Is It Normal to Have Lots of Different Sounds Start?

Hi ,woke up to tinnitus 5 weeks ago,to begin with it it was one sound in my right ear,then 2 weeks later a crickets sound has stared in both ears on and of ,worse at night,then i had mri last monday and on thursday more new sounds,like a low tumble dryer in right ear and a tinkling sound that seems to go from right ear to left ear via my head and a clinking sound now to,i just wondered if this is because its new and will settle,im really scared wondering what noise is next,this has floored me,not sure what has bought it on yet,having hearing test next week,if anyone can help me wit this would be very grateful.

 

Welcome Wendy,

Sorry you have developed T and know, this is the right place for support and advice. 5 weeks is not to long a period and things may settle down for you. Try not to panic and see what the audiologist discovers. If you have little or no hearing loss, your T may be the result of something else and may be treatable or resolve itself, if properly diagnosed. If it's hearing loss, you may be still eligible, for a tapered course of Prednisone. Ask your ENT about this, immediately!

MRI's are very noisy and hopefully the clinician gave you adequate hearing protection? I assume this was ordered by your ENT? Most here will agree, ENT's don't really know a lot about T, but their the first line of defense, in regard to hearing issues.

Don't despair and take it one day at a time. T can change over time or in some cases disappear completely. Keep your stress level down, if possible. Seek out some temporary meds, if you need to control your anxiety.

Good luck and God bless,

Sailboardman

 

Thanks for your reply,yes i had earplugs given for mri but before i had it it was only 2 noises i heard and low,now new ones seem to come every day and night,and im scared what noise will start next,is this normal in the early stage ? thanks again.

 

During my first 2 months the sounds would be unrelenting and I could hear a variety of pitches. Mostly tonal but i had so many tones mixing together... Approaching my 3rd month and most of the tones have gone away. Volume has also lowered to the point I only notice spikes while im busy, and can only hear my normal tones in a quiet room or when im bored. Mine is noise induced, but based on what I have heard from others on this site, T will usually get a bit better over time, even if its just mentally.

 

Thanks for the reply,so did you have different sounds starting ? its freaking me out as i dont know what is coming next,doc just gave me some diazepam to try and calm me down as the last few days have been bad.

 

I don't think there are standards in regards to what tinnitus should or should not sound like. It just shouldn't be.

 

For me, things changed a lot starting off. But like Nucleo said, T is different for everyone so its hard to say. But in many cases it does get better.

 

Thanks for the reply ,i guess i just want to know it will stop changing so much,its a struggle.

 

Hi Wendy, like sailboardman said in his post that it's only been 5 weeks and the T may settle down and go away for you. It's not uncommon for a person with T to hear multiple sounds, pitches, and volumes. For a while I had just one noise and then I started getting different sounds at different volumes, even at the same time. This started causing me a lot of extra anxiety and making me wonder "what in the blazes is going on?" As more time has gone on I don't get as shook up over the different sounds/volumes as much as I used to. Try to stay busy and see what your hearing test results show next week and go from there. Once again, being it's been only a little over a month, it may end up going away. God Bless........ Rich

 

Thanks Rich for the reply,what caused do you know? i havent a clue yet,how long did yours take to settle?

Thanks again Wendy

 

Hi Wendy, you're welcome. I'm not sure what brought mine on, but I remember it started with head and facial pressure that eventually spread to pressure in my ears and then the ringing started. For me it's been almost a year and a half now from when the head/ face pressure started. Mine hasn't settled but I don't let the different sounds and volumes spook me. The different sounds/volumes started last winter. I still have them but in the past month or so I haven't been letting them freak me out as when they first started. Hang in there and see how the hearing test goes. And remember you're not alone with the T you're experiencing and the different sounds. I know it's not easy but try to stay calm and not let them get you anxious. God Bless....... Rich

 

What's normal about T? but yes. I hope it settles for you

 

Thank you both, yes your right nothing normal here, im trying hard to calm myself,im in my 40s and this is the first time something has shaken me like this,thanks again, meant to be going on hols in 3 weeks on a plane and im scared it will make it worse.

 

You would not believe the variety of sounds in my head when tinnitus first arrived. Over time it's decided to settle into 1 to 4 sounds in my head: oscillating cicadas; something that sounds like tiny pieces of metal being shaken on a cookie sheet; a snake pit with hissing rattlesnakes; and a dissonant kind of hum that you usually hear in the eerie part of scary movies. It's like a fog of sound that fills my whole head. All of the sounds are fairly high pitched.

For the last 3 days it's been the cicadas and it's driving me batty. Nothing can mask it. It's even waking me up in the night, which hasn't happened for a long time.

Your tinnitus is still fairly new and will likely settle down. Believe me, the first weeks/months are the hardest. Read the "Back to silence" thread by I Who Love Music. His technique has helped quite a few people on this forum.

 

I can't say what is 'normal' because tinnitus is such an individual thing...BUT, I started with a hissing, it developed into a sea-shell roar kind of thing, cicadas at one point and static. Then it progressed to a noise like high powered buzzing like electricity and moved to my head. It now goes from hissing to a soft squeal on good days. Tinnitus is mostly unpredictable. It has settled down to this buzzing and or a hissing sound on bad days and a tiny flutter and squeak on good days. Bad days are still very loud but I don't react as I used to.

 

Thanks for your replies, yes my sounds sound like yours, i feel like im being electrocuted at times, im just trying to do one day at a time but its hard,any thoughts on flying with this being so new,its a 4 hour flight?