Can You Habituate to Tinnitus When You Are Noise Sensitive?

...and by noise sensitive I don't mean hyperacusis but just that you get continuously annoyed at noise and that you can not take your focus away from it.

I am like that.

I have never been good at handling unwanted noise. I lived in an apartment for several years and I never got used to the noise coming from the upstairs neighbors... I never forgot about it. I heard it every day.

If there is a fan going in an office I will hear it almost constantly.

Being on a plane my focus is on the noise from the jet engines like 90% of the time, and it annoys me.

Because of this I have a really hard time imaging myself habituating with tinnitus to the point where I forget about it for hours at a time or don't let it annoy me when I hear it.

4½ weeks in as I am now, I have had episodes of a couple of minutes where I have forgotten about it, but no more then that, and I still get very frustrated and stressed out by the noise.

I know I am new to tinnitus and that I can not expect miracles after such a short time, but I am worried about the future and the prospect of not being able to cope with my tinnitus.

Anyone on this forum who is noise sensitive and have habituated or anyone know of any cases?

 

Yes you can habituate to tinnitus even though you are sensitive to other sounds. They are two different things. I am similar to you. I hear everything and any strange noise I notice it immediately. However, once you habituate you will learn to be more tolerant of sounds that used to bother you. Your hyperacusis needs to be treated and cured otherwise, your tinnitus can cause problems which manifest itself as "spikes"

 

You have to try and get out of the "negative mindset" that you are in. It is possible but this will take time. Click on the link below and read my post: From darkness into light. It is about coming to terms with tinnitus and negativity.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-darkness-into-light.22234/

 

I fit your description of "noise sensitive." I used to have a huge reaction to hearing kids playing outside of my home. I no longer do. T helped me to overcome my noise sensitivity.

As for T, I am noticing that the level of T that would bother me 3 months ago, is no longer As disturbing. It takes time, but I think habituation is possible.

In your case, you can still hope that you will experience an improvement in a couple of months...

 

I'm also very noise sensitive. I have always been a light sleeper and always used to wear earplugs to bed. I can no longer do that. I'm suprised i can sleep with rain sounds now. I guess you learn to get used to the noise. I feel kinda blessed that my T. is low in volume and i can easily mask it. But still, it's very hard to deal with.

 

I'm the same.....a light sleeper who needs absolute silence to be able to fall asleep....I do remember a time in my life where i could sleep anywhere and in noisy environments though: when i was a teenager, I hope to go back to that someday.

My T is not very maskable I can hear it over everything besides the shower, when cooking and walking in fairly heavy rain showers. I really hope mine improves in volume in time. I believe it has gone down a tiny bit since the first week but i'm not sure if that is just my experience because my overall mood had improved from then, or if it really has gone down.

 

Please remember: there should be no attempt to mask tinnitus. It will reduce in time. Continue using sound enrichment at night and if you prefer, use background music such as classical during the day played at low level.

 

Are you able to sleep well? My sleep has worsen alot in the last few weeks because of T. And that makes me even more anxious and stressed out during the day. It's a vicious circle.

Why can't we try to mask it? Or does it depend if your T. is low or high in volume?
Because i do understand it's not a good idea to totally mask very loud T. in case it will further damage the ears.

 

[QUOTE

Masking tinnitus completely will not damage the ears but it will prevent a person from habituating to the tinnitus. The brain cannot habituate to tinnitus unless it can hear the tinnitus. Whatever source of "sound enrichment" a person is using, preferably nature sounds. It should be slightly lower than the tinnitus. In other words the tinnitus should be able to be heard above the sound enrichment. If the tinnitus is naturally "very low" then it doesn't matter if sound masks it as the person will not usually be bothered by low level tinnitus. Please read the post below.

Should I mask my tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a complex condition and if hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) is present it is even more. Many newbies have difficulty coping with tinnitus and understandably, getting rid of this constant intruder, that has suddenly invaded their life becomes paramount on their mind. In an attempt to do this, they will usually try every means possible to distract themselves from the tinnitus which will include masking it completely with another sound so that it can’t be heard.

