Anyone Endured a Second Worsening and Come Out the Other End?

Is there anyone out there who has had Tinnitus for some time and then had it get a lot worse, permanently. Maybe through a secondary noise exposure some years later. Who have then come to terms with the worsened sound and louder noise?

I'm looking for stories of hope and information on how to cope.

 

@Louise im actually in the same position. But I do know members we have had on here who have gotten better after spikes. I don't know how active they are on tt at this point.

 

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/mega-tinnitus.3782/#post-35268

@I who love music came out on the other end of that! Dude is a champion.

 

Thanks @cullenbohannon.

Mine is not a spike though, it's a permanent worsening. Sorry, I should have made that clear, I'll amend the original post.

 

Can you mask it? What made it worse?

 

What made it worse was dental work 4.5 months ago - but it then was at least the same sound but louder and I still could cope. Then there was a really inadvertent night out where I neglected earplugs in a few pubs which were not too rowdy but which I've never exposed myself to without earplugs. But I didn't have earplugs in. It went mental after that. It came on in my other 'good ear' after that and changed completely.

It's not do-able now.

 

Extremely mild T somewhere in 2015, barely audible at night, didnt care.

Way louder in april 2016, I then made the link to ototoxic medication. It bothered me as I could hear it most of the time but it was 1 tone so not too intrusive. I stopped taking the meds.

Severe worsening in december 16, day before I created this account. It was my fault, didnt protect my ears at all as my T was not noise induced so didnt really know the danger of noise. T got very loud, hear it every moment of the day, multiple tones fluctuating. I was seriously depressed for a month but I am on my way now to get used to it. I think u will get used to yours, give it some time and protect your ears well from now on. Also my T is less reactive then in December, maybe you will also see some improvement over the next weeks and months.

I completely banned pubs, bars from my life for now even with ear plugs. I also carry ear plugs with me all day in case I somehow end up in a noisy place.

 

Thanks @Rubenslash.

I never do bars etc even with earplugs, this was a complete accident.

The noise is so different now - many more tones and swishing and swirling, up and down. So intrusive and attention-seeking.

I have gone back on Pregabalin for the anxiety as it was too terrible. It knocked the noise down by 50% for the first 2 nights but tonight it hasn't yet. But then I've had some wine which makes the noise worse.

Hopefully I will come to terms - it's good to hear about other people who have.

 

What happened in December if you don't mind me asking?

 

Bar without earplugs for about two hours. Also in the months before that massive permanent spike I went to similar places but never had even a short spike.

I wish I was more anxious, then I'd read this forum with my lower T and it would have never happened. So yes, its true that even people with pretty loud T are unaware of noise danger, I was one of them!

 

Louise...I love that name btw which is my sister's name and I also have an English name being from America. Consider that your mental state maybe contributing to your intolerance of your tinnitus independent of your volume level. I know I write this a lot but I happen to believe its true with most posters that struggle with their tinnitus. Tinnitus invariably goes up and down and yet a loudish noise can spike it. It can last longer than anybody wants or not but your ability to tolerate variation in your tinnitus starts with your mental health which can be severely impacted by tinnitus. So consider perhaps experimenting a bit more with AD meds to get to a happier place. Your current med and/or dosage maybe ineffective. Confer with glynis as what meds she may suggest or perform a forum search. You may need a little medical intervention to put your mind in a better place to cope with the variation in your tinnitus. Hyper focus on tinnitus's ups and downs as they relate to noise levels in the environment is a dirty little game wrought by anxiety and depression. Address your mental state and perhaps your tolerance of your tinnitus will improve, perhaps vastly.

Good luck.

 

Thanks @stophiss but my mental state was perfectly fine before the Tinnitus doubled after that night out on 14th Jan this year. It's the noise which is the problem. Obviously the noise and fear cause mental problems but it's very definitely that way around.

I'm well versed with the meds, having suffered this b*stard for nearly 5 years. I got off all of the meds and now have had to return to them, with all the side-effects and liver-destroying potential they have.

I really wanted to hear about someone else's personal struggle with a severe, permanent worsening, and who have come out the other side. I'm not talking a little fluctuation here, I'm talking about a doubling of the volume, a total change in the noise and the noise appearing full-on in a previously less than mild ear.

It's that nature of increase I've sustained.

 

Hello,

T for 12 years, then a huge permanent worsening one year ago.

From one mild tone in one ear, I went to several loud tones in both ears. All the tones are constantly changing, it's a real Concerto in there.

+ hearing loss + H.

I'm not ok with it yet. For the first time in one year I had a good time last week. It was still loud but one morning I told myself : "Wooh, if it could stay that way it would be quite ok".

Unfortunately, two days ago I had to have a huge dental work (and it's not over, more to come) ! So it's hell again.

Sorry, I'm not ok with my new symptoms so I don't really give you a useful answer.

I just feel like everything is possible with T. It can drive you crazy for one year and then, for no reason, decide to calm down a bit and give you hope again.

