Can You Habituate to Reactive Tinnitus?

That’s really scary. What type of hearing protection did you wear to the MRI? I have read about MRIs worsening tinnitus before. I don’t need an MRI now. I had to get an MRI for my knees and I went inside the machine with my head out but I still couldn’t handle it and I had to stop.

God forbid it I need an MRI in future, I will be screwed.

My tinnitus is very mild at the moment but just scared for future.

 

A pair of sh*t quality Ear Defenders given to me by the radiologist with an SNR level of 0, and my ACS Pro moulds with an SNR level of 20 (not enough on their own, for this particular amount of noise).

If you ever seriously need an MRI scan, go for it. Just make sure you're wearing MRI-safe Ear Defenders (you've bought yourself) with earplugs (I recommend any brand of foam earplug) combined, and you should be fine.

 

Wouldn't it help to listen on "low volume"? Or does it spike regardless?

Mine spikes regardless as of right now. I'm not that into music, but I do miss playing some of my favorite pieces, so sometimes I just do it and chew the dumb spike.

 

It's completely dependent on the genre, it seems.

The music I spent most of my teen years listening to (so called "rock": full of grinding electric guitars, heavy drums and bass) at any volume, is no longer palatable to me. Just a second or two of the sound of an electric guitar creates an unbearable screeching in my ears.

The problem is usually not with an entire song, but just part of it where the music might suddenly change and become more aggressive or high pitched; these are what will give me the spike... and the issue is, once I've started listening to a song I like, I find it hard to stop. Turning the sound down and leaving gaps leaves me feeling upset (just highlighting my reduced enjoyment) and listening to the whole thing, I'll enjoy in the moment, but usually regret afterwards.

So it's a lose/lose.

Yeah, same as me. Sometimes I just hit the "screw it" button, listen anyway, and pay the piper later.

Actually that said, I do sometimes still listen to the old "rock" bands on my TV with the YouTube app wearing my ear defenders (the TV produces practically no bass). I find that this hollows out the problematic sounds, however I do it very rarely because part of me believes I may just be doing damage I'm not aware of using this method.

The other thing is, although I miss regular music immensely, I'm pretty damn good at replicating old songs I like in my head; you could say I have an audiographic memory (although I'm quite certain it's something I've just made up ...).

 

BTW @Stacken77, what were these some of these "favourite pieces" you miss playing?

 

Precise examples of pieces may be for another thread, but music wise I'm really all over the place, like Jazz, Swedish folk songs, Rock, Japanese city pop, etc. But most of the "favorite pieces" are simply songs which makes me emotional, and are sentimental for me.

 

HA HA! I hear you. I'll see you in General Chat for more on this in the future!

 

I had habituated to my reactive tinnitus after just over 18 months. Then I got careless and listened to loud music in the car for an hour or two on two consecutive days, and I blew it. Set my tinnitus back to the way it was twelve months ago. Louder, more reactive and harder to ignore again. That was in January this year. It's slowly settling back down again.

So be careful what you wish for. Habituation can be a double-edged sword.

 

Hehe, I do this as well.

Sometimes I read the lyrics to albums I like while going through the songs in my head.

 

I'm just curious, @Damocles. Have you experienced worse reactivity/spiking in the past than what you experience now? Have you experienced a "settling" or stabilization of a previously worse or volatile state?

All the best my man,
Stacken

 

Hey again @Stacken77,

Yes, certainly, my reactive tinnitus has definitely settled over time.

I remember during the first three years of my onset, I used to wear hats and earmuffs (as in, earmuffs designed for cold weather, not hearing protection) all the time indoors. Earplugs outdoors all the time of course, same as today.

But hats and winter earmuffs just to dampen the sound of my parents' voices and voices on the television; the noise of my own footsteps and cutlery clattering etc. so as to prevent fluctuations and spikes.

The thing is, my over use of hats was causing me really bad scalp problems, and there was a danger of me starting to lose my hair, plus the winter earmuffs were beginning to cause constant ear infections. So in the end I was left with a Hobson's choice; go bald and likely end up with severe tinnitus from a second ear infection, or, take the plunge and have faith that no longer using these buffers would become acceptable to me and not cause any permanent worsening.

