Is Fluctuation Normal on the Road to Fading?

My tinnitus has been around for about a month now. It has been interesting to say the least. Last week I experience periods of silence where I could not hear any tinnitus at all in one ear or the other, though at different times. The volume of my tinnitus goes up and down in both ears, at times barely audible, to right now where it is as loud as I can remember. In the morning it is generally on, though I have woken up a couple of times and I can barely hear it. The only thing that keeps me going is believing that since it fluctuates in volume and at times disappears is that it will improve.

I had been improving a lot, and then yesterday my tinnitus was loud in my right ear for about 10 hours of so, with some fluctuation, and then it settled down and was barely noticeable, and this morning it is really loud. I have wireless connectivity and I have been using my computer for sound therapy a lot (leaving it on overnight as I found it very beneficial and it helped me sleep). I was wondering if I have had the tinnitus sound therapy music on too much, though I do not play it very loud, and over stimulated my ear, or could my wireless connectivity have affected my tinnitus. Or is this fluctuation just a normal part of the road to fading tinnitus, just grin and bear it?

I must admit, with it improving as it was, which I was VERY grateful for, and then have it go back to just as loud when it started (since it started it has not gone back to its original volume until today) has sort of knocked some of the wind out of my sails (that important hope thing gets harder to stay focused on).

Any thoughts?

Add on the above, should I curtail my use of the sound therapy?

 

Can your ENT refer to a Audiologist? Properly she/he can give a better answer for you. My ent referred me to one she suggested sound therapy but I was rigid to find a cure and never got back to her. I have in my mind to reach back to her eventually.

It is a very good sign that you have silence sometimes and that doesn't happen to many so keep up the hope and continue whatever you think is working for you.

 

Hi Anusha Thanks for the support, it is appreciated. I have seen an audiologist, and I will be seeing one later this week, so I will be sure to ask. As for an ENT, basically I am in the line.

 

I agree.
Also, please protect your ears well and do not aggravate them
by exposing to loud environment.

 

It is impossible to tell. The only way to find out, is by experimenting and recording how you feel following the nights with the sound therapy music on, and following the nights when it was off, and looking for patterns.

Fluctuation (for no reason!) is completely normal. It would be rational for events like "T getting much louder compared to before", or "a T spike that lasts for over a month or two" to "knock the wind out of sails". It doesn't make as much sense to pay attention to more minor setbacks.

Yes to both... Try to "ride it out"...

 

I sure hope so, mine fluctuates. I had a big hangover today and it seemed almost gone.

 

@John CC You might want to look into whether anything in your diet is causing your T to temporarily get worse. Dairy products seem to cause this for me(!)

 

Thanks Bill Sorry Bill, but I am not that strong, just wanted to apologize before I say, " Food for thought". Sorry Bill I would like to be stronger, and I am working on it. I know, keep working.

 

its a good sign and fluctuation is fairly normal, to be expected. Depends on your daily life as to wether there is anything more to it probably. Best chances of recovery is to let it settle by staying away from the rat race as much as possible.

 

Mine fluctuated a lot the first few months, it went from going away completely to coming back unexpectedly...but always slowly getting softer. Every month it faded just a 1% more and more...eventually it reached baseline which is where i am at right now years later. If I don't drink coffee i wont hear it at all...but i love coffee and would rather have mildly annoying T than no caffeine hehe

 

When, would you say, did that happen?

 

Hi Coffee Girl Thanks for the input. I must admit, I do agree with the coffee comment. To date I have abstained from the mean bean, but largely because I have placed myself in a voluntary lockdown. I am on holidays so the timing in that sense has worked out allowing me to stay in and let my ears settle as much as possible. I am hoping my ear plugs will come in soon, and that is when I too will go out into the world, first stop - a coffee shop. I must confess though that I only drink maybe two mediums a day, if that. I have been told that that shouldn't make a big difference, I guess I will find out. I take my coffee black, it is just me and the mean bean facing each other. How about you?

 

Under a year, I pretty much habituated at around 5-6 months because at that point... I lost all hope of it going away. It was habituation or driving myself crazy, i chose habituation and stopped worrying about the sound in my ear...I think around 8 months it was the most noticeably quiet. 1 year for baseline for me (though I think it is much quieter now than ever before...I really don't know since i don't check on it).

 

Yeah...the stronger the coffee the more obvious the sound of T. It does make a difference to me but I import my coffee from Asia where it is so strong that my head will spin and I will literally shake as I am drinking it...its RAD haha. When i drink those kinds of coffee my T is noticeably louder. If I drink coffee from American grocery stores...it's barely noticeable. =D

 

Hahaha When I had Mild T I could drink coffee all I wanted. Would have two cappuccinos per day back in the office I worked. No spike nothing, food wouldnt spike it, alcohol wouldnt do anything (now it lowers it temporarily to mild), etc. It would only spikes when loud music was present (malls, bars, resturants, stores, cafes, haircut, etc).