Hearing loss and H are another story...

 

@Louise
My tinnitus got considerably worse in 2008 Louise due to noise exposure. If you click on my Avatar and choose "started threads" my post: My experience with tinnitus explains it all. You might find my article in the list helpful: Tinnitus, A Personal View.
Michael

 

@Louise, my tinnitus changed dramatically from mild to where it is today on July 13th 2015. I believe the cause was a very loud gig (in a small bar, all brick surfaces) I attended 3 days prior.

 

@derpytia is on her third increase of 12 tones I think. Beat that.

 

I'll weigh in with my experience.

I developed tinnitus in July 2014, habituated after 4-5 months and it was no longer a problem for me.

Fast forward to April 2016 and after a particularly loud weekend including a live concert with no ear protection, my tinnitus was greatly exacerbated and the following 2-3 months were an ordeal to say the least.

All I can say is that i'm not entirely sure if the tinnitus has gone down in volume or I've just managed to habituate a second time, however the tinnitus no longer intrusively affects my life.

So it's certainly possible it can calm down or you will adjust to the worsening of the condition...

 

Mild Tinnitus for three years(2011-2014)

Then an unexpected worsening came in January, ear suction increased my T in my right ear heavily and as I was at home recovering a high pitched noise burst out of my tv giving me louder T and now H.

Luckily after two years of hard work my T dropped back to its original levels and my H reduced dramatically.
Then I meet a girl and we begin dating, just a normal life together and anywhere loud we went I always wore my Alpine musicians earplugs.

In February my T and H increased out of nowhere, freaked out is an understatement! After a month my T calmed down again when I was suddenly exposed to a loud noise which worsened me severely!

Then in December I had to have dental work and I worsened again, then an audiogram two months later worsened me even further!

I'm now crippled, that's four worsenings in one year!

I'm just praying things settle down, I can't handle it at this point. Just seems I do everything wrong.

 

That's what I assumed. I was hoping mine was a temporary spike. But I've had an increase as well unfortunately. @Louise

 

I had quadruple increase at the very least. I've been working for 2 years now and feeling somewhat ok but i'm taking mood stabilizing drug daily and that's the only way i can relax and take a break. Personality changes as well have been severe and don't think I will be ever the same. This sh*t leaves some deep scars.

 

Oh, damn. I have mild T and I actually planned to reintroduce pubs into my life at some point*

Was it loud? Live music playing or something? Do you have some advice for someone like me? Is it "don't go"?


EDIT:

* I mean, in a few months time maybe, not anytime soon

 

Even when I had mild T I didn't go to loud bars if there was music playing or not! I would walk in and if it was loud I was just leave.

My best advice is this, if you walk into a pub use your ears and what I mean by that is this.

If it sounds too loud then it is too loud, turn around and walk away and pat yourself on the shoulder for doing so.
If you walk into a pub and you can have a conversation without raising your voice higher then you would whilst driving then stay, no way that's going to damage your hearing. I did this for three years and never had an issue once as a result, I went with the better be sure then be sorry mentality and it worked perfectly.

Also don't go into a loud bar with earplugs and think your safe, you never know that until it's already too late which is why I never used earplugs when socialising, I felt they gave me over-confidence and as such would lead me to stay in louder environments simply because I'm"protected"

 

Started with Pulsatile tinnitus. It cleared off after 8 months. Then 6 months later tonal T started in left ear. 4 months later loud humming and tonal T started in right ear. So it is progressively getting worse. However I now sleep without meds, go out socialising, work normally. It can be done. Right now I am bathed in a loud humming sound with two variable high pitched tones in both ears. Depressing but you just get on with life and wait for the occasional good times

 

Thank you bill

 

I still go to pubs bout would be vary wary of going to ones playing loud music or if a band was playing.

 

Same Sam. I still go, but I'm completely aware of noise nowadays; before it didn't matter how loud a gig was. I use earplugs when it's loud, if it goes beyond my comfort level I'll leave, it's as simple as that.

 

@Louise , I had mild tinnitus for 16 or so years that never spiked even after going to many concerts, etc without ear plugs and became so quiet I had to plug my ears to hear it. Over last summer, out of nowhere, my tinnitus jumped to a level where I can hear it throughout the majority of the day. I went into a depressive hell, but my mind grew bored with being afraid of the new tinnitus. The fear left, my life came back, and I'm a-ok today. I take care of my hearing now, as well.

 

I am thinking about going to a gig towards the end of the year , i was fine before just with alpine plugs for about 5-6 gigs. The only reason i stopped going was because i came on here and the stories scared me.

 

If you go again get custom ones wit the highest reduction level. Alpine doesn't protect that much

 

Yeah i will for sure, i was only using the minimum filter on those alpines anyway. Maybe a bit foolish but back then i didnt know tinnitus could get worse and luckily it didn't. If i didn't come here and read the horror stories i would of kept going with them, who knows what i could of been like now.