My Head Feels Like It Will EXPLODE When I'm in an Environment without Background Noise

I have lived near a busy road most of my life, so subconsciously, there's always a slight background noise. If not the road, then I can usually hear my fridge or something else. As soon as I'm in an environment without the background noise or a secluded room, my head feels like it will EXPLODE. The buzzing and ringing is deafening, but then even with the slightest background noise, even such as a laptop fan - the sound dies down pretty much and is just a slight high-pitched ring of tinnitus.

Could this be a processing problem as my brain is so not used to silence? Is it possible to train my brain to cope with silence by gradually exposing myself to quieter and quieter situations?

I am sorry if I have not explained this so well, but I'm just trying to understand this phenomenon.

 

I have several tinnitus sounds that differ between each ear and the common hissing/sizzling sound in my head. Still, I have 2 or 3 competing pure tones in my left ear that, once I'm in an environment that isn't loud enough to mask them, become so loud that I feel the whole left side of my head is going to explode.

I'm sorry I don't have any insight for you, but you are the first person I've ever encountered who has mentioned that their tinnitus is similar to mine. Mine takes more than just a laptop fan to mask these days, but in the beginning, simply standing beside my running refrigerator was enough to mask it completely. Then, after stepping away, it would become catastrophic in volume.

 

May I ask what your guys' tinnitus was caused by? And what’s the reason it is getting worse? I don’t quite experience what you two have; mine is just loud, and the right ear is the worst. It is hardly masked and in quiet rooms, it’s quite intrusive

 

This was brought on by an Acoustic Reflex Test after my other tinnitus began. My tinnitus was originally just hissing, sizzling, or static in my ears/head. It has gotten worse through various accidental noise exposures.

 

I have this!

 

Our environment, habits, and thought processes can influence our tinnitus. Our emotional outlets can possibly change our tinnitus from a common intensity (and perhaps tone) to a new one (this is possible). So many different factors can annoy this condition. Each of us is different, and so are our reasons for having tinnitus. It's best to try to understand what can work for us and possibly help us manage and move forward with our tinnitus.

 

Any insights you've found in your time with this?

My tinnitus has only two levels: on or off. If my environment is even 1 decibel below my masking threshold, the tinnitus goes full blast, but once it hits this threshold, it completely turns off.

Not all of my tinnitus is like this; it is just a couple of particular tones in one ear. It came on mere hours after an Acoustic Reflex Test at the audiologist. I had none of the normal acoustic trauma symptoms (aural fullness, immediate tinnitus spike, increased sound sensitivity, TTTS). I took the test. I came home feeling fine and in good spirits. The sound began that night while lying in bed and has been a constant ever since.

It will begin softer in the morning and gradually increase as the day goes until it becomes an explosion in the side of my head, but it still only has that same on-off switch.