New Terrible Tinnitus Tone After Audiogram

Hi everyone,

I've had tinnitus since September this year. It's a really high hissing sound, I'm guessing around 16 kHz. I also get a strange pulsatile siren type sound that matches my heartbeat, but not always. When it started I couldn't hear it outside, but about week later it intensified and I can now hear it everywhere in my ear. Anyways, I went to get an audiogram about a week and half ago (October 20), because my ENT wanted to see if my hearing had changed since my previous audiogram that I had about 4 days after the tinnitus started.

When I went for the test, the person moved so quickly putting things in my ears and not really explaining what was going on.. I guess it was a tympanometry and acoustic reflex test. I felt fine the rest of the day until lying in bed that night, I started hearing a really loud 4 kHz tone in my left ear. My left was the better of the two ears initially. It hasn't gone away since. It is the loudest, most obtrusive tone I have now, but strangely is maskable, although it seems to be getting a little more difficult to mask it. Once the room gets below 40 dB it kicks in and gets mind numbingly loud.

I was just starting to cope with the previous sounds and this one has wrecked me. I'm not sure how to cope. I'm full of regret for going for another test, when I really don't feel like it was needed.

I have about 5 doses of 60 mg Prednisone left from the first onset and some leftover from asthma treatment a few months ago. Would it be wise to try and take that? I'm guessing it's probably too late.

Just looking for some support. I live alone, work from home, split from my fiancee back in January, and family are all 2k miles away. No one really gets what I'm going through anyway.

 

Maybe it'll calm down soon... I hope.

 

Sorry that happened to you. My tinnitus has gotten louder - and weirder - lately, too. I had what I call "flourishes" this morning, a rising in the tone in the left ear that came and went... and came back again and again. Finally had to just get up! Also, much louder today, to what I would consider a debilitating level. It's gotten slightly lower tonight.

Maybe it wasn't the test that made the difference. You shouldn't blame yourself, for sure. Hope you're feeling better now! <3

 

Try not and blame yourself for doing what you thought was the right thing at the right time. I’ve been there and understand your anxiety dealing with the unpredictable nature of this horrible condition. Try and keep yourself as busy and preoccupied as you can and hopefully things will settle in time xx

 

Hi all. Thank you for you replies. Nothing has changed... no better... I guess no worse. It's been really difficult to deal with. Many many breakdowns. It's relentless too. My other sounds tend to be very light in the morning when I wake up, but this is waiting for me ready to go full blast as soon as I wake up. Wishing I had just left things alone and tried to habituate to what I already had instead of searching for more answers.

 

Alright, well I went back to the ENT who ordered the hearing test finally after 4 weeks. Told her what happened and she was adamant that the tympanometry and acoustic reflex tests are vital tests and that they cannot harm you in any way.

Since I have a new tone, the doc wants me to go back for another hearing test. I told her I would not be comfortable doing another tymp and acoustic reflex test, so I'll just be doing the tonal test this time. Should I be worried about that?

Oddly enough, between audiogram from 2012 and this recent one my lower frequency hearing improved. The doc said that could be an indication of meniere's though I really don't think I have that. Also every time I come back from the long drive to the doc my left ear feels like it has slight pressure. I hope the road noise isn't causing more damage.

 

There's been quite a few people in here who got tinnitus from tympanometry or acoustic reflex tests. They are definitely loud (no personal experience). Another procedure you do not want to have is ear syringing, which can also cause hearing problems. Order manual cleaning if you want to have your ears cleaned. As for the hearing test: Do you hear fine up to 8 kHz? You can check free audiograms on YouTube like this one...

Hearing Test HD

...where you can listen to ascending sound frequencies to determine whether you hear normal or not. It's sufficient for an indication and free of charge (for example I found out that I probably have some hearing loss starting from 14.5 kHz). Use music boxes, not headphones and be careful with high frequencies. If your ears are damaged it might be uncomfortable or even problematic. Audiograms only help you determine whether you could benefit from hearing aids. Apart from that they're only good to satisfy your curiosity.

Also, if you experience pressure in your ears after driving use earplugs (correctly fitted) or noise-cancelling headphones. I would advise against standard earmuffs; although they decrease high frequencies, they seem to amplify low frequencies to an extent.

 

Pretty sure my tests have only been up to 8 kHz. I asked for an extended test at my last one and they apparently didn't do it. I absolutely believe the tympanometry and acoustic reflex tests are damaging. I remember asking if it was okay for it to be so loud. They also turned up the volume on the headphones in my left ear (which is the one that got worse) when they were matching the loudness of my tinnitus in my right ear (which was originally the worse ear).

