Hello, I'm Andrew

I was struck with tinnitus 1 week ago after being at a party, which looks to have tipped it over the edge. Every 2 days since my ears have changed and just last night they felt blocked up and a louder buzzing noise came to my left ear and created huge sensitivity to noise and increased the T levels, this has knocked me back dramatically and would appreciate any for of advice, thank you

 

Hi Andrew and welcome to the fourm.
I've had louder T for 7 weeks now. Blocked ears and sensitive hearing is a common combination, however, the sensitively in my hearing has reduced along with the blocked feeling over the past fortnight. My T has also stabilised and the distance between spikes have grown further apart. Please read my post about Dr Baguley in Standing at the gates of T. The early stages are the worst as it's all new and you're anxious. Stay calm and try to mask it the best you can, by keeping busy and listening to white noise at bed time. Stay off caffeine for a while and try something like camomile tea just before bed. The more you listen for changes the more anxious you will become. As you are only a week in, there's a good chance it will settle down or disappear altogether.

Take care mate.

 

Hi Andrew,
did you see ENT? Did you start any treatment?

 

Appreciate the reply Should I still try mask it even if it's making it worse? Or am I only perceiving it to be worse due to anxiety? Vicious circle so it is! To Carlo, I'm still waiting to see the ENT and i'm going back to my go to try and hurry the process along

 

You are right, it's a vicious circle and you need to break it. Most important is that you try to sleep well, the way it works for you - there are so many options, herbal, camomile tea as Darren wrote or drugs.
I don't think masking can make T worse, it's enough you don't keep white sound or similar too loud.
You are at a early stage, be optimistic and start the treatment your doctor will give you, you can win the battle.
Take care

 

Listen to Carlo. Carlo is the man!!

 

Wow Darren, it's really a huge responsability ! We all try to do our best, and I recommend Andrew to read your post about Doctor Baguley in Standing at the gates of T, it really helped me.
Thanks and a T-free night to all!

 

Hi guys, sorry to be a constant drone but I'm beginning to really struggle here as I'm finding it unbearable that almost all external noises close to me are increasing the volume of my T in the left ear, any advice on this at all?

 

I thought hyperacusis only made you squeamish and uncomfortable and never actually increased the volume of the T?

 

Andrew I know it's a long post, but read my post "Standing at the gates of T" and go back over my timeline. You will see I went through the same thing. I couldn't even get the bread out of the freezer as the frozen wrapping made a noise that affected my ears. This has calmed down now and what affected me then, does not now. Because you at the early stage everything is sensitive and magnified. One day at a time brother!

Regards,

Darren

 

I did have a brisk read but I'll go over it again. What seems to happen to me is that it doesn't completely make me squirm but it gets me anxious as it leads to increasing the noise in my left ear for when I go back into a quite environment. Even white noise which helps me at night as it's obviously at it's worst. I woke up this morning with very little noise but then went to the toilet, then to the kitchen for a banana and when I came back the T had risen in the left ear

 

Had a 2 minute conversation, moved about for a few minutes and the noise has risen further in my left ear and I go and play white noise which masks it but I turn it off and it' even louder now, the combination of blowing and high pitched ringing is unbearable. It's depressing me thinking I have to be in almost complete silence for it not to get worse

 

I just tried to go to the supermarket and it was an awful decision. The noise in my left ear has gone through the roof, I feel as if I've just stepped out a nightclub, this is causing me serious worry, my left ear just can't handle anything.

 

It's called a spike Andrew. My first 3-4 weeks of T, the spikes were the worst. For me they lasted anything from 12 to 24 hours, sometimes slightly longer. My ear felt blocked and I had super sensitivity to sound. The volume you are going through now won't last for the rest of your life, it will settle down after a period. It's so hard to say don't panic, because it's natural to do so. I really feel for you mate, as we have all been there. About 4 weeks ago I went to Wales for a star party and walked down the pub with a group of friends and could hardly hear them it was so loud. My ears were so sensitive to the noise I had to rush my meal and just leave. I woke up the next day and the volume had lowered. Still loud, but lower. Do what you need to do now to get yourself through tonight. Whether that be some sleeping tablets or some anti anxiety drugs. Try and stay calm mate because anxiety and a high heart rate can increase the T. We are all here for you mate, so post as many times as you like.

Darren

 

Sorry I should have said its easy, not its hard. Was rushing the post.

 

I really do hope this lowers, It is much worse than the ringing, feels as if someone is constantly blowing in my ear. I'm barely eating either which isn't good.

 

It might help you to find a different noise to mask it with. Try rain, a shower, river / stream. They should all have a broad frequency range and will feel more natural to listen to. I find after turning white noise off that my T jumps up quite a lot sometimes. I have a shower sound that works really well for me.

As Darren said we've nearly all been here. I had a spike around June that made it really difficult for me to do anything, I had to keep everything away from my right ear or it was agonising. Even my other half talking at a normal level hurt. And that is not an easy conversation to have; 'excuse me dear, can you stop talking as it hurts my ears' doesn't sound very good however you say it. I think it was down to an infection as I had softer, and more, ear wax and a real dullness, lasted for a couple of weeks. These things do go and you are able to carry on, it doesn't seem like it now as you'll focus on it constantly, but it will subside.

