Just the Better Days: Wouldn't That Be a Solution?

Many tinnitus sufferers have good and bad days.
Also with me the days fluctuate between 2/10, 5/10 and 9/10 (1-2x/week).
Although 2/10 can be annoying, it is totally bearable. You can distract yourself and only notice your tinnitus occasionally, for example when you turn off the engine in the car.
5/10 is worse, but at least you can do your job. The days with 9/10 are only survival.

With such different tinnitus intensities, it would be obvious to look for the reasons for this. If one could avoid the horror days and only have the days with slight tinnitus, then that would be almost as good as a cure.

Shouldn't we think much more about how to prevent bad days and achieve good ones?
What do you think about that?

 

Obviously a bad idea...

 

I think it's an excellent question and one that I've been asking myself for years.

 

I think about this all the time, not a bad idea at all!

 

Bump...

 

You probably could do it if you lived your life in such a way that you repeat each day exactly as the one before. Wake up at the same time, do the same things, eat the same things etc. But what kind of life would that be?

 

I spend alot of time being conscious of my tinnitus and anything that seems to affect it. It's difficult to find patterns in it all. Definitely stress and sound exposure but I'm not sure what else. I find that getting a particularly restful sleep at night can help heal/reset the tinnitus. Yet a nap can worsen it. Oh, and stimulants like caffeine can jack it up.

 

From what iv gathered from anyone that has made diaries to try and find some kind of connection to what makes a better day for them, there is basically no correlation to anything that they can find other than sleep.

Sometimes its the small subliminal things that have huge influences on our minds and bodies, outside sources that we can not possibly recognise as having an impact on us, actually do. I think if anything its this theory of living in the present that is best for the mind, body and soul. The past has gone, the future is out of our control and so the present is where we must strive to exist. Without worry, without stress, without regret, without anger etc and more towards feeling content, relaxed, happy, in the body, in the present and not consumed by the mind. Some people find that just going on holiday makes their Tinnitus disappear whilst on holiday and as soon as they return home its back. I find that going on holiday is a perfect example of letting go of all the subliminal stresses of life and allows us to be completely consumed by the present. New surroundings, new faces, new experiences distracts the mind from wandering off into the past or the future. Everything around us has emotions and feelings attached to them that will have a big effect on us day to day without us even realising.

 

The fact that tinnitus has a volume of 8/10 one day and 2/10 the next is totally illogical. But with me it's like this.....

 

I still have the "phenomenom" of better days and worse days.
I cannot understand, why there is so few interest about this miracle...
If one could eradicate the causes of the bad days and support the causes of the good days, then the problem would be as good as solved.
The fact that a hissing sound can be heard in the left ear in a quiet environment is not the problem. It becomes a problem when this hissing is so loud that you can no longer think clearly...

 

Bump...

Sorry, - but this miracle is still living...

I had three (!!) very silent days 1-2/10... and today this horror again... 10/10, that's not normal...

 

I have the same scenario with my T, one day 1-2/10, the next 8/10 (I don't want to put 10, because I just can't know how loud it can get with others), but with 8/10 it's unmaskable in my case, I can hear it over TV, car diving on higway etc.
There is no specific reason why it is fluctuating daily in my case and there is no evidence it is getting any better (like having more 2/10 days) so far... Sometimes it is more bad days, followed by one good, sometimes it is one good, one bad day etc. I have never had few good days in a row till now unfortunately. But when it is a good day, I think to myself: oh, I can live with that. But on other days I don't think I can habituate to it at all

 

Tinnitus can fluctuate a lot in the early stages especially for 6 to 12 months. If your tinnitus was caused by "exposure to loud noise" which is the most common, then please read my posts below by clicking on the links. If you use headphones, my advise is to not use them for a while even at low volume. Leave it for 3 to 6 months before using them.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Thank for taking your time.
Yes, my T (and H) was probably noise induced, I got it one week after really loud concert, first in more than 10 years and probably last in my life . I also have moderate hearing loss at 8 KHz (-45 Db) in left ear only, which I don't know if it was a result of noise damage on concert or I had it before.

I don't use headphones and never did (maybe only few times for a very short time and on a very low volume). But I do use phone, mostly on work, I can't escape that, it is part of my work to deal with costumers (few times a day only), I use to put my reciever on better ear now. But in early stages when I knew nothing about T, I used it on bad ear for some 2 months, unfortunately... It was when I found it very annoying and also painful, I swithed to other ear. And, oh, my coworkers are sooo loud, I told them about my condition, but they just keep on forgetting it.

So do you think that after some time my T will become more stable? It would be easier to habituate in my opinion, unless it stays on a very high volume (say 8/10), when it can be really hard to "forget" about it.

