Noise Induced (Faulty Earbuds) Tinnitus Since 17th April, 2020

Hi everyone, it's nice to meet you. My (nick)name is Fields and I've been suffering from tinnitus and hyperacusis since 17-04-2020, due to noise trauma induced by faulty earbuds.

Even though I've always been careful with my hearing, this singular accident has unfortunately left me with a minor, but high-pitched ringing in my right ear and hyperacusis. Since the accident is still recent, I'm hoping it might get a little better before it's officially labeled as chronic tinnitus, but I realize the chances are slim.

After the day of the accident, I noticed a high-pitched ringing in both ears—paired with severe hyperacusis. The ringing in my left ear has since stopped (or died down), but still picks up for a few seconds every now and then.

I've been to my physician on Monday, but unfortunately he wasn't of much help. He told me to rest my ears and see him again next Tuesday. If I'm still troubled with hyperacusis and ringing ears, he'll most likely refer me to an ENT specialist.

After having read up on Prednison and it's possible effects on tinnitus, when administered quickly after the trauma was induced, I was quite distraught that my physician wouldn't prescribe it. As it turns out, the Dutch medical system is quite cautious when prescribing Prednison—for obvious reasons. Admittedly, my research on Prednison has also left me quite nervous, seeing as it could also worsen tinnitus.

Instead, I've purchased Ginkgo (EGb 761) and BRAGG apple vinegar in a bid to alleviate my symptoms.

As with many of you, this first week has left me pretty stressed out. I'm hoping I'll soon calm down a bit, but it's pretty hard. Unfortunately, I've also been suffering from chronic nerve pain, specifically in my lower back, legs, and the right side of my face (including my jaw and ear).

Between the ages of 16 and 28, I've cycled through 20 specialists of so before I was told I couldn't be cured by the specialist who's currently treating me. Instead, he said could alleviate my pain. And so he did. For the past 2 years I've been doing okay-ish again. However, in order to keep the brunt of the pain at bay, I require injections into different areas of my body every 7 weeks.

When I initially visited my physician for my nerve pain, I was told for 2 consecutive years that it was probably a psychological disorder, rather than physical. After visiting a specialist to talk about my psychological disorder I was promptly referred to a different specialist, starting my arduous medical journey.

As the years went by, I grew more desperate because of the constant pain and went through some pretty dark times. And, to circle back to my current situation, I'm afraid this situation is about to repeat itself.

I feel my physician isn't taking my medical issues seriously, and I'm afraid tinnitus will compound my chronic nerve pain (and vice versa).

Fortunately, there's one bright side: several treatments for deafness and (possibly) tinnitus are only several years away. Compared to my previous journey, this at least gives me hope.

I realize my tinnitus is probably rather insignificant compared to others, and it's already deeply affecting me. Your courage and stories inspired me to create an account and introduce myself, and hopefully I'll be able become as brave you are.

My heart goes out to all of you. Thank you for reading.


Edit: it seems I typed quite a bit more than I was planning to, my apologies.

 

Hi there!
I'm new here also but I've had tinnitus and hyperacusas for 11 months now.. at the start, much like your self I struggled a lot. My ringing is extremely loud and I can always hear it over any other sound.. there was a stage where I became suicidal on and off for months but I have overcome that now.. I'm struggling again at the moment but joining this community I'm hoping will give me some more positive reinforcement!
I hope your tinnitus calms down and even resolves itself . But if it doesn't it's ok! We're all in this together

 

Give it time and protect your ears from loud noise for a while. The vast majority of acoustic trauma tinnitus resolves itself in a few months up to a couple years. It sounds like you have noticed improvement (or at least some change) already.

Don't let the ENT do any procedures on your ears, they will get better by themselves, it will just take some time.

 

@Autonetics I'm sorry to hear you're struggling again. I know how difficult it can be to struggle with suicidal thoughts. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you.

@jjflyman I wasn't aware that acoustic trauma can be resolved over time. Thanks for the information! As soon as I can get an appointment I'm having custom earplugs made. Apparently there are earplugs that can also double as earphones, so you can listen to music or make phonecalls. I'm hoping to find out soon.

Unfortunately, it seems the ringing in my hear came back overnight, while also being a bit louder than before.

