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My tinnitus started in 2011. Getting into bed one night and starting to read till I fell asleep, I heard a rhythmic sound. I thought it was coming from the swamp cooler that provides air conditioning to my apartment. I guessed it was from a loose fan belt. So I got up to stand under the air vent that lets cool air into my bedroom to listen more closely. Standing there and trying to listen, I realized that the sound was coming from inside my head. Eventually, I realized I was hearing it in my left ear.
I got diagnosed with pulsitile tinnitus. I had gotten the whole work-up: doppler of blood vessels in the neck, CT scan of the head, audiology testing, visit to otolaryngologist. The doctor told me that this could drive me nuts, only if I let it. I was not finding it distressing. It was just a soft whooshing in my left ear that let me count my own heart beats. It was easily drowned out by ambient sound, or my own voice.
More recently, another layer of sound developed. In August, 2017, I started noticing a constant tone in my left ear. It sounds kind of like a dial tone. I'm finding that a lot harder to put up with. After a few weeks, I started to break down emotionally over it. I had one bad crying spell. Then I told myself that I could have a lot worse problems. I found that I do lose awareness of it when my attention is absorbed by something. When I wake up in the morning is when I notice it the most. It seems quite loud. But, like the older whooshing sound, it gets drowned out by ambient noises and my own voice. As the day goes on, I stop thinking about it.
Occasionally, I hear a high pitched tone that only lasts for 5 to 15 seconds. That happens just a few times per week and not every week.
Listening to music, I sometimes hear what I describe as "bubbles" in my left ear, brought on by certain notes of music or singing. That started long ago before the other sounds, and I had thought it was an emotional reaction to the music. But I now figure it is a feature of the tinnitus.
I miss quiet.
Thanks for reading this.
My tinnitus started in 2011. Getting into bed one night and starting to read till I fell asleep, I heard a rhythmic sound. I thought it was coming from the swamp cooler that provides air conditioning to my apartment. I guessed it was from a loose fan belt. So I got up to stand under the air vent that lets cool air into my bedroom to listen more closely. Standing there and trying to listen, I realized that the sound was coming from inside my head. Eventually, I realized I was hearing it in my left ear.
I got diagnosed with pulsitile tinnitus. I had gotten the whole work-up: doppler of blood vessels in the neck, CT scan of the head, audiology testing, visit to otolaryngologist. The doctor told me that this could drive me nuts, only if I let it. I was not finding it distressing. It was just a soft whooshing in my left ear that let me count my own heart beats. It was easily drowned out by ambient sound, or my own voice.
More recently, another layer of sound developed. In August, 2017, I started noticing a constant tone in my left ear. It sounds kind of like a dial tone. I'm finding that a lot harder to put up with. After a few weeks, I started to break down emotionally over it. I had one bad crying spell. Then I told myself that I could have a lot worse problems. I found that I do lose awareness of it when my attention is absorbed by something. When I wake up in the morning is when I notice it the most. It seems quite loud. But, like the older whooshing sound, it gets drowned out by ambient noises and my own voice. As the day goes on, I stop thinking about it.
Occasionally, I hear a high pitched tone that only lasts for 5 to 15 seconds. That happens just a few times per week and not every week.
Listening to music, I sometimes hear what I describe as "bubbles" in my left ear, brought on by certain notes of music or singing. That started long ago before the other sounds, and I had thought it was an emotional reaction to the music. But I now figure it is a feature of the tinnitus.
I miss quiet.
Thanks for reading this.
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