I Invented a Sound That Knocked Out My Tinnitus

just1morething - is the airplane barotrauma what started your tinnitus? Was it a particularly turbulent plane ride?

 

This makes no sense to me. I would think these sounds would be hyperacusis' worst enemy. I can't imagine listening to this now that I have bad hyperacusis. I listened to pink noise on the Koss headphones for 20 minutes last week at super low volume and it gave me a terrible spike that lasted 36 hours.

 

I was in Puerto Rico and then on the flight back I landed in Chicago. I was fine there but the flight from Chicago to MSP was where I had the barotrauma in left ear. It always happens on the descent of the plane. My left ear was 2/3rds full of fluid. I was on an antibiotic for about a week.

My noise didn’t really get severe until 2010, so the airplane may be only part of the reason. I had noise exposure also from a grain vac. Then someone suggested seeing a TMJ specialist. He said my left TMJ could be causing the noise. My left jaw clicks and is crunchy. It could also be from HF hearing loss. ENTs say that is most likely but the piercing ringing started out in left ear only.

 

Many have eliminated hyperacusis with Tinnitus Mix, just have to keep the headphones away from ears, about 2 inches, on very low volume.

 

21 nights: Tinnitus Mix did not knock out my tinnitus, although over the course of this protocol I would say my hyperacusis was eliminated. Whether that would have happened naturally is unclear but I believe Tinnitus Mix was a positive factor and for that alone it was very worthwhile for me.

My tinnitus has been changing a lot over the last few weeks (more hiss, more periods where it’s not noticeable), but I cannot say it was eliminated ( or “knocked out”) by the Tinnitus Mix program. I have noticed a lot less of the high pitch and high frequency sounds that sit above most ambient day to day noise, which perhaps was fueled by this sound therapy. I have experienced no side effects or spikes at any point over the last 21 nights.

Overall I’m pleased that I experimented with this, believe it helped with hyperacusis and perhaps influenced some of the changes in my tinnitus, but I cannot run a victory lap with Tinnitus Mix. For me it caused no harm or worsening, but draw your own conclusions and proceed with caution - only you and your doctor know what is best.

I do not regret trying this at all, and appreciate R David Case’s creation and generosity in sharing Tinnitus Mix openly.

 

Are you sure you did not have PLF?

 

I don’t know what PLF is?

 

You are welcome, we are put here to help each other. That's great to hear that your hyperacusis is gone like others have reported, if you keep going the tinnitus should be reduced even more.

 

We have more people reporting hearing restored in their bad ear from using Tinnitus Mix.

 

Perilymph Fistula.

 

I’m going to need take a break from wearing the headphones during the day. I’ve had three days of bad headaches and I think it is just wearing the headphones too much. I’ll still wear them at night even though I have seen zero improvement other than 20 seconds right after taking the headphones off... very temporary.

But again, Tinnitus Mix works fine as a sound file to mask during the day...

 

Descending is always harder on the ears. Climbing, the pressure decreases, the air “expands” and works its way through the Eustachian tubes. Descending the air needs to find its way back behind the ear drum, and the physical design of the “valve” does not help this. Never hold your nose and blow.

An easy way to think of it is like this: The valve looks like a V on its side... > the narrow side of the flaps of skin come together inside the mouth. This is why yawning, swallowing, or chewing gum help the valve open up.

Afrin is used for blockages during some high altitude/decompression training if someone is having trouble. Tip your head back and use enough where you taste the awful taste of Afrin... then you know it may hit “valve” and help it relax and open.

I wouldn’t drink Afrin lol, but have suffered no problems using it in this way (I’m not a doctor.)

If you blow your nose too hard with a cold, one can force their germy mucous/boogers through this valve... behind the ear drum, and an ear infection may occur.

Good Luck.

 

Tinnitus Mix secrets unveiled:

 

I’m trying Tinnitus Mix again. The headphones seem to stay on better if everything is mounted overhead.

 

Or you can wear a t-shirt with a pocket and keep it in there without being tethered to anything... just a thought.

My hyperacusis seems worse, I’ll finish out the week and go from there.

Pain when I hear sounds is worse than tinnitus at a 8/10 to me.

So even though something around 50 dB hurts me, it shouldn’t be doing damage, correct? I’ve been wearing a half a foam all day to hard against the people around me traveling today.

 

I seem quiet today but don’t know if it’s from Tinnitus Mix or some pills (prescription or supplements) I took or some prescription meds I didn’t take. Hard to know unless you try one thing at a time.

@MRItechssuck, having the headphones only seemed to work good last night. When it’s straight above it can move side to side easier without being pulled off. Also I can adjust the slack in the headphone wires.

I had the double coat hook there before for hanging light cords. I just used a small clamp to hold it on. Good place to store headphones also.

Of course I have no track record yet. This noise drives a person to try nearly anything for relief.

 

I just don’t want someone to stop hearing their tinnitus due to strangulation by Koss.

I just had two, two hour flights today... no issues (as usual) with pressurization... but couldn’t listen to any movies because I had full earplugs in since I was in the back of a DC9 series airplane.

 

Good luck. I hope it helps you like the hundreds of others around the world. It's best to quit all meds if you can while trying Tinnitus Mix. And don't skip a night for 3 weeks or the tinnitus will try to reform.

 

Why did you quit like 3 days before finishing the 30 days? Couldn't you stand the sound of Tinnitus Mix anymore or did the tinnitus become too loud?

 

My dog is really old and wakes me up multiple times every night to make me let her outside to go potty. When she does it at like 4-5AM I can't fall back asleep with the noises playing and I would go to sleep without it for a few more hours. When I would wake up to go to work in that scenario I always noticed a decent spike in the high frequency tinnitus. As soon as I quit it my tinnitus has gone back to the level that I was at when I was feeling good about it. My noise sensitivity in my right ear is still gone and if Tinnitus Mix was responsible for that then it was very well worth it.

 

My head is full of static today and I seem tired also. Maybe it's from the drugs and supplements I'm taking. I used Tinnitus Mix last night and woke up to a spike in my left ear. Now the noise is more centralized in my head.

I'm not sure what the half life is on some of the drugs I was taking (Lyrica is one of them) but I will see if I can clear them out my system and retry Tinnitus Mix. I feel like a Zombie today.

 

I got the Koss 75KCS (without headband). It is hard to keep those in place the whole night... I would prefer just a loud speaker / sound boxes. Those sound boxes go till 20 kHz... Is that enough? It would make everything a lot simpeler...

 

I sleep with a winter knit hat on... seems to help. I’m 25 days in... hyperacusis seems worse, tinnitus no better.

I will try to take a break for a month, and then try again... maybe I’ve been doing too much masking with this sound track, who knows.

My first run with tinnitus... I never had hyperacusis... hyperacusis sucks worse than tinnitus.

I still wonder though... if you get pain with lower dB sounds... is it just registering as pain, or are we incurring damage?

 

In my case I'd be overjoyed to lose the tinnitus but leave the hyperacusis as it currently is.

 

You can try it. I know it works best with the Koss KTX-PRO1 headphones. Some people do use speakers a couple of times a week as maintenance after the 3 weeks are up. If you only play Tinnitus Mix on speakers you should try to play it 24/7 to increase effectiveness.

 

You must not mask your tinnitus with Tinnitus Mix, play on very low.

 

Many drugs can cause tinnitus, your body does not know what to do with long chain artificial chemicals and dumps them in the liver, this can lead to hepatitis.

 

That is great that your hyperacusis is still gone.

 

He did not get the recommended Koss KTX-PRO1 headphones, many report similar results when they don't follow instructions.