As it turns out, exposing myself to everyday noises around my home over time actually caused my severe reactive tinnitus to become a lot milder; thus my ability to cope with my tinnitus has improved considerably over the last 6 years.

My opinion: in the early days, look after your hearing, and lower your exposure to everyday noise considerably (give your ears and hair cells time to recover and heal); but at the point you can sense you've plateaued in terms of your body's recovery, begin tapering down on your protection and enrich your ears with everyday sound in order to placate the brain and its heightened search for audio input.

All this within reason of course; I still would never walk around the streets of London without ear-plugs/defenders, leaving my wellbeing in the hands of the "considerate" people that populate my city, not to make some sudden and devastatingly loud noise while I'm minding my own business.

Have faith my friend, you truly are in the worst days of your tinnitus right now, and I promise you, things will get better.

Your mate,
@Damocles

 

This account sure gave me hope for better days.

Whatever happens, thank you so much for sharing this.

 

My man, @Damocles.

I just have a question related to your answer to my previous question;

Did you, during the time you decided to "take the plunge" and exposed yourself to everyday noise, experience spikes along the way? Taking the plunge seems like a big step for the ears.

I'll just add this; as I exposed myself to more sounds at work a few weeks ago, I believe I started to see the very first minor improvements. I still spiked, everyday as I always do, but somehow the increased sound exposure seemed to do something as my TTTS improved greatly and my tinnitus became quieter in the morning and evening. Does that make sense, in your opinion, @Damocles? Going to the quiet office to work seems like to only way I can get some kind of sound enrichment, otherwise I just sit home in protection 24/7, and it seems it hasn't done me any favors for the last 5 months.

All the best to you, mate,
Stacken

 

Hello my friend @Stacken77! I hope you are well.

Apologies for my late reply to your question, I had seen it on Saturday, but began feeling quite ill, so spent the last three days in my bed recovering.

So, yes, absolutely, I experienced spikes when becoming less cautious, and still do to be honest. I'm sorry to say, but after all these years, even I have not got living with this condition down to an art.

My last spike was as recent as last week, when I heard a noise outside my window late at night, which upon investigation (without any hearing protection) turned out to be a young fox essentially screaming at a cat; the noise it made was atrocious and my tinnitus that night, went from relaxed and inert, to intrusive and un-ignorable. That said, the spike only lasted 24 hours and that's what I've become accustomed to; while I may suffer many spikes by dropping my guard a little, I'm not doing anything that will heighten my chances of a permanent increase.

So here's where you're going to have to begin some experimentation with your own limits, unfortunately.

My take on this is, as long as your office environment is quiet, as you say, then you should be fine, and just keep some ear defenders nearby you in case of any sudden loud noises, or even a colleague being obscenely loud.

For me, I started doing group courses three years ago. Initially I tried to do them without hearing protection, but unfortunately when we were being asked to take part in "group work" the din of people chatting just became too much, so I reverted back to wearing my custom moulds for each 3 hour lesson.

I think if the office environment becomes problematic though (i.e. phones ringing too loud throughout the whole day), then don't try to grit your teeth and bear it. Like me and my classes, if everywhere outside of your home is too much for your ears, then try to make your home the focal point of your sound enrichment. i.e. Open the windows in your home and let ambient noise in throughout the day (close them if the seagulls start screeching though, I'm having big problems with that myself at the moment). Find items that make noises that are pleasant to your ears; for example "ticky" clocks and fans etc. and place them around your home.

Your home is the best place for sound enrichment, as it's where you have most control your environment.

Funnily enough, like you, I will be revisiting the testing of my limits soon, as I will be beginning courses that require me to study abroad and leave the sanctuary of the home that I have moulded to my own comfort and specifications over the last decade. I'll let you know how that goes, when the time comes.

I hope this helps, and don't hesitate to ask me any more questions, should you have them.

Your mate, Damocles.

 

Thank you so much for your reply, @Damocles. It means a lot!

As I've sat in hearing protection at home, literally 24/7, for 5 months, without any improvements in my spiking, reactivity and hyperacusis, I'm determined to give sound a try. It seems like the only alternative left, or else I'll have to lock myself in a closet till I die.

I completely understand that. Because of COVID-19, most of my coworkers do work from home, so the office is very empty and quiet. The only sounds are the occasional computer meeting, and me using my voice to talk.