However, tinnitus is quite resilient, any attempts to mask it completely are usually unsuccessful. As soon as the masking sound is removed or stopped temporarily, the brain will immediately focus back on it and often, it appears to be louder and more intrusive. This causes stress especially for someone new to tinnitus. For anyone that doesn’t know, the more stressed we are the tinnitus becomes more intrusive, and the louder the tinnitus is the more stressed we are. It can become a vicious circle.

Anyone that is seasoned to tinnitus and has habituated, knows that trying to mask it completely so that it can’t be heard is not achievable. A much better way and preferred method that Hearing Therapists advise tinnitus patients, is to use sound enrichment. One can use music or nature sounds from a sound machine and set the volume slightly below the tinnitus. By doing this, the brain over time will learn to no longer see the tinnitus as a threat and gradually push the noise further into the background giving it less importance, which is called habituation.

In-ear or BTE (behind the ear) white noise generators can also be used as part of TRT. They do a similar thing. By setting the volume slightly below the tinnitus, over time the brain habituates to the white noise and gradually pushes the tinnitus further into the background.

Michael

PS: in my opinion, anyone that has tinnitus, especially when it was caused by loud noise exposure, it is not a good idea to use headphones, even at low volume to play music or white noise for sound enrichment.

 

Do you have sensory issues also. When I was very young I used to have what were considered debilitating panic attacks. It wasn't until my 20s when a Dr (psychiatrist) diagnosed sensory overloads instead. He said every brain has a filter and mine was not working properly. So I would get overwhelmed by sound or visual input. I was put on xanax briefly to calm my nervous system and then learned to identify triggers to stop things before they escalated. I assume he was right because it worked quickly. The reason. I mention this is sound that other people don't notice can drive me crazy. I can't understand how other people can be around and not at least notice because I can be so bothered. So I have always found not only loud noises but lots of noises at one time very difficult (like crowded places). It can also make it hard to discern background noise from speech so I have to concentrate very hard sometimes in those situations.

I find sound masking machines impossible. It may be the standard and I'm not arguing that but not for me. I think a sound machine trying to cover the sound of a ticking clock from a neighbor contributed to reactivating the T in my ear. The clock caused pain but the attempt to try and cover it pushed things over the edge. I think masking needs to be done carefully and possibly under supervision of a very experienced professional for some.

However - I initially got T in 2010 and habituated by doing nothing in particular. There was no forum and no ent. MY T was not noise trauma induced however. So don't think it can't be done.

 

I just want to say: Tinnitus should never be masked. There is really no need for a professional to instruct someone how to use "sound enrichment" for tinnitus. The term "Masking" is outdated as the tinnitus should never be covered up so that it can't be heard - instead the "sound enrichment" should be set lower than the tinnitus. Unless the brain can hear the tinnitus it will never be able to habituate to it.

Michael

 

I was not clear in that I was referring to those with extreme sensitivity to sound - and generally we know who we are. So what could be "just set it lower" might not work for a brain that doesn't filter sound information properly in the first place. You could aggravate things by adding to the cacophony. Then you have more problems. This is my personal experience and as I said bucks the mainstream. The OP is free to ignore it completely.

 

On the whole, using nature sounds from a dedicated "sound machine" will not usually make tinnitus or hyperacusis worse even in the most sensitive of auditory system. However, using "white noise generators" to desensitise the auditory system when someone has hyperacusis will require a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist trained in the management of tinnitus, to advise a patient how to use these devices correctly. If they are not used correctly they could make tinnitus and hyperacusis worse. I have helped quite a few people with hypersensitive auditory system caused by exposure to loud noise which has resulted in tinnitus and hyperacusis.

