I've suffered from debilitating tinnitus since a motorcycle accident in November 2014, where I hit my head hard on the freeway - I was wearing a helmet, but the blunt force trauma was significant. So much so, I broke my left clavicle, ruptured my spleen, and collapsed my left lung. I went down at 70mph (112kph). After nearly two years of medications for anti-anxiety and suicidal ideation, I switched to CBD (cannabidiol) and it was a better way to curtail those thoughts, but still wasn't ideal. For most of the two year period, I had not acknowledged my tinnitus as my brain was tuning it out. One day I heard a sound which I couldn't unhear, and noticed that it correlated with my extreme levels of inexplicable anxiety, so I consulted with an audiologist. From the diagnosis, we found that I had hearing loss in my left ear at about 6.2kHz, of about 25dB. Significant. Otherwise, my hearing was well above average across the board. My tinnitus was approximately the third harmonic of that - 18.6kHz, at a level of about 65dB. It was akin to a dental drill directly at the eardrum. Tinnitus for me was causing me to lose sleep. I've always been a light sleeper, and have always been shorted on sleep since birth. It turns out, it was finally catching up to me. After another night of only about twenty minutes of sleep, in a pinch I bought a Marpac Dohm DS (mechanical white noise generator). I turned that thing on, and what a difference it made. For the first time in years (even before the tinnitus), I slept for hours. First night: 4.5 - much better than 0.3. But the subsequent nights - all of them, I've slept reliably for 6-8 hours. I noticed that the volume of my tinnitus after one week was significantly lower (~15dB) , to the point it is tolerable and inaudible if there is at least a sound level of 40dB in the ambient. It turns out, for me... my blood pressure had been inexplicably elevating for several years, although my physical lifestyle should provide contrary as I am very fit and active, even to the point of bicycle commuting almost everywhere I go. My baseline was generally around 170/110 - alarmingly high, but this is why I monitored it daily. To go against the high blood pressure statistic, I even eat exceptionally cleanly, with my diet consisting of a majority of raw organic fruits and vegetables. After getting one good week of rest, my blood pressure has dropped 60-80 points, reliably. I now baseline right about 105/65. Lack of sleep for me certainly trumped all other positive inputs, and pegged my blood pressure to dangerous levels. The Dohm, being a mechanical noise generator, has been a $40 lifesaver for me. Literally. I bought one for my mother who had tinnitus since 1994, and I hope that it helps her, too. The electronic speaker-based sound machines would likely be insufficient, as none of them would touch anything close to 18kHz. Blood pressure was certainly exacerbating the problem for me. It was a cycle. Higher blood pressure yielded louder tinnitus for me, and louder tinnitus yielded lack of sleep, which yielded higher blood pressure. Until about two weeks ago, I had given myself five years, maximum, until I was literally driven insane. Not anymore. Do I wish this maddening sound could be cured? Certainly. But at least now for me, I can tolerate it. I suggest that whenever anyone notices their tinnitus louder than usual, to check your blood pressure to see if there is a correlation. If there is, then controlling that factor may help you considerably. For me, the solution wasn't obvious, but the answer was simple: get more sleep.