I agree that the home is the perfect place to start, and I'm actually allowed to work from home if I wish. What I face is a problem in and of itself; the psychological barrier that's in the way of easing the protection at home. As I can sit in foam earplugs and Peltors, that's what I do. In the office, I can't have my Peltors, because it would be ridiculous, but I somehow forget about my ear problems a bit and enrich myself with sound.

I'm going to try to experiment though, and I'll keep you guys posted on my progress.

That's awesome man. I wish you the best of luck, and do keep us posted! What are you intending to study, if I may ask?

All the best to you man,
Your friend,
Stacken

 

Felt just like this nine years ago.

Funny thing actually, I just saw a profile post by @danielthor, mentioning wearing earplugs and ear defenders in the shower, because the hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus are so bad. This takes me right back to a time I had more or less forgotten; it really highlights for me how much my tinnitus + hyperacusis have improved over the years, despite numerous spikes and sound traumas making it seem like such a thing would be impossible.

I was terrified of my shower for the first 3 years after onset, and would only ever have baths (and even then, would have to wear ear defenders while running them). I can't even remember now, when that ceased to be the case, but I have a shower now pretty much everyday, sans ear defenders or plugs, without issue.

So @danielthor, if you're reading, just know as I have said to Stacken: it does get better. Just have confidence that such sounds cannot cause any permanent increase in your tinnitus, and that eventually your tinnitus does stop reacting to them (or perhaps you just stop noticing your tinnitus reacting to them, I'm not sure, but something changes anyway, and it becomes less of a problem).

Totally get this. I too would not be prepared to wear my ear defenders in a classroom or a workplace, in front of people I knew. It is in fact, as much to do with feeling embarrassed/self-conscious, as it is to do with exposing such a vulnerability to people. I simply don't trust people enough to not use my disability against me; especially seeing as no court in the world would consider blasting someone with loud noise a "violent assault".

No, I keep knowledge of my disability very much to myself and my immediate family.

That said, I still recommend you always keep a pair of ear defenders on your person, wherever you go, just in case of some emergency, like a fire alarm going off suddenly or whatever. In those cases, the benefits of keeping your condition hidden and/or feeling self-conscious, are outweighed by not suffering a potentially devastating hearing trauma.

So, when I developed serious tinnitus at age 21, I was studying languages; east-Asian languages, to be specific.

The subsequent falling apart of my life meant that I dropped them and pretty much forgot about vocational-progression and self-improvement of any kind; I was just living day to day, focused mainly on being able to sleep each night.

Anyway, east-Asian languages are definitely off limits to me now, as long I continue to suffer from tinnitus (because I could never make the trip to an east-Asian country; they're simply too far and too difficult for me to get to). But neighbouring European countries are not, and so I've decided to finally resume my studies in languages (European this time, of course), and see how I fair.

For all intents and purposes, I may not be able to hack it abroad, in which case I'll have to find something else to invest my time in, but basically it's time for me to get on with my life, I've spent enough time stagnating, I think.

Hope you're well, as always,
your mate, Damocles.

 

You can't comprehend how much your story means to us. This is the hope we so desperately need. You may not be completely out of the woods, as none of us may never be, but I'd consider you a real success story. The value you've contributed to this thread and forum has been huge.

On that note, I've got two more questions; When your reactivity/spiking was at its worst, how long would the longest spike last? Did they always recede after a good nights sleep, or could they linger a little longer, in the worst case? And also, how did you go about the problem of going to the dentist? I have a recurring problem with calculus(hardened dental plaque) that needs removal once a year, but I guess I'll have to suffer through manual scraping and hopefully not get any permanent worsenings.

Awesome. If you ever make it to Sweden, we can go eat a smörgåstårta or something, or if I visit the UK, we could get some fish n' chips.

Always good to hear from ya.
Take care,
Stacken

 

I really appreciate you saying this.

Over the last decade I've taken a lot from tinnitus support forums; lurking and finding threads helping me to navigate living with the condition, determining what vitamins might be beneficial, what ototoxic drugs need to be avoided (or simply just being comforted by the fact I'm not alone in this) etc. and had nothing to give in return. It feels good to know I can finally make some small contribution to the tinnitus community by recounting my experiences with tinnitus.