I've listened to tones online and I can hear everything up to 19 or 20 kHz. How well I can hear them though, I don't really know. But I know I haven't completely lost my ability to hear ultra high frequencies.

I matched the new tone to about 4010 Hz, so I'm interested to see if the next audiogram will show any signs of hearing loss around that frequency in my left ear. It's been four weeks and nothing has really changed, so I'm sort of moving on from hoping it will go away to just figuring out how to deal with it, which has not been easy.

 

I've literally been in lockstep with my tinnitus getting worse and coming off Prednisone.

Whatever you do, taper extremely slowly and no noises, even comfy ones while you're on it.

I personally would not suggest using prednisone past the initial onset you were given, it's literally rolling the dice, it may go down, but it may leave parting gifts too. There are other anti-inflammatories/cytokine depressants you can try, even supplements which aren't so scorched earth mentality.

I'd suggest to leave it alone, any new tones I got while on it decreased a lot over the course of weeks. Would not repeat.

 

Your hearing is quite a bit better than mine if you can hear higher than 16 kHz. I don't think going for an audiogram is a problem as long as the audiologist starts with little volume and then ascends slowly and not the other way. As said though, an audiogram is only good for knowing where you're standing (which is a perfectly fine reason), but for an actual treatment it helps only if you have hearing loss below 8 kHz as you may benefit from hearing aids.

As long as you don't have profound hearing loss in a frequency you should be able to benefit from FX-322 though once it's out.

 

I think Prednisone may have contributed to some extra sounds, or maybe it was just a natural progression of my tinnitus. There's really no way of knowing. I've actually developed yet another tone in my left ear as well as the original high pitched 'tea kettle' hissing sound increasing in volume. I never hear them at the same time though. They take turns throughout the day. Fun stuff.

 

I just had another audiogram today at the request of my ENT. This time I went to an Audiologist of my choosing. This audiologist was actually surprised I was given an Acoustic Reflex test. She said they are too loud for someone with tinnitus. Anyways, the test came out perfect again. So no dip at the 4 kHz frequency where I'm hearing the tone. She told me this means I have no hair cell damage but, instead, synapse damage and FX-322 would not work for me.

 

HI @kingsfan

You are in the early stages of noise induced tinnitus at three months. This type of tinnitus usually improves with time. To achieve this and give yourself the best chance of recovery, there are certain things I advise you to do. First, don't use headphones, earbuds including a headset even at low volume. The same applies to conduction headphones and noise cancelling. Don't use them.

When listening to audio through speakers keep the volume at a comfortable level. If you are tempted to listen at higher volumes my advice is not to, as it's likely you'll make the tinnitus worse. When listening to music in the car do the same, and keep the volume at a comfortable level. Please click on the links below and take your time to read my articles. Try not to skim through them. Use low level sound enrichment during the day and especially at night. This is important because in a quiet environment, the brain will often increase its background activity; in doing so the tinnitus will tend to increase which is something you don't want. More information about sound enrichment is in my articles below.

Things will improve providing you follow my suggestions. If you were a user of headphones/earbuds prior to the onset of the tinnitus, I advise that you never use them again even at low volume.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/

 

Seems like you've found the 99th percentile of useful audiologists, the one that actually knows research. It's a good thing you don't have hair cell damage, it might probably make it easier to fix.

 

Yeah I was going to say the same, lol.

 

I'm lurking and learning. Good post, Michael. Clarification from above: do you mean don't use headphones or earbuds at all for a period of time? Maybe I am reading it wrong. Let us know. Thanks!

 

Thank you for your comments.
My advice is just advice, not absolute.
My advice to anyone that has Noise induced tinnitus: never ever use headphones, earbuds or headsets even at low volume.

 

I wonder how do you know which one your have? Can you have both?

 

Gotcha. Thank you.

 

Hello. Did you have an extended audiogram that goes beyond 8000 Hz? Can this be done in Southern California? Also, did the steroid treatment help with your tinnitus?

Thank you,
Gary

 

My feeling is that if your tinnitus / hyperacusis is from a noise trauma, there is no point in seeing an ENT. They can do nothing as far as treating it, but they love to run tests which involve pumping noise, clicks and sounds into your ears, none of which make one bit of difference in determining a treatment. If you go again and they want to do a test, ask them what the test is for and what it would mean for treatment. Typically, they just want numbers to "monitor" your condition but have absolutely no treatment plans. Yep, their tests can cause further permanent damage, and nope, they will never admit it and will tell you that it can't possibly cause a problem. If the cause of the tinnitus is unknown, then they can be useful to rule in/out certain conditions. But if it was from noise, they are less than worthless, perhaps even dangerous. That's my experience and my take on it.