My Tinnitus Is Confusing, and It's Holding My Life Back — Can Phonophobia Make Tinnitus Worse?

Why is it that many people are able to live their lives normally without their tinnitus worsening?

Could fear (phonophobia) possibly be spiking tinnitus?

What is the loudest you go to that causes no spike?

I want to date, I am young but I am afraid of making tinnitus worse.
I have so many people around me that live their lives normally and their tinnitus does not spike and here I am, bored letting life go by...

I want to get control and live my life, but without tinnitus worsening...

 

Everyone is different. Our bodies and how we are made is not exactly like others. So, never compare others to yourself.

Fear, anxiety,stress can possibly make things worst. A lot of folks are scared of making their tinnitus worst, this is a common fear. The only thing is this NOT EVERYTHING will make your tinnitus worst. You will not just wake up one day and have a new baselines for no reason (majority of the time). Some underlying issue or situation can possibly cause our tinnitus to get worst.

Sound is not always the culprit for louder tinnitus. Anxiety,stress,fear,phobia can possibly trigger louder tinnitus and keep it going.

Each person is different, their answers may not always be helpful. Their ears and tinnitus is unique to them. No two person has the same tinnitus.

I was young as well when I got my tinnitus. I made it worst due to constant exposure to loud sounds and never protected my ears. You can still do stuff that does not need to be in loud environments. It's about coming up with a game plan for your life and how you can live it with tinnitus. It takes times to do this, but it can be done.

Don't look at others with their tinnitus. I know people that go to concerts all the time and have better ears than mine and they always tend to sit front row. We cannot look at others and then compare it to ourselves.

Many different factors can possibly contribute to the tinnitus getting worst. Fear, stress, exposure to loud noise can possibly make our tinnitus worst. At a young age i started just opening up about my ears and the ringing to a people that would listen to me and care for my situations. Simply talking it out was very helpful to me.

Back in those days I had no TT or mentors to help me, you do. Talk things out and gain some knowledge from some of the good people here and don't overthink it. You have support on this board

 

There are many different kinds of Tinnitus.
You seem to have one of the least "desirable" types of Tinnitus, which spikes with sound.
I have something similar, as mine reacts to sound as well.

 

It's pretty damn close.

Yes, you can compare yourself to others.