I Know, But I Want to Know...

[JurgenG]

How are my chances I will get out?

Long story: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/so-will-i-recover.19497/

Short story:
I am a camera operator and I had those big pilot headphones, I plugged them in and heard this electrical really loud buzz.
I threw them off my head, in a matter of seconds.
Didn't notice anything that day, then the next morning I woke up I noticed the ringling and tinteling in my ears.

So when I noticed it, I went to a GP a couple days later, he said your eardrums seem fine, might have had a small rip, not sure. But visit an ENT if you are not over it in a couple of weeks. And stay out of loud noises as much as possible.
Mind you, I still thought I was overreacting back than. A week later I went to a NYE dance party, I did bring my earplugs, which I plugged in from time to time(really hard to talk with them). And it wasn't extremely loud.

In hindsight I shouldn't have gone, but I felt like I shouldn't overreact and the damage I had was probably already recovered, since I gave it a week rest. And hoped T was a fragment of my imagination.

So that evening I went to bed, and I heard a spiked T, which one could have from a party I figured.
The spike settled quickly, but the hiss and buzz didn't.

I figure the buzz is the same as before the party, at least I hope..

Couple of days later I went to an ENT, he subscribed Metrol and said there is a good chance on recovery. But this time, really stay out of the noise. (I won't be going to anything noisy the next year, that's for sure.)

The last days I feel like it's going up and down, can this be the sign of recovery? Or is it wishfull thinking.
I checked around, and lot's people apparently recovered from their T after a few weeks/months.

I have a really hard time forgiving myself, and I am extremely anxious..

My reasons for hoping for the best:
I never had pain after the initial headphone accident, didn't hear different, no T, nothing special.
It was really short.
The party a week later wasn't extremely loud, it was what I consider a "normal" level for a party. (Too loud in a way though)
Next time I'll surely wear earplugs ALL THE TIME, though.
My T is a mild hissing, but goes up and down.

 

[glynis]

Time is a great healer and as long as you have NO infection or wax build up or virus its a waiting game till it settles down.
Your ears are letting you know they don't like loud sounds at the moment and extra sensitive.
Keep plugs with you in case around sounds that are extra loud.
Keep soft sound around you in the day and through the night if have trouble sleeping ...
See your doctor again if have any concerns...lots of love glynis

 

[Julien87]

that could very well go away. That actually happens frequently. Just relax and don't spend too much time reading scary stories on Tinnitus sufferers' boards...

 

[JurgenG]

Thanks for your comments. I know I should be "happy" that it's only mild, but still. I am having a little crissis every time I hear it. I hope it will disappear, it's a bit "louder" this morning now, and I felt like it was more quiet when I went to sleep. #scared

How do you know if the ears are healing?

 

[bill 112]

Thanks for your comments. I know I should be "happy" that it's only mild, but still. I am having a little crissis every time I hear it. I hope it will disappear, it's a bit "louder" this morning now, and I felt like it was more quiet when I went to sleep. #scared

How do you know if the ears are healing?

You don't,that is unless you suffered an apparent hearing loss then regaining hearing would be an obvious indicator of healing.

As for T healing without any apparent hearing loss nobody knows but everyone has their own view on what indicates healing whether they're right or wrong is anybodies guess.

My opinion,and it is just that,is that if the T begins to become milder and less intrusive that would be an indicator that healing to some degree is occurring,how much you heal is unknown but there are things you can do to give yourself a better chance.

-Avoid excessive noise

-Wear appropriate hearing protection in elevated noise situations

-Don't stress and let nature run its course

-Keep busy,sitting waiting for it to disappear isn't going to do you any favours,keep living your life and let T worry about itself

-Take NAC/B12/Magnesium and Gingo Biloba everyday religiously(Some evidence to suggest it may help but it won't hurt to try these so why not,if your on other medications ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible cross interactions before taking)

-Avoid known Ototoxic meds i.e Aspirin etc

-Some recommend steroids but this is usually for SSNHL and most doctors and ENTs are reluctant to prescribe them(personal experience)
These are usually most effective taken within 48 hours of onset.

-Get plenty of rest

That's all you can really do from here on out,it's early days so it may go away given enough time,there's every reason to think so.

For your own piece of mind,a mate of mine is a DJ and one day during a mixing session the music blasted through his headphones unexpectedly resulting in a loud tonal T.He ignored it and went on to play his set and noticed it was much worse and still persisting over a week later,that's when he called me.

I basically gave him the exact same advice I gave you above and he followed it,a month later and his T was gone and hasn't reappeared since(lucky bugger)

He continues to play sets unprotected and hasn't experienced T since,personally I think he's tempting fate but regardless he remains T free to this day,hopefully the same will happen for you.

