New Problems Making Habituation DIfficult

Some background, it's now been about twelve weeks since I was first exposed to excessively loud music at an indoor concert. I thought that I had been doing habituating fairly well, and living my life as normally as possible (without headphones, concerts, and clubs of course).

Unfortunately, I've recently run into two new problems that make habituation much more difficult. First, whereas I initially had two tones, namely a ringing in both ears and a dial-up modem sound in the left ear, I now only have the ringing. At first this sounds like progress, but whenever I'm exposed to low-frequency noise this dial-up modem sound comes back louder than ever. For example, I was driving on the highway tonight in the rain, and the sound was going absolutely crazy. It sounded like a police siren (not the regular one, but the more urgent one) and was almost as loud. At first I thought this must be reactive T, but I now think it's probably some kind of hearing distortion, mainly because it disappears the moment I stop at a red light (I've eliminated the car as the source of this noise).

Second, I constantly have a dull pain or a feeling of fullness in one of my ears. Strangely enough, it's rarely in both simultaneously, rather, it seems to switch between ears fairly randomly every few days. The feeling of fullness doesn't go away when I swallow.

I was at the ENT for a follow-up three weeks ago, and he looked in my ears and couldn't see anything wrong. I had a hearing test three weeks before that, which showed no hearing loss in the standard 0.25-8kHz range. I normally consider myself to be a calm and rational person that can handle a difficult situation once I understand it, but I have no idea what's going on with my ears right now, and it's scaring me.

Has anyone had a similar experience? I'd really appreciate some advice right now.

 

@Casper
Hi Casper.
You are in the very early stages of tinnitus and by the sounds of things it will settle down in time. Having been exposed to loud noise trauma your ears and auditory system will take time to recover. Three months is too early to expect to be fully habitated in my opionion. The fullness in your ears and other things that you have been experiencing with them can happen with exposure to loud noise.

I want to be clear on something about what you call: Reactive Tinnitus. There is no such thing as Reactive Tinnitus. It is a term that was made up and used in tinnitus forums. What people call reactive tinnitus, is infact Hyperacusis (sensitivity to certain sounds). This often accompanies tinnitus when exposed to loud noise. It comes in different levels of severity and is often experienced differently between people.

It would be good if you were able to be referred to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist for tinnitus treatment and perhaps counselling. Please click on my Avatar and choose: "started threads" In the list, please read the following posts:
Hyperacusis, As I see it.
The habituation Process
Answers to Hyperacusis and Habituation.
Tinnitus, A Personal View. This is an article on tinnitus and treatments available and is quite long. I suggest you read it in full. If you have a printer I suggest you print it.
Use sound enrichment during the day and especially at night. More about this is explained in my article. Try to keep away from loud sounds and continue NOT to wear headphones even at low level.

Hope you start to feel better soon.
All the best
Michael

 

Hello @Michael Leigh

Thank you for your reply. I have read many of your posts on this forum and appreciate that you are willing to share your experience with those of us that are new to this nightmare. I think I have already read all those articles back when I first found this forum, but will re-read them anyway.

I just wanted to point out, in case it wasn't clear in my post --- what's troubling me most is that my condition seems to be getting worse. When I first got T, there was no pain or feeling of fullness. This distortion I hear in the car is also fairly new. I understand that the healing process may take time, but shouldn't there be signs of progress along the way? At the moment it feels like I'm going the wrong way.

EDIT: I forgot to add, I have been playing rain noise from a small speaker next to my bed at night. During the day, the A/C in my office is loud enough to mask my T, so effectively acts as white noise. The T itself really doesn't bother me that much anymore, it's these earaches and strange noises that are the problem.

 

@Casper

I've been getting minor ear aches and some fullness in my ears this week as well. I had T since February. My T has been spiking louder as of this week. I've been avoiding loud noises and headphones for awhile.

Only thing I can attribute the increase of noise is me getting back to my exercise routines. Other than that, I'm taking the usual supplements recommended by the forum.

