Crickets from Hell

[BLane]

I've been lurking here for a while, suppose I should come out and share my story:

July 9, 2016, my wife and I were camping. She went to bed and I was sitting there watching the fire, looking at the stars and listening to the crickets...WHOA, where did they come from? That's a shitload of crickets, I've never heard that many before! Wait, I don't remember hearing any last night. Um, is that in my head!?!?! That lasted 2 days and then went away. 2 weeks later, we went camping again. I woke up one morning to the crickets again, except now they had changed into a Jet Engine or High Energy transformer sound and feel. I could hear the high screaming pitch in both ears along with a vibratory feeling in my head. I have no idea what caused it.

For the past month the volume of the T will drop down to a manageable level about 1 or 2 days a week on average. As much of a needed relief as those days are, I spend them in constant fear of the T starting back up....and so far it always has. This has made accepting it harder. T started doing all sorts of crazy things the last week and a half. Volume levels going up and down, switching ears back and forth. Vibratory brain feeling coming and going. When it is going full bore for days upon end, it is torture. I've also got this crazy fatigue now and pressure headaches that move around my head. I'm assuming it's related to the T since it all started about the same time.

 

[undecided]

If you are looking for advice, you should be seeing an ENT very-very soon. Like, now.

 

[MikeL1972]

I've been lurking here for a while, suppose I should come out and share my story:

I've also got this crazy fatigue now and pressure headaches that move around my head. I'm assuming it's related to the T since it all started about the same time.

Hi Blane,

Any exposure to loud sounds? Have you had any trauma recently to the head, face, or neck? TMJ? Have you been on an airplane recently? Any recent dental work? Have you been sick recently?

If you go to the ENT, he/she will check your ears for wax build-up and you can also ask them to write you a script for an MRI just to be double sure.

Good luck!

 

[BLane]

I have some hearing loss from my early 20's (42 now). I also have been riding motorcycles (w/o hearing prot.) and shooting guns (w/hearing prot.) quite a bit the last few years so perhaps that's added to it. On the day the tinnitus started, a bug flew in my ear that was quite high pitched, but the T didn't start until many hours later. Both days had been stressful, not sure if that could be a factor. I did go to a walk-in clinic shortly after, no wax or fluid that the Dr. could see. I don't have medical coverage, so even if I went to an ENT, I wouldn't be able to afford the tests, and from what I've been reading there is no cure so it all seems kinda pointless. Doubt it's TMJ related because nothing I do can cause it to change pitch. It has a mind of it's own. No recent trauma, no recent dental work, no recent airplanes or sickness. No youtube T sound therapies affect it, if anything they make it worse. The shower is the only place I get relief except for the days when it quiets down on it's own. Thanks for the advice, I do appreciate it.

I work in the creative field and this really is making life difficult. Hard to focus, concentrate, listen and even distinguish if sounds are external or internal at times.....let alone be creative! This T really has a way of sucking the enjoyment out of life. I really feel for all the long-time sufferers on here.

 

[MikeL1972]

Yeah, we live in a very loud world. Between lawn mowers, trimmers, fire engines with alarms blaring, loud car engines, loud music, etc, we often overlook the need to protect our ears the same way we protect other parts of our body against the cold for example. Of course, some people get tinnitus due to being sick or for even inexplicable reasons.

The best tip I can offer you is to stop fighting it. I know it is easier said than done, especially when you have Google at your finger tips and you want a cure. Right. Now. I went the same route as everyone else does as soon as this nuisance afflicts them. The best way to treat this condition as of now is to simply ignore it. It is called "habituation" and it will take months. The less resistance you put up against it, the more your mind will acclimate to it and evenly deem it not worthy of your attention. As I type this out to you, of course I hear the ringing in my left ear, but I could care less about it and it does not bother me. Now don't get me wrong... I would love for it to stop ringing, but I am not allowing the ringing to affect my nervous system and therefore irritate. THAT is the key and it is something only you can gradually do.

In the meantime, the other piece of advice I can offer you is to protect your ears if you are going to be firing guns, listening to music, or even driving in a car with open windows - as even that is a cause of tinnitus! Your health is your wealth!

 

[BLane]

Good advice, thanks Mike. It's pretty manageable when it's a 7/10 or less. It those days when it's stuck at 8/10 or more that it becomes too intrusive to ignore. When it first started, it stayed really high for a month straight and I started to feel like I was getting used to it after the 3rd week. All of a sudden the volume would go way down for a day here and there and I think that messed me up. It is really great when the volume goes down, but it's also a double edged sword, cause it's making it harder to accept. Thanks again, I'll do my best to habituate. Glad that you are there, that's hopeful!