My Tinnitus Is Almost Gone After 3 Years: It's Now a Faint Ringing — No Longer Hyperacusis Either

After reading lots of stories I was hopeful my tinnitus would be gone after 6 weeks... then 2 months, then 6 months, then 1 year, then 2years...

Well it took 3 years, it's still lingering but finally down to a tolerable level.

I still have faint ringing but nothing compared to the first 24 months. I had it BAD. 11 out 10 BAD. So bad I heard it over busy traffic noise and ocean waves crashing. I must have been in the 1% of BAD.

The hyperacusis was horrific, luckily that subsided after 18 months... every sound made me angry... I had to wear ear muffs to do dishes and walk outside.

All due to sitting in front of a loud rock band accidentally during a ski trip. I knew better, I've had it before and always made sure to wear plugs after my first bout of tinnitus when I was younger. This time I forgot them and stuffed tissue paper to no avail. Tinnitus + hyperacusis appeared 2 days after the noise exposure and stayed for 2 years.

I hated life. I hated sounds. I hated traveling in cars and planes. I wanted to die but I couldn't go there... drugs (weed, Kratom, etc) didn't help so I quit drugs, sobriety didn't help, but it made me feel healthier which allowed me to cope better. Exercised a lot which helped me sleep over the roaring noise.

Anyone who just had onset should know that it can take much longer than what most experts mention.

Especially if you are older... it will take MUCH longer. When I was in my 20s the tinnitus would vanish after 2 days. This time it was 3 years because of my age (40s). I will never allow myself to be exposed to loud sounds again ever... not even with earplugs.

I don't know if it will completely disappear, but it's faint enough now where I can forget about it... but I will never forget the experience. 3 years is scarring.

I'm incredibly sorry for those that have it for life... it is a challenging ailment to deal with.

 

@Vii,

So glad your tinnitus is better! Your story is encouraging! Did you have setbacks during your recovery? Do you wear earplugs out in public now?

Blessings,
Twa

 

So happy to hear you're in a better place. Gives me hope, as I'm just over the year and a half hump. Really have had to relearn how to live.

 

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad to hear that your hyperacusis and ringing have gone down. Hopefully you'll experience even more improvement over time!

This actually resonates very strongly with me, as I'm currently going through the exact same thing. The fact you're doing better now makes me hopeful that I'll be able to power through it as well.

 

Thank you for your encouraging story. I am in my 30s so I hope that it will take 2 years but who knows. Now after 14 months I started feeling much better. Recently I had 7 really quiet days in a row and yesterday was (I can't believe it) silent but in the evening ringing came back accompanied with headache. Now I feel slightly worse than during my recent quiet period but I know that after a few bad days it will change again and can drop in volume even more significantly. I have a feeling that someday I will heal completely but when, now that's a question. At the moment I've just accepted the situation because nothing can be done, really.

 

Did it stay relatively even for 24 months and then change abruptly?

 

I'm 3 months shy of 3 years with tinnitus. Like yours mine was really bad. It didn't start to really improve until about 18 months or so. It's not nearly as loud and intense as it once was. Definitely more livable. As time passes I hope it continues to improve. Congratulations on your improvements.

 

I can tell you with my tinnitus the answer is a definitive "no". The changes were very gradual. Little victories along the way. An increase in the number of "mild" days was an indicator. The changes were only noticeable for me every 6-8 months. It was a gradual decrease in loudness and intensity. I measure progress by the year. I know it's slower than most people would like to hear, but don't give up hope-- mine was really bad when it started and stayed that way for 2 years or so.

 

@KMc24 -- IIRC, one member of this forum said that his tinnitus improved about 5% every 18 months or so. I don't know if those were the exact numbers, but he said he was able to maintain a certain equanimity knowing that his progress would continue. As I recall this had happened over a period of years, and then he got a big spike. He said it felt like he was starting over after the spike, but was confident it would get better again. So yeah, this stuff is often measured in years.

 

Thank you for sharing your story. Did you have any hearing loss? Did you have kids around you during the 3 years you were improving?

Thank you,
twa

 

Thank you for sharing your story. I've been going thru a spike recently all due my doing with sound exposure. Reading posts like yours has given me hope and encouragement.

 

Thanks man - I just crossed 5 months and noticed during the day it's a bit less intense, though at night it is still quite loud and head filling. I will keep the faith for now and try to get on with things!

 

Did it begin fading after 24 months, or had it been fading for those 24 months, but after 24 months was still bad?

 

How are things?

 

Definitely better than 6 months ago. Still recovering but really slowly. I think I even started to habituate because I experience less and less panic month after month. I am happy that finally my headache became basically a non-issue (after 15 months). It's still there but I don't even notice it.