 

Hi!
Do not panic. You will recover. I have the same problem but my cause was a really loud rehearsal with a Metal band. I also struggle from tinnitus and hyperacusis for almost 6 months now and I feel much better. I think I'm at the point of 70-75% recovery, so just keep in mind that time is your main healer and things get better. People here often wrote that their T and H slowly diminished after 6-12 months or 14 months or even up to 2 years or even longer. Stay positive (I know its really hard), take supplements and wait. May be your ENT will prescribe you Betaserc. It can speed up the process of healing (worked with me). Try to concentrate more on your everyday life and other problems. Everything will be OK. Nerves always take lots of time to recover.

 

Hi Vassili! I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Was there anything in specific you did for your hyperacusis? Before posting here, I actually made 2 videocalls with my earbuds (loosely) in my ears and the volume set to 5%. In hindsight, this probably wasn't the best idea. I'm looking into getting small speakers now, and perhaps a stationary microphone.

Thanks for bringing Betaserc to my attention, I hadn't heard about this before. I'm going to look into it!

 

I would advise against earbuds to listen to music for quite some time. It will definitely make your tinnitus worse and could turn it into a much longer term problem. Loud music though earbuds is a major cause of tinnitus, sometimes causing permanent ringing, so don't do it, especially because your ears are now compromised.

 

I did nothing specific, just protected my ears. When I was outside I wore a hat and a hood. I couldn't always use earplugs because my ears got tired pretty quickly. It was painful during first four months to go outside but I couldn't stay at home all the time. Also I stayed away from noisy highways and also wore my hat and hood while being in the mall, for example. Besides protecting my ears I took supplements (D-vitamin, B-vitamin complex, C-vitamin, Ginkgo Complex Lutein). Betaserc 24 mg was prescribed by my ENT. It is not a supplement, but a prescription drug. It increases the blood flow to your brain, especially the inner ear. What else...I exercised (cardio), almost everyday I went for a walk, started eating a more healthy diet, tried to sleep as much as possible. But I think the most important thing is to protect your ears from loud environment, to stay positive and calm and to give it time, lots of time. Because there is no magical pill at the moment that you can take to forget about this problem. And do not use any headphones. Don't do that.

 

Hey there, sorry to see you here especially after all you have been through. I too experienced nerve pain in the past but definitely not as long. Mine was for 10 months last year until I was diagnosed with a vitamin deficiency. It was full body and I went to about 10+ specialists. I definitely know neuropathy is a real struggle. I am glad you have found some relief. Your acoustic trauma has a very high chance of going away. I definitely wouldn't use ear buds ever again however. Just give it time and try not to go to anywhere loud. I am 2 months in myself. It's not fun but I try to count my blessings. I wish you the best.

 

Thank you both for the advice, I've done away with my earbuds and headphones. I've temporarily bought a pair of Alpine WorkSafe earplugs which I can wear in case of emergency. I'm going to look into getting a set of protective earmuffs, supposedly Peltors are pretty good.

The ringing in my left ear seems to have stabilized now, barely audible. The ringing in my right ear, on the other hand, has become noticeably worse. At first it was only noticeable in a silent room, now I can pretty much hear it constantly. It sounds like a high-powered vacuum :/

Protecting my hearing is a bit tricky at the moment, we have a 6-months-old baby at home. I suppose one, or several, of his shrieks might have made the T in my right ear worse. It sucks that his voice bothers me now

Anyway, hopefully the earplugs and protective muffs will help me deal with the situation a bit more easily.

Thanks again for all the advice so far!

 

Thanks for the encouraging words! I'm glad to hear they were able to find the source of your nerve pain, but it sucks you had to experience it all. In my experience, neuropathy becomes kind of a grey area if it's not caused by one of the common instigators (such as diabetes). Has your nerve pain fully subsided now?

If you'd ever like to talk some more about this subject, feel free to hit me up

 

I have a 10 month old daughter, my tinnitus started about 2 months or so before she was born and at the start it was insanely difficult to deal with, but now I'm coming better to terms with having tinnitus forever.. my ringings only gotten louder unfortunately and I haven't been able to see an ENT this whole time

 

Oof, that sounds rough. Have you tried using any protective ear wear around your daughter? I've gotten some earplugs and ordered some earmuffs (although I feel kinda guilty wearing them around my son). Hopefully they will help prevent the ringing from becoming worse, though.

I hope you're able to see an ENT soon