My Chronic Tinnitus Has Suddenly Worsened — Is Nicotine the Culprit?

Hello. My name is Ben, I'm from Germany, 33 years old, and I have had tinnitus for as long as I can remember.

I have had mild symptoms of tinnitus since I was a kid, I have no idea how it came to be. Maybe I listened to too much loud music, maybe it was that one really big firecracker one time on New Year's Eve. The thing is, the first time I learned about this condition, I was like "Wait, that's not normal?" Anyway, as I said, it was always mild. A high-pitched beeping in my left ear, a slightly less pitched ringing in my right. I could only notice it in total silence. But even the smallest of noise-sources, like wind pressing against the windows, would overshadow these beeps. So I didn't even mind for the longest time.

However, around 5 days ago, this tinnitus suddenly worsened dramatically. Its volume has at least doubled or even tripled. I can very clearly hear it all the time now, when there isn't some sort of masking sound around, like running water. But even then, when I concentrate on it, I can notice it. In addition, I have weird sensations around the ears towards my temples, like there's pressure or pulling. It basically feels like a mild version of a fleeting tinnitus. Which I still sometimes get, but those are much louder than the chronic stuff I'm having now. Thankfully, they subside after 10-20 seconds.

Before this happened, I had fleeting tinnitus more frequently. I don't think, it has to do with stress, since I really enjoy my job from home and can spread my work hours as I please. However, a friend of mine, who suffers similarly, is 100% sure this came from nicotine, since I started smoking sporadically (again) lately.

Basically, what I'm experiencing right now, he went through a couple of times in his trials to get away from tobacco. He always had blood pressure-issues, so in numerous cases of overindulgence, his system said "No more." and gave him these conditions. According to his doctor and research, it has to do with blood vessels being damaged in that area. I explained to him what is happening to me, and he says it's pretty much on point. I haven't even smoked that much, but I guess my body was not okay with me picking up nicotine again and punched me in the ears for it.

My friend says, doing without alcohol or nicotine, these blood vessels can regenerate in around 2 weeks. It worked for him. So, I'm praying that this tinnitus right now can go back to its "normal", way less intrusive, state. Until then, I'm curious to look around on this board for conversations and potential cures, in case I'm unlucky.

If anything fails, I read that Lenire, "bimodal neuromodulation," is a thing now and, out of research, came on the market some time ago. It is even available in Germany. I just hope my health insurance can cover it. Does anyone have experience with this already?

Thank you for reading! Have a nice day!

 

Nicotine does not cause tinnitus. Some say it helps.

Read the user experiences on Lenire. POOR.

Lenire — User Experiences and Reviews

 

Smoking, liquor, stress, and a poor diet can annoy your tinnitus. We are dealing with a condition that can be annoyed by many things. It's best to try to strive for optimal health as much as possible.

 

So many questions can be answered by just spending even a little bit of time searching the forum.

And yes, Lenire is a scam. Susan Shore's device is the shining light in our lives at the moment.

 

I'm sorry for what's happening to you, I hope things get better soon. I don't know anything particular about nicotine, but one thing that is certain is that tinnitus is probably one of the most unpredictable conditions in the world. Don't be too fast to blame one thing or another, because it might very well be something else - noise exposure, sudden hearing loss, idiopathic, unknown etc. It sucks I know.

Also, Lenire is BS - don't give them your money, almost everything is fake promo, and user reviews on here are mostly negative. Wait for Susan Shore's device, which has the most potential for a real treatment.

 

Hey @fishbone, I know that you have experience so I would appreciate your opinion.

After 2 years of mild tinnitus and not using headphones, I checked out a pair for a single minute at low volume. After that my tinnitus has spiked and I'm having pain in the ear... I'm a little scared. I would appreciate any advice.

 

I understand how you feel, a spike can be quite annoying. If using headphones triggered worse tinnitus, then don't use them anymore. Let your ears try to heal, it could take time. Also, our emotions play a huge role as well. Tinnitus is a condition that reacts to emotions as well as noise-induced situations. It's best to balance both of them out and try to live in an optimal way.

Hopefully your spike can calm down, hang in there.

 

But can a spike be this significant from only a low level of audio via headphones for a single minute?