No tinnitus while outdoors, only in a quiet room.

 

I'm wondering if this is inflammation of the ear, if there is anything to take to relieve this inflammation?

 

@Tara Lyons -- There are a number of supplements that can reduce inflammation, perhaps foremost among them is Curcumin. There's also DMSO which can be applied topically:

DMSO & Magnesium Oil for Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome (TTTS)

 

Hi Twa,

I was wearing ear plugs in public and every social gathering for about 2 years. By month 30 I stopped bringing them to ordinary social events, and no longer fear ordinary loud noises. I would however still bring them with me to any louder social setting. But honestly I’m avoiding loud social events due to COVID-19 - which has been a god send.

 

Spikes are part of the game. Once you’ve mastered the art of coping with the ailment - usually 2 years, you can use your mental tools to work through the spikes. Exercise has been a great help to increase my mood during these times even though it doesn’t help with tinnitus. Your mood is what helps you get through the harder days.

 

What month are you on? For me month 30 was the breakthrough. By no means is it gone but I no longer feel beholden by it. I still have bad days... just that my life is no longer encumbered by it - I can be in a social setting with out earplugs, which is a major milestone.

I was close to giving up but I’m generally a fighter by nature. I read lots of stories like mine on this chat board that talked about it taking years which gave me the hope to hang in. That hope was what kept me going. I was not certain things would turn around but they did... 3 years is A LOONG time to maintain a positive attitude in light of despair. I’m still a sufferer but not longer a victim. I feel like I have a new start on life, the ringing is no longer my enemy... in fact as it subsides I feel like I’m naked or missing something. As strange as that may sound...

You will find that this is a new journey in life that will teach you a new set of skills most especially patience and tolerance. The volume level of tinnitus can sometimes be proportional to your reaction to it, creating a viscous loop. If I’m having a bad spiky day I take a hot bath and submerge my ears in water. It does wonders... and helps me.

Sleep it out. Typically it gets much better the day after.

 

Yes it was extremely constant for 24 months. Barely any changes outside the first 3 months of absolute torture.

Month 30 was where it started to hit a turning point. Then it started to improve gradually. I was at “11” for 24 months, “8” at month 30 and “5” at month 36. My hope is I head towards a “2” as my lifetime baseline.

 

No fading in first 2 years. It took 30 months before it started to decrease in intensity. Fading has been gradual and slow. I doubt I’ll ever get rid of it but it’s coming down to a level that makes me happy. And that’s all that matters after this ordeal.

 

Hang in there. At your age you might be able to get to near quiet. Stay healthy and eat well and exercise a lot. And of course avoid all loud environments from now on. 14 months to fading is a great outcome.

 

If it has been fading, then unless you hurt your ears again you ought to eventually get to the "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage.

It is good to know that it could stay unchanged for 2.5 years and then begin fading.

This is rare, so I am happy for you!

 

Interesting. Where did you get this perspective/data from? I had assumed waiting for years was not uncommon.

I still hear it faintly out doors if I’m not taking to someone. And of course I hear it perfectly at night but it’s no longer debilitatingly loud.

 

Thankfully no. The hyperacusis was awful for the first 2 years. I spent time with my niece and nephew and it was awful. Today I would not have any issue with a screaming baby or children.

the only challenge I currently would have would be a loud bar or concert, and thankfully all those are not happening due to COVID-19. But I would avoid anyway.

 

Thank you for the response! I appreciate the info!

twa

 

Thanks for your response! I'm only 10 months in now. Knowing that it can still get better after 36 months is a relief. I realize that improvement could come sooner, later, or even never at all—but it's nice to know that people out there are (slowly) getting better.

I feel that from this point on things can only get better. Companies are actively working on remedies that can, hopefully, alleviate our suffering. My grandmother suffered from tinnitus for 50 years and during all her days research into tinnitus wasn't even a thing, so that's quite a big difference already.

Also, although my tinnitus hasn't improved, at least my hyperacusis has gotten a little bit better over the past 10 months. Hopefully it'll be mostly gone in another year.

 

This sounds exactly the same kind of recovery as I’ve experienced!

I’m now almost 3 years in, and only occasionally have bad days where I can hear the tinnitus during the day. The majority of the time I don’t hear it at all anymore other than when I go to bed, but even then I notice it and then forget about it and go to sleep. I NEVER thought that would be possible! I dragged myself back from the depths of hell to get to where I am now, and I have never felt quite so resilient and strong as I do in all my life before now.

I hope things continue to improve for you, which I’m sure they will.

Best Wishes
S x

 

I have 5 children. Four of which are a lot older 21,19,18 and 14. My youngest is now 5. As you can imagine my house is anything but quiet!

S x