My 7-Month Tinnitus Journey After a Concert — A Result of Long-Term Exposure to Loud Music

It started with a concert in which I wore foam earplugs. The first lesson, foam earplugs are crap. But I'm a lifelong musician, I've been around loud music and always wore earplugs. So I think my onset was just as much of a result of long-term exposure as it was the one incident.

My first 10 days were hell. It was screaming loud 24 hours a day. I couldn't sleep for more than an hour or two and would jolt awake from the sound. My wife said I looked like a zombie and I felt like one. I was reaching despair like most of you.

The first relief came when I saw an ENT, who noticed my ears were clogged with earwax. After pulling large chunks of what looked like a tootsie roll, I felt immediate relief. By the time I left the office, my volume had dropped from an 8 to a 5. By nighttime, it was a 2 or 3. He told me impacted earwax will increase the volume of ringing, so anyone new to this should look into that.

In the weeks after I would experience quiet days, "quiet" meaning volume of a 1 or 2... 1 only barely noticeable in dead silence, or 2, barely noticeable in regular activities. This has remained my baseline.

I still get spikes. I mark on a calendar the bad days with a color code for moderate or severe. I average about 10-12 days a month of ringing. 2-3 of them severe.

I won't tell you my life was perfect before this. I was the type of person who suffered from depression and always looked for something to feel bad about. So on my good days, I appreciate life on a whole new level. I go out of my way to enjoy life, my family, and everything. In a way, tinnitus has taught me to appreciate life in a way I may never have. Now the bad days are bad, but I've learned to get on with it and do what I have to do. I can work, interact, and ignore the sound for periods. Not completely, I don't think that is possible. But I know better days are coming and that gets me through it.

Sometimes I feel like I'm improving, other times I feel like it's getting worse. Last month I had 15 good days in a row. That was twice what I had ever experienced. Then it was followed by 15 awful days and December ended up being my worst month yet.

I used to sleep with a fan and the sound of insects on my Bluetooth speaker. It was annoying the shit out of my wife so I stopped. I now sleep in complete silence. My tinintus fades when I fall asleep, on bad days it returns about 5-6 am. On good days I wake to silence. I had problems with sleep before, so my sleep is somewhat normal.

My spikes are naps. Alcohol, coffee, salt sugar don't seem to have any effect. But I've backed off drinking and try to eat healthy.

I know I'm not as bad as others, but it's changed my life drastically. I can never play in a band again or go to a concert. Music is my passion. I've avoided exercise for fear it will cause a spike. I have to avoid loud indoor restaurants, and no more bars, movies. It's an adjustment. I have molded earplugs for church and any situation that seems too loud.

But again, I try to stay positive. I consider myself lucky I got this at a time when we have the first treatment around the corner and potential cures on the way. I look at where I am now compared to where I was when I first got this. My life has improved dramatically. It's not going to kill me and I'm confident one day the ringing will be gone forever.

 

Congrats, @Pixelito. There is a ton of hope for you. 15 good days in a row! Wow! Though then 15 bad days...

You don't mention hyperacusis. That's already half of the victory there.

 

I had some sensitivity to loud sounds in the beginning. I would have to cover my ears from the 6 beeps my car makes when inserting the key. It's not an issue anymore. I protect my ears from loud sounds mostly from habit. Getting away from sound masking was a big win for me. I believe it doesn't help recovery.

My issue is ringing. I mark my bad days on the calendar with two color codes for moderate and loud. Loud days sound like a knife being sharpened in the middle of my brain. It's not coming from my ears, it's directly between my ears.

If I could eliminate those days I could live with the rest.

 

I wouldn't do this. Having a daily task around tinnitus would probably make it harder to "forget" about it.

 

It's not much of a daily task. I average only about 10 days of ringing per month, so most days I don't think about it.

 

I envy those with tinnitus quiet enough that it can be forgotten.

 

I am pleased to know that your tinnitus has improved @Pixelito. Noise-induced tinnitus usually improves over time as yours has. It can remain stable for many years after habituation has been reached. Each person is different but usually habituation happens within 6 to 18 months from the onset of tinnitus with or without treatment. Sometimes it can take longer.

