Give Me Your Opinion on How to Better Mask Tinnitus and About Maskers in the Ears

Hey guys.

I have a few questions and I am mainly seeking advice. I gained my tinnitus about 5 or 6 months ago due to a bad ear infection. At that time its fair to say I freaked out but managed to habituate (at least that's how I remember it) after a week or two went by.

Then a month or two later started college. Had a major anxiety/ mental breakdown where I then latched onto my tinnitus and blamed it. I ended up dropping the current semester (still am out) to heal/recover/habituate.

I can firmly say I am ok. I hear it pretty well everyday but I do my best to not care or freak out about it. When I can't do that I mask it or go do stuff. My biggest thing is to not let it ruin my life.

Some info to help below. I'm 6'2, 370 lbs. I am overweight and while I don't feel super healthy I don't feel terrible (though I am aware I need to address my weight, no doubt about it).

But I do have some questions.

1. Any advice on how to better mask it?
2. Tell me about maskers in the ears? Worth my time?

Please. Just talk to me. Would love to hear advice. I'm not really freaking out about my tinnitus. But it's nice to talk about it with those who suffer like me.

 

Welcome to the forum.
When tinnitus is new or at a new irritating level, and the ringing is causing much anxiety and panic plus sleeplessness, it is advisable to get masking going so you won’t be so anxious and fearful and can sleep better. Stress and anxiety are toxic to T. So try masking if you haven’t done so. When my T was new, I used to mask all day just to prevent panic attacks from hearing my ultra high pitch loud dog whistle T. Try these if you haven't yet. Best of luck. Take good care. God bless.

1) Mask at bed time if having trouble sleeping, by using a sound pillow or sound machine with pillow speakers. There are good sound machine & pillow therapy systems like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-...d-Oasis-Therapy-System-Speakers/dp/B00MH5HKTA

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds. Use wisdom in the use of maskers, headphones or earbuds as extended use or excessive volume may hurt your ears. Try set the volume slightly below that of your tinnitus.

3) With PC & speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds to see which one masks best:

TT's excellent audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net

or download free sound generator ‘aire freshener’: http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or click play to mix these sounds with this simple sound generator: http://asoftmurmur.com/

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

Hi I am currently going to college too and have severe tinnitus. My tinnitus is just unmaskable. What helps me get through the semester is just studying with the tv on at a certain volume to concentrate on my homework but again when I get a second that my mind is blank and unoccupied my tinnitus blasts away. It's hard to focus in class everyday but like I said try to focus in your class not your tinnitus. I am too not trying to let it ruin my life, even though mines keeps getting worse and worse. It's hard but we have to be strong. I usually mask it with music at a certain volume level. I have been thinking if I should get ear maskers or not just because there's a lot of ups and down to it but would have to do more research if I would to get one yet. I know everyone is different and has different levels of tinnitus there is just no cure for tinnitus yet, hopefully one day there will be.

 

Hi @Lighthouse. For me personally, maskers were never even a choice. I knew it would just irritate me.
I also tried hearing aids for a short time but they also made the tinnitus worse so I quit them. Now I just habituate. I think my tinnitus is pretty mild in comparison to some people here because generally speaking, I don't worry much about it.

I hope I don't imply that I am making assumptions about your food choices, but it is known that things like aspartame, sodium and sugar can all have major effects on tinnitus. Exercise will help distract you from tinnitus . I find that running distracts me because I end up focusing on the beat of my feet against the ground or on my breath rather than tinnitus.

 

Any tips on how to mask T at work? I worked in a shared space so I can't turn up the volume on my computer, also I have read on this forum that wearing headphones/ear bugs are not a good idea. The office is pretty quiet, even more quiet than when I sleep at night, and I hear my T most at work. Any ideas that would not interfere with my coworkers are appreciated. Thanks.

 

Headphones won't kill you if you keep them at a modest volume. Headphones streaming music through Pandora is what I do.

 

Thanks. Any special type of headphones?

 

I'm not an ENT, but I think it's best for there to be some open air-flow with the ear canal. Ear buds that don't completely seal the ear canal would work or cheapie black foam style. The looser or more crooked half/on half/off the better. It's not about creating a self-contained audiophile experience. It's about raising the noise-floor where you can still kinda hear what else is going on around you similar to what it would be like to have desktop speakers or a radio softly playing calming background music at your desk. Something like that shouldn't be loud or harsh enough to further damage your ears.

