.

That's all of now. Thanks for reading and I hope my thread is helpful to others. I'll make sure to circle back in a month.

Camp

 

That's a very extreme solution to lack of sleep. Benzos usually cause more problems than they solve. I'd try to get off them again quickly or at least use them very sparingly but that's very difficult since they are highly addictive.

How is your exercise and diet? Those are the two best things for sleep.

 

I swear tinnitus is the reason I noticed my floaters due to heightened sensitivity, not something that developed in concert. Anyway, sounds like our tinnitus is following a very similar track.

Since you are using Klonopin I would recommend not doing Ambien and trying Trazodone for sleep instead. Far more sustainable. I also had to wean myself off pot and was off for a good 7 months. Recently started low dosing edibles (2-3mg) and it really suppresses my tinnitus the following day.

 

Also stress management through the day.

 

Thanks for your story. I needed to read it today.

I went to an outdoor live concert a week ago with ear protection and am now having a bad spike and some higher pitched tinnitus than normal, so I can’t mask it. I started Prednisone in case I damaged my hearing. Can’t get in to see an ENT for weeks.

You indicated that you have a 60 decibel loss in your left ear. Was that hearing loss you had prior to attending the concert? Did you have tinnitus in that ear before attending the concert?

Thanks.

 

Maan, I wish I could be that lucky.

 

Regarding the eye floaters: I've had visual snow syndrome (+ floaters) since my teens. Up until I developed tinnitus it never really bothered me that much. However, once I did, it somehow became much more pronounced. As a result, I can't really ignore it anymore - as I used to do before.

Still, because I was already used to its presence, I can manage the visual snow syndrome just fine. Similar to you, it only truly bothers me on sunny days, especially when there are clear blue skies. Looking up at the sky, all I see is millions of tiny grey/black dots. :/

 

100%. Sense sensitivity seems to go through the roof with tinnitus onset.

 

Update. Nearly 6 Months since onset.

Tinnitus does not bother me anymore. It's background noise more or less at this point. I have not experienced any spikes in the last month. I went to a World Series Phillies baseball game the other day, I wore earplugs, and was completely fine despite it being super loud. I started speaking to a therapist who recommended Cymbalta to help with the general anxiety I picked up as a result of tinnitus and it has helped tremendously. Sleep is still my biggest issue. I take a 0.5 mg Klonopin to help sleep and it's been somewhat effective.

All that said, I am like 90% back to living my life like I was pre-tinnitus. Only major difference is that I don't frequent concerts like I did. I miss live music and my Apple AirPods, but I know all it takes is one concert to set me back to square 1.

One last thing. Since taking the Cymbalta, I have been able to better process my floaters and they don't bother me as much anymore. That has been a blessing. I feel as if my floaters are worse than my tinnitus, but everyone is different.

That is all. I'll make sure to circle back in a month or so. Take care all.

Camp

 

That's so awesome! Congrats that it's under control. And congrats on being able to ignore the floaters too. Just amazing.

It's awesome that you followed up so many months later. Many people, myself included, really appreciate it.

Even though you are not bothered I still hope you get rid of that remaining 10%!

Take care!

 

I had massive floaters in both eyes, there is a procedure called a Floater Only Vitrectomy with like a 97% success rate, which I did in both of my eyes in 2014. Now I have no floaters. It helped my quality of life out tremendously.

 

I'll make sure to speak to my eye doctor about this during my next check up. Thanks!

 

Only a few doctors in the country do the Floaters Only Vitrectomies. Your doctor will probably recommend not to do it...

 

Hi @jecamp1 -- Congratulations on your tinnitus improvement. Just to mention, benzodiazapines (Klonopin) are only meant to be taken short term. Once dependence sets in, they can be hard to wean off of. Some people develop tinnitus while taking benzos, and others develop when withdrawing from it.

I'd suggest trying something other than a benzo to help with your sleep. Lots of things that don't involve drugs can be very effective, from hot baths, to stretching, being in nature, etc. No risk to any of those!

 

I hear you for sure about the benzos, but I struggle with serious intermittent sleeping issues. I've been dependent on smoking pot for sleeping for 10+ years and the Klonopin is helping me ween off of that dependency and at such a low dose I feel like I am not trading one dependency for another. I journal and keep track of my intake. Goal is to be free of both drugs by 2023. I'll circle back like I have been doing with updates about my journey.

Your concern is much appreciated and warranted. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

 

Hello friends, I am back with another update.

It's been over 6 months with tinnitus and I have "habituated" to it. My onset was May 27th, 2022.

It no longer bothers me daily and I have since met so many others in my life that share our condition. I have temporary spikes that can be deafening and sometimes scary, but those are like normal.

Preface: do not tell me not to go to concerts, thanks.

Anyways, I have been able to return to the live music scene and I couldn't be happier. I wear foam earplugs, stay sober to remain calm and in control, and it works FOR ME. Everyone's experience with this awful condition is subjective. What has worked for me will not work for everyone and if I am being honest I didn't actually try and "cure" my tinnitus. I just tried my best to live a normal life (with the exception of always keeping ear protection with me at all times).

I write this post for those just starting out with this condition. Depression is real with this condition, but there is HOPE. What helped me get over my depression was talk therapy and some SNRIs. Never be afraid to self-advocate and get professional/medical help!

And if I could offer one piece of advice, it is mindfulness. Practice it daily. Learn to highlight the positives in your life. Don't dwell on the past or think to the future. Live in the moment with an attitude of gratitude! That is easier said then done and it took me 6 months to get here, but if I can make it so can others.

Peace and Love,
Camp

 

Do not go to concerts, lol.

 

Your comment made me chuckle. Sorry you are sad tho. Good luck with your tinnitus.