Joining the Club

I never thought I would be here - I am sure that is what everyone else thought when they first experienced tinnitus. I normally work a safe office job at a college with no real noise exposure. At nearly 40, I don't and never really went to clubs and can count the number of concerts (all on the tame side) that I've attended in my life. I did listen to podcasts and music on earbuds and perhaps it was louder than it should have been. However, I never experienced any hearing or tinnitus issues until almost two weeks ago. I enjoy doing remodeling on my home - pounding away, sawing, and such - and never thought of using ear protection. Big mistake. I needed to replace a tile that is no longer made and used a saw to cut open the counter based under the sink. I used an oscillating tool and then a hammer and chisel to access a full tile. After about 15-30 minutes of work, with sound reverberating in the cabinet, I heard ringing immediately. I was hoping it would go away, but it's still her 11 days later. I've panicked and had a rough night last night as the perceived sound got louder as the night drew up. But I also learned, from this site and others, that the best tactic is to stay calm and try to associate positively with the sound (rather, high-frequency hissing sound). Easier said than done.

My ears still hurt, but not deep inside. That comes and goes. The high pitch tone seems to fluctuate. At times it's worse (6 out of 10) and, like this afternoon, sometimes it's barely noticeable (like 3 out of 10). Like others, my quite office and home seem to make it more noticeable so I usually have something going on in the background and try not to focus on it. And like others, I have read a ton of research. I avoid blogs and websites, including most news sites that tend to unreliably report scientific information. Rather, I read the peer-reviewed scientific research articles, paying close attention to important elements such as study size, control groups, outcomes, etc. Having had courses in research, I know that most scientific studies only examine a very narrow topic and that research builds upon other research in most cases. This makes it a very slow process to make new discoveries. I pray for a cure someday soon, or at least an effective treatment intervention. However, a cure or treatment may just come through an accidental discovery as well, much like a lot of other breakthroughs. Perhaps while experimenting on an animal or person for another condition they'll discover that a treatment resolved tinnitus (many drugs uses are discovered this way).

Anyway, I am here to learn, get and provide support, and be in this together!

 

if you read research I'm sure you already know you have sensori-neural hearing loss and a phantom audiotory sensation that we all call tinnitus.

give it 6 years or so and there could be a treatment.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/frequency-therapeutics-—-hearing-loss-regeneration.18889/

 

Welcome:/
I would IMMEDIATELY (like, today or tomorrow) go to a doctor and ask for high dose steroids (e.g. two-week Prednisone taper). If you're two weeks out there's still a chance they may help.
Edit, clarifications: high-dose is important and there is also no need to wait for an ENT. A general practitioner can prescribe this medication just as well.

 

High-frequency hissing sound is a big improvement over a high-pitch tone. You are at a stage that many people here take 3 months to get to. You haven't hurt your ears as much as many of us here. There is a good chance that your T will eventually fade. Just try to ensure that you don't get another acoustic trauma. This process can take 3-24 months...

You might find some information in the post at the link below to be useful to you.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

The fact that it is not relentlessly at the same level is a very encouraging sign!

Check out the studies in the thread below
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-many-recover-3-studies.21441/

 

The fluctuation is a good sign, the fact that it's already trying to go lower is a good sign, the fact that you haven't been working construction all your life is also a good sign.

You seem to be doing very well, physically and emotionally, for someone with t as new as it is for you.

When you have weak moments it's ok to get sad or depressed but please don't do or think anything drastic. t is going to test you at times and when it does go for a walk, listen to some relaxing music or indulge in a quiet movie. I've had t almost 6 months and my reaction to it is much better than it was the first month or two. The first couple months are usually the most trying.

Time is the greatest thing for t. Please give it time and then give it a little more time.

I'm sure you've learned this already but go to amazon and order a pair of peltor x5a ear muffs and some ear plugs (preferably skin colored so they're not as noticeable). Carry the ear muffs with you at all times in case of a fire alarm, car alarm, siren, etc. so you don't get exposed to loud noise while your ears are healing. It can set you back.

I like ear plugs for places like the supermarket checkout line if the beeper annoys you or if I'm walking on a busy road to cut the noise level down. I keep ear plugs on me at all times so if I want to cut the noise level down a bit I can. I wear the plugs at the barber so the clipper noise doesn't bother my ears.

Even with ear plugs I would stay away from concerts, bars, movies etc. for a while so your ears can heal.

Your ears have been injured and they are healing. No headphones, no loud conference calls, no ear buds.

You're doing great and I wish you continued improvement.

For what it's worth, I was wearing ear protection when I got t so please don't punish yourself for that. I recommend using it in the future though, preferably plugs and muffs, now that you know your ears are sensitive. I don't recommend power tools for a long time though. Again, your ears are healing.

