Hey all

New member here. Looks like I've got T!

It's been around for a couple days now and making an appointment with the ENT tomorrow to rule out any physical causes.

For now I'll look to your collective experience and hard-earned wisdom and try to keep calm.

Out of curiosity, do any of you know what percentage of cases of T go away in relatively short order? Say, several days to several weeks?

-SP

 

Hi and welcome,

I don't know about percentages, but there's a chance that it'll be temporary, there are plenty of people that have reported it for short term only.

In the mean time the best thing you can do is stop listening to it. Don't strain to hear if it's still there, don't put your fingers in your ears to check it's there, try and forget about it. Don't expose yourself to loud noise or sounds that agitate you. have ambient sounds on to distract yourself where you can - TV, radio etc.

Do you know what may have triggered it?

Steve

 

Hi Steve, thanks for the response!

Yes I do have an idea what the trigger was. It was probably a recent band practice of mine where some of the instruments were cranked up. That probably in addition to have listened to loud music one too many times. I'm sure it's a common story around here.

The strange thing is that when looking around on the net, a lot of sources seem to imply that if it isn't gone within hours, it's here to stay, so I was just trying to find out from those with experience whether that is the case or not.

 

Hours is pretty wrong. Some people can have it for a couple of weeks and it goes away.

When I was young I was into heavy metal, used to go head banging at the weekend, huge speakers about 3 feet from my head all night. I'd have screaming tinnitus for a good 2 days afterwards and it would go back to normal. Ah for hindsight…

I also worked in Ibiza for 2 seasons, dj'd a bit there (not cool dj'ing unfortunately, but it paid for the summer) and went to the big clubs with their awesome sound systems frequently, then I worked doing demolition and never really protected my ears, and mine came on after a heavy flu that blocked my ears up. It all contributed I guess. Apparently it was a slight hearing loss that caused it to happen.

The loud music will take its toll eventually, with hearing loss, so you should definitely protect your ears by giving them a rest, playing at lower volume and protecting them if you're going anywhere really loud.

 

Hey SP! !!

Stoked you found TT so early on in your journey with T!! It took me months to find this great site!

Steve is right on about doing the best you can to not focus (or listen) on your T. I know it sounds impossible. but it can be done. Make sure you are getting enough sleep (exercise to get tired, sleep aids, masking devices all are helpful). When you are well rested, it makes it much more possible to deal with your T. When sleep deprived, much more vulnerable to anxiety and depression. And try to not look to far down the road. Focus on today and living your life despite your T!!!

I have had my T for well over a year and I am habituating and living my life!! It IS possible!! Stay Positive!!

 

Steve, Jeff, thanks a lot for your words. I really appreciate it.

Trying to be objective here, it does seem like anxiety and frustration will be the hardest part. One day at a time.

 

I seen a few doctors and they all seemed to think a year is the time we seem to keep it, until it habituates.... get you hearing tested, I have some high frequency hearing loss, and didn't even know it, they were reluctant to even give me a hearing aid, but I got one that plays fractal music to help me in quiet times.... let me tell you, I was fine until the Dr. told me its a keeper... that is when I started to freak a little...O.K.. a lot.... and I swear the volume spiked....just my 2 cents.. it feeds on anxiety.... like a vampire.... they less you care about it, the more its seems to dissipate.....also I think we all have T, but we all have an individual reaction to it.. so were the same but different...

 

dont put your fingers in your ear to listen for it- wow, how haaaaaaaaaaaard is that ??? i do that multiple times a day!

 

I did it when I first got mine. Kept on checking to see if it was still there, was it louder, had it quietened down? But then I'm the sort of person that keeps moving a sore muscle or joint to see if it's still sore, getting a good dose of pain but still trying again in an hour.

 

I asked my ENT a week ago "How many people do you see who have Tinnitus?". He said "about 2 every week".
I asked "How many of those people get rid of their Tinnitus?". He said "about half of them".
Then I asked him if it were still possible for me to lose the Tinnitus after 2 months. He said "There is always a chance it might go away on it's own after some time."

 

I've gotten into a stupid habit of putting my finger in my ear or covering ears with my hands and forcing air in and out of the ear canal (i know, stupid). This reveals a hidden undertone in my affected ear. I have stopped doing it now though.

 

After hearing about other people's stories, I believe that T should not be considered permanent until 1.5 - 2 years. Sometimes it takes people a while to heal the damage, but it can happen even after years have gone by. Some people have virus that leave their ears messed up until eight or nine months later, and some people have had noise induced T that goes away. The statics can be scary, but remember that statics don't matter to the individual - YOU could be the one that has T for months and then it goes.

 

Well I went to the ENT/Audiologist today. I do have noise-induced hearing loss in the upper ranges mostly. I have to say my stomach got queasy looking at the graph they showed me.

Now I can stop thinking "How could I have been so stupid?".

I know, not living up to my nickname here, but I'm only human. Now my thoughts are running wild with being near-deaf in 10 years, wearing a hearing aid for life, my girlfriend not wanting to be with me. Pretty low.

 

I tore myself up with those same thoughts 10 years ago and I'm still doing alright, not going deaf yet and no real sign of it. No hearing aid in sight.

Just remember, if your tinnitus is loud during the hearing test then it will mask certain frequencies. I've had a few tests, the last one (a year ago) scared me too, but in my opinion it was not representative at all because I couldn't make out certain tones properly. The quiet room set my tinnitus right off and the sounds on the test were mixing in so I couldn't make them out until they were relatively loud.

So your hearing may not be as bad as you think.

And life carries on, my other half understood when I told her about it, if I wear a hearing aid within the next 10 years, cest la vie. I'd rather not but I'll cross that bridge when it comes. Easy to say, but live in the now, your fears may never be realised.

 

i love you!

 

Just wondering if they did a "otoacoustic emission (OAE)" and what the results were?

 

I'm not sure to be honest. They said so much while I was in there I didn't know what was what.

 

Sitting here, I seem to be developing Tinnitus in my right ear too. I don't know if it was the audiogram or what.

I definitely either did not have it, or did not notice it before today, and likely the former. Has anyone had an experience like this where it jumps to another ear? Especially after an ENT/Audiologist visit?
God this is terrifying.

 

StayPositive
A buddy of mine had T for five months (caused by a virus) and his went away; so, 'stay positive'. Ears can and do heal (but they take a while).
Everyone is right about the anxiety battle (it's tough); just keep in mind that your brain is being thrown into fight/flight mode (whether you like it or not), that's why the anxiety part is so difficult. It has very little to do with whether you can 'handle it' or not (it's not a tough guy thing, nothing to do with your character).
I found a little trick that helped with my T (and relaxing); oddly enough, if you start paying attention to a certain part of your body that is tensed up (likely you are more tense than you realize) and you consciously work at making it relax (then move on to the next part) before you know it your focus is not on your T so much (maybe even totally off it) and you are making yourself relax (win win).

Stay Positive (that's a good thing -- and a good handle)

Mark

 

Mine started in one ear then started in the other ear too. But I know the cause of mine,.....one loud noise. Do you know the trigger or do you think it was just noise overtime?

 

Thanks Mark. I will give that a shot.

 

It was a lot of noise over time and the "straw that broke the camel's back" was a recent band practice.

 

Thanks I'm glad I made you feel better. I think 6 months is way too short a time to say that T is gonna be with you forever. To be honest there are stories that T leaves years after you had it - I read a story about a guy who had it for 16 years and then it went. We have to remain optimistic. Fighting anxiety and stress is the best thing we can do.