I'm New Here, but the Ringing Is Getting Old

Hi all.

I have had tinnitus for about 4 months. I have had two hearing tests and I have a slight hearing loss at the higher sounds. I guess this means that I can't hear what a dog hears.
Anyway, I am hoping it goes away, if not, I need to know how to manage it.

One of the things I like is to listen to music while I ride my bike around town. The last few times have left me with even more ringing. I hope I do not have to give up that simple pleasure, but maybe I will.

 

That slight hearing loss is enough to cause tinnitus, those tests miss a lot of information. They only test the bare vitals of human hearing.

The loud noise exposure of traffic and headphones could be making your tinnitus worse. Sorry but that's the case.

 

@Contrast, so slight hearing loss can cause tinnitus? How tho.
I know some friends with hearing loss but they seem to have no tinnitus. Only lucky ones gets to keep tinnitus?

Thanks.

 

Probably so. I wonder if I can figure out how to have speakers around my neck area so I can still hear, but not so loudly. Or maybe, if I turn my music way down on my phone.

 

Brother, you need to stop using headphones from now on and let your ears heal for few months.

I used to go town, gym and college with my headphones just like you and since the start of my ringing, I haven’t even touched them. Wear earplugs when you go out to protect your ears from loud noises and carry a pair of earplugs with you all the time even tho it seems quiet because you never know what kind of sound is waiting for you.

Hope this helps a little because personally I don’t know much about this stuff either but this forum is literally a bomb, life saver for me. There are many people who can give you some top notch advice so stick around here for advice.

 

^^^
I am a sister. I have a bunch of foam earplugs. I guess it's a new world for me. Sigh.

 

Hi sister, no headphones. Let your ears rest up. Get some foam plugs, of your choice, to protect yourself from horns and city sounds. Take it from those of us who have it bad... no more headphones, protect, and eat really well... Take some supplements, some magnesium, zinc, ginkgo, turemric, etc... pound greens, fish, and lots of healthy food.

Best of luck... hang tough. You're gonna be ok...

Daniel

 

Over protection can make tinnitus and hyperaccusis worse. You need to find a healthy balance or else you start doing more harm than good.

 

Keep biking and cut out the headphones.

 

I know it sucks having tinnitus at young age. It just ruins the life and yes, it’s a new life for me as well because I cannot do what most teenager can...

 

You should stop using headphones entirely. Thats how I made mine much worse, by using headphones again when riding my bike.

 

@Jack Straw, thanks, will it actually help fade away if I start a healthy diet?

What do you mean by overprotecting can make it worse? Is it bad to wear ear plugs often?

 

Not everyone with a missing limb or damaged nerve has phantom limb syndrome or chronic pain, not everyone with hearing loss has tinnitus but it can happen. In most cases tinnitus is phantom lost hearing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4208401/

Here's a useful post about Hidden hearing loss
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-fullness-in-ears-tinnitus.34437/#post-430734

 

If you wear earplugs often, you start to eventually rewire your brain in a way that every sounds starts to either scare you or feel too loud.

Don't use earplugs in normal situations. Avoid loud places.

I've been exposing myself more to outside world lately. In a mall, etc. No ear plugs. Sure, some sounds feel bad, but I need to train my brain.

Take it easy. Little by little. 2 weeks ago I couldn't even stand well flushing a toilet. Now? Nothing.

 

Listen to the signals given to you by your own body. You can ignore reality, but you won't be able to ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

 

Is this urgent, though? Can't you wait for your ears to heal (takes 18-24 months)? That's what I did, and then I didn't have to do any retraining - I was all set. What you are doing might carry a risk of interfering with your healing.

 

What is slight hearing loss? I have 15db on 3khz

 

I would consider that slight. It's considered normal, but 10 and down is normal for all extensive purposes.

 

even though mine is slight, my T is a 7/10 and I still have H. I have 15db on 3khz on L ear and 15db on 6khz on right ear.

 

How about the higher frequencies? Do you have any dips up there, or has it been ever tested? If not, I think it's safe to say, if you have dips on your regular audiogram, then you most likely have dips in the higher ones as well.

 

My audiologist says they are normal but according to him 25b-30db is normal.

 

He is wrong. He is giving you incorrect information to try and chide down your stress. If he thinks 15 dbl and 25-30 dbl is normal, then you should probably have another audiogram done at another audiologist. Doctors - empathetic ones - will chide patients down with false words, so they won't stress.

 

Both audiologist said that 15db on 3khz is normal.

 

In my opinion, I would be concerned with a 15 db dip. In my opinion, if your ears were capable of hearing 5, a 0, a -5 before Tinnitus and it dropped to a 10 or a 15 db, I wouldn't consider that normal, because each ear is different. That implies your ears lost their natural state of hearing, even if the measurement is considered normal - it wasn't YOUR normal before.

 

Im sending you a PM