First Tinnitus Spike Since 2014 — From Having Mobile Phone on Speaker

I have had tinnitus for over 40 years, initially due to acoustic trauma, with several 'wrong place, wrong time' spikes over the years. My last major spike was in 2014 (which was the last time, until now, that I posted).

I had about 8 years of habituation until a few weeks ago: I had an accident with my mobile phone on speaker where I pressed up-volume by accident. There was a 1 second sound that really didn't seem loud enough to cause a spike, but it did. I thought I was a bit more resilient, but I wasn't! I had been very careful all those years; wearing earplugs whenever I left my apartment: I avoided several spikes while outside (I live in Las Vegas; a very loud city!).

I am about 3 weeks into spike #10 (I think!) and going through the same horrible feelings that a lot of folks here are. I just started taking the supplements that helped me in the past (it took me a while to remember them!). They are primarily Zinc, Magnesium, and GABA. Medical cannabis has helped in the past, but I have not smoked since early November: clearing out my lungs!

I will post my progress: I would say my tinnitus went from 2/10 to 7/10 now; actually the volume of my tinnitus did not change; just how much of the time my brain pays attention to it. I am hoping to have some positive news in a month or two.

It was a bit disappointing to see that in the time since 2014 until now, no real progress on a cure or more successful treatments.

Stay strong; we all will eventually habituate! I will post next when I have any updates.

 

Sorry to hear! At least you’ve had some good time in-between the spikes.

Are you saying that the spike is just you paying more attention to the sound after the acoustic trauma? Or did the volume actually spike?

 

That is a great question: Initially, I assumed that the volume of the tinnitus went up, but as I have been so traumatized with this spike, now I am thinking one of my pure-tones maybe changed a bit from before... Also, I have noticed a bit more sensitivity to sounds in general since the spike event, so it might be all of that from a one second screech that someone without tinnitus would not have even noticed!

Thanks for your reply! It is appreciated.

 

Update:

It has been almost 6 weeks since the spike and I can report that my head has cleared a bit and the tinnitus has marginally gone down in volume and annoyance level. I think the initial volume was from 2/10 pre-spike to 8/10 immediately after: now I would say it is still elevated but probably 7/10 now. I am encouraged that I have any improvement at all this close to the noise exposure; all of my prior spikes took much longer to begin to improve. It still is bothering me, but a little bit less now. In fact, yesterday I was able to get to sleep without any sleep aids; woke up a few hours later, and got back to sleep without any help. I am still planning to begin some pink noise therapy next week, as that has helped me in the past.

I am now more hopeful that in a month or two, it will be even lower volume and less annoying.

Happy 2024 to all the folks here! Let's make 2024 our year of habituation and improved quality of life!

 

You're still in a lot better shape than me. Comparing you to me, you still have a lot of mileage left.

 

I'm going through what seems to be a permanent increase after having a smoke alarm going off 3 feet away from me in October. It lasted only about 2-3 seconds but it was incredibly loud and has made my tinnitus much more high pitched.

I hope the new year brings some respite to my fellow sufferers.

 

I had a building security alarm go off and the speaker was right over my head, never knew it was there. It really sucks.

 

Similar issue, I was exposed to a faulty alarm. I very foolishly dealt with the problem by first removing the batteries (which didn't work) and then unfastening the hardwired alarm. I cannot believe I didn't use my noise-cancelling headphones but it was late and I was tired and sleepy. My head was inches away from the alarm as I worked to undo the wires. After more than a year, the spike has slowly abated in a non-linear fashion. The fullness in the ear and weird secondary noise from external sound has dissipated. But the improvement has been slow.

 

So this acoustic trauma happened over a year ago and your spike is still subsiding? That gives me some hope as I'm 2.5 months into a spike and I haven't seen any improvement.

 

I can concur: I am about 6 weeks into my 11th spike over the past 40 years and I have habituated to all of them: they all took about 12 months to settle down...

 

Yes, the alarm exposure was really intense. I think that is why the spike has taken over a year to settle down. In the last 2 months, I have finally gotten to the point where I can go without white noise maskers on certain days, sometimes even for most of the week.

 

I was way too optimistic in my prior post: firstly, I thought more time had gone by when I posted my last update. The noise exposure occured on November 27th, so it will be only 2 months on January 27th. It is still extremely loud (8/10) and intrusive. I have had one decent day a few days ago, followed by two of the worst. Because not much time has elapsed since the spike, I am somewhat hopeful that I will be in a better place several months from now, but, now I feel this level of intrusiveness is my new horrible normal. I think since I am now 60 and last spike was at age 50, I might not improve...

I will update again at 3 months, I hope with better news and outlook!

 

I have a cautiously optimistic update. January 27th will be 2 months since the spike and today, for the first time, my tinnitus is slightly lower in volume, intensity and intrusiveness. I am extremely surprised as all of my prior spikes took much longer to improve at all. I am not yet ready to post in the Success Stories category, but definitely am looking forward to more improvement by the time my 3 and 4 month updates happen! I will continue to provide updates...

 

I am not able to deal with my current spike anymore: I simply cannot get away from it and I am going crazy. Everything that worked with prior spikes is not helping at all.

The only thing that helps is Valium, but that is not a solution.