Longest temporary spike I've ever had was two weeks, after spending a couple of days listening to a lot of music and watching TV with my family too loud, but not saying anything because I didn't want to spoil the fun atmosphere that we had cultivated (it was around Christmas).

But if it's a spike, like the ones we were discussing, where you might just listen to one song and then suffer a spike afterwards; this would usually be gone by the next morning or day after.

So, I believe I have a similar, if not the same, problem as you (with said build up of plaque) and I am also required to see a hygienist once every 6 months for a "descaling".

Admittedly, because of my past fears regarding the ultrasonic cleaner, I've only been twice, but my latest experience (last year) was really good, and has completely alleviated any fear I had about getting this treatment again in future.

Basically I explained to my hygienist that I had tinnitus and that I was very nervous and apprehensive about the noise the cleaning procedure would produce, and by some stroke of luck she seemed to completely understand. Anyway, she mainly used this new cleaning device called "AirFlow" (generic name: air polish) for this reason, and then a small amount of the ultrasonic cleaner, plus some manual. With my foam earplugs in it was absolutely no problem.

When she used the ultrasonic cleaner a few times, I was quite nervous, as it sounds a bit like lightning going off inside your head (reminds me of the some of the sound effects from the old Dragonball Z cartoon series... ), but no spike followed; so I'm pretty much looking forward to getting my teeth polished again this year!

Mate, I would absolutely love that!

I can guarantee you, as long as my travels afford me no problems, you will 100% be taking me for a "smörgåstårta" and a "fika" in the near future!

 

@Damocles Thank you for your detailed, helpful and positive replies! Definitely make me feel a bit better! xx

 

Completely support what @Stacken77 said. Even though I've only been dealing with this for a short while, your contributions have helped me in ways I cannot even begin to describe. Your humour uplifts me and your constant encouragement helps me push through the bad and difficult times - I'm grateful for all your support, and everything you've given to this community.

(PS: It's a small world, for all you know I could end up spotting you in London some time. )

 

Same to you (as @Stacken77) @kuromi.

When I've got myself a little more sorted, in terms of resuming my studies and knowing where I stand in the post-COVID-19 world etc. I want to meet you.

We could always go to a silent disco, dance, and pretend we're listening to the music on our headphones like everyone else!

...or we can just meet up at a Costa with our earplugs in? You tell me!

 

I absolutely share the same sentiment @Damocles . I'd love to meet you.

Honestly, I'm up for anything - after the hellstorm my life has been for the past few months I'd honestly like to just chill somewhere - Costa sounds really damn good right now. You have yourself a deal.

 

Hey @Damocles, hope all is well with you.

I'm just wondering if you can ride in cars or take the bus (with or without hearing protection) nowadays? Was such transportation a bigger problem in the past?

Car rides did spike me even when my tinnitus and hyperacusis was mild and stable, but it could at least be mitigated with hearing protection. Right now, no hearing protection is good enough in preventing spikes from such things, but hopefully this too will improve eventually.

Stacken

 

Hey @Stacken77,

I am very well at the moment, than you for asking.

So, regarding transport: living in London, I have no use for a car, thus I'm unable to comment on spikes after driving.

I have however been using buses and taxis/cabs for the last 13 years, with my tinnitus, so I can give an opinion on these.

During the first... 2... maybe 3 years of my tinnitus, I tried to live as normal; meaning I refused to employ hearing protection. This was off the back of the dumb advice we sometimes see given on here about "don't use protection, it'll make things worse!!". If I hadn't listened to that kind of idiocy, I'd probably have much milder tinnitus now... It is as we both know the case that: absolutely you shouldn't use protection everywhere, but you sure as f*ck need it when you're outside where people have the ability to sound: car horns, alarms and sirens.

Anyway, digressing...

So in those first 3 years (without use of protection) I would regularly travel to the closest book store to me, each day, (via Bus) and "steal" (/read without paying for) lots of comic books and horror/science-fiction novels to take my mind off... "my new life".

I don't know what buses are like in Sweden, but over here they are noisy things. The double-deckers tend to be a little less noisy (because they're bigger) than the single-deck buses, but in both cases, they sound like they're going to explode. They rumble and vibrate so much you can feel the vibrations in your skull. Plus they tend to have air-conditioning on them which makes a lot of noise (because the average Brit is stupid and fat, and would prefer a noisy machine to cool them down, than to have to lose weight). And then there are some other noises they make which I can't even begin to explain, kind of like electronic coil whines etc. but heavily amplified.

