2 Weeks In and Really Struggling

My tinnitus is less than two weeks old (likely caused by noise exposure and stress) and I haven't had a decent nights sleep since. The tone is very high and loud. Probably around 12 kHz, a sine wave that oscillates a little and sometimes pans from one ear to the other, with some other softer, more quiet tones mixed in. There were a couple days where it was barely there and I thought it was going away but the last three have been really bad. I'm not sleeping. I'm crying a lot. Scaring my wife and daughter. Masking isn't working. The tones seems to adapt to the masking. The only time I don't hear it is in the shower. I get about 30 seconds after the shower where it's gone too.

I've seen one ENT and he was useless. Basically told me take Lipoflavonoids and said I might not notice it in a year. I am seeing an audiologist today and a PA with a real ear specialty tomorrow.

When this started I was devastated that I might not be able to play music anymore... now the fears are immersive. I run my own business (successful and growing) -- a blessing and a curse for this -- I control my schedule but it's not like I can call in sick. I worry constantly about the impact on my family, my life in general. How will I be able to function with this?

I was reluctant to post here because I didn't want to obsess any more about this than I already am. Some of the posts here are so depressing - people describing my symptoms but after 15 years and seem to be in the same headspace as me. I don't see how 15 years of this is possible. I now feel like I'm in an actual existential crisis.

I just need to sleep. If I could sleep, I feel like I'd be able to deal better with this.

 

Your cause is most likely noise exposure, not stress. The former is known to cause tinnitus. The latter isn't.

There is no reason to believe you can't play music anymore. Many people with T, including myself, still play music. You do have to be extra careful about volume, though. Ask your doctor(s) about it. I did.

I'd still suggest a few weeks of very little noise exposure to give your ears some time to "rest".

Indeed. We are better equipped to deal with this affliction when we are rested.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for your response. Music is really the least of my worries right now. At this point I’m just trying to wrap my head around the possibility that this is permanent. And trying to figure out how to live with it. I’m not thinking clearly really. Hopefully I’ll figure out how to get to sleep and have a better attitude and be able to chart the course with a positive attitude.

In terms of noise avoidance. I’m trying not to over protect (I’ve got some H too). I wear plugs outside but Would you recommend no TV or am I ok so long as I keep things below 60db or so?

 

Your tinnitus it your own. We can’t give you 100% guarantee answers. Unfortunately, you have to see what works for you.

If you over protect, you will make your hyperacusis and tinnitus worse. It will be impossible to live a life under 60 db seeing that your own voice is around 70-75 dB.

You can watch TV just keep the volume around talking level. If it is quiet/moderate outside there is no need to wear ear plugs.

What was your noise trauma that caused this sudden tinnitus?

 

He is right - there is a good chance that it will fade and that in a year or two you will get to "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage. It should begin fading sometime during the first 2-6 months.

The first 3-4 months or so are the hardest. Things ought to get better after that.

You might try taking Amitriptyline. It is not addictive and it doesn't make you feel drowsy the next day. In very large doses, it has been used to treat T. Unfortunately, just like with many other T treatments, it makes T louder for a very small fraction of the people who take it. The vast majority (myself included) of the people who have taken it found that it has helped them sleep.

Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Had a loud band practice, and had tinnitus the following morning for about 4 hours. After that I played more music with protection -- no more episodes. Then two weeks ago I had laparoscopic hernia surgery. I had some complications - wasn't oxygenating well and had to spend the night in the hospital. Was out of it for about a week. Played music once during that period - acoustic - mostly with protection but a couple instances without. Tinnitus developed after that.

The audiologist I saw yesterday things theres a chance it could be viral. I have some hearing loss in my left ear, at the lower register. Though my tone is super high and in both ears. Yesterday was also interesting because for most of the afternoon and into the evening the T disappeared. I used a masking tool and it just faded away and stayed gone for the most part. Slight hints of it depending on which room I was in.

I was so hopeful that I'd get a good night's sleep. Alas, no. I maybe slept an hour last night. It's been like 12 days of this now. I'm seeing the ear specialist today and will beg for sleeping and anti-anxiety meds.

 

I'm about three weeks in (though I had an initial 4 hour incident three weeks prior to that). Most days it's been really bad. 12000-15000 Hz. Glassy tone. But I've had one day a week (3 or 4 days total), where it seems to disappear. Yesterday was one of those days. It was basically silent most of the day, though it crept back a little at night. If I put in an earplug I could faintly hear what I think is the core tone in my right ear... but it was essentially quiet for almost 36 hours. But you play games with yourself. Can you hear it? Is that an echo?

I've been taking Xanax at night to sleep and decided only to take a half. That was a mistake. I woke at 1am and it was back. Couldn't get back to sleep, even though I took the other half. Yesterday I told myself the remission probably wasn't permanent but I was so hopeful. Now I'm trying to remain hopeful while also trying to accept that this is very possibly my new reality, and beginning to develop a positive outlook on it and life in general. I wasn't able to do that today and just feel so bad about it all. The way I think about the sound is worse than the actual sound.