Intermittent Tinnitus

I have only recently realized that my type of tinnitus actually has a name, intermittent tinnitus which, as the term implies, is not constant. Most days, I have symptoms to some degree, which vary in volume from mild to upper medium, but I do get days where there's no symptoms, although I still have distress, which hopefully will subside somewhat when I begin to habituate.

Intermittent tinnitus is considered to be more difficult than a steady ring, because you never know what's coming next, how long the next episode will last, the intensity, etc. It's very disappointing when you're experiencing quiet one day, followed by several days of noise. My hyperacusis and sound sensitivities, however, remain during these periods of tinnitus remission, or days when tinnitus is present but milder.

Anybody else have intermittent tinnitus?

 

I never considered mine intermittent just because it's constant, but it fluctuates wildly and I always have 1 1/2 to 2 days of the month where it's so low that I feel like a normal person. I'm so thankful for those low days, but it does make it frustrating because I'll start to think maybe I'm getting better, but nope. I think the quieter days have to do with changes in neurotransmitters that happen due to hormone fluctuations. For instance, I think higher progesterone levels might mean better sleep, better sleep then helps the tinnitus. But that seems too simplistic, so I don't know. There are some old threads here with people who have the very same fluctuating tinnitus that seems impossible to habituate to. The good news is most of the people in those older threads aren't around, so maybe theirs faded away.

 

Hi @Luman

I have intermittent tinnitus but call it another name: fluctuating tinnitus. My tinnitus can be: completely silent like today. Mild, moderate or severe. It no longer reaches extremely severe levels that would last for many days then slowly subside. When my tinnitus is severe I sometimes need to take clonazepam/benzo to calm it down.

Michael

 

Today is a quiet day for me. I previously thought my T fluctuation was due to stress, or something else. Would I rather have steady noise all the time? I can't yet say one way or the other, but time will tell.

 

I wonder if there are many others who have Flucuating/Intermittent Tinnitus, but do not know about this, and become confused as to why their symptoms are playing hide and go seek with them. It certainly is a wake-up call for me, as I was constantly looking for reasons to explain why it would return back, after a day of no symptoms, only to fade again after a couple of days, when the truth is, there doesn't have to be any cause. We see so many people mention "spikes", some talk about how their T seems at bay for a time, then returns with a vengence, etc. It's just something to consider. This type of T is no picnic, but I'm glad that at least I finally know that there's no rhyme or reason to it's behaviors.

 

I have a type of T that might be Intermittent T. I have my ordinary T which consists of a hiss and a pure tone, always there in some degree, mostly moderate.. But some times during the day, I get several "beeps" in my right ear. It is completely random but lasts normally for 5-10 seconds before it is gone. Sometimes there are days between, other times there are hours.

I almost feel like I am hearing my nervous system sending sound/signals. I just hope it never becomes permanent, because it is really loud and intrusive. It scares me each time I hear it, and there is no pattern as I can see.

 

I kind off see what you’re trying to say.. I see the ‘Maybe if you had it all the time, rather than occasionally, you’d get used to it’ logic. But then there’s the argument, if you get it intermittently, at least you’re getting some rest bite from it - a break so to speak. Mine is what you call a ‘steady and continuous tone’ and most days I think I can put up with it, but unfortunately the loudness can vary a great deal and I never know for sure what I’m going to wake up to. I’m sure this sets me back. Maybe if mine stayed very loud all the time I’d get used to it... I’m not so sure though, I am so grateful for the quieter days, even if they’re not that frequent. That is the only reason I can get through the louder ones.

 

Sorry, just noticed it is a relatively old post.

 

Along with my tinnitus which I hear over tv and even over the shower, I also get these extremely loud, sharp very piercing sounds which don't last very long. I have no idea when they will occur or why but I have been getting these for many years.. even before I got tinnitus. I have subclinical hearing loss too. I habituated a long time ago and am no longer disturbed by my tinnitus. There is no cure and I accept it as a chronic condition. If I actively "listen" for it, of course, I am aware of its presence but I do not let it rule me or halt my enjoyment. I feel becoming completely absorbed in whatever I am doing helps immeasurably. Those sudden unexpected temporary bursts of piercing sounds are somewhat off-putting however.

 

I have intermittent tinnitus as well, I go long stretches of the day where I can't hear it, I've even laid down in bed and gone, "whoa, where's the ringing?!" even when thinking about it, it's gone, but once I start thinking about it, I usually start to hear it in about 30-40 seconds.

 

I have had a steady tone tinnitus in my left ear for many years. Just recently it has been joined by an intermittent crackling sound. The old sound is still there, same as ever, and since it is continuous it is much easier to ignore than this new one which is off and on.

 

The thread is only two weeks old, no reason to be sorry, and thank you for responding!

 

That has happened to me too, but it has improved. Today, I had no audible tinnitus symptoms for much of the day, other than sensitivity to certain sounds around me. Funny thing is, the anxiety, etc., is the same on quiet days, as when there's tinnitus sound present, but that will improve over time as well, I'm sure.

I would advise not to listen for ringing, if you don't hear anything, because your brain will start thinking that you're interested in it, and will provide the noise, at least that is what happened to me so I stopped listening for it and it stopped doing that. Right now, at this moment, I'd have to really concentrate hard to conjure up tinnitus noise, which of course I do not want to do. Actually, under the right circumstances, it has been shown by experiments that most people without tinnitus can detect ringing or other internal sounds if they try hard enough.

