Hello

(there's a tl;dr at the end)

Just joined, I browsed these forums a bit for the last few days and I'm seeing a solid-looking community with people who seem to know what they're talking about and what I'm going through, so I decided to join.

I've basically had T (as you guys seem to call it) for as long as I can remember. It's always been a part of me and it was, to some extent, my normal. I imagine a lot of you feel the same, where I am completely and utterly unable to conceive what silence is, because to me silence has always been the background noise of my T.

The initial tinnitus from what I can remember was roughly 3 to 6 different tones which came and went. Two were high-pitched and always constant and present, and most others varied depending on factors which I've never been able to establish (and most were hard to pinpoint and identify, especially with my bad memory). I would, in retrospect, estimate them at about 5-15 db in intensity depending on the tone (both ears).

In 2011, I've had sudden SNHL in my right ear (~20 db in lower freqs, ~40 db around 2khz, ~10 db around 3khz, then steady loss up to about 70 db at 8khz), and my T shot up considerably in that same ear, as well as new types of tinnituses, and some which either don't exist anymore or are completely covered by the new ones. I could then number around 4 to 7 at any given moment, including one which I believe is external (muscular). Unfortunately, I didn't document my tinnituses very well then, and I still don't do a good enough job now, which I hope to remediate soon. I would retroactively estimate the Ts to range between 10 and 20 db.

I went to see an ENT then to look for the causes, did an MRI to eliminate the possibility of a tumour. The doctor was absolutely not helpful, and seemed more worried about trying to fix my pressurization problems (I have asymmetric ears apparently, which causes airflow issues) than trying to fix what i actually cared about. Looking back on it with the knowledge I have now, I understand that he couldn't have helped much considering how little is actually known about the issue.

After the disappointment of the doctor, honestly I didn't really think twice about going to seek more help, considering how relatively mild the symptoms were. My hearing loss was a minor inconvenience and my tinnitus wasn't that much different from what I was used to (and hey, it even had the upside of muffling some noise when I slept on my left side!).

March of this year, I get another SNHL following a 10-minute or so visit to the club with friends without earplugs (it was kind of impromptu). When I woke up the next morning, my tinnitus was incredibly loud, and I felt numbness in my right ear (again, same ear). I went to see an audiologist ASAP, and called a different ENT, which was supposed to be one of the best in the country to have an appointment.

I measured this recent hearing loss at about 35-55db up to 2khz, 10db at 3khz, then steady decline to about 85db at 8khz. I had four of my Ts tested then ranging from about 35 to 50db (I believe, today, that some depending on the days they can range from about 20db to about 70db), at the following frequencies: 750hz, 1khz, 3khz and 14khz. This was not an extensive test and I am likely do dabble on my own at some point to really catalogue and quantify them more accurately, and hopefully measure them over time.

The sounds I hear are mostly (but not limited to) whistles, electric noises, continuous bell, vibration (probably muscular) and wind. This last one seems to have only started showing up with this recent hearing loss, where I would intermittently (some days are better than others) hear a wind-like noise that gets louder as there is more noise around me.

The ENT tried corticosteroid injection three times, but it didn't work (for the hearing loss). Went for an MRI as well, and it came out negative. He also gave up on me, despite my vehement attempts to continue searching.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with T, especially with the potential prospect of it getting louder following another hearing loss (if that ever happens), and I'm really worried about my future if that were to ever happen. I am usually very stress-free and worry-free, and T is literally the only source of stress in my life, aside from the occasional work-related stress (which is very infrequent).

Additionally, I have hyperacusis, diplacusis (since the first hearing loss), eczema in the ear canals (which doesn't help with the ear infections because my finger often ends up in there) and overproductive earwax.

My diplacusis actually has gotten worse with the second hearing loss where I now hear a pure tone of about 975hz between the frequencies of 400 and 975hz (can't hear the frequencies in-between), then a pure tone of about 1.8khz between 975hz and 1.8khz. Past that point it's about a semitone to a tone off-frequency compared with my left ear.

I've tried a few methods such as acupuncture and chiro, none worked. I gave up on sound therapy after about a month, though I read a really interesting article on these forums saying that perhaps targeted sound therapy to the specific frequencies of my Ts might work better, so I might try that.

Otherwise I now wear earplugs in my right ear when going outside or when I'm in a relatively loud environment (food court, etc), because of my hyperacusis, and for fear of further hearing loss.

tl;dr:
Mild Ts (several different tones) for as far as I can remember
Then Moderate T (with some new tones) in my right ear following mild to moderate SNHL in that same ear
Then Terrible T (with even more new tones) in my right ear following another moderate to profound SNHL in that ear
Diplacusis since the first hearing loss, now lost any ability to differentiate frequencies between 400hz and 1.8khz
Hyperacusis since forever

ttl;dr: fml

Also I'm in my mid twenties so yeah.

*edit* I have found it particularly stressful to wake up in the middle of the night (or in the morning) to especially loud tinnitus; I test myself using an app on my phone to check whether I've had significant hearing loss. The feeling is dreadful every single time but so far I've gotten lucky and haven't suffered any (self-measurable) hearing loss.

 

Too much text?

 

How is your diplacusis now? I just started perceiving tones as sharp in my left ear after a bout of slight-mild hearing loss. It's absolute hell. I work with children and their voices sound shrill and just plain freaky.

 

I'm really interested how you managed to measure the severity of your hearing loss. Do you have a musical background?

 

Welcome to the forums anyways, even if it's like 5 months later hehe

 

I played the piano for over ten years. But the hearing loss measuring was through an audiogram; I went to see an audiologist.

 

You get used to it. I often wear earplugs in my right ear when there is a lot of background noise though, but I'm not sure if it's my H or my diplacusis. I think it might be the combination of both, since basically what I hear in crowded places is the equivalent of television static in that ear.