A woman I once helped had such severe hyperacusis she couldn't tolerate the sound of her: microwave, fridge or washing machine- even the sound of rain falling on her conservatory glass roof made her ears hurt. After following my advice she improved considerably.
Michael

 

Yes I think white or pink noise can be harmful done haphazardly. However lots of people don't know about that possibility or have no other options but to wing it themselves. In the US I don't think most ins would even begin to cover some of these things. I have found what works incidently not by actively seeking out sounds. For example I'm surprised that what soothes me (going for a nice drive with windows open) is something others use protection to do.

Sound generators often come with both options of white noise/nature but for whaever reason nature sounds are still bothersome on an electronic device. I love rain and wind but on a machine it is grating after a while. So is it documented damage or just a personal feeling. When you are having issues processing sound that irritation just compounds the problem. My brain latches on to certain sounds and won't get used to them. As I've mentioned elsewhere it is like a hammer which once bothersome each subsequent sound getting louder and more annoying. However as I also mentioned I adapted to the T after a while initially. Now it is more elusive as if it wants to be heard. Certain tones though seem like they hit a raw nerve or send the noise full strength.

 

I agree with you, that a lot of people do not know how to use white or pink noise correctly and end up making matters worse, especially when listening through headphones which is asking for trouble!

 

I don't mask it on purpose but some everyday sounds mask it completely, like the shower ect.

I understand that the brain can not adapt to a sound if it cannot hear it but every person who has a milder T will have have many everyday sounds that mask their T completely, how can they habituate? What if i worked 8 hours a day in a noisy supermarket where i could not hear my T? (have been to some that mask my T completely) would i then not be able to habituate?

 

I don't think i have sensory issues. I have absolutely no problem with loud sounds and loud noises.....just the unwanted ones, like noise from the neighbor and tinnitus.

 

The shower is no problem as you are not going to stay in the shower all day. Have low level music playing in the background during the day and at night use nature sounds. I advise that you don't use music at night as that draws attention to itself. The most important thing is that you never use headphones again even at low volume . To stop yourself being tempted. Throw them away. Only you know how much you were suffering a few days ago when you were in hospital. Ask yourself - do you ever want to be in that situation again? If you don't then that is your answer.
Michael

 

@TheDanishGirl, I'm noise sensitive also. I got my T a day before you did. It was in my left ear. But a couple days in after reading stories on internet about it maybe never going away, scared me and I started to hear it in my head. Next week went to doctor who cleaned wax out of ear and said it would go away and my ear looked flat so might have pressure in it. But anyways, I couldn't fall asleep with the noise blaring in my ears which was driving me INSANE so took some old clonazepam I had from years ago. Low dose .250. Took it for the next three weeks a half an hour before I went to sleep. I tolerated the noise before it knocked me out. After a week my days got quieter. 3 on a scale of 10. It was out of head and mild hiss in left ear and stopped my anxiety. Two days I took .375 and pretty much took the noise away completely. But went back to .275 because what everybody was saying about it. At night it would get louder but I know it was because I was afraid of insomnia. But next day was always back to 3. Last week I started tapering off the clonoz which I was on for 3 weeks. Down to .180 and my T is still low because my anxiety is so low now. I've never been able to sleep with noise, like a fan, or low music. To me it just seemed to make things worst. Just added more sound which drove me more crazy, so just listened to noise till benzo did it's job. But now that it's warm I go to bed with my window half open so I can hear a little bit of the outside. But at 6:00 a.m. when I start hearing people's car going to work I have to shut the window. I work from home Monday thru Thursday so I have been able to stay away from loud noise which for me is good. But also bad because my mind drifts so much to this hissing in my ear all day long. But when I am distracted it 99% goes away. But just wondering what benzo you are on? And is it taking the anxiety away from you? Clonazapam saved me! It gave me 3 weeks to calm down and now my T is lower. My doctor gave me Remeron for sleep if needed but reading about it on internet made me scared about taking it too. I know it's hard! My husband has had tinnitus for 20 years in both ears. He got it in his 20's because of his job. It doesn't bother him anymore and has to go looking for it to see if it's still there and it is. He says it's a screeching noise. I DON'T understand that! He has to go looking for it lol. My husband is a very optimistic person, always has been. I worry about everything and a "what if person". My husband is a "don't worry about it till it happens" and then when it does happen its "nothing you can do about it". Apparently he habitated easily. He told me I would also, but it's hard to hear "in a year or so you'll be fine" when it's like A YEAR, I can't even stand it for a day how can I wait a year! But I hope it gets better for you! My doctor keeps saying mine will which I need to hear.