 

You can try noise-cancelling headphones: they'll let you listen to content at low volume.

 

Headphones won't kill you but the distress caused by them can. Anyone with "noise induced" tinnitus and uses headphones even at low volume, risks making it much worse. This can lead to a person having serious problems with their mental and emotional wellbeing and in some cases, make them want to bring about their own demise.

Michael

 

I donated my expensive headphones to a friend and at the same time warned them of the dangers of using them.

For someone with tinnitus I would advise them never to use headphones again and use sound therapy through a good quality speaker.

On the few occasions that I listened to audiobooks through headphones at low volume I always noticed a small temporary spike afterwards. So eventually decided to not use again and use external speakers instead.

 

Do you understand the catch-22 you're outlining? Put a T sufferer in a soundproof room and they will go insane in short order. You can't coddle your ears to the point of paranoia. I understand ears are fragile but when you have T, you need some active masking going on and that means those hair cells you've got left have to be put to use, period.

That doesn't mean blasting Megadeth at full volume on closed-ear headphones. (The damage Pete Townshend blames on headphones, BTW, were old-school 70s style headphones.) It's not an all or nothing proposition. It's how you use them.

I agree that speakers are preferable, but the situation in question doesn't allow for using speakers. So either the person is going to be in constant turmoil or will learn how to use headphones safely.

Most people don't know how to manage volume with headphones, BTW. In my case, I have hyperacusis which provides a natural warning sign when I'm going over the safe-zone on volume but I usually keep it very well below that anyway.

Have I made my T worse because of headphones? Maybe, but I've had T for 26 going on 27 years. So that's a lot of wear and tear from various sources despite my best attempts to protect, but if I had to exclude headphones all this time I really would not be able to function. So that's the tradeoff I've had to make.

 

I have corresponded and counselled many people with "noise induced" tinnitus. Some not all, have returned to using headphones and regretted it. Many posts written in this forum by people with noise induced tinnitus, returned to using headphones and found their tinnitus increased to a new and permanent level.

I hasten to add, not everyone with "noise induced tinnitus" will be adversely affected by using headphones but there is always the risk. The tinnitus only needs to spike once and the game is over! Any right thinking human being with "noise induced" tinnitus and is also aware of the potential risks of using headphones, even at low volume, and continues to use them - deserves everything that is coming to them for they have been warned.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/headphones-—-white-noise-generators-and-tinnitus.12112/

 

This is going to sound like a really stupid question and I do apologies in advance. But what is the difference from using a headphone and a speaker? I get the headphone depending on the brand your more likely to gain a tinnitus spike. But how is it any different from getting a spike from a speaker? Arent we also susceptible from getting them from speakers? I am pretty sure me talking on skype with nothing but a speaker and the volume down gave me a spike.

 

@Fally

I appreciate that you may not be aware of the dangers of using headphones for people whose tinnitus was "Noise induced" Therefore, I will briefly explain. It is all to do with sound pressure/waves generated through headphones into the ear canal. The ear canal is only 26mm long approximately one inch. These soundwaves have nowhere else to go other than directly towards the eardrum and can irritate the cochlea in the inner ear, which can make the tinnitus spike. It doesn't matter what kind of headphones you use as they are all bad!

Listening to a speaker at distance, the soundwaves are dispersed over a wide area before they are picked up by the outer ear on the side of our head (Pinna) and funnelled down the ear canal towards the eardrum and cochlea. If the sound from the speaker is too loud this can also irritate the inner ear so one still needs to be careful of loud sounds.

There are many posts in this forum like @Meirion above, where people have noticed their tinnitus increased after using headphones even at low volume. This mostly applies to people with "noise induced" tinnitus. However, I still advise caution to anyone that has tinnitus even if it wasn't noise induced to be careful.

Many people have contacted me by email, at forums and on the telephone regretting using headphones because their tinnitus has increased and will not reduce to its previous manageable level. Shortly before last Christmas, a member of this forum contacted me. She had habituated to her tinnitus for 6 years. She decided to use headphones and kept the volume low. Within one week the tinnitus increased and will not return to its previous level. Now she is unable to return to work because of the distress the tinnitus is causing her. The tinnitus was originally noise induced.

I wish you well.
Michael

 

You didn't address my catch-22 situation.

I can't begin to outline the various scenarios in which deciding never to use headphones places someone with T in a situation where they either have to tolerate their ringing against total silence or risk disrupting the people around them through the constant use of speakers...wherever they go...whatever they do...at all hours of the day. To completely stop using headphones is simply unrealistic. Life is full of risks. You can get hit by a car just walking across the street.

