Could Using Headphones Have Caused the Increase in Tinnitus? Spiked and Freaked!

Hello wonderful people.
I hope my post finds you well.

Introduction
I'm Rix, male, aged 27, had moderate right sided sensorineural hearing loss ever since I can recall and to top it off got tinnitus in the same ear.

I clearly remember the fateful night of January 2015, I had been a huge movie buff and was going through some old classics when after finishing the movie, took out my headphones and heard this high pitch white noise in my right ear.

I was freaked out but thought it would go away if I sleep and damn, I slept long that day. Unfortunately, tinnitus stayed.

Went to see ENT specialist, he got my audiology tests done, I was told I had sensorineural hearing loss (which wasn't news) and was prescribed some anti-histamines with steroids.

Since then the tinnitus has stayed where it started and I learnt to cope up and live with it, shit happens!

I periodically went to different doctors to keep a check on my sensorineural hearing and it has been bad but stayed on same level.

I have had few instances of sudden high pitch noise apart from my regular tinnitus in right ear which goes away in few seconds. It's very random and nothing alarming!


Spiked
I have upcoming post-graduate exams and competition is fierce, to stay concentrated in this wonderful world full of myriad of sounds, I use headphones or 2.1 system (keep switching in between them) 12-14 hours a day on lowest setting with calming instrumental sounds.

Yesterday, after finishing my dinner started my studies again (no headphones this time) and suddenly there it was. Slight heaviness around right ear with my tinnitus spiked from 2/10 to 5/10.

I was spooked and deep inside I knew this is gonna stay! And it has stayed there until now.

More About My Approach
I knew my sensorineural deafness can't be helped much and it wasn't as bothering because of my other ear handling the sounds pretty fine.

Thus I just went with periodic checkups and audiology. Same results over and over again.
Never had head MRI done up until now. Never wore a hearing aid and don't have any hyperacusis or vertigo.

I am a doctor by profession and have very positive mindset about life and its challenges. I like to get the bull by its head but this tinnitus is a bit disabling for me.

I'm freaking right now because I learnt to live with the old baseline but I don't know if I can cope up with spikes and new baselines.

So, here I'm writing down and praying someone finds a cure for this damn disability.

Dear people of Tinnitus Talk, need some love and advice for further course!
I wish us all get better with time and cope up with what life throws in front of us!

With love,
Rix


P.S. Excuse me for poor grammar, English is not my first language.

 

Hello and welcome

Sorry to hear about your problems. It does seem like headphones have played a part in them.

I know it's hard as a music lover but you should probably keep off them for now and avoid loud environments..

Hope things improve for you soon.

 

Hello Mister Muso,

I am pretty sure my headphone usage has something to do with this spike.
And I will be staying away from using headphones or being in noisy environments.

Any tips on how to fall asleep in night?
It was bad last night, I tossed and turned and finally some ambient rain sounds helped me fall asleep.

Glad to hear from you!

Rix.

 

If rain works then that's great. Also try looking up "Tinnitus Works" on YouTube. The author of those sounds, @Steve, is a member here, and his acoustic modulation sounds have helped a lot of people.

 

Welcome to the forum. Spikes happen quite often and usually they fade over some time. So try to stay calm as too much stress and anxiety can aggravate tinnitus. Many things can cause spikes. Stress and anxiety are often cited as causes for spikes. But it can be many other factors such as using headphone for extended period in high volume, or having some stimulants in the things we eat, such as too much caffeine, alcohol, salt, MSG, or gluten etc. Regardless what it is, it is always better to stay positive that the spike will go away. Hope you do. I have bad T years ago and during the recovery period I experienced numerous spikes. Each time it sang me to the bottom of the mental pit and I suffered big time mentally. Gradually I learn to just hang tight and take it easy. It has helped very much. Now spikes do cause any reaction. Time has done some healing and learning some CBT techniques to cope with the emotions have helped. I will share with you another doctor's success story and how he uses CBT to help him cope with his severe tinnitus. Hope it will help you. Take care. God bless.

Dr. Hubbard’s success story:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/how-cbt-helped-me-live-again-dr-hubbards-story.4608/