@object16 I have been suffering from nerve damage for 3 years now.
It started loud I thought, I could already hear it on a quiet street but traffic noise masked it. I had to go on Klonopin to sleep. Upon quitting my tinnitus increased. Then after a year my dish rack fell and shattered all my dishes. Tinnitus increased.
Then it just felt like increasing a little bit more to the point that it was heard now in any place over any thing.
There is a rare sufferer poster over on DS forum which describes my tinnitus well - like flying in a MIG with no roof.
Last summer I was like hell I don't think this can get any much louder. Actually I was walking down near construction wondering if I should rush by, but I didn't care. Then this worker blew an pressure air horn 20 feet from me as a dump truck was backing up. I felt the sound reverberate thru my whole body...I thought this is it when I get home, tonight my tinnitus will be more unbearable than it already is and I will kill myself. Well it didn't and next day I was like hmmm.
Then after a few weeks I was fixing my friend's bike tire and it blew up in my face and I thought hmmm, now I'm dead, but no the tinnitus did not change much, just a temporary tone cut in and out for a few days.
What I'm trying to say is that there comes a point that tinnitus cannot get any more louder and the only consolation you have is that fact over the fact that you are trying to survive hour to hour...because if it does get any louder then I'm done for. Your tinnitus isn't louder than mine trust me, I've had brain scans-its bad, you could probably power up a Christmas tree from my brain.
Nevertheless I am hopeful for an effective drug treatment in the next 5 years. Meanwhile next week I will be purchasing the Bose noise cancelling headphones so I put them on while zombie walking down the busy streets of Toronto.
p.s.hey this sounds like a good chapter for a book to write, i'll call it "Tortured by Sound Reloaded" - Carol Brooks already published the first book.