My Tinnitus Just Won't Stop Changing

[I_Will_Survive]

Some days it sounds like complete gone.

Some days it's extremely loud.

Some days it's as quiet as a whisper.

My tinnitus has no consistency over all these months. Started with all the noise in my right ear. Now it sounds like it's mostly coming out of my left ear. It moves around. The intensity changes.

Doctor tells me it's probably TMJ due to a perfect hearing test but it just doesn't seem probable since most cases are caused by hearing loss. I can hope that TMJ is a cause - my jaw does hurt and feel sore day to day and I do grind my teeth at night - but I always feel skeptical since an overwhelming majority is due to hearing loss.

I've been doing all I can to stay strong but I can't lie when I say my life changed dramatically due to my tinnitus. On days where it's almost completely gone (can only hear if I plug my ears, and some days don't even hear it when I do that) I feel so happy - but it never stays.

Right now it's pretty bad. Just venting. I hope one day I'll get good days and better days and tinnitus will one day leave me or stay at a low enough threshold to not bother me. For now though it fluctuates and that very fluctuation is the most frustrating thing.

 

[Bill Bauer]

As time goes on, there is a good chance that the number of quiet days will keep increasing. You are fortunate that your T is not relentlessly at the same level (in which case it would be less likely to fade).

 

[I_Will_Survive]

As time goes on, there is a good chance that the number of quiet days will keep increasing. You are fortunate that your T is not relentlessly at the same level (in which case it would be less likely to fade).

Thank you Bill. I know you post a lot on here and don't feed people BS. Your comments reminds me that I need to stay hopeful and that this may still be yet a long road for me.

If things improve over time I will post more. In the end time is is probably my best remedy regardless of what happens.

 

[Bill Bauer]

In the end time is is probably my best remedy regardless of what happens.

Did you get your T in August or in January? If you got it in August, and already experience periods of near silence less than three months after onset, you have every reason to be optimistic!

 

[Bill Bauer]

You might also want to see whether there are any patterns as far as your diet is concerned. I noticed that dairy foods usually give me spikes. I suspect that higher blood sugar might also make it easier for me to get T spikes.

 

[coffee_girl]

The fluctuations are a normal part of the first year of T

 

[I_Will_Survive]

Did you get your T in August or in January? If you got it in August, and already experience periods of near silence less than three months after onset, you have every reason to be optimistic!

I think things started around 7/27, so around the end of July. First I noticed it was when I was under a lot of stress as I had to pass a certification exam. Went to two loud events during this time frame (concerts, the only two I had ever been to).

I originally had it for a few days and it completely went away. That's when I had all my testing done, MRI, hearing test, etc which all came back without much fuss. Until a week or so after 8/02 when it became more consistent. Since then it's been good and bad during any given day or during the day.

It may very well be TMJ or just muscular/jaw related since for a while it was worse in the morning and would lessen through the day (known to grind my teeth at night and have been waking up with jaw soreness/pain).

I think if anything may be a combination of things. stress + 2 loud events + jaw pain from hard chewing (which was caused by a diet of eating excessive tough beef jerky to the point of hurting my mouth and causing clicking/pain in my right ear).

Thanks again Bill for the positivity, I really needed it right now on a harder/louder than normal night.

The fluctuations are a normal part of the first year of T

We'll see where I end up at the year mark I suppose. Either way I'll make sure to update on here eventually to give others more information.

 

[Bill Bauer]

for a while it was worse in the morning and would lessen through the day (known to grind my teeth at night).

I grind my teeth at night, and my T seems to be worse in the evenings...

a diet of eating excessive tough beef jerky

The first time I had beef jerky, I had to have a root canal done. I thought to myself that it just Couldn't be the result of eating beef jerky. So I tried eating it a second time (I really enjoyed eating it), and this resulted in me having to have another root canal done.

Thanks again Bill for the positivity, I really needed it right now on a harder/louder than normal night.

Your T is very new. Over the next two years, it will likely change many times. Whatever you do, don't assume that what you are hearing tonight is what you will be stuck with. It will likely fade, and your ability to ignore it will also be improving over time.

 

[I_Will_Survive]

The fluctuations are a normal part of the first year of T

I grind my teeth at night, and my T seems to be worse in the evenings...

The first time I had beef jerky, I had to have a root canal done. I thought to myself that it just Couldn't be the result of eating beef jerky. So I tried eating it a second time (I really enjoyed eating it), and this resulted in me having to have another root canal done.

Your T is very new. Over the next two years, it will likely change many times. Whatever you do, don't assume that what you are hearing tonight is what you will be stuck with. It will likely fade, and your ability to ignore it will also be improving over time.

That's a wild story with the jerky haha. For me I was dieting and losing a lot of weight. Jerky was easy protein as difficult as it was to chew. I was ordering pounds of it and eating it for lunch/dinner for a few months. Would not be shocked if I was really pushing my jaw through some damage during that time without a second thought.

Thanks for the reminder that there is still plenty of time for things to change, hopefully for the better.