6 Months In, Is There Any Realistic Hope?

[SilverSpiral]

6 months in, despite avoiding all loud sounds, despite avoiding most things in general, tinnitus has not improved, hyperacusis has set in, and worst of all, I still have reactive tinnitus, and do not hear sounds properly in certain frequency ranges. For instance, on a television program I can hear the people talking, then when there is a string arrangement in the background, i mainly just hear modulated sine waves, instead of the actual strings. Refrigerators, showers, everything produces a high pitched tone in addition to it's sound (I'm sure this is my hearing, while many things in life naturally produce a high pitched frequency (like old tvs) this sound is very different, and others do not hear it at all, and it wasnt there before, and there seem to be about a few different tones that things will trigger in my ears, its hard to explain.

This happened literally the only single time I ever went to a show without earplugs, and of all things, 20 seconds after i stood close to a speaker, someone triggered a rediculously loud sound, loudest i ever heard. Why. Seriously. I had been there 3 times before and the volume had been so quiet, like 70db or less, I brought earplugs, but didn't need them. This time they cranked it part way through, and then on top of that, one of the performers triggered this rediculously loud sound. There were only 2 other people on the dancefloor, and i had just walked down the stairs to join them, and I was closest to the speaker when this sound went off, my one ear closest to the speaker is much more severely affected, so I don't even know if they were affected.

I can't escape it, even just going grocery shopping, they play music on crappy speakers on the ceiling, i hear all the horrible resonant sounds over parts of the music...makes me feel horrible, when i see people working outdoors wearing hearing protection, i get this horrible feeling in my stomach.

My personal life is turned upside down, and I have no social life, I was trying hard to get a social life which is why I pushed myself to go to that show, to meet other musicians. This is a nightmare.

I have to hold onto some hope that it will get better, but seriously, it looks grim, even if it got better, what are the chances i could safely go to festivals, make music, and perform again, even with earplugs, I can't enjoy music anymore the way it is now, at any volume, hearing these sounds in/overtop of it is just too depressing. Even when I watch documentaries, or listen to podcasts on youtube, the little jingles or musical interludes, it all just reminds me of this. And worst of all, I've now noticed that some people's voices do have this resonant tone overtop, but luckily speech is so broken up that hearing that ringing on top of words doesn't really bother you so much, compared to hearing it overtop of music.

Bad things happen to people but somehow i feel like this is harder to deal with than say, a random severe illness. Like if I had gotten struck by lightning, and lost my hearing, AND my ability to walk or something, that would be "worse" objectively, but it would be way easier to deal with psychologically, if you know what i mean?

 

[JasonP]

6 months in, despite avoiding all loud sounds, despite avoiding most things in general, tinnitus has not improved, hyperacusis has set in, and worst of all, I still have reactive tinnitus, and do not hear sounds properly in certain frequency ranges. For instance, on a television program I can hear the people talking, then when there is a string arrangement in the background, i mainly just hear modulated sine waves, instead of the actual strings. Refrigerators, showers, everything produces a high pitched tone in addition to it's sound (I'm sure this is my hearing, while many things in life naturally produce a high pitched frequency (like old tvs) this sound is very different, and others do not hear it at all, and it wasnt there before, and there seem to be about a few different tones that things will trigger in my ears, its hard to explain.

This happened literally the only single time I ever went to a show without earplugs, and of all things, 20 seconds after i stood close to a speaker, someone triggered a rediculously loud sound, loudest i ever heard. Why. Seriously. I had been there 3 times before and the volume had been so quiet, like 70db or less, I brought earplugs, but didn't need them. This time they cranked it part way through, and then on top of that, one of the performers triggered this rediculously loud sound. There were only 2 other people on the dancefloor, and i had just walked down the stairs to join them, and I was closest to the speaker when this sound went off, my one ear closest to the speaker is much more severely affected, so I don't even know if they were affected.

I can't escape it, even just going grocery shopping, they play music on crappy speakers on the ceiling, i hear all the horrible resonant sounds over parts of the music...makes me feel horrible, when i see people working outdoors wearing hearing protection, i get this horrible feeling in my stomach.

My personal life is turned upside down, and I have no social life, I was trying hard to get a social life which is why I pushed myself to go to that show, to meet other musicians. This is a nightmare.

