Help! My Tinnitus Spiked Again!

So after I had acoustic trauma I didn't have onset of tinnitus.

It came about a few days later and it was faint. It has spiked twice. Now it has spiked again and it's quite loud. My hearing loss is only mild.

I just want to be able to sleep and function. Please someone help me and talk to me.

 

You've had it for less than a month. The first few months T is often volatile. Chances are, it will get better 3-6 months after onset. Focus on trying to ride it out. Assume that it will be gone in a year, and don't think about the possibility that it will be permanent. Chances are that even if it becomes permanent, the sound you will be stuck with will be different from what you are hearing now. Also, protect your ears...

 

@Bill Bauer is it normal to have onset T a while after acoustic trauma? I'm sorry for posting a lot. It just bothers me. It's louder than my fan now. It's in both ears. Like crickets chirping away.

 

After my acoustic trauma on January 22, I felt a "full ear" sensation. My T began 10 days later, on February 2. Back then, I described it as "crickets."

The first or second night I was so desperate that I placed a speaker playing nature sounds directly onto my ear, to see whether it would mask my T. It didn't, and of course it was the dumbest thing I could have done. I guess the prospect of having lifelong T literally scared me into temporary insanity. But now I know how loud my T must have been...

Try to endure. It ought to begin getting better 4-8 weeks after onset...

 

I now remember what day this happened it was Sep 17 it was the Sunday after hurricane Irma hit my city.

So about 3 weeks almost 4.

My T has only gotten worse. Is it suppose to only get worse in this time period? Or is it suppose to fluctuate.

 

Have you been protecting your ears? You might think that a blender is harmless because you have been around it for years and never had any problems. However, it is best to stay away from it (and things like it) during this period of vulnerability...

 

@Bill Bauer
I went out today and I was around moving cars for a short period of time and stuff like that. I was also in a restaurant. However yesterday when I had the other spike. Not much of anything loud happened.

But is it suppose to fluctuate or does it just get louder in this time period?

 

The experience differs from person to person. It might even differ across time, for the same person. Mine had fluctuated over the course of the day, and over the course of the week.

You might want to wear ear plugs if you are walking on a busy street where motorcycles or trucks might accelerate close to you, or when you enter a restaurant where music is playing.

If T volume is making new highs, and new highs are made every week for a couple of weeks (and it is not making any new lows), then that is not good...

 

Oh no...

Anyone reading this, tell me if you've had a similar experience. If so did it get better?

 

Anything can happen during your first month. I was talking about the time when your T begins settling. I am the biggest pessimist you will ever meet, but I wouldn't worry about some spikes during your first month. Give it time.

 

@Bill Bauer any tips to calm down and be able to sleep. I took two melatonin. Drank some sleep tea and I'm trying to relax. I am afraid in the attempt to mask my T in fear of a spike again.

 

I went through the same rounds of hell as you - I took more than one melatonin pill (normally they knock me out, but not that night), took 10 valerian root pills, and it hasn't worked.

During that acute state, I found that amitriptyline helped me sleep. It is an antidepressant that is non-addictive (you can stop it cold turkey and you won't have trouble sleeping afterwards, and you won't have any withdrawal symptoms). After taking a 10 mg pill (or three quarters of it), I would not feel drowsy the next day.

Tonight you can try sound enrichment. You can listen to nature sounds from http://mynoise.net/ or from YouTube. The sound of crickets/frogs helps with crickets and high pitch tone tinnitus. The idea is not to mask your T, but to give you something else to listen to, besides T. If listening to those sites on your smart phone or laptop is not convenient, you can order a product like
https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Koala-Concentration-Relaxation-Sufferers/dp/B01FRW2WBA (one of the settings is "crickets" and I found it helpful)
If the above doesn't work, consider going to the emergency, and asking for amitriptilyne. Alternatively, get it from your family doctor tomorrow...

 

My family won't go to the emergency again all they will do is scream at me. I went to the emergency room twice and they did nothing. They didn't have anything ENT related at both the adult and children hospital. So I have to wait.... A week...

 

I wrote that, just in case you lived close to a hospital.

 

Loud noises like screaming can spike tinnitus. This is serious, if they won't stop, consider having earplugs with you, so that you can plug your ears when the conversation is about to lead to someone raising his or her voice. You might also want to leave the room at that point.

 

My tinnitus and hypercasusis keeps getting worse. And worse. My right ear has spiked 3 times and it hasn't gone down. My left spikes and it goes down. I'm at the point I'm beginning to think suicidal. I my hypercasusis is getting worse. I can't do this... There's no where I can find silence. There's noise everywhere I go I can escape it.

 

Wait at least a year. It would suck for you to commit suicide if your T were going to fade had you waited a little longer.

 

@Taylorslay
Have a word with your doctor and explain how you fee,l as something may be prescibed to help you feel relaxed and less stressed. In the early onset of tinnitus it can affect a person's emotions considerably but this will settle down in time.
All the best
Michael

 

That's what I'm going to do. I relax sometimes. Then I just break down this isn't healthy.

 

I've dealt with long spouts of depression and anxiety but this is a new level of just insanity. It will get better I just gotta believe. It is just hard

 

@Taylorslay
This is all new to you and it happens to many people during the early stages of tinnitus. Try to have low level relaxing music playing in the background during the day. At night use a sound machine by your bedside. Take time and read the posts in the links that I sent you and don't forget to have a talk with your doctor on how you feel. Try and get a referral to ENT and possibly see a Hearing Therapist.

Michael

 

I did read them I just get worked up still :/. I've been doing better now a days but its just when I have a spike I tend to freak out.

 

Ill get a referral to a hearing therapist. Can the ENT give a referral to one?

 

When you are seen at ENT and have your hearing test and MRI scan. Providing they are normal your ENT doctor may recommend a referral to a Hearing Therapist. As I've mentioned in my article: it is not unusual for a doctor to suggest leaving things for a while because many people habituate to tinnitus within 6 months. However, if you explain that you're feeling stressed due to the tinnitus and hyperacusis and this is normal. Your doctor might recommend you see a Hearing Therapist. They can help in a variety of ways as I've explained in Tinnitus, A Personal View. Try doing some deep relaxation exercises. Click on my "started threads" and read my post: Aquiring a positive mindset.

 

I would call the insurance company, and ask one their reps. You might have to get the referral from your PCP.

Edit: I agree with Michael Leigh, to ask the doctor to give you something for the anxiety, you have plenty of reason to get a Rx. I did, a few weeks ago, a benzo, but only use it when I need it as my symptoms are no longer as bad as they were originally. It's just a good idea to have something, and if you need it, it's there.