Internal Head Tinnitus: Is It Likely Going to Be Permanent?

The tinnitus I have is internal. I still occasionally have fleeting tinnitus in both ears, but I've had that for as long as I can remember (I'm 43 years old).

My tinnitus was caused by a tympanogram, so I consider it noise/pressure induced tinnitus.

My question to you all: If I am suffering from what seems to be a neuron (or internal) tinnitus, is this more than likely permanent?

I am going on 7 weeks now, and just not sure what the usual prognosis on this is. It definitely is not happening in my actual ears.

For what it's worth, it seems to be at about 13,500 Hz, and is at the 60-70 dB level. It sounds a LOT like the shower (my new favorite daily activity).

 

Sorry to hear about this new tone you have.
It’s hard to know if it’s permanent or not, it really is just a waiting game.
I hear my tinnitus in my head (if that’s what you mean by internal tinnitus).
This is still tinnitus and quite common to hear it in your head.
I hope it settles down for you.
I take Nicotinamide Riboside regularly. This is supposed be otoprotective, to help keep my ears from getting any worse.
I feel like I’m at least being proactive in some way, otherwise I feel pretty helpless.

 

Hello good people of Tinnitus Talk!

It has been 12 weeks (3 months) since my tinnitus started. It was definitely from a tympanogram at an ENT’s office. My tinnitus is also head tinnitus. There is no perceptible tinnitus in my ears themselves.

Lately I have been noticing that I have a 4 day cycle of severity. On days 1-3 my tinnitus is at a level 5-7/10, and on day 4 its more like a 3/10. Does anyone else have this type of cycle? Stress certainly seems to influence how high a level I have on the first 3 days.

And side question, do people recover from head tinnitus? Feeling a bit hopeless as of late.

 

@akirakurosawa, I have head tinnitus too. Mine fluctuated but would go back to baseline -- which was pretty low and I could only hear it in quiet rooms and it never gave me problems sleeping, just sounded like crickets, some days I wouldn't even notice it at all. So yes I think it can go away like ear tinnitus. I'm not sure how the brain processes head tinnitus differently than ear tinnitus (I always associate my fleeting ear ringing with damage from noise, and head tinnitus from high stress/anxiety).

How is yours? I hope it improved!

 

I’ve had a couple bouts of head tinnitus. They both went away. It is possible.

 

@racedy, I'm heading into 1 year soon. I have had some good days, and some bad days. Currently in a bit of a spike so I find myself back here. I've gone months not letting it get to me and so I try and stay off this site. I mostly head to the Success Stories when I login for some modicum of hope. I hope you are doing well with managing your tinnitus!

@MusicTeacher, how long did you have the head tinnitus? Mine is close to 1 year at this point. As I said above, with some highs and lows.

 

I agree with @racedy.

In my experience head tinnitus is typically related to sort of brain inflammation; high stress levels and anxiety.

 

Tinnitus rotates through the lobes of my brain - usually 2-3 lobes at once. 3.5 months since it was 24/7 but was coming and going before that.

Really hoping for some relief from the hissing, pulsing, ringing, chirping etc in my brain. It rattles my nerves.

How long did you have it before it went away?

 

@AliasM @akirakurosawa, my head tinnitus lasted several months and then vanished. But... my tinnitus changes a lot. Most types that I’ve read about on this site, I’ve experienced, and then it changes again.

 

What was the cause of your tinnitus?

This head stuff is loud and intrusive. I am sure when tinnitus first started, it was just my ears, but it is 85% my brain now that rings.

Do you mean your tinnitus went away completely, or moved back to your ears?

 

@AliasM, I wish it went away. It never left my ears... the head tinnitus did go away though. And I feel your pain - I remember it being very intrusive. Hang in there.

 

I'm not understanding the difference when you guys talk about head tinnitus vs ear tinnitus - how does that work?

 

I can't speak for others, but I get ringing, chirping, static, and hissing throughout the different lobes of my brain. Sometimes it migrates through my brain as the day goes on. Other times what I wake with is what I have for the day.

My tinnitus is multi tonal so I generally have 6-8 sounds at once coming from the brain and ears.

