Bad Luck This Week

My tinnitus is severe and very intrusive (noise trauma, an indoor concert) and has multiple tones. A typical week goes (or went) like this: two good days, when t is moderate, two very loud days (my head feels like it will explode) and the rest are somewhere between.

I have been able to work and live a semi normal life, but I just don't know how long. My t is slowly getting worse. I can have 6-9 bad days in a row and couple of ok days. This is so consuming. Ok, my last week was like this:

I was slowly recovering for my latest long spike, which lasted for nine days. I have been using mirtazapine for sleeping on/off for nearly two years (3-4 mg, couple of days a row) and thought that I'll take it for two nights. Can't do any harm. Well, after two ok days, the third was very loud. It started like a good day, but during the day my t spiked like never before. I don't know why, was it mirtazapine or just coincidence? I don't know. The next two days were very loud. My right ear played a morse like sound (quite funny actually, but I didn't laugh). It has done it before, so I didn't worry. That is a sound, not a muscle spasm or something like that.

So I went shopping. Didn't plug my ears when in town because I have tried to avoid using ear plugs all the time. When I was returning my car I noticed there was a construction site and decided to take another route. When I was near my car, somebody pushed a car horn just next to me, for no apparent reason. It was a big van, just two meters away. Oh boy I was loud! I was next to a wall, so the sound bounced back into my worse ear.

So came the pain. Ear pain. My ears react like that nowadays when I hear a loud noise or a moderately loud. The pain passed quickly, like it has done before. I didn't take prednisolone or anything, because I thought that the sound couldn't make any permanent damage. Well, I can be wrong.

And then yesterday, I was in a kids party. Oh boy I hate air balloons. I don't know what's wrong with me, but balloons seem to pop around me! I went outside, took my ear plugs away because I was about to leave and thought I am safe. I forgot something and went inside for a second and "boom". A balloon popped about four to five meters away. A big one. What next...?

Now there's been eight very loud days in a row. My new record would be ten. It's possible that I will make it now. What can we learn from my experiences? The world is full of sudden loud noises and medicines that can make t spike. I don't want to wear ear plugs all the time when I go outside, but I feel that I have to think about it. Somebody has said that just live your life and don't worry so much. It's easy to say, but when T is severe something must be done. I just don't know. I hope my t will calm down. If it doesn't, I'm am screwed. Badly. Those moderately loud days have meant so much for me. They have meant hope. Hope for a recovery. Time will tell.

 

Hope your better days return soon. You're due a break!

 

It's a loud world. I get times when one loud noise after another seems to hit me. After a while I forget about it until the next time it happens.

 

I hate car horns and popping balloons too! A car horn is about 100-110 db 1 meter away so you should not worry about it. Balloons in the other hand can be quite freaking loud (over 110 db if they pop near you.)

How are you doing now?

 

@Sisu

Hello and sorry to hear about the onslaught of noises! I hope your ears have settled some? I completely feel your pain, I too can't stand horns and balloons! They are banned from my house!! They freak me out. It's very tough dealing with such a condition in a noisy world but what choice do we have? Alienate ourselves and feel worse? It truly sucks! I'm just on my 2nd big spike after stupidly strimming the garden with hearing protection and now been left with an angry wasps nest! It's exhausting it truly is it for sure, you're not alone! Hugs x

 

I decided to take prednisolone on Tuesday, because I felt I didn't have nothing to lose. Tuesday was horrible, my tinnitus was like a sound wall! But then someone heard my prayers... Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were all quite good, especially Friday. It felt amazing... Today is a loud day again, but I have reloaded my battery for a while

I took 20mg prednisolone, then 15, 10 and 5. I don't know if it helped or was this just coincidence? My t has a somatic component also, so maybe that has something to do with it? On the other hand, massage doesn't help me much.

This is all about loudness for me. My worst days are a mystery to me. Or the good days. Why it changes during sleep? And why it usually stays that way for the whole day. I don't need t to go away because probably it's here to stay but if it was a little lower...

Thanks for everyone for the support

 

An update. Last three days have been very loud again. I took clonazepam for sleep and I slept ok, but my t is still loud today. Multiple sounds, can't even count how many as they drown each other. A sound wall.

This is so frustrating. Still trying to be positive. And active, I'm always doing something.

 

I know how you feel. I've also had weeks where I was exposed to sudden loud noises day after day. It's very stressful

 

There are already some monthes thatvi have three days good and three days bad, stay away from loud noise and drugs like clonazepam or similar