I'm New Here, Would Like Some Advice

Hi, ive had a mild form of tinnitus for over 10 years but as of Sunday 12th of this month at some point in the evening/Monday morning, it got worse. On the Friday night just before, I was at a local rock gig which was loud, the following night on the Saturday I was at a black tie ball, but the music was reserved and quiet. Probably inline with or less than what you'd get at a cinema.

I don't recall any problems all day Saturday or Sunday morning. All I know is that I definitely knew by Monday that it was louder. I thought it was down to wax in my ears so I went and bought some otex and put a few drops in. At this point it got louder still from what I recall. I got an appointment with my GP who said I had impacted wax against my ear drum in my right ear. The appointment to get it removed was over a week away so I paid to have it micro suctioned the Saturday just gone. It's no better and I've been really stressing about it big time. I know you will hear stories like this a lot on this forum but I'm assuming because I'm
A musician that it's noise related damage.

What I don't understand is why I didn't notice until Sunday night/Monday morning and not immediately following the loud gig. As of now it's been around a week since it spiked. New symptoms include louder background hiss and a completely new intermittent high pitch squeal that changes frequency. The high pitch squeal (eeeeee) comes and goes randomly and there can be literally hours in between episodes.

The first time this kicked in it was bad enough to give me a really bad headache because I just wanted it to stop. My questions to you all with experience is, is it likely to calm down in volume over the next few weeks if I keep loading up on vitamins etc, and is the intermittent high frequency noise likely to go away. Any personal experiences or advice of what to expect or what's likely would be greatly appreciated. GPs just severely lack knowledge on the subject.

 

Welcome Ed. Tinnitus is one strange alien beast that is hard to figure out. Trying to guess what triggers it can be frustrating as T is quite unpredictable. From what I read, when T is new or when it kicks up to a new level, there can be a period T will morph into different forms at times, such as developing ear fullness, ear pressure or pain, developing new tones or alternating pitches, or become pulsatile. If the pitch is very high, some form of sound reactiveness or hyperacusis symptoms can follow. So it is best to expect a period of instability initially and don't get so worked up when T morphs. It also doesn't help if each morphing results in extreme anxiety or fear about the situation or the future. Stress & anxiety are bad for T. So do what you can to get medical opinion to prove nothing medical wrong first. If there is nothing wrong, the best is to stay as calm and positive as possible. This is something you can do and control to do something positive. By reading the success stories, you will encounter people with similar T symptoms as yours and may be of similar age or profession. Try to learn their insights/stragegies how to get better and copy their success. You will also find out that people generally needs time to get better. So for the new T situation you are facing, it is best to stay patient & wait it out. It tends to settle down after a while. You may also want to take some supplements such as NAC, Magnesium, B12, D3 etc., and you may want to cut back on salt, MSG, caffeine, alcohol etc.

In the mean time try to get some masking asap so you will not be so stressed by the T ringing. TT has great sound tracks for it as well as some tips to manage the situation. So as its title suggests, Dont Panic. There are many things you can do to help yourself. Here is the link for it. Take care & God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

 

Thanks Billie, I'm currently taking B vitamins, magnesium and zinc. My GP also gave me Serc 16mg (betahistine), but I don't think it's really doing anything and it's more for Ménière's disease anyway. I could honestly live with the background hiss, I previously habituated to my old noise but the worrying thing about this new sound is it seems to be triggered by certain sounds and it's such an annoying high frequency sound. It also fluctuates up and down in pitch. It's been a week now and the first 4 days were probably the worst of my life. I've never felt so low ever, but today I started to fight back and try to find some answers, I'm still very low but feel I may turn a corner. I just pray this high pitched sound fades away.

 

Yes, I hope it will too. It generally will settle down as time goes by. Generally, stress and anxiety can make it worse. So it is best you can manage your T without whatever things or methods you can do or control. For example, doing some leisurely exercise, try to relive and enjoy hobbies, talking to friends & family etc. Make sure you have good rest. Sleep deprived brain is bad for T for sure. If you have problem sleeping, then the TT link I provided you above also has a link to a sleep thread. Hope you a speedy recovery.

 

I would just like to add today has been a much better day for me. I stopped taking Serc, I don't know if this has had any affect on today or not, but I've only had one high pitched dentist drill attack, as opposed to having them every 30 minutes or so every other day so far.

I really really hope this continues and is a sign I'm actually improving. The background hiss is still louder but I find I can cope with that having lived with a milder version for over 10 years or so, I think I'm already habituating to it somewhat.

 

Never mind, it's another bad day again. It's got to be the most intrusive infuriating condition there is.

 

I understand and have true empathy of your suffering. The unpredictable T bully sure knows how to rock our confidence on getting better. But remember setbacks are very, very common among newer sufferers. It is what it is. That is why living with T can really try our patience. Nevertheless, T habituation on a daily basis can be like a yoyo, but over time, it gets better and better, and the good days get more and more, longer and longer. It is like a stock price on the way up. Even for Apple which has been on the way up for years, you take any day it will have its ups and downs. But the grand scheme of the trend is up. If we ignore the day to day thingies but just look down the road a year or two, perhaps it will be not so depressing and defeating on any given day when T spikes on us. Managing our mental sanity while T may ambush us any day is important to prevent T from using each spike to prolong the suffering. It is a mental game and the smarter and more positive we are about this game, the more likely we will win the game over the T bully.

 

I'm finding myself over analysing everything and I'm not so sure it's helping. For example if someone puts some music on I'll find myself turning it down even though it's not particularly loud.

I'm scared to play my guitar through my amp. I'm also a real movie buff and usually go to the cinema with my girlfriend quite a lot, but I now feel like I shouldn't go as it'll be too loud. I'm trying to keep doing my usual routine but find I'm holding back when any sound is now involved, like I've got a fear of it.

 

Take a break from loud things for a while until everything stabilizes. It should come down in intensity, how much is anyone's guess but you aren't doing yourself any favors if you keep assaulting your ears. Keep plugs handy in case you find yourself in a loud situation and don't be afraid to pop em in.