I have a permanent swirling, churning static that is pulsatile that sits in my left parietal lobe. It is loud and intrusive (and I feel it even though I have been told that is impossible) yet, when I block my ears, I only hear it in the distance.

I haven't had it for a while but I use to get loud aggressive chirping that came up from the base of my skull into the left and right occipital lobes. No where near my ears.

Then I get the ringing, electricity running down a wire and other sounds that are purely in my ears.

That is head tinnitus vs brain tinnitus for me.

 

In my opinion 'head tinnitus' is a myth. It is just like when you hear sound through headphones or earbuds. When one is broken, you hear the sound in your left/right ear. But when both sides work, then you hear the sound in your head rather than in both ears simultaneously. Same I think happens with tinnitus. If you have bilateral tinnitus that sounds equally in both ears, then it might feel like it originates from head, but that's just an effect of stereo. And the migration between lobes might be that tinnitus changes its volume in both ears independently, therefore you feel that shift.

But that's just my personal opinion, I might not be right. I'm not expert. I wish you'll recover.

 

Ahh, no.

It might help to have it to understand it.

 

What was your head tinnitus like?

 

My simplified understanding is there are generally three areas to hearing, the outer ear with all the little bones, the auditory nerve pathway from the outer part of the ear (bones etc) to the brain, and then the auditory section of the brain itself. I have had the "brain tinnitus" 24/7 since 2012. I also get occasional outer ear tinnitus however it doesn't last very long. Too much coffee makes mine worse/louder.

 

Actually there is a verified form of tinnitus that intrudes in the brain, it has been imaged on functional MRI and is seen as visibly active areas that should actually be quiet. EEG can also be used to identify abnormal areas of brain activity.
I tried to get a fMRI however was declined. My hearing test came back perfect for my age, the audiologist said"you have better hearing than me". I have had an MRI which does show the possibility of head trauma, unfortunately it was done 8 years after the accident. I also get the tinnitus in the inner ear although it doesn't last very long, minutes; my brain tinnitus is constant 24/7, just over 10,000 Hz, sounds a bit like crickets, varies in volume, can sometimes make me feel like my head is "fit to burst" it's so loud. Having a shower definitely masks it however I can't stay in the shower the rest of my life! Below is the title to a research paper, somewhat technical, however interesting.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of tinnitus
Lanting, Cornelis Pieter

 

Everyone is unique in their tinnitus however the one common factor is an intrusive ringing in ear/s and or head. After having a hearing test, which was almost normal, hearing reduction at the pitch of my head tinnitus, the audiologist advised me that the more attention I paid to it the louder it would get, a bit like only paying attention to a noisy child when they get in your face (I have four children). I have found his advice to be true, the more I "listen" to the tinnitus the louder it gets as the brain reinforces the "noise." Very occasionally now I may get up in the morning and there is VERY brief silence until my brain switches on the noise generator. This is my experience, and it was apparent the second I regained consciousness after being knocked out for over ten minutes. I found it quite distressing in the early days, and while it can still bug the hell out of me, I try to keep my mind occupied on other things and I take Melatonin when I need a bit of extra sleep.
The literature I have read has been helpful in understanding tinnitus, "knowledge is power," or in the case of tinnitus has helped me come to terms with it in a fashion.
As I stated at the beginning, everyone is unique, and I believe it is important to find a supportive medical professional to give you advice on your particular tinnitus, even tho it seems we both have the same variety.

 

My tinnitus goes in cycles too. It's almost like something builds up in the body, then releases every 4-5 days.

 

How annoying it must be to go to someone who is supposed to be helping you with your ears, but instead makes you worse with the tests they do.

I went to an ENT once about my ears and he wanted to microsuction my ears. I ran out of the place as fast as I could and will not be going back to any one of them again.

 

@akirakurosawa, did your Valsalva spike subside eventually?

 

@KazM, hi! Could you describe a little bit more your tinnitus please? Are the crickets all over your head or just in the ears? Are they reactive to noise? Do you wear hearing protection?

Thank you so much.

 

@KazM, how long after your head injury did you start experiencing brain/head tinnitus?