8 Years of Habituation, Now Starting All Over Again — Reactive Tinnitus

Hey friends, I'm in the most depressive mood that I have been in a long time. For the last week my tinnitus has been reactive which I never had when I first got it all those years ago. No matter where I go to try and mask it, it seems to always turn up the volume, I can hear it when I'm watching tv, playing games, going outside to the store, at work, etc.

I'm just hoping that this is just a tinnitus spike and that I'm real sensitive to my tinnitus. Has anyone had this type of tinnitus before? Need some support

 

Hi @doodlz.

I don't know what originally caused your tinnitus. Once this is known it usually gives an indication for the increase in severity you are experiencing. Therefore my advice is based on personal experience and corresponding with people that have habituated for over a year then noticed the tinnitus has increased.

From what you describe it seems your tinnitus was originally noise induced. If this is correct, the most common reason for an increase, after a long habituation period is almost always the result of being exposed to further loud noise, or using headphones even at low volume.

Noise induced tinnitus will usually remain stable for many years after habituation has been reached. However, if a person is subjected to further loud noise or uses headphones, earbuds or headsets even at low volumes, they risk the tinnitus increasing. A person with this type of tinnitus might be using headphones and notice the tinnitus is not being affected but this is no guarantee as the tinnitus can change at any time.

Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful. If you have been using any type of headphones, my advice is not to use them again even at low volume. Go to my started threads and read the following posts: The Habituation Process, How to Habituate to Tinnitus, Tinnitus, a Personal View.

I wish you well and hope you start to feel better soon.

Michael

Will My Tinnitus Get Worse? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Thanks Michael for the links, and yeah I have been wearing headphones for quite some time. I'm definitely at a better start than I was when I first got tinnitus all those years ago, but this new tinnitus is still distressing in the sense that just simply listening to my phone I heard it go up; it's like it should mask it, instead it does the opposite.

 

Yeah, another update.

When I woke up, my tinnitus was all quiet which was good.

I now started playing water sounds on my phone which caused my ear to start crackle and now it's full blown whistling just from listening to the water sounds.

I'm really depressed by all this. How long does this reactive type of tinnitus last?

 

Who knows... I’m going on close to a year with reactivity and have had no improvement. I’ve partially got used to the up and down of noises caused by certain frequencies.

 

Does the whistling/reaction go down immediately when the sound has ceased, or do you experience "spikes" that lingers for minutes or hours after?

 

Hopefully the tinnitus will calm down in time @doodlz. It is important that you don't use headphones again even at low volume. I don't advise playing a phone next to your ears. Use a sound machine by your bedside at night keeping the volume lower than the tinnitus. During the day you can use a sound machine or other device for providing low level sound enrichment.

Michael

 

Bit of both. Depends on the type of day. Sometimes it goes back to baseline once I'm in a quiet room, and other times if I have had a long work day it would linger.

 

I'm in a real dark place right now, trying to habituate to this loud hiss. Got my hearing test done. Have between 6 kHz-8 kHz mild hearing loss in my left ear.

I also got a 2-week course of 50 mg prednisone with taper which I asked my doctor for.

I'm scared if it can increase my tinnitus, making it harder to cope with. I've seen some people's tinnitus get worse from Prednisone.

How long does it take to habituate to reactive tinnitus?

 

Wish I could tell ya. I’m just getting started with mine about five weeks ago and I’m nearly ready to throw in the towel. Mine is an intermittent 15 kHz electrical zing sound that comes with pain. It reacts to most sounds but ESPECIALLY white noise type sounds. Silence is hell. Sounds are hell. I have no escape.

I hope the Prednisone works for you. I asked my doctor for some but she refused. If I’m ever able to find a sound enrichment or, when desperate enough, sound masking that doesn’t make it worse I’ll let you know. Everything I’ve found makes it instantly worse while it plays and often spikes for the rest of the day. Hang in there and I’ll try to do the same.