 

Thank you for all the support and recommendations. I agree that I likely have hidden hearing loss as the audiogram showed no actual hearing loss. I also have no difficulty understanding voices or other noises in crowded locations. Since my noise exposure, I have purchased clear high-fi ear plugs (Eargasm) to use when in loud events and places and where I have to hear what's going on, as well as MPOW ear muffs and 33db earplugs. I worked with my dad making a bed today and had on double protection! I just hate that I hear the tinnitus with plugs in. However, for most of the day, I was occupied and didn't really pay attention to the noise. When that happens, and because I am so early on, I listen for it and, of course, find it! I go to church Sundays and wear my hi-fi plugs there. We had a school assembly for one of our kids in a gym where the presenters were using mics so I again wore the plugs. I realize my ears have been exposed to trauma and I hope that time heals them as much as possible. I will never again take my ear health for granted.

Regarding steroids, I am aware of the negative effects, including sudden necrosis, which is a terrible side effect. (see https://www.regenexx.com/oral-steroids-and-the-tragedy-of-osteonecrosisavascular-necrosis/) Most research shows the following:

Oral corticosteroids are widely used, although the supporting evidence is weak. Steroids have many effects in the inner ear, including suppression of an immune response, and changes in circulation, but whether such effects are beneficial is unclear. In the absence of definitive evidence, patients with moderate or severe sudden sensorineural hearing loss can be treated with a short course of oral prednisolone (eg, 1 mg/kg per day, or a maximum of 60 mg daily for adults, for 10 days followed by gradual tapering of dose) since clinical trials suggest some improvement with steroids. However, toxic effects have been reported with this treatment, and this regimen is probably not justified in patients with relative contraindications to corticosteroids.

Despite this, I will call and ask the ENT if he thinks this would be an appropriate treatment in my case.

 

@AmericanJosh

Great job getting ear muffs and plugs to protect your ears and using them. You're doing great on that front!

You might want to take a break from school assemblies with pa systems and power tool use while your ears heal. Do you have hyperacusis? Does everything seem louder than it used to?

You want to keep things as quiet as you can for your ears while they're healing.

Keep up the great work!

 

Thankfully, no hyperacusis at all. Just a dull ache in the outer drum of my ears - nothing deep inside. The ache isn't all the time and isn't severe at all. Not sure why it aches. The ENT said everything looks good in there. I will stay away from these places. I have been very mindful to keep the volume down on EVERYTHING. I love bike riding and when I go out I now use my hi-fi ear plugs in the event of heavy traffic noises or any random loud noise. It's not too noisy thankfully. I don't like in Chicago or NYC - only a medium city of about 80,000 people.

 

@AmericanJosh

Keep up the great work. It sounds like you have a grasp on the situation. Please remember to be patient and protect your ears.

 

So I am not 3.5 weeks out from when I got t. At first I was going insane, but after reading all the success stories on here and doing no less than 30 hours of research, I have CALMED DOWN. I am remaining neutral toward the t and the mild ear discomfort in order to help it habituate and not get worse. The high pitch tone is almost constant, but I am busy most days and often now give it little attention. When I hear it I don't freak out. What I do freak out from is reading about hyperacusis, but no specific noises cause me pain or discomfort and I have no other h symptoms. From the states I have read, h is very rare, occurring in about 1 in 50,000. That means in my state (Wisconsin) only about 116 people have h. I like that number.

 

I don't want to worry you unnecessarily, but you're looking at the wrong probability: you should be looking at the conditional probability, because you already have T.

According to https://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/AIS-Hyperacusis.pdf - it's a 1 chance in 1,000 if you already have T, which is 50 times worse than what you were thinking.

Still, I don't think you should be worrying about it (there's other reasons why relying on that probability is not particularly helpful).

 

Good point. Also when I look at the causes of h and who is in that probability, even with t as some research suggests t proceeds h, it includes autistic individuals, those with tbi and concussions, , Lyme's disease, Meniere's, Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ), head injury, Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome (SCDS), postoperative surgery, Down Syndrome. These are all involved in causing h, and t as well. Other than the noise induced t, I am physically and mentally fit and well (except for injuries I caused and not organic in nature).

 

That's why I had the caveat in my parenthesis... it's not a random draw: you have a whole medical history behind you.

 

@AmericanJosh

I have h, I'm one of the lucky ones, and in my case it's gotten much better over the past 6 months. I still protect my ears but for most h resolves itself over time. Usually 6-12 months.

I have to ask, do you work in graphic design? Your icon popped up a few days after you joined the site and it looks custom. If you can find the focus to design a piece of art that well that soon I think you're doing great in your recovery.

Keep us posted.

 

Hi, I hope it goes away soon. You can thank my Samsung 9 for making that icon from my photo. It has a feature for turning any photo into various icons. I work in human resources and have no creative side to me.

 

Hi Bill when you say high hissing, is that like a vibration similar type of sound in the head? Rather than high pitch which is the noise from the ear? I'm sorry, I don't quite understand. Thank you

 

I was talking about the sound you hear when air is escaping from a punctured tire. It is the "s" (as in Sam) sound that you can make yourself. The wider you open your jaw when you make the "s" sound, the less intense it gets. A hissing sound can also be intense or not very intense...

 

Thank you for explaining Bill, I appreciate it, I now understand, I hope you have a great day, cheers