"It doesn't matter what kind of headphones you use as they are all bad!"

You're wrong. You're just plain wrong. What I said before about headphones leaving room for air to breathe is key. The old walkman style headphones that sit over the ears loosely on thick foam earplugs are best. The cheap headphones also have poor treble response which helps spare the most sensitive parts of the ear (and believe me, I know because I am ultra-sensitive to high frequency content). It's also best to give the ears time to "rest". Anytime you can get by on "organic" background masking or speakers, do so. So I am not endorsing headphones as much as I'm saying they are a fact of life if you want to stay integrated in society without broadcasting to everyone around you that you're disabled and dependent on masking noises.

BTW, it would be nice to have ENTs or some other professionals here because when it comes to advice like this which teeters on medical advice, it just devolves into he-said-she-said with dueling anecdotes.

 

I have decided to reply to your last comment which I have quoted above and only this. You have obviously made up your own mind about headphone use and that's entirely your choice.

Due to the length of time that you have had tinnitus which is similar to me, I am quite surprised that you view ENT doctors as having professional knowledge of tinnitus. This is not the case. ENT doctors are physicians not tinnitus experts. They know about the anatomy of the Ear, Nose and Throat and this is their field of expertise. They are able to treat underlying medical problems associated with the auditory system and the ear. The majority of them know nothing about tinnitus and the way it can affect a person, because most have never experienced it and therefore can know nothing about the condition, other than what their tinnitus patients tell them.

I will not be commenting further on this topic.
Good day and I wish you well.

Michael

 

I've actually never gone to an ENT because I know full well how little they can actually help. That doesn't mean anonymous posters on a forum such as yourself should be trusted at face value when they presume to be the voice of authority.

I mean, jeez, we've got a thread with a nutcase trying to get people to not only wear headphones but to blare digital noise that is incredibly shrill and some people believe him. Why don't you take your anti-headphones stance over there where it belongs?

Everyone on the internet thinks they're an expert.

Some humility is in order. I share my anecdotes and you share yours but your attitude of "if someone does x then they deserve what's coming to them!" is an arrogant and rude attitude.

The delicate balancing act of our coping mechanisms is the only thing standing between us and the abyss. You may be well-meaning in trying to scare people off of headphones but by not offering a viable alternative to masking in a social context that doesn't allow for speakers you're attempting to box people into a corner which is going overboard, IMHO.

 

I said I have finished with the headphone topic so will not be covering that again.

My views on ENT doctors not having in depth knowledge or expertise on tinnitus remains the same. I regard them as highly qualified physicians and experts in their field knowing about the anatomy of the: Ear, Nose and Throat and able to treat any underlying medical problems associated with these organs. When a patient complains of tinnitus, it is necessary to see them to determine what is causing it as I've written in my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View in the link below. Sometimes a whole battery of tests are required to find the cause of the tinnitus.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

I am an anonymous poster and do use a pseudonym but I have in depth knowledge of "noise induced" tinnitus and the way it can affect a person's mental and emotional wellbeing. My 23 years experience with tinnitus is on this forum in the posts and articles that I have written which can be perused on my "started threads". There are many veterans on this forum and people that are seasoned to tinnitus that give good helpful advice. The advice that I give is based on personal experience and corresponding and counselling people with noise induced tinnitus. I offer it as guidance only and if someone finds it helpful then I am pleased.

Michael

 

Ah makes sense. Thanks Michael. I gave up headphones long again, actually i gave up even listening through my speakers as well long ago.

 

HI @Fally

Giving up headphones is the right thing to do but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy music. I am a HI-FI enthusiast and used to listen to music through headphones a lot and eventually developed tinnitus, due to listening at too high a volume without realizing it. That was 23 years ago and haven't used headphones since. I listen to music regularly through my HI-FI system at a comfortable level and have had no problems. Music can be very soothing to listen to and can be like medicine to the heart, soul and mind. Try and get back into listening to music.

All the best
Michael

 

Music was my life it use to calm me down but lately its like it gives me anxiety. (quiet the boyband fanatic in my day lol) I just binged watch an entire season of Pokemon with captions and no sound. My ears are really off at the moment, this past week everytime ive walked out of the house they have gotten worse and that's with protection. Ive had 3 days off work, im trying to rest them. I do miss listening to audiobooks though.