 

I think a tinnitus of stable loudness would be easier to habituate to. When it varies it does have a tendency to grab your attention which is the opposite of habituation. And, at some level of loudness, it is likely to be difficult to tune out. I've had tinnitus for decades. It always reacts to noise by getting louder but doesn't follow noise levels minute by minute. More of a delayed reaction, and once elevated, takes quite some time to return to typical levels, like hours, days and sometimes never. In spite of that, I do cope with it quite well, so I know it is possible. In a noisy office environment, I might not notice it unless I focus on it. In a quieter environment it is front, center and loud. But, I can still focus, concentrate and carry on. Perhaps this is because when my tinnitus started it was accompanied by pronounced hyperacusis. Almost all sounds were uncomfortably loud and that is what grabbed my attention. You might say the hyperacusis caused me to rapidly habituate to the tinnitus. Still, I wish it would just go away. But it is the hyperacusis I continue to struggle with and that really impacts my life.

So, a bit of a ramble, but indeed you can habituate to a lot, but a continuously variable tinnitus will be more difficult. I suggest working with an audiologist that has a lot of experience with tinnitus, and not one that just recommends maskers. Though some people have found maskers to be helpful, that will not help to get to the point where the sound just doesn't bother you which should be your goal. If you get to that point, then it is possible that the tinnitus could decrease in volume over time, as long as you avoid questionable noise exposures.

 

@nogg, I am not sure if I am interpreting this correctly, but are you saying you’ve had hyperacusis for decades?

 

Yes, since 1984. I saw several ear doctors back then. They either didn't know anything or told me there was nothing to be done and just wear earplugs. So that's what I did for 37 years, just got along as best as I could but it was always a problem. Only recently have I started to look into the issue again.

 

Okay, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t putting words into your mouth.

Have you experienced any prolonged period of time where the hyperacusis has gone into remission? What has helped relieve the symptoms, if anything at all?

In what situations do you wear earplugs?

I am sorry that you have had this for so long, I couldn’t imagine being struck with this condition in the age before the internet and this forum...

 

It has never gone into remission as in just gone. But there were periods where it wasn't as bad as at other times. That was the result of years of being careful to avoid traumatic noise exposure. Exposure to impact noises would cause the hyperacusis to worsen, usually for many years at a time. Then I might slowly have some improvement that would allow me to do more things. So, avoiding impact noises is crucial, especially if they were of a continuous nature. That might be like working around a jack hammer (never did that), using a power washer (they used to be much louder), getting a haircut where the barber used electric clippers around my ears, or even ENT doctor tests where a series of clicks are used with headphones to check for a tumor (which is stupid if the condition was clearly from a noise trauma.) It is not easy to live in modern life and avoid many things like that, especially over decades. You must just do the best you can.

My hyperacusis got significantly worse again about 4 years ago from noise exposure. I have always had to use earplugs while in a car, and for the past few years I've had to add ANC headphones if I drive a highway speeds for very long. I am now using earplugs when going to stores because of random noises, like the clanging of shopping carts or the normal activities of staff. And, of course, any time I use power equipment, like an electric lawnmower or kitchen equipment. I have been using earplugs recently when in the shower or using earmuffs when in the kitchen doing normal things, though I am now trying to avoid those uses.

When at times I think about all the things in life I've missed out on, I can feel a bit sad, but I don't dwell on it, and I have had many good life experiences too, and hope to have more, though it is getting more difficult with the recent exacerbation. I certainly don't feel sorry for myself or depressed. I just continue to live my life as it is.

 

After more than one year of reactive tinnitus, I can say it went down a little but the moment I do something a little stupid, like listen to music louder than a whisper or spend a little more time on the phone, the reactivity is back with a vengeance. I've learned to live with my tinnitus noises but reactive tinnitus is quite another kettle of fish. Try to protect your ears as much as possible. I'm sure things will get a better with time, since there are quite a few people around here whose reactivity has improved. Try not to despair and give your meds a chance to work, you got them quick enough to hopefully make a difference!

 

Did the Prednisone help?

 

Any updates here?