Goodluck.

 

[JurgenG]

Thanks, I made an appointment with a GP to check if there is any risk to combine these with the steroids.
These stories also make me hopeful, I actually hear a lot of people have had a two month tinnitus. (Even my dad appearantly..)

 

[JurgenG]

So I felt last night was a little bit worse again, couldn't sleep, tried to cry myself to sleep again..

 

[glynis]

@JurgenG ,
Have you tried sound therapy at night?
Also lavender on your pillow might help as it's relaxing and the sense of smell is a good distraction from tinnitus.
Cherry juce can help sleep also melatonin or over the counter sleep tablets like Quiet life or Kalms etc.

If need anything stronger your doctor can help.....lots of love glynis

 

[JurgenG]

Ye, I am using an app on my phone but I have a problem when I sleep on an ear. So I tried to put it in my pillow, which didn't really help.
I am gonna try that lavendel!
Thanks again x

 

[JurgenG]

Finally had a decent night. First one in a while.
I am actually starting to recover in a sense, or I at least hope so.

The only thing I wonder now if I should go for an infussion therapy, since it's just under three weeks now.
Or is that not compatible with Medrol/Perdisone?

 

[JurgenG]

Also I wonder if its beneficial to get a second opinion? I feel like I've been threated ok by my ENT-doctor, but to be sure?
(Sorry for all my questions, I realise a lot of you are going through way more difficult situations..)

 

[JurgenG]

So my "recovery" was pretty short lived it appears, it's gone worse again (or the same as before it appears.)
I am not that sad or angry anymore, but that doesn't seem to help the T itself..
I've been protecting myself as much as possible the last weeks, a few medium-loud encounters the last couple of days though. First an alarm on a fire escape in Ikea, which some kid had to open while I was standing ten meters of it. (Only a few seonds, and not screecing loud)
And two days ago, some moron who had to yell to me from a few meters with a cone to amplify his voice at a newyears reception..
I hope neither influenced my recovery...

Something else: I've been given the chance to enter the AM-101 trials if I want, but I am not sure..

 

[maltese]

So my "recovery" was pretty short lived it appears, it's gone worse again (or the same as before it appears.)
I am not that sad or angry anymore, but that doesn't seem to help the T itself..
I've been protecting myself as much as possible the last weeks, a few medium-loud encounters the last couple of days though. First an alarm on a fire escape in Ikea, which some kid had to open while I was standing ten meters of it. (Only a few seonds, and not screecing loud)
And two days ago, some moron who had to yell to me from a few meters with a cone to amplify his voice at a newyears reception..
I hope neither influenced my recovery...

"New" tinnitus WILL fluctuate A LOT. That's normal. It should settle a bit with time.

 

[JurgenG]

Well it went down a couple of days, and now its worse again (I think, because I try not to notice it.)
I am always having a little panic attack when I use earplugs because it's audible than..
I'm always scared of any louder noise now..

 

[JurgenG]

Goddamnit, there is no way to be safe. I just (5 minutes ago) had my intercom on (need it for my job) and it started beeping again. Threw it off in a second, and measured it, 104 dB.. I am scared that anything will damage it/ruim my recovery. Is this something to be afraid of in this "recovery phase".

 

[JurgenG]

So small update: It's been more than a month now. I feel up's and downs. Not sure if habbitating or actually getting better.
Still very afraid of loud noise.
Today I had the worst encounter (I think) it's hard to know what "too loud for me" is.
I was riding my bike by a dumptruck and just when I past they threw in the glass, I should've known, because I plugged my ears when he was riding backwards. Just didn't think of the glass sound..
Anyone an idea of the risk of such short exposures after a month recovery?
I feel like it doesn't spike, but I am afraid to check..


I also need to decide wether I'll join the AM-101 trials. Any suggestions?

 

[JurgenG]

A follow up, last week I was doing quiet well.
I signed up for AM-101 but was not sure I was going to continue.

My T was very mild from time to time 1-2, but it has gone worse since a couple of days. Up and downs again
I came from a 1-2 to a 3 to a 2, but yesterday it was "bad me" all over again, I am in serious fear.

My face, feels numb, my hands feel asleep I have no idea what is happening, my T is more a constant electric sound, its harderder to max, even last night I couldn't sleep again, because of the different T.
It's like I feel it "all the time"'.

I did nothing special, except going for a run a couple of days ago.

WHAT IS GOING ON, I can't do this..

I feel like this time is different then before, like this time it's the "nerve" thats affected, but thats probably crazy talk..