I have to hold onto some hope that it will get better, but seriously, it looks grim, even if it got better, what are the chances i could safely go to festivals, make music, and perform again, even with earplugs, I can't enjoy music anymore the way it is now, at any volume, hearing these sounds in/overtop of it is just too depressing. Even when I watch documentaries, or listen to podcasts on youtube, the little jingles or musical interludes, it all just reminds me of this. And worst of all, I've now noticed that some people's voices do have this resonant tone overtop, but luckily speech is so broken up that hearing that ringing on top of words doesn't really bother you so much, compared to hearing it overtop of music.

Bad things happen to people but somehow i feel like this is harder to deal with than say, a random severe illness. Like if I had gotten struck by lightning, and lost my hearing, AND my ability to walk or something, that would be "worse" objectively, but it would be way easier to deal with psychologically, if you know what i mean?

I am not sure if it will go away or not but I wonder if there is something that can be done now so you won't hear those resonant sounds. My thought is that you could get a custom mold to block your ear and have it attached to a frequency lowering hearing aid. I don't know if that would work but maybe you could call a hearing aid specialist that really knows what he is doing and ask him about it.

https://www.phonakpro.com/content/d...g_hearing_aids_New_techniques_for_fitting.pdf

I don't know if this is a real solution but it is all I could think of.

 

[Jkph75]

I know what you mean. No one ever thinks something like this is going to happen. I had no idea that tinnitus could be like this. It's been 6 months for me too. I have no idea if it will go away. I don't think anyone could know with any certainty one way or the other. I have weird things happen with other sounds too at times. It is not like what you describe but my own tinnitus weirdness. What does your audiogram look like? That might give you a clue to how much damage is done. Either way you shouldn't stop doing anything. There is a musician named Ryan Adams(I believe) He has Meniere's and as a result horrendous tinnitus. You should look him up. He still plays music and talks about how he does that with this terrible noise in his head. We can't live our lives consumed with what will happen in the future. That isn't really living. It could go away or something even worse could happen in the future. No one knows. I think it would be better to think about how you can make things better right now. You can experiment with different things to see if it will help your tinnitus and in the meantime think about what you can do to enjoy the present moment.

 

[Lorac]

@SilverSpiral ,
I have no hearing in my left ear and yet, I feel and hear feedback in that ear! I react to television, music, traffic, my own voice.....all sounds, big and small. I was a musician too, so I understand how hard this is for you. I used to waste time wishing that I had lost my leg instead of my ear because then, I could still play music. The combo of hearing loss and tinnitus prevents me from playing in a group any longer. I think I could get by with just one ear if the deaf ear wasn't always making so much noise! I played the oboe, a beautiful and expressive sound. I keep telling myself that I will someday play again in the privacy of my own quiet home. It's a difficult instrument to learn and I don't want to forget how to play. I just don't want to deal with the feedback and discomfort while I play.
Regarding my social life, it is modified but not gone. I have learned to accept the fact that my hearing comes with feedback and discomfort. I spend the bulk of my time in my quiet, rural home with no t.v. or music going because that is just easier, but I also socialize enough to feel alive. I do better with outside events, so festivals are okay. I go to stores, restaurants, small gatherings, etc. People are kind enough to invite me and to help me so why not? If it gets too intense, I plug my good ear.
Medically speaking, there's not much help. I tested for a hearing aid but that just increased the tinnitus. Have you talked with a therapist? My only real help came from a Positive Behavioral Therapist. CBT is recommended by many. At six months, I was still freaking out about my situation. Hang in there.

 

[erniej]

I have been following tinnitus research like the ones sponsored by the American Tinnitus Association and The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital since 1991. They ALL promise that the findings MAY help FUTURE treatments. And then they ask for more MONEY. And all the early studies were looking in the inner ear and now they are looking in the brain. I'm afraid where they will be looking next...


They are nothing but grown kids having fun. When the research grant money runs out everything comes to a grinding halt. And you can't blame them. There's no profit in it. To take it any further, like in the USA, it would take massive amounts of money to get FDA approval for any treatments. Even with FDA approval the money they would have to charge would be prohibitive for those seeking tinnitus treatment because most insurance companies would claim that the treatments were experimental and not cover them. It's like when the drug companies come out with a new pill. They have to charge a lot for the new medication because of the millions of dollars it costs to get FDA approval. Then in seven years when the patent runs out and other drug companies can produce a generic version the price drops.

Google "Mass eye and ear tinnitus research," and then go to their website. You will see some doctors with silly grins just above a dark box that says, "Please donate today."

It's all about the money honey.