I will take time to read your links, thanks.

 

@LanaK

Exposure to loud noise is the most common cause of tinnitus, so the concert was probably responsible for this. If you went to concerts, clubs frequently or around loud music a lot, the tinnitus was probably there for some time but was low and in the background. I do not want to frighten you but think it would be wrong if I do not mention the following, as I am here to offer people advice but ultimately it is up to them whether they choose to follow it or not.

A lot of people that work in call-centres and wear a headset to take phone calls develop tinnitus. You haven't said what type of telephone you use so please keep what I have said in mind. The headset is similar to a headphone and does cause problems for some people that work in call centres.

Please read the articles in the links that I have given you. Take your time and read them slowly to grasp all the information because this is all you need for now. Your tinnitus will settle down providing you keep away from loud concerts and clubs, for a while. If you return visiting them at some time in the future wear "Noise reducing" earplugs but you still need to be careful of loud sounds. More information about this is in my articles.

Best of luck
Michael

 

I have crazy tinnitus variability, with very loud and very quiet days. Lately I often get one very loud day then one fairly quiet one, then loud, quiet, loud day by day. It's nuts and I cannot figure out why. I know stress and bad sleep make it worse but that doesn't explain most of the variation.

 

@Michael Leigh

I went to only ONE concert in more than 10 years, but obviously it was enough to develop T. I think I didn't put it clear enough, my english is not the best. I also don't go to clubs, cinemas etc.

At work I use classic landline phone, I am not in a call center. But even that is too much as it is painfull when I put phone on my worse ear. That's why I rather put it on a better one. In that case it io Ok.

I am really very careful, I don't expose myself to any unnecesary noises. I have very low music in background at work too, so that I am not in a total silence in office. The same at home. The only loud voices come from coworkers' and especially my boss's speaking (his voice just vibrate in my ears), when I have to deal with them (otherwise I am alone in my office), or dealing with customers (just some have painful voices). There is also a lot of traffic on a way to my workplace by car (highway).

I don't protect my ears on that occations. Should I? Actually I don't protect them at all, as I avoid any loud places. But I have concert ear plugs with me all the time, just in case I would need them.

I just don't know what more to do to allow my ears to heal. I think it would be already time to show some signs of improvements if it was to heal at all, as I am very careful.... I tried white noise too, but found it very annoying and it also exagerated my tinnitus. My T is very high pitched and when it is at it's worst I hear it above everything.

Thanks.

 

The same with me. I can get good sleep and bad T, or only few hours of sleep and almost quiet day. No rulls. Stress also doesn't seem to have any correlation with loudness.

 

@LanaK

It seems to me that in addition to the noise trauma you also have hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) It will take time for your ears and auditory system to recover from these conditions. All the information is in the Links that I have given to you. The healing process can take 6 to 12 months perhaps 18 or more so try to be patient. Make an appointment at ENT so tests can be carried out on your auditory system. Information about this is in my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View, in the links.

I do not recommend overusing hearing protection. Experiment and see what works for you. More about this is explained in my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it.

Take care
Michael

 

Even if we do everything we can, bad days can still happen. That over-thinking/stress can in itself possibly create bad days.....

 

Michael,
I read all your posts in links you provided. You have been lucky to live in a country where TRT and CBT are part of NHS.

I went to GP and ENT in my country. All I got was that ENT examined my ears with "otoscop" (?), whispered few numbers and concluded everything was fine with me and that my hearing was fine. Then I had neck scan, Doppler test and blood tests and that was that, I wasn't even reffered back to ENT by my GP, as it was said everything was fine with me. I was told nothing can be done and that a lot of people just live with it without problems. When I told him about my sensitivity to sounds he looked at me as if I was crazy. He wanted to prescribe antidepressants which i refused.
I am not depressed, at beginnig I had troubles with sleeping but after taking Valerian root it has been better. I went to audiolog by my own to have hearing test done (modearate hearing loss at 8 KHz in left ear).

What I want to say is that doing TRT in my case is not possible on national health insurance. To my knowledge only one ENT specialist in whole country is claimed to treat T with TRT protocol, but it has to be paid privatly. Unfortunately it is not feasible for me right now.

I think the way for me is to hope to habituate naturaly and to be careful not to do addtional damage to my ears.

Thanks for offering a help.
Maybe just one more question: Did your T also fluctuated daily as it does my (and many others' too as I can read here).

I appologise I have hijacked a thread, I guess I'd have needed to open my own....

