Avoid Silence or Seek Silence?

I once read the expert advice to avoid silence.

Many tinnitus sufferers use a background noise to distract themselves.

This doesn't work for me at all, and any continuous noise, even rather quiet noises (fan) seem to spur on the hiss in my ear.

What are your experiences?

 

I have my radio low on whenever im home but sometimes prefer silence.

 

There is the widely-spread theory around these circles that the ears benefit from acoustic enrichment. But I don't buy it. Exposing the ears to frequent or constant sound just seems like an energy drain and irritant to me. I think the very idea is ludicrous. It would be like suggesting that the eyes need constant light enrichment to be healthy and then recommending that people keep the lights on all night while sleeping. The ears, like all organs, need rest. Particularly ones that have suffered damage.

 

I think its a double edged sword. At first i needed masking and still do, but now my T is better i prefer to sleep in as much silence as i can get and choose to zone out or tune out my Tinnitus instead, then off i go to sleep. When i try masking it to sleep it can help but only if it covers it completely otherwise i just notice the beep in my pillow ear more. Im learning to zone it out which is habituation but its only possible because it has dimmed into my head and/or my brain has decided enough is enough.

 

Before my spike I would make an effort to keep my house silent because noises just made my tinnitus louder. Now it doesn't matter, I hear it with noise on or off so what the hell. In anxiety mode so I have been masking but again I still hear tinnitus so seems dumb to me.

 

This thread has a very good question.

I am in an awkward situation.
Due to T & H, my tinnitus is easily spiked by the SOUND.
But, on the other hand, experts here suggest us exposing our ears
to the SOUND to avoid ears sensitivity.

 

I'm someone who likes quiet naturally, I hate excess in everything and believe in balance in everything. Too quiet is not good, too loud is not good. Just right is best. My ears like loud noises sometimes, by loud I mean the sound of cars passing by, or having a few people scream in the hallway. If life was too quiet my ears get very annoyed.

 

Certain sounds, particularly in the beginning, seemed to worsen my tinnitus.

I know it isn't recommended, but I don't mask all that much these days. I can sit for hours and read, hear my tinnitus (or not hear my tinnitus) and be quite ok with it. But it took me a long time to get to this point. I have my good and not so good days with it, but overall, I am a long way from where I started.

I think the reactive component of your tinnitus is related to the presence of hyperacusis. Since I've received stem cells last year, that reactivity has improved, so that when I do listen to other noises, my tinnitus doesn't react like it used to.

 

That is an intersting question. When i first came to this forum and i read everywhere that you should always mask.However my T is relatively quiet so i can sleep without masking (although i have to say it is kind of relaxing having nature sounds in the background). I see no difference in my T if i mask or not, so maybe i‘ll just put a timer on it for 30-60 mins.

But like @TuneOut said,

 

T is so different for everyone, I have yet to meet someone who's T is like mine, my ears love noise and when i first had T...the more noise i expose my T to the happier my ears were...I'm not saying loud sounds but medium sounds like traffic and restaurants. Sometimes the best way for me to temper the roar in my ears is to go outside and let the daily noises lower my pitch. A few years later and my T has pretty much gone down to nothing, I think i over shelter my ears a bit too much...and expose them just for a few minutes a day to certain noises and it has helped a lot.

This is just my opinion and like i said, not everyone's t is like mine, so please don't do this if you're new to T!!!

 

@Tinniger
I have similar experience.
I think I'm realising my T is spurred on by similar frequencies to it. So my masking at night with crickets may be effectively worsening mine and waking me more in the night
John

 

It really depends on the person and at what stage they are at with their tinnitus/coping. Also it can depend on how severe their tinnitus is. Most of the time I prefer silence and I do not need extra noises. I'd be a unique case though, because I do not dwell on the noise and don't pay attention to it. For someone that just got tinnitus, silence might make them dwell more on the noise and listen more for it.

 

Try ACRN, it most probably won’t intensify your T like white noise can.

 

I use background noise to mask it. I have to turn the tv up to volume 50 so I can actually watch a movie or something ( I know bad lol). You seem to have reactive tinnitus. So sounds can cause it to spike for a moment. I have this sometimes like when I play a song it goes up.

 

The first year is so much pain, sound can be too hard to do. The other posts should be more clear.
The sound enrichment comes after the healing, not during the trauma.

 

This is a good one. Like many answers it depends on where you are in the T healing process. I never masked but I probed my ears with plenty of sounds (beeps and tones) my T over the first few months. Now I am using acrn through the day and sometimes some synthy youtube songs. But this is not to mask but to retrain the brain.

As to silence, I would be in favor of more of it (if one can stand it), as I would want the brain to be used to regular ol' reality.

I'm not sure what the answer would be for people with H, but subdued volume of real life makes sense to me.

 

My reactivity is my biggest problem and what keeps me home bound. May I ask what type of stem cells you received and how long after onset did you get stem cell therapy and was it IV or local injections?

 

adipose derived
administered intrarticularly and iv
5 years post onset

 

Awesome. Thanks, Deb.

 

any other questions, ask away

 

I am also interested in stem cells for my reactive T. How did you decide on stem cells versus all other treatments?

Are there any negative side effects you had?

I live in the United States though. I’m not sure if stem cells are available for tinnitus here. I’ll do more research.

@DebInAustralia

 

Hi Layla,

I did (intrarticular and IV) stems for severe joint pain May 2017, not specifically for tinnitus or hyperacusis.

The clinic where I received the adipose derived stems, put me in touch with someone who had improved dramatically with regards to h and t (though again, used the stems for to avoid joint replacement).

By the time I had decided upon the stems, I had started to habituate.

I will say that the reactive component of my tinnitus has settled down dramatically. My spikes have backed off dramatically, and one of my noises have disappeared.

No negative side effects as far as my tinnitus or hyperacusis. Just a bit of pre and post op discomfort from the liposuction.

I had an arrhythmia 2 days post procedure, but don't think it was related to the stems.

If you want to know more specifics, I am happy to share Layla.

Speak to lymebite about accessibility of stems in the States.

 

Layla,

Have you considered LDN? (low dose naltrexone)

It is used in chronic pain states, autoimmunity.

There are members on here I believe are either considering it or have taken it. Maybe they can comment further.

@lymebite

 

Interestingly I was asking myself the same question and stumbled upon your post.

My T seems to be intensified by travelling. Car/Train/Airplane they all have a similar low-frequency noise which spikes my high-pitched T.

Listening to white Noise, equalized music or ACRN around my T frequencies generates some residual inhibition most of the times and results in some sort of reduction in the noise.

Lastly, the absolute silence at night intensifies my T. If I wake up in the middle of the night it is generally louder, as it is in the morning.

So I get different results. It looks like both silence and noise spike my T, but the right frequencies lower it.

 

It is normal for people with healthy ears to experience pseudo-tinnitus when placed in noise isolated rooms for a while.

Personally, I take it to mean that it's always healthiest to have moderate, gentle sounds than complete silence or loudness.

 

Hi Deb,
I found a clinic here that does stem cell for joint problems so I will call them and ask about tinnitus.

 

How did you get on Val sourcing the stem cell clinic?

Where is it?

 

Honestly I find this very interesting, I think I screwed myself over by doing the exact opposite. When I got the I started avoiding sounds and noise more and more, now 2 years later, my T is a lot worse and I still avoid noisy situations and even get super anxious when I'm under them, but need some noise otherwise I go insane. I wonder if I exposed myself normally to the world I would get any improvements... I don't think I have the courage to try it tho