 

HI @Casper,
No two people will experience noise trauma and the way it will affect the auditory system the same. The length of time it will take to recover from this will also be different for each person. The fact that you are at work is a good sign and you have said the tinnitus doesn’t bother you much anymore. It is the earaches and strange noises that are the problem?

When I suffered noise trauma that resulted in severe tinnitus and hyperacusis (caused by headphones) it was very severe and lasted many months and I couldn’t work. My whole head felt numb as if I were under water. I had fullness in my ears and they were also painful whenever people spoke to me, and especially when I heard certain sounds due to hyperacusis. It was a very traumatic time and I needed long term treatment lasting 2 years with TRT that helped a lot.

I have mentioned what I’ve been through to give you an idea how noise trauma to the auditory system can affect a person and what the recovery period can involve for some people and the time it can take for a particular person to recover. I am trying to make you realize, although you’re not at the place you want to be you have to give it more time. There is often a seesaw effect one experiences with tinnitus, hyperacusis and noise trauma to the auditory system. It feels like they’ve turned a corner only to find other strange things happening as you have described and this can be disconcerting.

A few things you have mentioned in your last post make me concerned and I think you should think about addressing them. The fact that your air conditioning unit at work, is loud enough to mask your tinnitus and you believe this to be akin to white noise is probably a good thing? I disagree. As I have mentioned many times in my posts, tinnitus should never be masked. It is important that the brain hears the tinnitus otherwise it will not be able to successfully habituate to it. That means if a person is using sound enrichment such as: nature sounds, music, or white noise, the volume level should be set to below the tinntius and not masking it or covering it up so the tinnitus can’t be heard.

Secondly. Although you might think the A/C unit is not bothering you, the fact that you are experiencing earaches and other strange noise could point to your auditory system still being in the recovery stage and is affected by sensitivity to sound, which is Hypercausis. If possible, try and turn down the volume of the A/C unit or completely off if possible and use a sound machine on your desk for sound enrichment.

If you are listening to music in your car whilst driving depending on how high the volume is could also be affecting your auditory system without you even realizing it. The car is a confined space and the sound will be bouncing around and reverberating and hitting your ears. Keep the volume low and I suggest playing soft relaxing music that non intrusive and soothing.

Regarding my posts, which you have said that you’ve read. I hope that you found them helpful. I suggest you read my article Tinnitus, A Personal View again and in full. I also advise that you print the positivity documents within it. The reason is this. They act as a form of counselling and when they are read often, the positivity message sinks into your subconscious and will help give you a more positive out look on life. If these papers are just read once they are soon forgotten. It is like going to see a therapist. Many counselling sessions are needed for the treatment to take affect.

At night I suggest that you use a good quality sound machine such as a “sound oasis” unit, instead of a small speaker or using a mobile phone. The auditory system and brain needs to be supplied with good quality sound enrichment while we sleep. Remember, to keep the volume below the tinnitus.

All the best
Michael

 

Exercise is a good thing for the body and mind @sleepy but impact underfoot such as running on hard ground can make tinnitus worse for some people. For this reason I use an elliptical machine so my feet are not sending impact up through my legs towards my head and auditory system. More information about the affects of exercise such as aerobics, running and tinnitus is in link below.
Michael
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/06/us/inner-ear-may-take-beating-from-high-impact-aerobics.html

 

I've do half an hour of running for warm-ups (maybe 2-3 miles) and I mostly focus on weight lifting. It feels like weight lifting affects my T more than running. It feels like when my blood pressure is up my T worsens. Although everyone recommends exercise, I'm hesitant to do so with my spikes.

 

Everyone is different @sleepy but I think if you are running for 2-3 miles on hard ground or on a treadmill this could be making your tinnitus worse. I'm sorry to say this but lifting weights could be an issue too. Many people have contacted me that have found running makes their tinnitus more intrusive and they've had to stop. The same has been said for some people that lift weights. As I said, everyone is different so it's best to see what works or doesn't work for you.