 

HI @LanaK

TRT is not so easily available on the NHS, although some hospitals still do elements of the therapy and have adapted it to their requirements which I believe can still be helpful. CBT is the therapy of choice for tinnitus where it is available. In most cases a person with tinnitus in the UK, will be referred to Audiology if they are having problems with managing it and some form of treatment will be offered.

I am sorry to hear about your circumstances regarding tinnitus treatment in your country, although I don't know where you are located. Nevertheless a similar story has been told to me from people that live outside of the UK. Tinnitus treatment can be expensive and in many cases where it is offered a person will have to pay.

As I have written in my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View, and mentioned in many of my posts on tinnitus; I don't advise a person seek treatment for tinnitus until at least 6 months has elapsed. Many people habituate within the first 6 to 12 months with or without treatment. Antidepressants can be very helpful for some people and I have covered this in my article and many posts on my "Started Threads".

Yes, my tinnitus did fluctuate daily and this happens to many people new to tinnitus. It will usually settle down in time. Please click on the link below and read my post: The habituation process.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/

 

Yeah no rhyme or reason with my tinnitus either.

 

Mine is like that. Its been discussed incessantly on the forum. Many are the same way.
What is speaks to is 'body chemistry'...or what I believe Matt mentioned blood flow to the brain variation.
Sleep is my trigger. Likely quality of sleep on some level. Try to remember your dreams and correlate it a number when you wake up if yours is like mine and it can change profoundly during the night. My tinnitus can go up or go down during the day as well. I can take a 30 minute nap in the afternoon and when I fall asleep my tinnitus can be a 2 or 3...and when I wake up it can be a 7 or 8.

Probably nothing more variable than brain waves and why controlling tinnitus for many like us in particular is very difficult and of course why it hasn't been solved so far after countless scientists working on a solution.

 

Be careful with Michael's 'advice'. He tends to make sweeping extrapolations about tinnitus and many times is dead wrong. As your wild fluctuations. This is as common as it is not. I don't have an exact percentage but if you read the forum in the past week it is talked about constantly. For many these fluctuations don't stop. Michael's observation about it settling down 'is wrong' for many...perhaps most.

Mine hasn't. Of course like others, I live with my tinnitus, but its high variation is one of its most unsettling characteristics.

You will habituate on 'some level' as I have and others. But it is hard to habituate to something that changes dramatically even hour to hour.

You will survive this of course and your story is completely normal. Our collective hope is, technology will offer therapeutic solutions...like bi-modal stimulation and cochlea hair regrowth meds etc to make our tinnitus more livable if not negligible.

Good luck

 

Thank you, John.
Yes, I can see that there are many different types of tinnitus, for some it settles down with time, for some it remains wild all the time, unfortuanately.
I myself still hope it will settle down somehow with time, because, as you mentioned too, it is very hard to habituate to something that changes from day to day or even durning the day. It's a nightmare not knowing what to expect next day, especialy after relatively quiet day. That's why the first thing I do after waking up is to check the level of my T to know what will be my day like .... And I know about advices not to think about it too much, but can't help it.

My husband has T too, but his is stable, more low pitched and he can easily forget about it during teh day. When I mention it, he remember he has it too, so he prefer if I don't talk about it at all.

Michael, I really wish and hope it will be like that in my case too. It would be much easier to cope with it. I will try not to do further damage to my ears and time will tell if it helps.

 

Various depressive, anxious and chronic pain conditions have a similar element of high variability and low predictability.

Homeostasis is hard to maintain; the needles tend to drift all over the dials.

 

@LanaK
You are still in the early stages of tinnitus and it will fluctuate a lot. Try not to think that you have caused any damage to your ears and auditory system because I do not believe this is the case. You have had an acoustic trauma and that is all. I and many people in this forum with noise induced tinnitus have encountered the same. Please read my articles and pay particular attention to the Habituation Process. You will recover but it takes time.

I wish you well.
Michael

 

Thanks for your encouragement! It is appreciated.
All good to you too.

 

@LanaK

One of the worst things that can halt the habituation process and your recovery Lana is negative thinking and reading negative posts in tinnitus forums. Believe me it is not good for you. I have had tinnitus for 23 years and counselled people (still do) with Noise induced tinnitus, and corresponded with them at: tinnitus forums, by email and on the telephone.

If you intend on visiting tinnitus forums, my advice is not to read negative posts and not to correspond with negative thinking people, as their beliefs can become yours if you are not careful. Tinnitus veterans such as myself and those seasoned to tinnitus are not affected by negative thinking people because we have experience. People new to tinnitus have enough on their plate without taking on additional pressure.

When you have time, please click on the links below and read my posts: Tinnitus and negative counselling/ Acquiring a positive mindset/ Tinnitus and the negative mindset.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-negative-counselling.26669/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/