Is My Tinnitus Fading?

I’m about 2 weeks in with the ringing. I’ve noticed in the past couple of days that the volume has reduced a lot and that the pitch is less of a sharp eeeeee and more of a softer hiss. I’m noticing it less and have been able to sleep without white noise.

Also when I first wake up it’s gone for the first half hour or so somedays. I just wondered if anyone else experienced this as the start of it fading? It does spike back up again for periods during the course of the day.

Thank you.

 

Congratulations ! This is good news.
Please continue protecting your ears.
Stay away from loud environment.

 

You are going through, a natural phase of tinnitus. The brain doesn't know what to do, so it can fluctuate signals. I remember the having the same situation, my tinnitus would fade, get louder and then calm down. The key is to not dwell and scan for the noise. Try to reduce your stress. You can play it safe and do everything in the book to protect your ears. Stress alone, can bring back the tinnitus and possibly make it louder.

I really do hope that your tinnitus goes away. Just give it time, take it day by day. We are here for you always!

 

Thank you both

 

That's what people refer to as "T fading."

If you are experiencing silence only two weeks after onset, based on the experiences of others I read about on this forum, eventually you will beat tinnitus. Good for you.

 

@Bill Bauer if your volume changes is it a good sign?
If your tones change every day (I have 5 different tones that change every day when I wake up, each day different tone). IS that a good sign too? It might be hard to habituate with such changing tones.

 

If the volume changes and the "global low" (the quietest volume since the onset) gets lower and lower over time, it is a great sign. The worst sign is when it is relentlessly at the same level.

 

What about tones? Sadly mine is a 8/10 since February 1

 

The more time you hear the tones that are less high-pitch and less intense, the better.

 

Mine was much quieter and much lower yesterday to the point I thought I might wake up and it would be completely gone. That didn’t happen though because my daughter was awake all night so I never actually really slept! “Woke up” and it seems to have been louder and more high pitches again today but definitely not as loud as it was initially.
dpdx- please don’t lose hope - a friend of mine had dreadful T for the first 18 months after a concert, hers started resolving between 18 months and now (she is 2 years in) she rated it at 9/10 to start now she rates it at about 2/10 and it bothers her way less.

 

I'm not dpdx but thanks for sharing.

 

@Shelly75 my T used to be a 2/10 but after the 2 minute vemp test which was 100db or so, it jumped to a 8/10 and it stayed since. You only get so many chances before you mess it up for good.

 

@dpdx what is a hemp test?

 

Sorry! Auto correct!

 

it is a loud clicking test measured 100-110db, they put electrodes on your face and then have the loud clicks play for 2-3 minutes to rule out if the vestibular system is working correct, it damaged my hearing (25db loss on 4khz) and thus permanently increased T. I also developed black eye floaters about 5 of them (3 in left eye and 2 in right eye), Visual Snow (Which I see in dark areas, especially at night), mind you I never had any of these things last year during this time nor did I have them when I had Mild T. I will do a hearing test next month (my 1 year anniversary of T) to see what has changed. It is scary to think I lost 1 year of my life and I will probably loose more. I am only 28 by the way!!!

 

@dpdx I’m sorry to hear that, it must be really hard for you. I developed floaters after that the birth of my first child, I had a vitreous detachment in both eyes and my eyes filled up with them. It was caused by pushing for too long in labour. I had vitrectomies in both eyes and it cleared my floaters thankfully. They drove me insane, much like this ringing is!

 

Yeah, my mind cant fathom how I went from a healthy 27 year old who graduated with a degree in Math to a disabled person who cant sleep, focus, concentrate, go outside, etc. I am an empty shell of what I was. Some of my friends haven't seen me since Sep 1 2017 and when I saw then a few days ago they were shocked. THey asked me how did I obtain so many grey hairs and why I looked so exhausted. I broke down in tears and told them what happened. It hurts to think that I will never see my full potential, never see what I would have become.

 

It’s a really hard time for you now, you have to believe that things change and nothing stays the same though forever, life won't always be this hard for you. I really feel for you and hope you come out of this horrible time soon

 

What caused your initial T?

 

Sadly It will. It feels so weird to think it ended just like that. I felt it like it was too sudden and fast. I had so many plans and things to do

 

Things will change, things always do

 

My T was caused by ipod/concert but only in left ear. It was moderate about a 6/10 in first three weeks, then it reduced to a 4 and then to a 2/10. I went to the audiologist did an audiogram (I will post the entire story on my anniversary), which ended up being perfect. I told him what caused my T but he wouldnt believe me. My audiologist did the DPOAE and it revealed outer cochlea cell damage, he said it is weird that I have T on left ear and that is better if go to an ENT to rule out ear diseases. He advised tests that would rule out any issues with the ear. My ENT made a list of 20 diseases I could have, she said either I have acoustic neuroma, meniere, cochlear hydrops, thyroid cancer. Acoustic Trauma in her opinion was the least likely thing to occur because my T is only one ear. She insisted I do a CT, MRI, ECOG, VEMP, ACOUSTIC REFLEX, Typanometry, Blood tests, Caloric Test (Ear syrnging), etc. She said that not to worry and that we will get to the bottom of this after we do all the tests. Well I did the CT and MRI which were normal, but the ear syringing (caloric test) and Vemp (100-110db) made it worse and the T jumped from the 2/10 to a 10/10 for three weeks in January, it then reduced to a 8/10 and stayed since. I developed Visual SNow and Black eye floaters a result. I went back to my audiologist and the hearing dropped from 5db on 4khz to about 25-30db something like that. it was a huge drop....my Audiologist told me that its mild hearing loss and its perfectly normal. He said its weird that my hearing dropped so much but it could be due to stress/anxiety. I went back to my ENT and told her what happened she was upset and told me there is no way those tests can hurt me bla bla bla. She said to go do TRT, and I I dont have money to get money because TRT will help a lot. So there you go proves how stupid Audiologists and ENTs are. It is absolutely scary to think that they treat people.

 

I dont think so. This isn't breaking a leg. This is brain damage, damage to the sensory processing areas.

 

In response to the OP: This is very good news and I hope it stays that way! Just be aware that now is the most important time to protect your ears as much as reasonably possible. But don't over protect it as it will make your situation worse.

That being said, there are no guarantees, I also had severe drops and spikes in my first month of T, there were weeks where it completely disappeared, then there are weeks where it came back. After 1 year it stabilized and has slowly faded over time. I still have T of course but its nowhere as bad as it was initially.

 

T is unpredictable.
We need to tread our path carefully.
Mine is reactive tinnitus.
It will get worse easily.

 

Any change is good, especially in the eyes of doctors. Its when things are stubborn and static for prolonged periods that causes even doctors to give up hope. Focus then switches towards accepting defeat.

 

My T on my right side came to a sudden stop for almost 2 seconds tonite.
Does that indicate anything?

 

I had two hours of pretty much silence when I woke this morning, the ringing was there very faintly but I was in a quiet bedroom and had to plug my ears to hear it. It’s increasing in volume and pitch now but feels like when you are trying to tune an old fashioned radio in with a dial, screechy one second quiet the next.