Could I Please Have Some Advice? Spike? Rumbling Noise

Hey guys.
I seem to be posting every question I have on here as I'm looking for advice and I'm still on the waiting list to see an ENT. As I haven't seen one yet since developing tinnitus 4 months ago, im thing to learn as much as I can about this. And try and understand what's going on to help with my anxiety. I was wondering about spikes. And what's classed as a spike. Is it a higher tone. Or this rumbling ?

My question is about this. Rumbling, humming. Car running sound in my ear. That weirdly goes when a car goes past. Or if I'm chewing. It's when I'm at stand still I can hear it. It also has some sort of sensation to it. Like it's not just a noise.

I have this on and off. Sometimes after car journeys also. Which is strange
About a month ago. Me and my partner had a massive argument and this rumbling lasted about 2 weeks. But eventually subsided. And it only came one and off without me really paying attention. However. Yesterday. I went for a spray tan. And I forgot how loud the machine for it was. Like a really loud Hoover. I don't think it's loud enough to damage my hearing. But it's Defo effected my tinnitus again! My ringings the same. Maybe more hissing again ( my tinnitus never stays the same) but now this bloody rumbling humming noise and sensation is back.:::
Is this a form of spike??

Thanks guys. Honestly don't know what I'd of done without this support the past few months X

 

It sounds like you might have reactive tinnitus but I am not an expert on this kind of tinnitus. You might want to ask someone on here about that and also see if something like this would benefit you:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fidelity-E...515473&sr=8-17-spons&keywords=ear+plugs&psc=1

Please ask around here though to make sure it would be safe for you to put in your ear. I am sorry, I wish I knew more about this kind of thing.

 

Hi Amymilly...... for me, the vacuum cleaners out there nowadays and also xlerator hand dryers are so disturbingly high pitched and loud ....they definitely aggravate my tinnitus. I wear hearing protection when I use a vacuum cleaner....
I'm in a condition now we're certain tones produce what they call distortion ,where my ears do not hear the real sound. For example piano playing is heard by my right ear as a beep type of sound rather than the real pitch. As a musician whose kids play piano this is especially sad for me.
Sorry it's difficult to see an ENT and you're on a waiting list ....you must be in a remote area. Where I live there are many to choose from and it only takes a week or two to get an appointment.
I hope things get better for you soon...

 

@Hammerhead how has that happened to your hearing??
I live in the uk. Takes ages on the nhs X

 

@amymilly I understand your concern that you want to be seen at ENT but 4 months isn't a long time. Please click on my profile and read some of the posts regarding the onset of tinnitus and what newbies should do as you may find it helpful. You will get some of the best help and long term aftercare under the NHS. Please do not be tempted to go private as often it's a waste of time and can be very expensive. I've had tinnitus for 20 years and still under the care of NHS who have provided me with very good help. Michael

 

ENTs are not much good with T unfortunately. They'll check your ears for wax, maybe do a hearing test and then basically you are on your own. I've never heard of any tinnitus sufferer who had their problem solved by an ENT specialist. Unfortunately ours is a problem resistant to medical help. MRI might rule out the exceedingly slim chance of acoustic neuroma. You might have to wait a year for that on the NHS. I went private and got it next day. Cost me £800 but when you are in the early stages of this problem it does reduce anxiety. Nothing was found but an MRI without contrast could potentially miss a lot of stuff. You could spend 10s of thousands like many on these boards. Eventually it will come down to whether it goes away by itself or it doesn't.

 

I have the same low sound you are talking about. When I lay down it gets even louder. I would like to know what it is too. It seems to come and go. I hope someone that knows will post on here.

 

It could be patulous Eustachian tube

If the Eustachian stays open (Patulous) as from physical abnormality, one will likely experience another type of objective tinnitus: described as an ocean roar or hollow effect, like a sea shelL

 

@amymilly

.....Hi Amymilly-just saw your post.

My story is probably like a lot of us- over 2 decades of high noise exposure from conecrts and being in rock bands, most of that with no hearing protection.
Used to laugh at the ringing at first, like "man, we were loud today...." but now I see I've done irreversible damage to very delicate hearing mechanisms.

When I was younger, I could block it out- purposely concentrate on it and push it back into the background. This hasn't worked for a long time. Even with hearing protection, my tinnitus is becoming louder and more intrusive. The "distortion" beep sounds I hear in my right ear are within the past 10 years (and also happen when someone sings in a falsetto or "rebel yells".

Lately I've been wearing hearing aids....I "gave in" and gave up the fight of not wanting to "look old". My tinnitus has quieted quiet a bit, as others predicted, when my ears re-acclimated to a normal sound spectrum rather than my deeply reduced mid and high frequencies. Almost like a mental EQ was cranked for those frequencies I was lacking in, and the tinnitus came along with my mental amplification like an amp makes white noise.

Its a bit quieter lately, but definitely not gone......

 

I ran into a strange outcome with my hearing aids waking up with my hearing sounding very muffled......my audiologist tells me that this is because my mind is acclimating itself to the new sound Spectrum my ears are receiving with hearing aids.... for a couple days the tinnitus did quiet down, but it came back loud and clear and did not stop for a week of wearing them... I've stopped using the hearing aids to let my ears get accustomed to the way they were..... the reason I started hearing aids in hopes it would make the tinnitus quiet down. I'd rather not have my hearing become dependent on hearing aids and still have the same tinnitus.

 

@Hammerhead so yours progressed even with protecting your ears?! Oh man, this is my WORST fear..

 

Hi @DDD .....not seeking to contribute to fears .....some of my hearing loss is also age-related also as I am approaching 58.
In one of my discussions with audiologists, it was mentioned that it is not known that the progression of noise related hearing loss stops when the high noise exposure stops.
So for me this has to be a day-by-day thing, protecting what I have.. .. I do a lot of research online (including this website), and in books ....I'm very cautious with supplements and medicines I take to be sure they are not ototoxic.....and try to use everything I learned to make each day a good one.
Is very easy for me to get hung up on the negatives, the distraction and frustration my T causes. I've learned that the more I focus on it and let it own my reality, the bigger problem it becomes.
I love to get outside in nature and spend time in prayer and listening to the blowing leaves and sounds of birds and insects .. it brings peace and makes me grateful that I can hear this beauty.

 

4 months is not too much in Tinnitus Time. I guess it took me a little over a year to start having better reactions around louder noises. In my experience, when a loud event happens we tend to get scared and pay more attention to our own sounds. Last time it happened to me after a party, I would get this "new" sound that came and went off. Took me some time to take my mind off it. Nowadays I carry earplugs, but if it's not bothering me I take it as a sign that it's not harmful. I go to the movies, dentist, social gatherings, walk past buses, etc. Without getting this type of sensation I used to have when my T started. Maybe it's psychological, maybe it's real, who the hell knows?

Just give it a break, try not to overthink it.

Best,
Zug