 

HI @John CC

You are in the very early stages of tinnitus and the fluctuations that you are experiencing are typical with the onset of the condition. My advice is to continue using sound therapy especially at night using sounds that do not draw the brain's attention. Therefore, nature sounds from a dedicated sound machine are ideal. Similar sounds can be downloaded from YouTube that will suffice, providing they are delivered by a suitable audio device such as a mobile phone attached to a docking station or bluetoothed to a speaker. One of the worst things for tinnitus is quiet rooms and surroundings, as this often makes the brain focus more on the tinnitus and it can become more intrusive.

Keep in mind tinnitus should not be totally masked so that it can't be heard. Please follow my suggestions in: New to tinnitus what to do and my article: Tinnitus A Personal View.

All the best
Michael


https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

 

@Michael Leigh
What happened to Marcus? Did you talk to him after the 1 year mark had passed? Is he doing better now?

 

Marcus is doing quite well @dpdx and visits this forum regularly almost daily in fact and helps people. A fellow member PM'd me after doing a little detective work after reading my post about Marcus...(ha..ha) and has discovered his real name. This proves he wasn't a figment of my imagination but is a real person. Marcus was one of the most negative people that I have met and I spent a lot of time counselling him. Other people in this forum helped him too. I am pleased he has turned his life around and now enjoys spending time with his wife and children.

Michael

 

I dont know if I told you but I have two friends who have T, they had it for 20+ years and lived perfectly normal lives. Their T dosent spike when exposed to sounds like sirens, doors slamming, but they do tell me that sometimes it can be acute like a headache. They do wear earplugs when going to cinema, but both avoid concerts, concerts, clubs, etc because they know that it will worsen it.

 

I advise you to inform your friends they are playing with fire and need to be careful of loud sounds. If you can, get them to read my posts on tinnitus spiking and the fact that wearing even the best ear plugs including moulded, does not mean one is safe.

Take care
Michael

 

They only go to cinema with earplugs. They dont go to clubs, concerts, loud venues. They do go to bars, resturants, cafes, etc and even had fire alarm/ police siren pass by them and nothing happened.

 

It doesn't matter where they go if the tinnitus is affected as you describe then the external sounds are too loud!

 

So no bars, resturants, cafes, malls?

 

I suspect @dpdx that when you were referring to your friends that visit the cinema this also includes you? Please note the following and also click on the links below and read my posts. I see nothing wrong in a person with "noise induced" tinnitus going to a concert, nightclub, cinema, restaurants, malls or anywhere that has normal everyday sounds. The problem comes when the tinnitus and hyperacusis, if it is present hasn't been treated or a person hasn't habituated. As I mentioned in my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it. I went to a venue in Brighton where I live, and the sound level was 100 decibels and stayed their for 30mins without wearing earplugs. I suffered no adverse effects and my hyperacusis, which has been cured for 20 years was completely silent.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/are-spikes-from-loud-noise-permanent.18156/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-earplugs-and-nightclubs.18059/

 

Can we listen to audio in the car? Like moderate volume? will that cause further cochlea cell damage or increase T permanently.

 

Listening to audio in a car at moderate levels will not cause any harm to the auditory system. Harm comes from, negative thinking and constantly worrying over sound levels and the overuse of hearing protection. In addition to this, the avoidance of everyday normal sounds, amounts to an increase in anxiety and fear. These are the things that make tinnitus worse and makes it become a long term chronic problem.

Michael

 

Michael, you seem to have a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on. Sometimes you advocate for people to be careful and reasonable and to use common sense, and at other times you talk about "overprotection." How bizarre.

 

@Bill Bauer
I don't quite understand what you mean Bill. I am saying it is the "overuse of hearing protection, constantly worrying about sound levels to the point where some people carry sound level meters on their person or use decibel apps on their mobile phone and the avoidance of everyday normal sounds. These are the things that promote fear and anxiety and make tinnitus become a long term chronic problem. I see nothing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in that. Similarly, the person I advised today to use sound therapy to help/reduce his sensitivity to sound chooses to seek silence whenever possible and doesn't realise this actually makes the problem worse.

Michael

 

Hello Michael and Bill. Great conversation, I think I am learning more about this T stuff by just listening to the two of you. As for my approach to sound, yes I am staying at home to help my ears heal, but while I am at home I also have the TV on, as well as either music or a tinnitus sound therapy video site on (which I also play at nightime). My T has improved a lot and I was thinking that next week I will start going out to a coffee shop in the afternoon, just to keep myself i) from climbing the walls with cabin fever, as well as ii) keeping my ears attuned to 'normal' sounds. Any thoughts?

I also went to my doctor today, and spoke with him, and shared how this is affecting me, my concerns re. going back to work and he agreed with me, and signed a note allowing me to take an extra month or two to heal without the loud sounds of children. I am very fortuante in that I can do this, and I intend to use the time to continue healing. With this I feel more hopeful in my initial recovery. My ears still shout at me very loudly, sometimes to the point where I can get a little dizzy, but the length of these shouting matches are descreasing, something I hope to build upon with the extra time to just take care of my T. As two 'saiges' on this site, as well as the many others who contribute, any suggestions re. things to do to help with the continued healing of my T.????

 

I tried it both ways, and my experience is that this hasn't made any difference (one way or the other) for me.