Learning That Spikes DO Go Back Down

Five months into my T and starting to believe the people who say "things really will get better."

The best thing I've learned is that spikes really do go back down! In the beginning my T would spike and I would panic: "oh no if it keeps getting louder I cannot bear it!" Then in a few hours or maybe worse case a few days, it would go back down to baseline.

This realization is helping me so much. Now when I have a spike I can just shrug it off and know it's going to subside.

One thing I can tell you, eating a mountain of butterfinger Easter eggs might give you a spike. I did and it did ....

 

Haha. That is a good one, Isabella. So funny. My spikes have to do with me refusing to sleep early for a good movie and getting up early to work. Sleep deprivation is my nemesis. Yes, I agree. Most likely spikes will go down to base line. So for those worrying about spikes, take it easy. It will always go down.

 

I wish I could figure out what causes my spikes. I'll get plenty of sleep and have a bad day; another time I'll only get a few hours sleep and have a good day. Food doesn't seem to make a difference, altho I am a bit suspicious of pizza! But I agree that knowing it will go back down helps me get thru it.

 

It's absolutely random for me too. There seem to be absolutely no logic to it at all. I can be exposed to loads of semi high sound, be sleeping nothing and eating crap, still I can be fine, and other times seemingly nothing can trigger a spike.

Only time I really DO know what caused a spike is when I get exposed to something super loud and sudden that kind of triggers my worries about it worsening my T. Going through one right now which is the worst one I've had since I got T 13 years ago :/ . It's never been this bad and different as it is now.. crossing my fingers it will pass.

 

What happened to cause this new spike? and i hope it goes down soon for you.

 

About three weeks ago my stereo accidentally turned to full volume while I was in front of it, facing the speakers. No use to go into the technical details, but I was a bit careless and it happened again the next day.

Then I was a bit careless again last week and went to a festival, even though the spike hadn't settled. I had tickets and stuff already and I've been to tons and tons of music festivals throughout the years without having any trouble with my T, so thought it wouldn't matter. I wore good earplugs at all times, even when not directly in front of a concert, still the T was affected pretty badly. And now, here I am

 

It will go down, keep believing that.

 

Bless you, it might take a little time but it will go down ... hang in there.

 

Yep, that's what I'm doing! Actually had a pretty good day today. I think the sound is about the same, but the habituation is setting in, and then usually it's a good spiral down to "baseline" level again. Thanks

 

Yep they do..and we hope they will continue too I only got an hour sleep and my t is raging today. I ate taco bell the other night and it spiked for two days, way worse than today. Everything seems to affect mine
.food, mood, sleep and it's not random.

 

@Street Spirit Some foods seem to spike my tinnitus. You might try to eat all natural foods for a week and abstain from caffeine. See if this helps. If it does, add the caffeine back. Caffeine does not affect most people, but some are probably sensitive. I've found that MSG does make me spike. I no longer eat processed meats, like lunch meat or pepperoni, nor do I eat Oriental foods. (But I do love them!)

These changes have helped reduced my spikes. Of course, getting enough sleep and keeping a positive attitude are also essential! But also know that you can do absolutely everything right and still spike. Part of what makes tinnitus misbehave is neural activity that we have little or no control over.

Because many things affect tinnitus, it is useful to try to identify your triggers. But don't become obsessive with monitoring. Obsessive monitoring only reinforces the sound precept in your brain. And that's the opposite of what you want. You want to help your brain forget the noise!

Good luck in finding your triggers!

 

I think it's likely that most people will not be able to identify all their triggers or maybe even never know. That's why it's so helpful to me to know the spikes go back down...

 

Lucky. My spikes often settle into permanent increases that layer upon one and another to create the effect of it getting noticeably worse every month.

 

craaazy good day today, was moving to a new apartment, stressing out and running around all day so my brain didn't have any time to start it's annoyance with the T. Was sure it was gonna get loud as hell during the evening and was dreading that it would start to get loud as I went to bed... but ! I'm now about to go to sleep and the T is almost at my original base level!! (which I left about 4 weeks ago, going into a spike) I'm super stoked. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

 

I've always wondered what sort of work you do Billie?

 

I am a contract consultant on IT field so I don't need to report to a boss daily and so I can afford to indulge in late tv shows or movies. Lol.