My Humble Tinnitus...

Hello,

I'm new here and I would like to give you a quick insight in my form of T. It started exactly three weeks ago (0n 2.11.2015.), it was a cold, foggy morning. I got up, put some clothes on, took my MP3 player and put some music on. I got on my bike and rushed to the students restaurant for breakfast. Like I said, it was pretty cold, so I had two hot cups of tea to keep me warm on my bike-ride to my college (10 min ride).

I got to my college, took my headphones out and didn't notice anything unusual. It was two hours later (at my third lesson) that I started noticing some difficulties - I could't keep up with the physics class. Then, I noticed ringing in my right ear. I took my phone out and started googling (I expected that stuff on internet will be a bit over the top, as it usually is). Needless to say, first things that came up was "Permenant Tinnitus". I read a bit about it and the initial shock happened.

I forgot to mention I had minor hearing damage in my right ear in 4kHz range (done two tests in the hospital) due to a gunshot two months previous to the tinnitus start. This is very minor and I can't hear any difference in everyday life and music. After that, I was very careful with my headphones and have significantly reduced the volume on my MP3 device, in my car and stereo device.

Three days after the occurace of T, I decided to do the tests again and see if my hearing is getting worse. The results were identical to the ones before. Whish is a good sign, I guess I'm not going deaf.

Now, thee weeks with T and it started to fade. I'm pretty objective about this because in the begining it was so loud I couldn't silence it with conversations as it was high pitched whistling and today, it is more like hissing and I managed to do some learning with it and almost got into my routine.

Still, it bothers me. I don't drink, don't smoke, don't drink coffee, I work out 2 times a week and I don't consume any junkfood... I was pretty happy with myself. The only "drug" that kept me going was music - I was addicted to it. Punk and metal were my everyday escape from the worries and work I had to do. Now that T cut them out completely, I'm like a junkie without a fix.

All I really want is this T to go away. I know that my form is pretty minor comparing to some of you on this forum, but it's killing me more than people can immagine. It's the worst in the morning when I have to get up and realise it's not gone. I'm grateful for this little sleep I can get without pills. I'm grateful for this significant reduction in the noise which I'm sure is not habituation.

In short:
*Gunshot 9 weeks ago
*Avoiding any music and loud noises for 2 weeks and started listening to music again, but lowered the volume.
*Tinnitus stared 3 weeks ago probbably due to headphones and cold (maybe stress, but I honestly didn't feel like I was under stress)
*Third week into T and it got quiter (not habituation).

My question for you guys is, since you have a lot more experience than doctors with T:
Is my form of T in any position to fade out completely?

(I have learned my lessons with headphones...)

 

I'm just like you. Wearing headphones almost everyday, close to blasting the volume. I too have been careful with headphones before my T started since I had eustachian tube issues, in fact the only reason I can think of is a movie I watched at the cinema a day before my T started. Mine has been going for almost three months. It's hard to say for every person if their T will go away, but the way yours is behaving, I would be feeling hopeful.