Hope this helps.
Michael

 

Hi @sleepy,

It sounds like we are in a similar position. After first getting T, I continued lifting weights every day. As far as I can tell, it didn't negatively affect my T, but it definitely helps me sleep better. I recently took a month off from lifting to see if it would change anything, but I hope to get back to it soon. My ENT said that working out or running are fine for people with T, but I'll start slowly to be safe.

Hi @Michael Leigh,

I'm sorry to hear about how severe your H was, that sounds like a horrible experience. I'm happy that you were able to recover though. You seem to have a lot of experience with hyperacusis, so I would like to know your opinion about the distorted noise that I perceive. Do you think this is a form of H? Did you experience a similar effect during your time with H?

Yes, if the earaches and distorted sounds would go away, I'd be content. While the T on its own is annoying, it doesn't diminish my quality of life, except for giving up headphones and concerts (with which I've made peace).

This is true. It seems really unfair, when you have given up many things that you used to enjoy, and not only do things not improve, they actually get worse. I really hope things eventually improve, even if I have to tolerate short-term setbacks.

I should mention that I'm fortunate in the sense that my T is fairly mild. Almost any ambient noise is enough to mask it. I have measured the ambient noise in my office at about 60dB, and I cannot hear my T over this. If I wanted to be in an environment where my T is not masked, I'd effectively have to stay home. It only really bothers me when I'm lying in bed with my ear on the pillow. I stopped listening to music in my car after I first got T. I find the road noise itself to be fairly loud already, and as I've mentioned I'm much more bothered by low-frequency noise. Do you think I should play some soft music so that I don't focus on the noise from the road and engine as much?

 

Hi @Casper
1) I do think the distortion that you hear is down to noise trauma to your auditory system and is a form of hyperacusis. The best way to treat this is using sound enrichment. Please read my post: Hyperacusis, As I see it. All the information is there. Click my "started threads"
2)Since your tinnitus is mild it doesn't matter about external sound covering it up.
3) I advise you to play soft music while driving and use a sound machine at night.

Although I have completely recovered from hyperacusis. I suffered a 2nd noise trauma in 2008. It took me 4 years to habituate. My tinnitus ranges from: complete silence, mild, moderate and severe. It used to reach extremely severe levels it no longer does. However, if my tinnitus is severe and this level is sustained for more than 3 days or more I need to take clonazepam.
I strongly advise you never to be tempted and use headphones again even at low volume. When you go to places where loud music is played, even the cinema, carry noise reducing earplugs. Even then, you have to be careful, as sound can reach your inner ear through the Mastoid bone. This is the hard piece of bone behind each ear. It is honeycombed with airpockets. Be careful and keep your tinnitus low.

Michael

 

Hi @Michael Leigh,

Thanks, I went back and read that post in detail. I hope that you're right and that the distortion is simply a symptom of hyperacusis, and not some form of delayed hearing damage. Do you think I should avoid sounds that cause me to experience this distortion effect? Although it's most noticeable while driving on the highway, I also experience it in the shower or when boiling the kettle. Clearly these sounds are all at safe volume levels, but there seems to exist a narrow range of low frequencies that really bother my ears.

Thanks, that's the plan!

For anyone reading this thread in future, I'm also linking this thread, where someone recovered from similar (but more severe) symptoms after about a year.

 

I don't think you should avoid any normal every day sounds. If you are overly concerned about the distortion of sound that you are experiencing, I suggest you have a word with your ENT doctor.

 

In my experience ENTs are worse than useless. But that's me.

 

Hi @Michael Leigh,

Thanks for the advice. I've been trying to expose myself to safe levels of daily noise as much as possible. I don't find any daily sounds to be painful, but the distortion is somewhat troubling. I suppose it's possible that this is some form of hyperacusis that isn't severe enough to cause pain.

Hi @volsung37,

I didn't have a great experience at the ENT either. He said that things would improve with time and prescribed me some prednisolone. When I described these symptoms to him (at the time I still thought it was reactive T), he simply described it as "unusual".