 

Steve's bang on. I had that conversation with my wife and the mother-in-law (although the mother-in-law still thinks my ears are sensitive. Sssshhh don't tell her otherwise) I couldn't shower without ear plugs. I struggled in flushing the toilet. I turned off the rain white noise and listened to train tracks, as the rain was to much at the time. I'm back on the rain now, as the fullness has subsided and sensitivity has got better. This will pass and you will be on here giving advice to other newbies within a few weeks.

Take care

 

I currently have rain drops on which are slightly helpin. The pitch of the blowing has slightly changed however but still troubling as before. I really do appreciate you guys being here for me

 

Was meaning to ask this before, should I have the rain drops loud enough to mask the sound completely are just enough you only slightly hear it? ( this fluctuates between 1 and 2 bars on an IPhone)

 

Just slightly below the level of your T.

 

Darren if you don't mind me asking and if it's not too much trouble, would you be able to walk me through how you got through the first few weeks

 

Andrew so sorry to hear about your T, the first weeks are the toughest. Protect your ears now from further damage
By wearing ear plugs always in noisy places, even traffic noise. Take some supplements like zinc, niacin, ginkgo biloba, and magnesium with camomile tea at bedtime, start with smaller dosages. Always keep some white noise on in the background ( I like the water sound for tinnitus from YouTube ).

Just a thought......you wrote above you had a banana..... The sugar content in banana and apple used to spike my T.
Although food doesn't effect everyone.

Hope you feel better soon, hang in there, it'll get better.

 

I was out at the supermarket tonight but couldn't handle it so came home, It's flared up badly and I hope it's not permanent, I'm still waiting on my earplugs to come. Also I didn't notice any real change when eating a banana. I'm currently listening to rain drops and I'm trying my hardest

 

Yes mate of course.

well I never discovered this site until about 4 weeks ago and so at the time I felt completely alone and scared. I was running backwards and forwards to the doctors and was basically panic stricken. My T was very loud, hearing super sensitive, a fullness in my ears and I was getting regular spikes. I was on different meds prescribed by the doctor, reading and taking every health supplement I could get my hands on. Every time my T spiked I would think "what caused that" was it the meds, was it dairy, was it the caffeine, was it work, was it stress, was it blah blah blah. I was then prescribed some steroids by my ENT but I was to scared to take them as I thought they may have a side affect and make it even worse. So to some up, I was a mess. I real mental wreck.

Then I thought okay what makes this better and the answer I came up with was keeping myself occupied and trying to mask it. I found being out in the car helped and walking. so Every weekend me and Helen would go for days out. Mainly to the coast, which involved a long drive and walking when we got there. Stopping of for Coffee's (Decaf) and refreshments. By the time we got home I was exhausted and ready to rest. During the week I was at work and when I got home I would go into the gym to keep myself busy. Then I realised the T was getting lower as time went on. still loud, but lower. When the spikes came, I'd built up a pattern and realised that, even though they were bad, they wouldn't last forever and within 24 hours, or less, it would get lower again. All of a sudden I realised I could deal with this and my anxiety levels were decreasing. I was starting to understand it's pattern. I started to relax more.

When I'm at work I have headphones around my neck and sing along to my favourite tracks, I'll have a cup of tea in the van with the windows open and the radio on. Now this may sound as if I running away from it, but I'm not. The more you ignore it, by what ever means, the more you can tolerate it and start to deal with it. How many times have you had a crap day at work and thought "roll on tomorrow"? T is just the same. The more you can forget you have it the better. I know this may not make sense to you right now, as all you can do is focus on it, but trust me, your time will come. Keep yourself active as this will make yourself tied and ready for bed. Don't go on boring walks, go on walks where there are some nice sights, this will distract your mind as well as exercising. Try and make this transition period fun and not a chore. There's nothing worse in than doing something you don't want to do, just because you HAVE to do it.

As you've seen, I enjoy Astronomy, which again is outside, background noise from the trees, plus it keeps my brain engaged. I couldn't think of anything worse than sitting on the sofa waiting for bed. I'm typing this from my study and my T feels louder. That's because I'm in a small room with no background noise. Over the next two weeks, do what you enjoy and do lots of it. If you can get to a complimentary health clinic, try an Indian head massage. long story, but I was meant to have acupuncture, but ended up having a head rub instead. Amazingly, when I came out my T felt great. I felt so relaxed it was amazing. I've got another one next week, but this time I'm taking Helen with me so she can have one. They are fantastic. If you enjoy cooking then cook something new from a recipe book, this will make you concentrate and keep you busy. If you have a wife or girlfriend, tell her sex is a well known cure. OK this maybe BS, but this helps me and distracts my mind for at least 3 to 4 minutes. Well I think I've shared to much now, so on that note, I'm off.

Bye for now

Darren

 

Thank you Darren, I've tried to go out for walks but the noises are just to much and my left ear begins to roar(although not as bad when in complete silence) so I'm sadly left inside all day. How loud exactly were your spikes? Mine currently feels as if someone is hoovering inside my ear.

 

The noise is increasing in my left ear to abnormal noises, I am really struggling here.