Big Tinnitus Spike — Panic Alarm? Acetone? Late Nights?

I'm suffering a really huge spike right now... possibly the loudest my tinnitus has been and more or less focussed in my right ear.

I was in Florida for a month, tinnitus was here and there with some quiet days... the day I leave, it was a 1/10. Raced to the airport, hard to park in the parking garage and drop my luggage off (large boxes) before returning the rental car. I was just getting ready to get in the elevator and the panic button on the remote in my pocket got triggered (I was about 50 feet away from the car, but it was an echo prone garage).

Took me about 10-15 seconds of fumbling before I figured out how to turn it off. I was in too much of a rush to be frazzled by it.

I think that trauma was bad enough, plus a 2.5 hour flight back to Canada. Spike was bad the next two days then I had a quiet day... then back to loud again.

That loud again night, I got a considerable amount of nail polish remover (acetone) on my hands while restoring a vintage turntable for a family member. Until today I didn't realize that at least in rats they have connected acetone with hearing loss... at least that's what the studies are showing. Or perhaps it was the scrubbing of the aluminum (high pitched sound) that put in the mega spike... I did that for about 10 minutes before donning my earmuffs.

Each day it seems to get worse than better... so I swallowed my pride and took some prednisone I had this morning (30 mg).... I know it's not the high 60mg people recommend, but to be honest, I feel like that does might just send me off the deep end. Kicking myself for not really taking it a week ago (when all this started happening).

Praying it gets better.... hugs and support are welcome.

 

There is still a reasonable chance that it will eventually fade. A spike like that can last for over 3 months, but might begin fading after a month.

I hope you will stop having a "panic button" on you...

 

These spikes are scary and create a loop -- whatever the trigger was to the spike, the spike itself becomes a trigger to more anxiety; and I believe that anxiety is a huge part of the tinnitus story. Like you, I also try to stop the loop by taking what I consider a "no-no" drug -- to at least get some peace - in my case the drug is mirtazapine (remeron) - a very small 3.75mg dose. I do suspect that coming down from it (even when taken rarely) increases the tinnitus at least temporarily, but I'm willing to take the risk for a break from obsessing about the noise and for getting better sleep.

I also suspect that there's a lot of stress and anxiety in the air -- a lot of scary things in the news and in conversations about current issues that are hard to cope with.

My experience has been very much like yours, with blessedly quiet days and then spikes. The last month or so has been the worst in terms of spikes. I'm trying to focus on reducing or healing anxiety because even if the tinnitus remains high, with less anxiety I can cope with it better.

 

Thanks... unfortunately the rental car keyfob with the panic button also is needed to start the car. I have the same fob at home and disabled the panic button physically last year when it was in my pocket and I kneeled down to look under the car... it went off, but I was able to hightail it inside another car within a few seconds until I could turn it off.

 

Thank you for letting me know about this hidden source of danger...

 

Yes, I have been taking mirtazapine for a dog's age... 15mg for sleep at night. I suspect I should have weened off it may moons ago, but definitely now is not the time for it. It's tempting to up my dosage, but I always found that 30mg brought on hyperacusis.

Thanks for the comments, I do believe that anxiety and self-blame are cyclical in this "game". I just hope it goes down in short time... it's like waiting to get out of jail (not that I have been there).

 

Drugs can give a huge relief. We shouldn't malign ourselves for taking them. We're lucky to have something to help. Other things that help me are tennis (when I'm on the court, miraculously I don't hear the t and it is way lower until I get in the car and check in with it - sigh). In the meantime, I'm trying to resolve the anxiety that I hold in my body (including the brain) - I'm about to try somatic experiencing therapy. Traumas and a childhood that was neither supportive nor affectionate don't make it easy to feel safe with the head ringing. But I'm not giving up!

 

You are in the early stages of a spike that is noise induced, first from the car alarm, and then compounded by the plane ride. Avoid and protect from further noise exposure, and give it some months to see if if calms down. Can also try supplementing with omega3 which has helped me.