 

I think it improved because you healed, and not as a result of the drug. If you are improving, there is a good chance that it will eventually go away (may take months, though). Just make sure to protect your ears.

 

Most people will see improvements with hissing and should be able to habituate. It's those that have very loud high pitch T that will need a lot of professional treatment. I would say that not more than 2% -5% on this board have very loud screaming high pitch T. I feel for those as I am one. I had habituated after three years - subjective T - very loud hissing or buzzing. Now I have a very loud screaming high pitched T from a dental procedure 3 months ago.

 

@Bill Bauer, I don't know if it improved or not. I know the benzo took my anxiety away, and took the hissing back to the ear and out of the head where it was on day 1 and 2, but that's where it still stays. Most of the week I'm in a quiet house working and it is low most of the time and think wow maybe it will be gone when I wake up tomorrow. But today had to go to a noisey birthday party and it hissed all day long, and kind of back in head. I hate this! Trying to keep my anxiety away. You had it about four months? Does your's get real low and then just hiss like crazy?

@Greg Sacramento, mine is just hissing so I hope so. But right now it's loud as I type this. How long have you had the screaming T. That scares me getting it back and louder once you habituated. This is all strange to me and want it to just go away completely! Never knew that something like this could happen so easily like from syringing or a sonic toothbrush or however I got it. My husband has it but I know how he got it. Working at a telephone co. where the equipment/wires he worked on clicked, clicked, clicked all day long and it was pretty loud. This is so unreal!

 

A high pitch tone is much harder to ignore than a hiss. After months of struggling with a high pitch cricket sound, I started to experience a hiss. However, then I had a new acoustic trauma (pressed a loud phone against my bad ear), and after that I am back to a high pitch tone.

If you are having a hiss that early on, I think it is a sign that your ears were not damaged as much as the ears of many others (who experience high pitch tone T).

 

There is a very good chance that you will get your wish [provided you don't hurt your ears again - keep in mind that what is ok for healthy people (e.g., pressing a loud phone to ear) is not ok for people like us with compromised ears]. But ears take months to heal. If yours began in May, it could go away as early as July. It could last until September or November, though. It will not turn off overnight, it will just keep gradually (over a period of months) getting quieter and easier to ignore. Even if you are unlucky, and yours doesn't completely go away, what you will be stuck with will most likely be quieter/less piercing and easier to ignore than what you have now.

 

@Mkc28

High pitched T is usually a problem within the auditory system - or sensorineural hearing loss. Of all medical conditions and diseases tinnitus is ranked 85.6/100 in difficultly of prognosis. There are many things that can cause reason for one to have tinnitus. Often there's no single reason for onset. One may say, the noise at the concert last night gave me tinnitus. Many times that's just the straw that broke the camel's back. Previous noise exposure, prior drug prescription use and so many other factors may lead to that final straw where's the camel can no longer handle the load. The load for us - is our ears, brain or other areas within our body. Hearing loss can be gradual and many don't notice it.

Why tinnitus has a medical cause difficulty of 85.6/100 per other conditions and disease is also that not all tinnitus is related to the ears and hair cell /nerve damage. Neck, jaw and mouth problems is just a short list of other causes of tinnitus.

Protection for the ears is needed when there's danger of coming across loud noise. Everyone should carry a list of medications that are tinnitus safe in your wallet or purse. Other family members should carry a list for your benefit as well.