Anyone Experiencing Changing Reactivity & Distortions?

Hey guys,

So over the last 2 months, I’ve started to get quiet low-level overtones or distortions. It doesn’t sound too odd at first, however strangely it is short lived and alternating. It’s always a different frequency and ear each time it occurs. Only one overtone at a time and each can last for 1-10 days. I have no significant tinnitus tones yet besides a bass hum. So it’s hard to call it reactivity. They appear kinda like beeps over quiet sound. Mild distortions have also occurred hidden in sound when people talk loud. They are so quiet that it almost feels like I’m simply fixating on a frequency. But they’re there as it’s one-sided. I still hear clearly ontop.

Anyone have this? I have no idea what it means.

I have mild hyperacusis.

I’ve never had this before even once in 20 years and then suddenly 5-6 different tones experienced over these past couple of months. For this reason, the sudden change almost feels like it’s from the auditory system/brain and not individual ears?

Thankfully I’ve been able to take this well so far because they have always gone away until now, seemingly never repeating. Fingers crossed.

Guess I’m wondering what can bring this on, is it related to hyperacusis?

 

@Benjaminbb, I relate to what you have said.

In the last few weeks I have started to get those beeps you mentioned. I have had tinnitus for many years but only recently got the sound distortions. My beeps have ranged from very quiet to quite loud, the loud ones are sort of like the sound a truck makes when it reverses.

I wonder the same as you what caused this. I have not had this in the past and I wonder why now!

 

Yep, I also have had the same kind of overtones/reactivity (except that it lasts more than 10 days, is bilateral, and is quite loud) recently.

Most likely related to hyperacusis, yes.

 

They come and go?

 

Sorry to hear! It would be quite disruptive if they were loud. Do they change pitches? Come and go? Are they the same as your tinnitus tones?

 

It's a similar pitch but different volume. Different to my usual tinnitus tones.

Right now it's quite soft, but it seems to change constantly, I never know what the next hour will bring!

 

@Benjaminbb, did your hum ever stop? I've seen a lot of people here whose hum has gone away.

 

I am still experiencing high pitched distortions and admittedly it drives me insane at times.

The interesting part is that it often fluctuates and goes down a lot but always seems to come back.

Not sure if this is hyperacusis or not but it mainly involves the left side.

The important part is it started a few days after the Pfizer booster. But I can never be certain it was that because I had tinnitus/distortion troubles back in 2020 and through 2021, before I got the booster.

I still am at a loss as to what has happened here? Noise exposure, something idiopathic? Ménière's?

I can't put a finger on it. Someone told me it was some kind of recruitment and another told me it was diplacusis or hyperacusis since many high pitched sounds have a "ting" the second they stop.

Bizarre, right?

 

I also have these high-pitched distortions and it’s driving me nuts. It’s combined with a sort of cramped feeling right ear.

 

On and off really. Significant periods of time. Mine is irritated by music - which is my job. If I don’t work on music much, when the hum is on a down day, it stays away.

 

Yeah I’m with you and have heard the same regarding it being a mixture of things.

Mine have mostly gone but I’m not sure what causes it at such low levels. I hadn’t ever heard of general hearing loss causing it like this. I know old people in music with bad hearing who have never had it.

I’ve had a distortion in one ear forever when things get loud, like a broken speaker. Many friends have that too. But hearing it in low volume in all complex sound is weird. It’s like tinnitus that only exists in noise and is gone in silence. At least it’s easy to stop!

 

I've had tinnitus for a long time. It will seemingly go up, change frequency, etc of its own accord. I gave up trying to figure it out. The facts are: I have tinnitus, and it changes. That's it. It used to worry me when it would go up and stay up, but it has always gone back down at some point.

Avoiding loud noises (and absolute quiet) are common sense things I can do to have some control over it.

 

When my tinnitus flares, it’s mainly the intensity or force of the sound that is difficult to ignore. A relentless drive of sound but luckily the volume is not high. Not being a musician and terrible with physics, I still have trouble understanding concepts such frequency, pitch – but is there a technical name for the strength of the sound?

There is always a mix of different sounds / frequencies in the tinnitus. I can't tell if some are new - returned - which direction they come in...

I’ve found a selection of sound videos on YouTube and meditations reduces this strength of sound / intensity but it is an on-going job. It is great when my strategies can soften the tinnitus when it has become a relentless wall of sound.

 

I think it's just volume what you're saying about the intensity of sound and that is measured in decibels, but as you may know already, it's hard to determine that with tinnitus. We perceive different frequencies in a different way and intensity. For example, a mid frequency of 1000 Hertz is a lot less piercing than a much higher frequency of 6000 Hertz, even if they are the same volume.

Frequency is essentially the same as pitch, but pitch is a more general term and it indicates a musical pitch/note. Imagine frequencies like 20.000 single lines put together next to one another, each of them having a specific Hertz number (from 1 Hz to 20.000 Hz).

I have that too with a high pitched cicadas/automated watering/air exhaust sound. When it flares up, it kind off fills the whole head and I can notice it through a lot of masking sounds, even though when I go to a quiet room, it is very TINY in volume. But most sounds are not very high pitched, so it doesn't get covered up easily.

 

@Mike Francis - I could have written this myself. The sound isn't loud but the intensity is the problem.

Almost feels like ultrasound in a way.

And yes, I completely understand that wall of sound feeling.

I'm finding deep diaphragm breathing can soften it but only very temporarily.

Which YouTube videos have helped?

 

Thanks for this - I don't have much luck trying to understand sound as a concept but the way you have explained this will be a good reminder.

