Hearing a Low Drone/Car Idling/Lightsaber, You Name It

Hello everyone, I'm also a fellow low humming/drone or whatever we call it these days sufferer and I've also been lurking over this forum for a while now. My symptoms are very similar to a lot of people with low frequency tinnitus as in I can somewhat modulate its intensity with jaw and neck movement, sometimes to a point where it stops. Clenching my jaw stops it for like 2 seconds or so. It's only in my right ear. Putting a finger in my ear or putting my ear against my arm drowns it. Things like fridge or computer fans do a great job at masking (or stopping, I'm not sure) as well as the famous starship sound which I use most nights to sleep. I also cannot hear it outside, I think the environmental noise of the city is just enough to mask it. Ventilation systems such as the ones in offices or any industrial building is a blessing to me because the constant humming of it seems to masks it so well. I've gotten really good at spotting that airflow sound whenever I get into a building. Unfortunately I don't have any at home.

I've had it close to two years now with a change in patterns 6 or so months ago, it used to usually lasts 1 or 2 days and then stop for a while but since that change I'm getting it almost every day with variable intensity. I just had a very quiet night for some reason and now it's back on full force. I've been able to kind of accepting it as a part of me and I sometimes surprise myself at being able to carrying on my activities even if I can hear it although I still feel better when I'm masking it which I think can change over time. It put me on the edge at the onset and for the greater part of the first year but for everyone out there I think it does get better, not necessarily in sound intensity but how we react to it.

Like many here I also feel like it's muscular in nature and I've been experiencing some residual inhibition from things like being outside for an extended amount of time or after some intense workout session, I often can get a few hours of quiet after and also like many it can disappear for weeks or months only to come back and stay with me for weeks. Alcohol seems to have some positive effect on it, especially on the following day of a heavy-ier drinking session. I've seen countless of doctors and none of the treatment I've tried helped. They all seem to help at the beginning but their effect subside over time or it's just a placebo effect? I'm currently seeing an ENT who's entertaining the idea of cutting the two muscles inside the ear (Tensor Tympani and stapedius) although we're not sure it would have any impact on this particular tinnitus. I do get actually TTTS sometimes so that would solve that one I think but it's really nothing compared to the drone.

Interesting thing, I sometimes get a bit of a clogged ear (due to allergies I think) and when that happens, it stops completely but I think it's because during that time I'm not able to hear the lowest frequencies as well. It does return stronger for a couple of days after my ear goes back to normal and takes a while to go back to baseline or disappear.

This forum helped me a great deal at finding methods to cope and live on and I wanted to share my experience a bit, especially to all new people going through this live-changing event. With the amount of information here I'm hopeful we'll get a better understanding of this condition and perhaps solve it? I'm located in QC, Canada so if anyone around here has a similar condition I'd love to chat about it.

 

Hello. It seems I'm seeing a lot of people recently that have the hum/drone. It's good to see that some people like you seem to be able to cope with it and that encourages me (I'm at my 5th month into this).

What were your coping methods except the ones already mentioned?

 

I think the one I use the most is constant background sounds, whether it's podcast, audiobook, music. It doesn't have to be loud at all for that to help me. I know you're supposed to always set the sound just right below your tinnitus to affect the habituation mechanism but sometimes it requires very little sound that it's actually challenging to find the right volume to still hear my drone, very strange.
I found working out/playing sport to help a lot since I usually get some quiet time (hour or so, sometimes more) after a good session. I've used that as a motivator to get me push harder. Also I try to be active and work from different places, I try to avoid working alone at home if I can. I found easier to deal with it when other people are around me.

Lastly I thought that talking about it to both a therapist and people close to me helped a lot. I now feel less weird to ask for putting music on when I'm at my partner's house or at some friends' for instance.

 

Interesting to see you got the light saber drone after an infection - while I (100%) got it due to an acoustic trauma.

Must be something irritated / nerve damage / whatnot.

 

Yeah I'm not entirely sure but it does feel physical which gives me a little hope as to whether we can find a way to fix or at least reduce in intensity. I've tried going to the physio for my neck and he did mention my sternocleidomastoid was much more tense on the side of my bad ear and he worked at it for a month or so and I think I felt some improvements. I haven't been going for a while now but I've decided to go back again to test that theory once more so I can post back if I feel improvements again.
I'm also exploring jaw issues as some other post suggested but I haven't done much regarding to it just yet.

Even if I'm getting better at accepting this as part of my life I haven't quite given up yet as to find a way to reduce it, my guts are telling me my body could still recover from this given it's not that uncommon that it disappears for weeks or sometimes months only to come back for no reason.

As for the infection, I think it weakened something in my body because since then I get clogged ear once in a while and the drone used to only happen as soon as my ear would get unclogged and would last a day or so. It only became more present 6 months ago.

 

@Thomas L, I have EXACTLY what you're describing and it's driving me mad. I even use the lightsaber analogy for those of a Star Wars persuasion to describe it.

It started after ears being clogged with earwax 6 weeks ago. Right side only. After microsuction it stopped briefly but now it's back again. A constant background hum in right ear. Like you, the fridge or bathroom fan cancels it out perfectly. I hadn't tried the space ship noise thing but ironically last night I started watching Star Trek Voyager for the first time and the ship background noise just stops the hum totally. But I pause the video and it comes back.

I have audiology appointment later this month so will see what they say.

It's been a year or so since your post. If you're still monitoring this, how are things for you now?

 

I'd say that it comes and goes. I don't have it every day but it's around more often than not. It still fluctuates in loudness but I don't get the lightsaber sound anymore, it's mostly now a constant 130-140 Hz wave. It still feels like something vibrates inside the ear but I think it's the nature of how low frequency waves behave. I think I became used to it and feel fine when it's there. I'd be lying if I said it never bothers me, it does sometimes, especially if I'm tired for instance. I guess I'm a bit stuck with it

My "best" theory for me at least is the ear craves low frequencies when it can't hear them for a while (when I get a clogged ear which happens often enough) so when it's capable of hearing it again, it amplifies it for a while and takes a bit of time to go back to some sort of baseline. At least that's what I feel is happening to me.

Hopefully the audiologist can help you and let us know if they do! Good luck.

 

I have suffered from the same issue in my right ear since 13th December. I don't really know what caused it. I had a neck and jaw adjustment by a chiropractor 6 days prior. And I was depressed because of my normal tinnitus bothering me again after 8 years of habituation.

My hum is getting louder when lying on my back or when i look up. It gets quieter when I look down. It seems that outside noise gives me some residual inhibition afterwards. I am scared that this hum will be forever.