Is Tinnitus Progressive?

[Tigo]

Hi all,

Living with tinnitus for the last two years. Only hearing the T in the evening and in bed. But the last month it is becoming worse. I hear it all day.....

I think that i have got T because of aging (?) An audiogram taken by the ENT has learned that I have mild hearing loss. The last week I'm wearing hearing aid but the T isn't any lower.

I now that my hearing loss is progressive but my fear is that my T also progressive is !!!

Is there anyone with a story the same of me! I'm feeling desperate at the moment !!

 

[Bobby B]

You need to give out more useful info if you want useful replies - age , causes for tinnitus, what kind of hearing loss ? What does mild mean in terms of db@khz

 

[Tigo]

Ok age 38
cause: genetic i think. my father as his father has also hearing loss but no T
60db loss in each ear

 

[glynis]

A warm welcome to Tinnitus Talk Togo.
A hearing aid will take the edge off your tinnitus if adjust them to the level you need depending on if their is sound around you to amplify.
In a quiet setting with no sound on to amplify it will be harder to mask your tinnitus unless like mine I have duel purpose hearing aids with white noise settings.
Try to have sound on around you to help....lots of love glynis

Try not to worry about the future as will cause anxiety and feed your tinnitus and your hearing aids will get adjusted over the years if your hearing changes...
If you don't have white noise on your hearing aid maybe this is something you can talk to your audiologist about.

 

[April]

@Tigo I have hearing loss and T also. I used to just have T in one ear, but now it is in both but the right ear T is still what gives me the most trouble. The good news is that things finally settled down as I was in a panic too when the changes kept happening. I have hearing aids in both ears but cannot mask the T because I have reactive T and any noise at all makes the T louder. I get out and do things but my home is still my sanctuary where it is quiet and I can 'let my ears cool down', as I tell my friends. Biggest problem for me is understanding speech even with the hearing aids. I do avoid certain social situations but my friends and family understand my limitations and are understanding.

 

[Marie79]

According to my doctor, no. It is not a progressive disease.

 

[Alexf9454]

Right now, I'm feeling it's a degressive disease

 

[Vaba]

Hi all,

Living with tinnitus for the last two years. Only hearing the T in the evening and in bed. But the last month it is becoming worse. I hear it all day.....

I think that i have got T because of aging (?) An audiogram taken by the ENT has learned that I have mild hearing loss. The last week I'm wearing hearing aid but the T isn't any lower.

I now that my hearing loss is progressive but my fear is that my T also progressive is !!!

Is there anyone with a story the same of me! I'm feeling desperate at the moment !!

It doesn't get worse by itself without further hearing damage. Hearing damage is cumulative though and in some people hearing loss causes T. So if you get more hearing loss you'll probably get more T because we're the unlucky 3% of the population that has it...

 

[Richard zurowski]

It's the fear and anxiety that makes you think that is getting worse. The more you concentrate on your tinnitus will make it feel is though it's getting worse.

 

[April]

When my condition first happened in 2008 I had mild tinnitus in one ear and hearing loss. I had a white noise machine that masked the T so I was not too upset or focused on the T. I still had good hearing in one ear with no T in that ear but over the next few months I noticed that noises that used to be soothing to me such as my white noise machine, car noise while driving, walking by the river and listening to the water were starting to take on a tinny quality. My audiologist wasn't concerned so I just kept with it. The changes were subtle but eventually I had to give up all masking and grit my teeth when walking at the river. I was not focused on my T when this condition began because it was an annoyance, nothing more. Today the reactive T and hearing loss determine what I can and cannot do. So for some people I think that anxiety can be a factor in thinking that T is getting worse but for me initially I wasn't focused on the T or hear loss until I noticed a rather dramatic change which was later confirmed by my audiologist.

 

[Marlino]

So for some people I think that anxiety can be a factor in thinking that T is getting worse but for me initially I wasn't focused on the T or hear loss until I noticed a rather dramatic change which was later confirmed by my audiologist.

I agree, that all this anxiety arguments just make sense to mild tinnitus. I think its crucial to keep in mind the difference between mild and severe T.

I for myself had mild to moderate T about 10years ago. After about 12-15month after onset and a lot of suffering I decided not to be bothered by it anymore and then it resolved. Completely! No residuals, just silence for 10years. True silence!
So T is not necessarily progressive.
BUT here I am again. Out of the blue a worse T came back. Now its moderate to severe T and makes it a totally different thing to tackle. First I thought my first T experience would help me but it didn't at all.

So my quintessence:
Even if T is not necessarily progressive, a person who experienced T once is very very vulnerable for the future!

 

[Newstar]

Hi, from what I've learned is that the tinnitus noise is created in the brain not in the ear proper . It was suggested that I try biofeedback and I know that the University at Buffalo had a study going about a year ago to teach those afflicted the process but have not followed up. It seems correct to me. I had a traumatic brain injury in my twenties but did not realize I had tinnitus until my early sixties.

 

[GregCA]

Hi, from what I've learned is that the tinnitus noise is created in the brain not in the ear proper .

I don't think that this fact has been established, although there is strong suspicion that at least one type of tinnitus is created "in the brain". In addition to this, there are many forms of tinnitus, and I know that at least some of them isn't created in the brain.
The simplest example of "ear tinnitus" is the low frequency tinnitus that otosclerosis sufferers perceive. It is a mechanical process that is affected by the lack of mobility of the stapes bone.

 

[Marlino]

I don't think that this fact has been established, although there is strong suspicion that at least one type of tinnitus is created "in the brain". In addition to this, there are many forms of tinnitus, and I know that at least some of them isn't created in the brain.

Correct. You can proof that at least some T is created in the ear but you cannot prove that any T is created only in the brain.

So far it's about faith. Either in church of earT with the LLLT worship service or brainT with the TRT service. You are free to chose.

 

[GregCA]

Correct. You can proof that at least some T is created in the ear but you cannot prove that any T is created only in the brain.

So far it's about faith. Either in church of earT with the LLLT worship service or brainT with the TRT service. You are free to chose.

I'm not religious, so I won't pick. But as a scientist I'm ok that there can be both, and that each case has its merit whether it's one type or the other (and potentially both).