My Tinnitus Disappears at Night

Hi all.

I've had an issue for over a year with tinnitus that occurs mostly in the left ear, starts mid morning and progressively gets worse during the day.

By 6pm it's louder than the TV and overrides all other sounds, accompanied by a feeling of tightness in the head and scalp.

A couple of months ago I woke up and 95% of the hearing in the left ear was gone. I spent most of the day at the A&E where all the usual tests were performed, including a brain scan, and nothing was found. Whilst there, the hearing returned back to normal during the afternoon.

What I'm finding strange is that when I go to bed and maybe after a couple of hours of sleep wake up for the loo, my tinnitus, which was deafening when I laid down, has normally reduced considerably and when I wake up in the morning, it has always disappeared.

I thought tinnitus was worse at night for most people? I wonder why in my case the reverse seems to be true.

Is there anyone else with a similar story to tell...? Can anyone explain why this is happening?

Regards,
David

 

Mine seems like it's worse after exercise and more likely to be worse after sleeping, not better. There are times that I might have my masking sound set so that my tinnitus is noticeable as I lie down to go to bed but then wake up later and hear the tinnitus well above my masking sounds and have to turn up the masking some to compensate. I don't think it ever works the other way around. Most of the time I don't change the masking sounds, though.

 

Hi David, how did your tinnitus start? Noise trauma or something else? My tinnitus is similar, low in the morning, gets worse throughout the day and super loud in the evening. It seems to get milder once I start to get tired in the evening. My theory is that throughout the day my ears are unable to pick up certain frequencies, and my brain starts to create those to compensate. But then again I could be totally wrong.

 

Mine is opposite, worst in the morning, better in the evening/night. The theory behind this is "awakening response" or cortisol levels, which are the highest upon waking up. Mine is caused by acoustic trauma.

 

My tinnitus switches in my sleep. So I can have a whole day of loudness and then go to sleep and wake up to a whole day of quietness. Then wake up the next day to a whole day of loudness. Something happens when I sleep. Unlike your experience, though, my tinnitus doesn't change much at all throughout the day. The only real change occurs during sleep.

 

Very odd how for me it's the opposite then. Acoustic trauma here too.

This used to be me, gradually it has gone from mild in the morning to louder throughout the day. It used to be random loudness in the morning, determining the rest of the day. This changed after about 4 months.

 

That's interesting that yours changed to what you experience today. Another thing we have a bit in common is that I notice a sensation around my neck and scalp near my tinnitus ear (my right ear). It's hard to describe the sensation, but it feels like tenderness. When I press upon it, it feels like what pressing on a bruise might feel like. This sensation comes and goes with about the same cadence as my tinnitus cycle. My best theories are that it's inflammation or fluid build up or both.

 

If only!

Just a thought, is there some kind of fluid somewhere that is moving when you lie down? Have you ever just tried lying down for a while and seeing if it changes?