It is possible for your tinnitus to go completely away, by this I mean it can reduce to such a low level that you are not aware of it at all. However, do not be fooled by this because the tinnitus is still there, albeit operating at a very low level that enables your brain to comfortably ignore it until you do any of the following: Listen to audio through headphones even at a low volume, or attend places where overly loud sounds are present. You may be fortunate that the tinnitus spikes and reduces to baseline level within a short period of time, or it could increase to a new permanent level - it can also change to variable tinnitus, which is my definition of a more severe form of noise-induced tinnitus. This type of tinnitus can be ruthless and very unforgiving when severe and is nothing like you are experiencing at the moment, so please be careful!

I agree with @Michael_. If I were you, I wouldn't jot down the bad days your tinnitus is giving you problems. This will make you focus more on the tinnitus and can make the habituation process more difficult. Instead, concentrate on other things like taking up a new hobby or interest, anything to take your focus away from the tinnitus. This will help to bring more positivity into your life and in time, your tinnitus will be recede further into the background.

Contrary to what some people believe, spikes are not a normal occurrence of noise-induced tinnitus. They can be reduced or completely cured with or without treatment which does take time. Your auditory system is hypersensitive at the moment, as a result of noise trauma and hence you have hyperacusis. It is possible for it to improve but you will need to use sound enrichment to achieve this. You can try self-help by using a sound machine by your bedside or attach it to a pillow speaker. Sound enrichment will help to desensitise your auditory system to become less sensitive which will help to reduce the spikes or eliminate them completely which is quite possible. Again, this takes time. Some people may need specialist treatment by wearing white noise generators and having regular counselling with an audiologist that is trained in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

However, since your tinnitus is improving I think using sound enrichment in the way I have described will suffice. Please go to my started threads and read: Hyperacusis, As I See It. New to Tinnitus, What to Do? The Habituation Process, How to Habituate to Tinnitus, Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

I wish you well,
Michael

 

My advice was tailored to the poster's situation... I envy those with no tinnitus.

 

Thanks for taking the time with this thoughtful response. I appreciate your suggestions. To clarify, I don't know that I'm improving. Since the first two weeks, my condition has been consistent. Since July I have averaged about 10 ringing days per month. December was my worst month with 15 days, so it could actually be getting worse. This is why I am glad I have tracked my bad days so I can detect how this is progressing. But I don't think marking my bad days on a calendar has any adverse effect on my tinnitus one way or the other.

In the beginning, sound masking helped me sleep, but I have adjusted to sleeping in silence. At other times during the day, I saw no benefit from masking aside from a temporary relief. Now if I'm having bad days I just deal with it by focusing on work or other things. So I guess that's a win for me. I've heard others suggest that masking might actually prolong habituation which makes sense to me.

That's interesting. But this isn't the case for me. Spikes are a normal occurrence. Since my baseline is a very low 1 or 2, spikes are the summation of my tinnitus. They come and go without warning or triggers. I can go to sleep in silence and wake up with screaming ringing with no noise exposure. Conversely, I can go to sleep with loud ringing and wake up to silence. Alcohol, caffeine, sugar or salt do not affect me. My only daytime triggers are naps, which leads me to believe my tinnitus is somehow sleep-related.

Hyperacusus, as described by most members of Tinnitus Talk, is not a problem with me. I have no particular sensitivity to everyday noise. If I'm in a restaurant or store that I feel is too loud, I just put my earplugs in.

I hope one day I'll improve or heal as others have. But I'm also prepared that I won't. I just hope it doesn't get worse.

Thanks again, and I offer my best wishes for you my friend.

 

You are welcome @Pixelito, and thank you for your kind words. I would like to give you some further advice. I hope that you don't mind. I am doing this because you have been respectful, but I appreciate you might want to do your own thing which is perfectly fine for we are all different.

I have had noise-induced tinnitus for many years. I have counselled and corresponded with people to cope better with this condition. Noise-induced tinnitus is my main topic of interest, whether hyperacusis is present or not but it often is. The feedback that I have received from people that I have helped has been mostly positive.

Tinnitus is an integral part of a person's mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. For this reason I strongly advise that you print and read the articles I mentioned in my previous post that are available on my started threads.

Please also read: Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset & Acquiring a Positive Mindset. By printing and taking your time to read them, you will absorb and retrain the information much better than reading the articles on your phone or computer screen.

Please also read about sound enrichment which is mentioned in many of my articles. Sound enrichment mustn't be confused with masking because it's not. It is important for a person with noise-induced tinnitus to use low-level sound enrichment during the day and also at night. Many audiologists and hearing therapists advise tinnitus patients not to sleep in a quiet room. I have explained the reasons in my posts. Please click on the link below and read my post: Sound Machines and Tinnitus.