 

Much of what you've both described here I can attest to in my own personal experience with 30+ years of tinnitus/hyperacusis that significantly worsened about 4 years ago.

The variability of pitch, intensity and also the penetrative nature of my tinnitus coupled with hearing sensitivity makes this variety extremely challenging to deal with although not impossible. Dynamic tinnitus requires a dynamic approach.

My saviour in all of this has been the website myNoise.net. I've been able to play around with various sounds, and also mix up sounds when needed. Much of these masks I use for sleeping although sometimes I'll fall back on them during the day too if I'm on down-time indoors. The sounds I use tend to be in the 8 kHz range so, pretty high-pitched.

myNoise.net has settings on there called 'summer night', and 'ultimate white noise player' that I can tweak and use to manage the environment I'm in. It's not perfect but at least I am able to get reasonably good sleep, which is so important.

One strange thing I've noticed, is that if I'm having a particularly 'hyperacusey' type of day then a setting like 'summer night', which is relatively dynamic in nature will actually aggravate it. Quite by accident one evening I selected 'ultimate white noise player' instead, and to my surprise the constant quality of this sound actually had the effect of mitigating the horrible reactivity, which was a blessing.

The volume of both the tinnitus and the masking often seems so loud at night. But then the following day the masking sound seems pretty low in volume on the speakers. I suppose there is something to this notion of volume and hypervigilance.

 

Thanks for your reply. The intensity of the tinnitus creates no pressure for me. I don’t get headache often. When the tinnitus is loud and intense, my internal self-talk needs to get louder and potentially erratic (stressed!) to drown the tinnitus raging. This can be especially true after a stressful work shift. I can wake up after a short sleep and only be aware of the tinnitus, not my body. It is a difficult process to become body aware from this state especially in winter when the temperatures are low.

There are a variety of YouTube tracks I use depending on a variety of factors. There are so many videos - meditations, bowls, sound therapy available, it is just really a case of using what works and sticking with it until it doesn’t work anymore. I have tried a couple of times using apps you programme frequencies to your tinnitus, but I got bored. On a practical level what works is the device and process that is most accessible in the middle of the night (i.e. not too much technical stuff to potentially create annoyance).

The ideal track is one where the sounds seem to work in well with the tinnitus; when in a restful state I am unsure which are the internal / external sounds. Because the tinnitus is on the left side, using sound from the right ear is best. In a deep meditative state, almost always the tracks that engage are the ones which switch off the analytical self from consciously classifying the process. I’ll see if I can find an example of this and post it. I agree with @DimLeb that what sounds very loud at night is a very low volume when played during the day.

My flat is usually very quiet so none of the sound therapy is competing with other sounds. I have these on low and it seems to allow the tinnitus sounds to soften and it makes it easier later to do silent mediation.

Tracks regularly used

• 60 Hz Hyper Gamma Binaural Beats - A dynamic one played on a low volume to keep me moving/thinking. I currently use this track during the day while working in my office / studio. It is upbeat while still allowing me to tune into the tinnitus without annoyance.

• Other times, high, very high pitch seems to work in well with the tinnitus sounds but I’m unsure how the tinnitus responds. If I am using very low doses of medicinal cannabis, then it might result in me using the sound and movement; responding to my body’s needs to get rid of pain by doing some yoga positions.

• Art of Zen Neuromodulation - A very high frequency.

• Tinnitus Zapper 13kHz - Played low when there is a lot of internal noise / self chat

• Pink noise

I try not to think too much about what to listen to but go with the first choice that pops in. But I’m a planner so having sound on means it’s me time and there’s permission to feel well.

 

I have these fluctuating distortions and reactivity. I have had some better times with them but slowly these have gotten wors in the long run. Usually these types of setbacks have also been connected with a worsening of my hyperacusis. I hear mostly metallic zing type of distortions/reactive sounds on top of masking sounds.

It sucks because I can't escape my tinnitus because of these metallic zings and distortions reminding me of my tinnitus even when masking it. It would be significantly easier to deal with tinnitus without distortions and reactivity.

 

How are you doing now? I am also struggling with distortions/reactivity. Beeps and rattling sounds over everything that get louder with external noise.

 

Constantly. In both ears, every second of every day. It’s taken everything from me.

 

How do you guys perceive your distortions? Do you hear the distortions inside your head/ears? Or do you perceive them as coming directly from the sound source?

 

From my ears. Each ear is different.

 

It feels like the lower pitched beeping Morse code is constant and comes from my right ear. It can respond to certain pitches and get louder, then go down slightly when the sound ceases, but never fully away. The second one is more confusing - it’s usually in my right ear but can switch to the left. It’s a higher pitched beep that’s almost closer to a rattle. It responds more than the other tone. Running water sounds bizarre - like it’s covered in high pitched rattles. Turning the water off makes it decrease, but not fully. The beeps are still there even when it’s quiet. My baseline bilateral ringing doesn’t react or change.

 

How long has all this been going on @Soysauce? Did you previously have monotonal type tinnitus? Was there some sort of acoustic shock that started the distortions/reactivity?

 

Does anyone experience worsening of the sound distortions after overprotecting? I hear crickets, birds chirping, and sometimes intermittent beeps over white noise-like sounds. I feel like these distortions become more conspicuous after wearing earmuffs for a few hours.

Anyone else?

 

Hard to tell but mine started when I was on tour and wore noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs inbetween every show - so it was either the shows (I played fully plugged) or the constant protection that sent things over the edge for me.