Is It Severe Tinnitus When You Hear the Tinnitus Very Clearly Over Most Noises?

I'm new to this forum (found it via Google search yesterday). My tinnitus is pretty bad (I can hear it all the time although it's not deafening). It worsened on Wednesday evening of last week and especially since Monday. I still function well (hasn't really affected my life as I've gotten used to it).

So, the question is, if the tinnitus is not deafening but you hear it over any noise, is it severe tinnitus?

EDIT: I should clarify that I'm still able to sleep soundly without the use of tinnitus masking apps. Also, I don't have any pain in my ears although on occasion I do feel slightly dizzy.

 

You may want to refer to the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory
https://www.ata.org/sites/default/files/Tinnitus_Handicap_Inventory.pdf

 

Thanks. My THI score is 18 out of 100. However, I was referring to loudness since my tinnitus is quite loud at times.

 

Is it very high frequency? That can be a reason it can be heard above everything when mine changes frequency. Not many things out there that are that high frequency to mask it.

 

Yes its around 8500 to 9000 hz.

 

Hrm could be then although that’s not that high. Mines often around that frequency too, but sometimes much higher and that’s the more intrusive stuff.

 

According to the scale below, the answer to your question is "yes"...
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-loudness-scale.6873/

 

I would think its severe.

 

why aren't there any doctors on this site answering questions like this?

 

@Natester1986 there is quite a bit of debate, or difference of opinion on this site. IMHO severity is a measure of its impact on your life, others believe that only volume matters. By the volume scale, if you can hear it above a shower... then it's pretty loud. But, if you follow the THI, then it's not. And you are a great example of how volume does not correlate with its intrusiveness.

 

Because there are no tinnitus doctors.

 

My tinnitus would rank as a 7 although I've had it go as high as a 9. I don't have any hearing loss though.

 

Did you do an audiogram in higher frequencies, so above 8khz?
Have you done DPOAE?

 

I haven't yet. Is there a link to them?

 

You should do an audiogram above 8khz to see. Hold on.

 

20Hz to 20kHz (Human Audio Spectrum)

 

I can't hear anything above 13500 hz. I must be deaf to those frequencies. The funny thing is, listening to the whole thing made my tinnitus go down from 7 to 2. Right now my tinnitus is around 4 although it's likely going to go back up to 6 or 7.

 

I dont hear anything at 10khz on either ears.

 

Is the 10 khz sound what you tinnitus sounds like?

 

I hear more 10khz on right ear then left. I also have a hard time hearing 9khz. Yeah it is very high pitch.

 

Well technically speaking, we (the volume crowd) are 100% correct. It make sense no sense to measure something objective like tinnitus with a subjective scale.

 

If T didn't have any impact on the sufferer, we wouldn't care about T. So it is the impact that we care about, and that impact is subjective...

My guess is that the louder the volume, the less variability in the impact. This means that when the volume is loud, finding out just how loud it is would give us a good idea about the impact that it is having on the patient. But the subjective scale would allow us to learn this information about the other patients (whose T might not be very loud, but who might experience significant impact of T on their lives).

 

Do you hear it over a water tap @Natester1986

 

I hear it over pretty much anything except really loud noises.

 

I'd say it depends upon the individual.

I have 24/7 low frequency T that I hear over everything, and I do mean everything. Last week, I heard it clearly over an aeroplane engine for three hours. Right now I'm watching the t.v and it's blaring away. Would I say this is severe? No. It's just ... there. I hear it, but do not actively listen to it. Today, I'll go about my tasks, and not be stressed by it. It has taken me about six months to get to this point though. Many take longer, so I consider myself lucky.

 

This is cool, I got a 44. But clearly more dramatic people will get higher scores.