 

Very true, two weeks isn’t old but it’s just older than I thought! So the general consensus is.. a continuous tone is much easier to ignore than an intermittent one. In that case, I should be encouraged by this, I wasn’t really trying to argue either way! Really glad you seem to be making good progress.

 

I know this post is from awhile ago but I could not resist responding because I had no clue any medicine would quiet tinnitus. How well does it work?

 

Dr. Michael Seidman prescribes benzo's in certain cases. He is now located near Orlando FL. That's who I would see in the worst case scenario, but I would have to fly there. I would love to go where it's warm for a week. Probably one of the best tinnitus Dr.'s in the U.S. I was thinking you were from Florida or maybe @Contrast was? I'm still looking at TMJD, but my confidence is low. My left jaw does seem inflamed a bit I think. I posted this video today elsewhere:

Tinnitus (Ringing in the Ears)-Dr Michael...

 

Clonazepam can be effective in reducing tinnitus to a low level or complete silence for some people that have tinnitus. It will not work for everyone. If my tinnitus is very severe, taking it will often reduce the tinnitus to silence. My tinnitus is naturally variable. From complete silence to severe. You need to be careful with this drug as it is addictive and if taken too often the body gets used to it and it's no longer effective. That is when higher dosage is needed and this can cause problems. It is sometimes give to people with severe tinnitus but not all Drs will prescribe it.

 

Thank you. I doubt any doctor will prescribe it to me though...

 

Hello everyone. I have intermittend tinnitus too. I have mostly 2 days where the hissing sound is almost gone. then at the end of day 2 I go to bed and about 3 or 4 o clock in the night ,I go to the toilet and everything is still quite in my head. Then i go to sleep for a couple of hours ( i dream a lot) and when i wake up the sound is back and loud again ,and it stay with me 3 or 4 days. And the same pattern repeats itself ! It s like a switch goes off in my Rem-sleep or so.. Very strange.. I wonder if there is anybody who has this strange phenomon too? All the best , Bastiaan

 

Yes...The same here

 

Hi Jason, I am surprised that you have actually the same experience aswell. So i am not the only one. How is your pattern Jason ? I am still trying to figure out how it is possible . What do you make of it ? There is a connection between REM sleep and activation of some parts of the brain and therefore the start of the sound. Don t you think ?

 

Yes, that is very similar to my pattern. I don't know what to make of it. Perhaps, as some have said, it's more difficult to habituate to, but on the positive side, we get sometimes get relief for a day or two. There is a music producer, Rick Beato, who has this type of tinnitus for a number of years, is grateful for the occasional silence, but has habituated to the tinnitus when it is active. Hopefully, I'm not breaking any rules by posting a video. The part to listen to is about 1 hour five minutes 57 seconds.

Rick Beato Late Night Live 12-4-17

 

Thanks for the video. The first man i hear of who has it the same way as i do. Mine tinnitus has also started after Antibiotics ( for a tick bite ) and Rick also said it is Sleep-connected when it goes off. I have accepted it mostly. Altough there are off course moments when its difficult.

 

I woke up last night after 1 hour 15 minutes sleep, went to the bathroom, and there was no tinnitus present at all. This is very rare, in my case. Except for a very few times like last night, I always have tinnitus upon waking, even after dozing for a few minutes in a chair. The tinnitus returned when I got up for the day. Perhaps the sleep cycle was just at the right level.

 

Luman, I think science must investigate Sleep cycles and Brainwaves and Tinnitus... There must be a connection. Don't you think ?

 

Yes, Bastiaan, I definitely believe that there's a strong connection between sleep cycles, brainwaves, and tinnitus, for some people, perhaps many.

 

I did have for many years if you care to look at my story. I recently discovered that mine was actually due to my heart. Blood was not getting to areas of the brain during periods of ventricular tachycardia and now that my heart is being controlled by meds my tinnitus and accompanying symptoms (the T noise affected my vision) have completely resolved. I would advise anyobody with intermittent T which they haven’t found a cause for, to consider getting their heart checked. I thought that because the T was somewhat controlled by lying on my unaffected right ear that it must be from some problem inside my left ear. No. Somehow lying on my right side helped slow my heart and incidentally my T was not pulsatile either as one might expect if it was of cardiac origin. It sounded like a Geiger counter and sometimes so loud I couldn’t hear people speak. It hold go faster and slower but didn’t seem to be in time with my heart beat which I was not aware was going too fast. Ventricular tachycardia can lead to fibrillation and cardiac arrest and I had this daily for more than seven years so I guess I am in fact Super Woman!

 

Glad to hear that you got to the root of your problem, MM! Terhaps the T was a warning signal about your heart.

I recently had a pretty thorough workup at the cardiologist, which included Echocardiogram (Radiology); Carotid (Radiology); Thallium Stress Test (Radiology) Procedures: Stress Test; Myocardial Perfusion,Ejection Fraction.

I have some cardio issues, but nothing too serious and no mention was made of ventricular tachycardia at my visits or in my reports, so I assume that I don't have that. I did the cardiologist that I have tinnitus, but I probably didn't specify that it is somewhat intermittent.

 

Good for you that you are okay now MM.. Mine Tinnitus has nothing to do with my heart. My heart is perfectly healthy . thankfully..

 

Hi again....I’ve just checked out your latest post and diagnosis. I think it’s well worth a heart check up so I’ll go and see my GP. I’m so pleased you found the culprit and wish you all the very best )))