Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some advice. I'm now seven months into dealing with reactive tinnitus in one ear. It all started as regular tinnitus from headphone use in that ear. I know how careless that sounds now, but I used to walk around with a single earbud, listening to podcasts and music.
Later, I tried to treat it with earwax removal, as my GP said there was a buildup, but I ended up with an infection. I then started using masking sounds through one earbud, and the tinnitus became reactive. Looking back, all of this feels very unwise.
I've had an MRI since the tinnitus is one-sided, but no issues were found. At night, it can be very quiet, but it ramps up whenever I hear any sound. It seems to ride on top of music and makes watching TV difficult. It can roar while driving. I've had periods where it's been fairly easy to ignore, and other times where it spikes and becomes extremely intrusive, often lasting over a week. These episodes make life very hard to manage.
Masking with high-frequency white noise or neuromodulation sounds seems to help, but I'm unsure if it might be worsening things long term. I use my phone speaker and either Spotify or YouTube for these sounds, which sometimes bring the tinnitus down. Still, I worry that this might be counterproductive for long-term recovery.
I've been using earplugs in loud environments. I have an NHS audiologist appointment next week to discuss tinnitus management because I feel like I'm not making consistent progress. Every spike phase feels like a huge setback. I've also stopped using headphones entirely since this began.
@Michael Leigh, I read your post about reactive tinnitus being a form of hyperacusis, and that makes sense to me. It does feel like sound sensitivity in the affected ear. The other ear is fine. The bad ear often feels full, or as if it is vibrating. The private ENT I saw didn't offer much more insight, other than suggesting tinnitus therapy if I don't improve. That said, I have had periods of improvement, but I always seem to end up back at the beginning.
Does anyone have any advice? Do I need support specifically for hyperacusis? Is using high-frequency noise on my phone a mistake that could be causing long-term harm?
I'm desperate to make progress. I read @Jason C's story, and I relate to a lot of what he described, including how music sounds off and the reactivity. I can only hope for a similar outcome in time.
Thanks for listening,
Graeme
I'm looking for some advice. I'm now seven months into dealing with reactive tinnitus in one ear. It all started as regular tinnitus from headphone use in that ear. I know how careless that sounds now, but I used to walk around with a single earbud, listening to podcasts and music.
Later, I tried to treat it with earwax removal, as my GP said there was a buildup, but I ended up with an infection. I then started using masking sounds through one earbud, and the tinnitus became reactive. Looking back, all of this feels very unwise.
I've had an MRI since the tinnitus is one-sided, but no issues were found. At night, it can be very quiet, but it ramps up whenever I hear any sound. It seems to ride on top of music and makes watching TV difficult. It can roar while driving. I've had periods where it's been fairly easy to ignore, and other times where it spikes and becomes extremely intrusive, often lasting over a week. These episodes make life very hard to manage.
Masking with high-frequency white noise or neuromodulation sounds seems to help, but I'm unsure if it might be worsening things long term. I use my phone speaker and either Spotify or YouTube for these sounds, which sometimes bring the tinnitus down. Still, I worry that this might be counterproductive for long-term recovery.
I've been using earplugs in loud environments. I have an NHS audiologist appointment next week to discuss tinnitus management because I feel like I'm not making consistent progress. Every spike phase feels like a huge setback. I've also stopped using headphones entirely since this began.
@Michael Leigh, I read your post about reactive tinnitus being a form of hyperacusis, and that makes sense to me. It does feel like sound sensitivity in the affected ear. The other ear is fine. The bad ear often feels full, or as if it is vibrating. The private ENT I saw didn't offer much more insight, other than suggesting tinnitus therapy if I don't improve. That said, I have had periods of improvement, but I always seem to end up back at the beginning.
Does anyone have any advice? Do I need support specifically for hyperacusis? Is using high-frequency noise on my phone a mistake that could be causing long-term harm?
I'm desperate to make progress. I read @Jason C's story, and I relate to a lot of what he described, including how music sounds off and the reactivity. I can only hope for a similar outcome in time.
Thanks for listening,
Graeme