 

You haven't said what has caused your tinnitus. It might be a good idea to get checked out at ENT and have some tests done. Try listening to some relaxing music such as classical, that shouldn't cause any problems. If you are having problems with sensitivity to sound, this could mean hyperacusis. Try to get an appointment at ENT especially if you haven't been seen for a while. Please click on link below and read my post:
Hyperacusis, As I See It.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

All the best
Michael

 

They actually dont know what caused it. I saw an ENT all he told me was damage from what I dont know and then told me to plug my ears when going to a mall and that's it. Ive always had sensitive hearing and even as a teen and early twenties would plug my ears at concerts. I am in tinnitus therapy over it already which my ENT told me to go to and when i went last week my ears got worse, which has never happen. Ive been going for months. My therapist thinks maybe I need to go back to the ENT it took over 7 months just to see him last year so by the time i get in there its going to be a little pointless. Honestly not sure what to do.

 

@Fally

As I have mentioned in my posts above if you would kindly read them. Most ENT doctors know very little about tinnitus. They are physicians and know about the anatomy of the Ear, Nose and Throat, and able to treat underlying medical problems associated with them. To get help with your tinnitus, you need to see a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist, that specialises in the treatment and management of tinnitus and hyperacusis. There are a variety of treatment options that can help.

Over using hearing protection in the form of using earplugs is not a good idea. This actually makes your ears and auditory system more sensitive to sound. Please click on the link in the above post and read it as it explains this in more detail: Hyperacusis, As I see it, to give you a little more understanding.

Michael

 

I am seeing a hearing therapist, i have been for months for CBT and who specialties in Tinnitus therapy, its not really helping. As for the Audiologist not sure how it works in other countries but over here they are very expensive and trying to afford it when not having the money is a little hard. Plus the last time i saw one they just told me i was fine and sent me on my way out. I feel no one in this country really knows much about it compared to where you guys in America and Britain are. Sydney seems to have limited options.

I have read your thread more then once and I am already aware its made my system more sensitive, the problem is im so crippled with fear i cant stop using them which my 2 therapists are trying to ween me off them gradually. It's just a very long process and not a lot i can do.

 

HI @Fally

Thanks for the additional information as it helps a lot. Since you are seeing a Hearing Therapist that is the right person to see. CBT is a good treatment but it takes time. You have been using hearing protection for a long time, which has probably made your ears and auditory system more sensitive. However, this can be fixed but it may take time. Try not to give up and keep going to the therapy sessions. I don't think you need to see anyone else.

Please click on the links below and when you have time, read the posts as I think they will help. Try to keep strong and don't be too hard on yourself. Start using "sound enrichment" at night instead of sleeping in a quiet room if that's what you're doing at the moment. Things will get better just take it slowly.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/positivity-and-tinnitus.12060/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-ent-doctor-and-hearing-therapist.24047/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/inspiration.22894/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-tinnitus-counselling-help.22366/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/a-change-of-lifestyle.20643/

 

Thanks Michael, I know it takes time its the most frustrating thing about it all. I am often way to hard on myself, constantly blaming myself which I know I need to stop.

I have my air con on during the night just below my tinnitus that seems to help. I live in a very quiet area in the bush so even during the day it doesnt go above 40 db which they seem to think is why my ears where sensitive long before I got tinnitus because its environmental. My therapist did mention to start using sound enrichment during the day to help as well. Which I havent started yet.

I did look into the sound oasis that i saw you mention once not sure if that would be worth it or to use the app on my phone.

Thanks I shall do the readings.

 

It sounds to me that you have a good Hearing Therapist @Fally and that is all you need. You might find medication to help calm any anxiety and stress caused by the tinnitus. If you don't want to go down the prescription route, then you could try something herbal? St John's Wort is quite good for lowering stress. Of course discuss this with your Dr or Therapist before trying it.

I am a believer in the Sound Oasis sound machines and have three models. The S-650 is popular and the one I usually recommend. Using a sound App on your mobile phones is fine, however, it needs to be attached to a docking station with speakers or blue-toothed to a speaker to provide suitable sound enrichment. I agree with your Hearing Therapist that it's a good idea to be using sound enrichment during the day and especially at night.

Michael

 

Not the biggest fan of prescription so I might for herbal, i was told rescue remedy is good so might try that.

I think I might invest in the sound oasis as i dont have a docking station. Might be easier for me. Thanks for your help Michael