 

[NimQ]

The whole going back and forth aspect of tinnitus is so frustrating and unpredictable - one of the worst things about this condition, feels like. Not sure if it would work for you, but for me it has been important to try and not focus too much on analyzing the volume of tinnitus. I keep wanting to check how it is and whether something worsened it, but it only makes me worry more. Even if a loud sound or visiting a crowded restaurant would make it spike, what good would it do for me to obsess over it afterwards. Therefore, it's important to distract oneself from focusing on tinnitus sounds too much. Do you use masking sounds other than when you sleep? If I feel like I'm listening to my T too much at home for example, I'll put some masking sounds in the background or start doing something to forget about it (like gaming, working, watching TV...). I have a bit better phase going on, so it's easy to do this now. Somehow it becomes harder the louder the T is - even when worse days require such actions much more direly than good days.

Feeling of numbness can be a symptom of anxiety, I get all kinds of very strange and alerting symptoms because of my anxiety disorder. And it does seem you are under a lot of stress, very understandably so. However, if these symptoms persist or feel very strong, I would suggest checking them out by visiting a doctor. Do you have this electrical buzz in both ears and has it been measured whether there is any hearing loss?

 

[JurgenG]

The whole going back and forth aspect of tinnitus is so frustrating and unpredictable - one of the worst things about this condition, feels like. Not sure if it would work for you, but for me it has been important to try and not focus too much on analyzing the volume of tinnitus. I keep wanting to check how it is and whether something worsened it, but it only makes me worry more. Even if a loud sound or visiting a crowded restaurant would make it spike, what good would it do for me to obsess over it afterwards. Therefore, it's important to distract oneself from focusing on tinnitus sounds too much. Do you use masking sounds other than when you sleep? If I feel like I'm listening to my T too much at home for example, I'll put some masking sounds in the background or start doing something to forget about it (like gaming, working, watching TV...). I have a bit better phase going on, so it's easy to do this now. Somehow it becomes harder the louder the T is - even when worse days require such actions much more direly than good days.

Feeling of numbness can be a symptom of anxiety, I get all kinds of very strange and alerting symptoms because of my anxiety disorder. And it does seem you are under a lot of stress, very understandably so. However, if these symptoms persist or feel very strong, I would suggest checking them out by visiting a doctor. Do you have this electrical buzz in both ears and has it been measured whether there is any hearing loss?

Thanks for your comment.
Today was a lot better again! And indeed, I try to always put some noise on.
Sleep with rain, and at my computer I put on some music.

The numbness really scared me because it came with higher T, but I think it has indeed more to do with the anxiety and my emotional reaction.
I've got a small dip in the 6k region at my ear with has actually less to no T, my other ear is "perfect" according to the tests. The acoustic trauma I had was also in two ears simultaneously. It might be that one ear is recovering faster than the other? Even though the audio-dip is the same now, as a week after the "shock". So it's as my brain deals with one side better as the other?

 

[JurgenG]

So following up: Last days I've been quite busy. But had a worse period of T again..
I am starting to accept certain things, like a certain baselevel of T, a certain way of dealing with noise (earplugs standby for things exceeding 85 db), plugging ears when a loud noise is imminent, my intercom on a very silent level.

But now something -else- happened, I've said before I got one ear more affected than the other. One was almost silent in most cases ( a T-level of 0,5-1) and I slept on it (with a speaker in my pillow on very very low) I could never hear it than. This changed .. I am hearing it above my masking, even upped the volume a little but it's still there..
Now I've been careful with sound ofcourse, the last month and a half.

But

I have this intercom system- in ear thing. Which I only use on very low volume, and I was plugging it a little bit out of my ear and playing a little with so I hear the surrounding better.
(This one: http://www.variphone.com/en/headset-2g)
And I while holding the little plastic bit outside I slip of, and tick against it with my other finger, which gave a loud contact noise. SUDDENLY I had a big peak in that ear (for a few seconds) some short of accoustic shock (which I never had before.).
It only lasted a little bit but I have a feeling my baseline in that "good" ear is higher now, it's been two days.

What do I do? Is this form of accoustic shock something which is a normal "ear-reaction" is this actually an accoustic shock? I don't understand why it gave a sudden peak, it's not like it had the sound of an explosion. But it is an in-ear system, so there's that..
Should I start taking some steriods? (I was a regime a month ago).

Any tips, advise, similiar experiences.
(I was finally doing better ()

 

[JurgenG]

So after this hard days and mostly terrible nights, tonight was yet another terrible one.
My baseline is 2/10 and it went to 4/10, for a couple of hours, I could not mask it anymore.

I did fall asleep after a while, and when I woke up a couple of hours later my T was so low it could've been gone.
At the moment it's 0,5-1/10

What is going on?