Every time you get on a bus in London it's like rolling a dice as to what you're going to get as far as noise is concerned. Some are fine, and then some are unbearable; it's completely random.

So some of the buses I could travel on without issue, others I would have to get off after 1 stop, because I just couldn't handle the noise on it.

When I started using hearing protection outside, that problem was completely eliminated and I could travel without problem on almost any bus. I say almost, because 2 months ago I got on a bus that even with my ear defenders on, was uncomfortable to sit on for the 40 minute journey (but that's very rare).

The things is, even though I was able to travel on some buses without protection for a couple of years, I'm glad I stopped, because I truly believe in cumulative noise damage; that is to say, just because you don't "feel" the damage being done, or suffer a spike, that doesn't mean you won't be exacerbating this condition long term.

Regarding taxis and mini-cabs: Most cab drivers here drive Toyota Priuses, and I've been able to travel as a passenger in these, both with and without protection no problem.

The London Taxis tend to be quite noisy, with bad engine noise and internal vibration, and so I view them similarly to the buses; that they caused me no problems without protection in the short term, but from a long term perspective of living with this disease, I think it's good only to use them with protection in/on.

We have got Electric Taxis available now, but I haven't been lucky enough to ride in one yet.

TL;DR: Buses and Taxis albeit noisy, have never caused me spikes without protection, but long-term I believe they would cause damage without it.

Most Uber drivers in London use quiet hybrid cars, so I can travel in those without protection quite comfortably.

 

Thanks for the insight. I live in New York City, another loud ass city (maybe louder) and have been trying to figure out how I’ll be handling the outside landscape from now on. Cabs here are obnoxious, they will honk for no reason whatsoever. My recent onset has really opened my eyes to how we take our ears for granted. I can’t believe I used to ride an electric scooter alongside all the buses, cars, trucks, and people. No hearing protection at all... I did wear a helmet though

 

I believe in cumulative damage. That is most dangerous as people don’t even realize the damage.

 

My ears have been screaming all day. Super high-pitched. I hear it over everything including running water. It’s been pretty bad over the last week but today is been awful. Normally it fluctuates but it’s been steady all day. I don’t know how anyone lives with this.

I took my son to this barbershop he gets his haircut. The barbershop plays music that generally is on the louder end of things but the decibel level was about 70. All of a sudden I could tell that my tinnitus was reacting to the noise and getting worse. I had to actually leave and wait in the car for my son to be finished. It’s the first time I would ever describe it as reactive. I have a wedding tomorrow and I’ll have to use my earplugs at the reception and I am so looking forward to listening to this high-pitched squeal all afternoon. God I hope it subsides.

ENT thinks it’s TMJ and allergy related. And it gets worse during the day because my jaws are moving and I am tensing my muscles because I’m under a lot of stress. Great. How do I fix that when the tinnitus is causing me stress?

 

I'm very sorry to hear that @Forever hopeful. My tinnitus is highly reactive and spikes to a lot of things.

I think this is a very common explanation doctors propose when tinnitus worsen to sounds below what is considered harmful. I have a great ENT who believes me, but I've also had a few sessions with curators and hearing educators and they want me to believe it's simply vicious cycles of neck strain that is causing my spikes, especially when I use hearing protection and have to bend forward to hear more clearly. In my experience, this explanation is just bullshit in my personal case. If I were you, I'd try to be a bit careful around sound. Do you experience any sensitivity to sound of sorts?

Wishing you well,
Stacken

 

Hi,

I do not experience any sound sensitivity. I have noticed that my tinnitus has just recently become reactive. This is a new thing... I was at a wedding today and wore earplugs. Went to the after party for a half an hour and once the decibel levels went up a little bit, I noticed my tinnitus escalated. Ugh.

 

@Damocles, why can't you travel on an airplane? Will the noise be too high for your tinnitus? Will the reactivity give you a new baseline? Has this problem with airplane travel happened to you after getting tinnitus, or do you just suspect it will be like this and therefore you will avoid airplane travel?