Once again, I advise you not to keep a journal of your good and bad days with tinnitus, for the reasons I mentioned above, with tinnitus being an integral part of one's mental and emotional wellbeing.

I feel confident that your spikes will decrease overtime if you follow my advice on using sound enrichment during the day and at night. Please remember this is not masking. Always keep sound enrichment slightly below the tinnitus, especially at night. The spikes are a result of noise trauma which often affects people that have noise-induced tinnitus. The spikes can improve or completely be cured using sound enrichment or wearing specialist devices such as white noise generators, under the guidance of an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management.

Take care and wishing you all the best,
Michael

Sound Machines and Tinnitus | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

I have been using the Sound Oasis machine at night. To be honest, a good Bluetooth speaker with some YouTube videos is a better and cheaper alternative. The sounds on the Sound Oasis are limited and mostly not useful. I was disappointed it doesn't have any insects at night, but I use the ocean sound, which is decent.

I don't have problems falling asleep. Even on days when my tinnitus is screaming, I pass out around 10:00 pm. I think it's just so mentally, emotionally and physically draining I fall asleep hard. But I cannot sleep for 8 straight hours and always wake up between 4-5 am. That's been a problem for years before the tinnitus. After a few hours of sleep, my ringing subsides anyway.

On a tip, I started taking Glycine. I still wake up during the night, but my sleep is deeper. My dreams are vivid, consistent every night and enjoyable. I haven't dreamt like that in years. So I think between the sound therapy and Glycine I have found something that helps. Now, if I could just sleep 8 hours uninterrupted, that would be great.

I still record my bad days. I've been told not to, but I don't believe that marking a calendar can make it any worse or better. It's the only way I can have some sense of control over this. And seeing the results at the end of the month does more good than bad when I see I have ringing about 1/3 of the time. I'll stop tracking it when it goes away or becomes chronic.

February has already had more ringing days than all of last month. But I've also had a few triumphs. A night out at dinner at an Italian place with salty foods, sugary desserts, wine, coffee, and a piano player/singer. Woke up to silence the next day.

I never bought into the diet stuff. Salt, sugar, caffeine, and alcohol don't affect me at all. But it was nice to put it all to the test.

Also, I spent a few days at a loud outdoor shopping center where every store has its own music blasting inside. I kept putting my earplugs in, and taking them out. Earplugs just amplify the ringing. It just gets louder the longer I leave them in. But I gave my ears a good dose of much-needed exposure. I need to start learning to live with this.

 

He has no idea! He is doing Bluetooth speakers, sound machines and restaurants with a piano player! What is he doing here?

It's been at least 6 years since I have been in a restaurant, not even in the summer, on an empty outdoor terrace.

 

Fuck. I spent months hiding from life. What's the point of existence if we can't go to a freaking outdoor restaurant? If it's gonna ring, let it ring... I have a life to live, a business to run, a family to raise. No one is coming to save us.

And I discovered that getting out and having some fun with a little ambient noise was actually soothing for my tinnitus. And there's nothing to fear if you're smart and diligent with hearing protection.

Mindset is everything.

No more for me... Getting on with it.

 

Oh, just let it ring? I was there 20 years ago. I kept playing music with hearing protection though, because the noise was uncomfortable (= mild hyperacusis, not really aware what it was). I stopped playing music in 2018. I cannot stand the sound of a guitar without amplifier. This recently has evolved into noxacusis; ever heard of it? I really do hope you never have to experience what I'm going through. You have no idea.

 

Be careful of this approach. This person is a moderate sufferer at most.

@Pixelito, I am glad you are able to soothe your tinnitus by exposing to outside noise. I hope you don’t worsen; if you do, I can assure you, your advice will change.

 

I am not talking about seeing a band or playing music. That's over for me.

I have been extremely (and overly) careful about avoidance of any sound since my onset. I wear earplugs at the beach. I am cognisant of decibel levels. I know what safe noise levels are and what aren't for me. Having dinner on an outside patio while wearing molded earplugs with a live singer playing a keyboard inside the restaurant nowhere near me, is not putting myself in any sort of threatening environment. It may be different for you. I am only telling my experiences in my thread.

I am not giving anyone any advice. I'm just telling my story. I have heard of others here who actually experience relief with some ambient noise, this is not unique.

I think mostly, the ability to enjoy yourself and forget your predicament for a short while is an important step for habituation. In whatever way you feel comfortable going about it.

 

Well done in being able to 'forget' your tinnitus.