I have an audiologist appointment on March 12th: I hope I can make it until then.

I just need some support... I really am scared.

Thank you.

 

I had the same thing happen to me 3 days ago. I was watching a YouTube on my cellphone, and I guess whoever uploaded the video thought it would be cute or funny to insert a loud blasting obnoxious sound, like a feedback noise, right in the middle of the video. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but all of a sudden, I ended up with a spike; I am always very careful whenever I use my cellphone, specifically when watching YouTube videos, because I know this can happen. I have not had a spike like this one for months, but it caught me off guard and really made me mad. I have had spikes like this in the past, but they have always settled back down to my normal baseline in a couple of days. But now, going on day 4, this spike is still here and starting to make me worry about it. This should have never happened.

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but I’m just venting. I just never saw this coming.

I’m hoping the spike will end soon, like it has in the past.

Thank you for your time.

Louie
Quietatnight

 

I had a second major spike about a year ago. At a family game night, my 2 daughters (in their 30's!) screamed loud and long, causing my eardrums to actually "vibrate" (a very strange feeling).

My tinnitus immediately spiked from a 1 (baseline for many years) to an 8. I was devastated.

It took about 6-8 months to calm down. I would say it has faded about 90%.

Trust me, 2 girls screaming for over 5 seconds must be louder than a smartphone speaker on max volume, and my spike faded, so I'm confident your tinnitus will go back to baseline within 6-12 months.

 

Thank you so much for the encouraging words: I am very glad that your tinnitus returned to baseline and you have given me hope that mine will as well!

 

Be very careful; do not let the audiologist do any procedures like microsuction. I have read too many stories here of such procedures making things much worse.

If you're going because of your tinnitus spike, I would cancel and give it time to fade, there is nothing they can do about your tinnitus (unfortunately).

 

Man, it just sucks that tinnitus can go from a 2 to an 8 that easily! Scary stuff. Have all your spikes in the last 40 years jumped like that, or did the spikes start at a lower level?

I know it's really scary to think something may be permanent, but a jump that level is usually always a spike, as it has been for you. You just need time. Hopefully, you can keep your anxiety levels down in terms of everything else in your life. Like you said, Valium isn't a solution, but it can help you on those very hard days; at least you have that to fall back on if you go into panic.

We're here for you.

 

I really appreciate your response and support: It means a great deal to me.

 

Almost 4-month update:

One bit of good news, along with continuing stress and anxiety.

Since the spike, there have been 2 new low-frequency pure tones that are loud and intrusive, along with my pre-existing high-frequency screaming sound along with an oscillating high-frequency sound.

Sometime recently during my 4th month of being de-habituated, the oscillating sound appears to be gone. I am, of course, happy to see any improvement. The remaining sounds are still there and annoying, but maybe they can abate and improve throughout the next month's timeframe.

I have been taking Magnesium and Zinc, but I'm not sure they did anything. I also have been exercising and meditating; I'm not sure if either has helped the tinnitus spike... I also have not been drinking or smoking cannabis; not sure if that has helped!

I will be starting inner ear sound therapy in April. I am hoping for more improvement, but I am not optimistic. I will be pleasantly surprised if I do...

 

My tinnitus is still as loud, annoying, and intrusive as when the accident and spike occurred.

I am getting hearing aids in a week. I hope the correction for my high-frequency hearing loss and sound therapy will help. I am going to give my auditory system some time to improve. If not, I will go back to cannabis, as that helped me deal with the tinnitus in the past.

I will update you in 2 months.

 

I really hope the hearing aids help me deal with my tinnitus; I have never had as loud tinnitus as I have now, and I do not have much hope of improving at this point.

 

I am three weeks into hearing aids with tinnitus masking. There is no change in tinnitus volume or intrusiveness. In fact, I hear the white or pink noise and my tinnitus, which is pretty annoying! I think if the hearing aids help the habituation process, it will probably take many months. I am not optimistic I will be able to habituate to this spike, but I am hoping I will be better able to cope in time.

 

I stopped wearing the hearing aids after about a month of consistent use. I was too focused on the hearing aids, changing from white noise to pink, changing the volume, etc. I don't have much hearing loss. I will live my life and subject my healing auditory system to regular noises so I can habituate. I will protect my ears when in loud environments, but I don't expect to be in those for a while! I am hoping that I can habituate to this horrible spike/permanent increase over the course of the next several months.

 

@biggy312, have you had any improvement?

 

It has been almost eight months, and I think I am starting to habituate. My tinnitus is still elevated, loud, annoying, and intrusive, but I have not been aware of the sounds for more parts of the day now, and it is bothering me a bit less. My improvement started when I began to sleep better and longer; that started about a month ago. I have been taking Hydroxyzine, Magnesium glycinate, Tryptophan, and Melatonin nightly, and I am sleeping better and longer.

I also started medical cannabis again after a seven-month break, and that has also helped me deal with the ringing and the anxiety of the spike.

I still protect my ears if I go out, but otherwise, I go about my life, letting my auditory system settle down and heal.

I hope that the coming months will see more habituation. I am definitely in a better place than earlier.

 

Did you ever post a success story? I’d really like to read about your recovery, especially the first time around.

 

I'm glad you are sleeping better.