Glad to Find You... Wish I Didn't Have to!

Hello Fellow Tinnitus Sufferers,

I am a 38 YO Female and have been suffering with tinnitus since Sept 2010 or 2011 (can't remember exactly). I remember my left ear acutely became full and began ringing. I went to an ENT pretty quickly where I learned I had normal hearing and the doc told me to "make friends with it" that it wasn't going away. Wow, ok... I habituated very well, the T didn't bother me.

Unfortunately that changed in August of this year. I noticed a fluttering sensation in my left ear twice, once while at work a maintenance man was drilling into concrete and once at home when I was bent over using my Dustbuster. Since then, I started noticing that my own voice was "chiming" back into my head when speaking and increased tinnitus. My tinnitus is a constant high-pitched ringing in both ears. I feel like I have developed hyperacusis, I am very sensitive when a door closes, alarm goes off, TV, radio volume, certain people's voices etc.

What is really worrying me is that I have frequent daily spikes in the T. It will go up a notch or two for a few seconds and immediately go back to what I guess is now my normal T. Does this mean it is going to get worse?? I can't imagine.

I went to an audiologist a few months ago and my hearing tested fine and brain MRI was normal. She referred me to another ENT who performed an OAE and Tympanogram, both normal. They said that the OAE only went up to 6000hz, so if my issue was above that frequency it would not detect it. My Husband and I did an ultra high frequency test online and I couldn't hear 16000hz, he could clearly, but I could not. Only, if the ipad was turned on highest volume, then I could hear it. I could hear frequencies above that though???

So, could the ultra high frequency hearing loss be causing all of this mess? The ENT also referred me to a Cardiologist for a murmur he found and wants an ultra sound of my carotids (even though they sound clear to him). I have also been having some pretty high blood pressure spikes. I sometimes have the "whoosing" sound in my head also.

I am trying to habituate to this, but it is so difficult and the frequent daily frequency spikes are scaring the hell out of me. I made an appointment with the audiologist to discuss Neuromonics treatment, I have researched and realize the cost, but I am desperate at this point! What could cause the spikes (the BP, maybe)? What have you all done to habituate?

Any info would be helpful!

Jen

 

Hi @Jenbissness
BP can make your tinnitus worse .
Try notice if your spikes come when you are more active and notice if your tinnitus goes quiet when your BP is lower for resting heart rate.....lots of love glynis

 

Hi @Jenbissness,

I am a sample size of one, but in my case high frequency hearing loss certainly looks to be associated with T:

Relevant info:

- My T was caused by a single instance of acoustic trauma

- My hearing on normal tests is very good - better than most people in fact. No sign of hearing loss whatsoever.

- My T frequency is around 12,500 Hz

- When an audiologist used specialized equipment to measure high frequency hearing loss...you guessed it - there is a deficit right at 12,500 Hz.

Hope this is helpful.

 

hi @RoadToSilence,

I definitely think this is what's going on with me. Anything you find that helps?

 

Hi @glynis,

My T is constant, it is never quiet. I can make it worse by pressing hard on my palatte with my tongue and tightening my masseter muscles, I can't identify anything else that makes it worse. The spikes seem to come out of nowhere.

 

@Jenbissness

Like many TT members, in my two years of having T I have tried a countless list of suppliments and a few prescription meds, but nothing was effective. Diet didn't seem to have any impact either. I am no longer experimenting with any of this. No suppliments, no drugs, no special diets. Nothing.

For the first year after onset, I can confidently say that I had zero "low T" days. A relentless, oscillating, high pitched, torturous tone that made life barely worth living. 9/10 every single day.

Thankfully, things have changed. For one, I do have low T days now and they seem to be getting more frequent...especially over the last 6 months. And while there is likely some habituation going on, there is a very clear loudness difference on some days. On loud days, T rages above everything...music, TV, white noise, rain, traffic, while driving, nothing can hide it - 9/10 just like at the beginning. On low T days, it can be as low as 3/10.

Why do I have low T days now when I had none in the first year? Honestly, I don't know, but it is nice to think that there could be some slow genuine healing going on in addition to a bit of habituation.

Additionally, because my T is no longer such a continuous nightmare, for the past 6 months I have been testing a theory about what is responsible for the loud T days. In brief, I suspect that my worst T days are closely tied to the weather. I think this is something that others have also speculated about here at TT.

Yes, for 6 months and counting I have kept a daily log on weather and T-levels (not something I would recommend for those still in T hell). Of course, this is not a tightly controlled study, but I'm trying to be as objective as possible. I haven't analyzed the data yet, but I would be very surprised if there is no connection.

When I stop collecting "data" and do some statistics, I will post the results on TT. If there is a connection, maybe this will help a few others explain their seemingly random T spikes.

Anyway, sorry for the long winded and slightly off topic response.

Have you had any additional testing since your last post?