2 Steps Forward, 1.9999 Steps Back — A New Increase in Tinnitus After Going to a Martial Arts Class

So, having a spike/increase in tinnitus after 4 years (4 years tomorrow I believe...yay ).

I got to the point yesterday when I realized I couldn't hear it in the office (only when I moved/walked around). If walking around outside I could only hear it when concentrating on it (hard not to do currently), and when driving in the car, I could only hear it when driving slowly in-between songs.

However, yesterday evening I went to a martial arts class, I was determined to continue to do my normal things. As soon as I went into the hall I could really hear my tinnitus, the loudest that it has ever been (!!!). It was so loud, intrusive and loud over the instructor (I could still hear him).

Inside I was so broken at this point and just didn't understand what was happening after 4 years of "normality". I wanted to run away... but I didn't.

The tinnitus subsided a little after about 45 mins, but could hear it until I got home, when I went back to my "new baseline". It stayed like that for the rest of the evening when watching TV. Then shower (cant hear it) and sat on my bed watching a few YouTube with my fan on (I've always had white noise even before tinnitus), couldn't hear it.

I put my masker on (crickets), could still hear my high-pitched tinnitus, but fell to sleep on my "bad side".

Woke up with anxiety this morning around 5:30 and drifted in and out of sleep until just after 7.

I think I still find it easy to get to sleep as you're in bed and have the maskers on and feel like you've won the day. In the morning, the battle starts again!

I was going to post last night after my new new spike, but then thought that even if I got some reassurance from here, until I believed it myself, would really matter?!?!

My mindset changed a little to a "so what" attitude....

I heard my tinnitus loudly when doing a martial arts class, but I still did it. I can only hear my new tinnitus in quiet times in the car/office/walking outside (ultra high pitch tinnitus is still heard of course). In reality these happen less and less and I'm sure my brain will start to filter the tinnitus out in these situations, it has done before (ultra high-pitched tinnitus).

It's annoying that my tinnitus sounds like office sounds (i.e. is that my tinnitus or a low hum of the air, or an electric device somewhere)... which causes my brain to keep asking me the question... and me sometimes checking... for now.

Anyway, I feel a made a very small step forward yesterday. I'm still scared and annoyed that my tinnitus is "back" in my life... after having this thing 4 years, it's only really affected me for approx 3-4 of those months... I want that to continue.

Anyway, these are my current thoughts that I thought I would share. Keep fighting everyone.

 

I´m in your same situation.

Since 6 days or so, I´ve started to hear a really high pitch hiss, that I hear nearly everywhere. I had very high pitched tinnitus, but couldn´t hear it on some of the situations you mentioned unless I looked for it, now it´s here everyday, unless when I´m under the shower. It´s also non-constant, so it distracts me the more, it´s very annoying.

If this continues like this and this is my new baseline, I think I´m going to be screwed. It´s a bad thing since I was more or less habituated and was having a more or less happy life. Now I´m really worried and I´m having the same feelings I had when it all started.

 

Hi mate.

I think you've misunderstood (or I've not explained it correctly). I don't think my spike is high-pitched, just your normal eeeeeeeeeeeeeee (eeeee) sound, but only seems to come on when moving etc.

In terms of high-pitched/ultra sonic type sound. Then, around Jan last year I became aware of mine... it wasn't too loud, but cut through everything (inside or outside)... not as loud of whatever it was yesterday however.

But when I think back, the high-pitched sound was one of the first things I heard when I first got tinnitus in 2015; I heard it over my fan and can remember trying to time my breathing with it.... I also heard it a few months later in 2015 and this caused me to run upstairs and try and hide from it... that's when I started with the crickets white noise (doesn't fully mask it).

The point is, although I hear that noise often (I'm hearing it today as my anxiety is up), it doesn't bother me/hasn't bothered me most of my time with tinnitus. From around mid Feb until the end of last week I had forgotten about the tinnitus in general, including the high pitched on.

So, even high pitched tinnitus can be ignored by the brain. Trust me.

 

Thanks for your kind words.

Yes, I can relate to it, that high pitched tinnitus can be ignored, that´s what I´ve doing for years.

But the problem with this new sound is that feels completely "alien", it´s not like the other (multiple) sounds I have. Maybe because it´s louder at this time, but also because it´s not constant. It´s like a very high pitch wind sound, that repeats every 4 seconds or so. Very weird. I´m used to get occasional new tones or sounds, and didn´t worry much about them (I thought: "well, another one, so what, if it leaves it´s OK and if not, I don´t care") but this one has really crept me out, and the anxiety that came with it, for sure it´s not helping.

 

ah yes, then we might be in a similar place at the mo.

I am hoping that this is a "slight" spike, caused by me getting a bit slack, and that my "rehab" will sort it in the next couple of weeks.

Never going to allow myself to get that careless again!

I spend a couple of hours fearful, followed by a couple of hours of hope/determination that it'll all be fine in a week or two... then repeat.

 

I can relate to that. In a single day these days, I can be from very determined to go on, to very very fearful. For me it´s been like this on my previous spikes, but this one has me specially scared.
I hope that time passes for you and me and we can be soon at our baseline again, or adapt to it with no major problems.

 

What are we fighting?

 

The fear.

 

Never really had a spike I don't think. Maybe once for a couple of hours a couple of years ago.

 

Habituation won't accomplish anything, you'll still be stuck with the same problems.

Isn't the problem tinnitus, and not the fear of it?

 

True, tinnitus is the problem, but the overall visceral reaction of fear only feeds the fire. My tinnitus has slowly gotten a bit better (through habituation and jaw relaxation) with the occasional backwards step here and there, but at this point my fear response has been dulled bit by bit. When the fear comes back, my reaction to the tinnitus then results in 'pain' instead of interpreting it as just another noise. I know it will most likely never go away, but I KNOW that earlier in life I had tinnitus and wasn't afraid of it or even truly noticed it (until all hell broke loose and now here I am). and I WILL get control of my life back in some way - I refuse to be controlled by this.

The challenge, to your point, is that tinnitus can cause fear which in turn increases the reaction to tinnitus which causes more fear - it's a chicken and egg scenario. The only true way to eliminate the 'symptom' is to eliminate the 'disease' (loose terms). The core issue of tinnitus needs more research and treatment, but reducing fear will greatly help with overall quality of life. We only get one chance, and I refuse to let it dominate me. Hope is a war of attrition.

 

On a similar point...

Do you think this could be related to hyperacusis (or "reactive tinnitus")?

For example, as I'm typing, i can hear a higher pitch (very slight) in my left ear. If I stop typing........ it seems to decrease/become less noticeable.

Today, I could hear my "new" tinnitus in the changing rooms in the gym (in between music). I could hear it walking across the car park to my car. However, once in my car, if you'd have asked me if my tinnitus was worse then my "normal" baseline, I would have said "No". Plugging my ears seems to make my "new" tinnitus go away/reduce. Plugging my bad ear in the office makes it louder, yet plugging my bad ear where I am now (a small office) make it go quieter.

Maybe this is why I can hear it when walking outside/in the office/over the sound of slow driving.

When I got tinnitus originally I think I had a bit of hyperacusis as I have a white noise app that gave tinny sounds over pink noise, rain sounds etc. I even heard this tinny sound over the TV etc. Yet, a few months later, this tinny sound was gone

Maybe it's the same thing. Maybe it's a final wake-up call.

 

Exactly what I’m going through right now. The high pitched hiss that is only masked by shower

 

The fight for survival.