Noise-Induced Tinnitus — Positive Success Stories

I got my hair cut a couple days ago and didn't wear ear plugs. That's two times now. They use electric clippers to cut my hair. The h has gone down considerably since this mess started though I don't know how much still h has to go away. I'm much less sensitive to sound the more time that passes since getting t.

When I first got my hair cut the clippers seemed so loud, now it's not really a concern.

 

H does slowly fade for me. I think it will for you too. I am hoping after another year or two it will be completely gone....

 

@winstona

It amazes me how long this stuff takes to let up and hopefully go away.

 

What keeps me going is thinking about worse things I could have going on with my health, and be happy this is the only problem I have to deal with. I can do everything I need to do, it's just noise.

 

That's a good attitued @Mikejl46 .

 

This is good to hear, John.

 

I think I've already mentioned this but I'm getting fleeting t every 1-3 days lately. When it comes I know that somethings isn't right with my ears because it used to be perhaps once or twice a year.

Today was a louder, more piercing day. I haven't been searching for patterns or keeping track. I'm in the whattaya gonna do phase.

A couple days ago I had a 'quieter' moring but the weather is nicer so the windows were open letting more street noise in. I wonder if my 'improvement' last year was from being outdoors more and keeping windows open and having air conditioners going in the house.

While walking out the door today the wind caught the door and slammed it hard and it was loud. I don't feel like the t is off the chart but it was loud. I don't really see how we can protect ourselves from this unexpected moments.

It's been over a year and the t is still piercing most days and not really any quieter. Unbelieveable.

 

Sorry to hear that it has not changed, much. I find myself in the same situation, unbelievable for sure.

 

@New Guy What is fleeting T? Is that where the sound's frequencies (or perhaps multiple frequencies) are changing / bouncing around?

 

Here is a thread where fleeting tinnitus is discussed, @PortalNaut. The first post explains what it is.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...how-often-do-you-get-fleeting-tinnitus.21377/

 

@PortalNaut

Fleeting t is when your hearing gets quiet and you hear a high pitched ringing noise for 10-15 seconds.

 

Thanks guys. Omg, so there's a name for that. I've had that 2-3 times over the last year+. Very offputting when it happens. Usually 5 minutes later it is gone, and I begin to breath easier.

 

@PortalNaut

Yes, it's usually done in 30 seconds to a minute. I've read members have had it stick for a lot longer and it freaked them out, understandably. I've had it at least 20 times, if not more, in the last year. I don't count but I'm going to say it's happened a lot.

 

I didn't have it enough to think about it deeply, but in your case surely you must. I believe you said you tried lots of supplements, but the one that comes to mind is GABA. It quiets the circuits' activities down.

You know, I feel like each person has to find there own way, and you weren't asking, so I'll shut up about it. Your path with sensitivity and H etc is not quite what I know.

 

I have experienced this as well. Scary the first few times. At one point I as getting it a few times a day, but each time it only lasted 10-15 seconds. It thankfully has decreased to just a few times a week. It is annoying as it is high pitched when it happens.

 

@Digital Doc

Exactly! Perhaps I'm at a few times a week, again I don't pay too much attention to it. It's way more than before t. I knew life was going to be different the first time I had fleeting t twice in a row, right after another, in the same ear. That's happened twice since getting t.

One of the member here says to look at fleeting t as a good thing. It's our ears trying to reset themselves. I don't know if that's true or not but I like the theory so I look at fleeting t as a good thing. The t usually quiets down with the fleeting t so I look at that as a good thing too.

 

I found this article about workmans compensation for noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus. Finding this article proves that people like us aren't nuts and there is no sympathy for the condition.

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/sites/default/files/OPINIONS/WORKCOMP/PDF/092/CrowellGWopn.pdf

 

I am not sure if it is a good thing or not, but I am glad I am hearing this fleeting tinnitus less these days! It thankfully never work me up at night either.

 

I thought I'd let everyone know that the last couple days the t wasn't that bad. I have to note that it rained all day yesterday and the windows were open today because the weather is getting nicer. I don't know if it's the increased masking or change in t. By the end of both days things seemed to be back to the status quo.

I've been listening to this song the last hour.

Light In Your Eyes by Blessed Union of Souls

 

Even a couple of days of tinnitus that is not bad is some good news, John. Thanks for video interlude, it was nice to listen to.

We have had a lot of rain, too much really. On the other hand it has made everything spring into action. Flowers, blossoms, tree foliage and...........

wait for it.........

 

@emmalee

I used to think all Dandelions had to go. Now I focus on removing the ones in the gardens and near the house. Who cares if there are a few pretty flowers in the lawn.

Back to the same old with the t. I suspect the weather and open windows was the reason it seemed better. It was a nice period of time though.

 

I think they are beautiful, especially after looking at snow and ice for so many months.

At least 'open window season' is becoming possible again.

 

Hearing Aid

I visited my power equipment dealer to pick up a battery powered weed whacker. The fellah I usually see was sporting new hearing aids. Folks, they aren't like they were back in the day. He said he was in the office for about 2 hours and walked out with them.

The main unit sat behind his ears and then there was an ever so small tube going into his ear. Unless he told me I wouldn't even have known he was wearing them. The tube going into his ear was smaller than angel hair pasta.

He said that the hearing aid has really made the ringing go down. I was surprised to hear that because I asked him about ringing last year and he said he has none. Yesterday he said the ringing had gotten to a point of being like white noise so he didn't notice it even though it was there. I suppose that's encouraging that he got to a point where he didn't notice the ringing even though it was there all the time.

 

Another Setback

One of two things caused this one. I was at a car wash and talking to the attendant while the blowers were going about 50 feet away or I was using my new battery powered weed wacker (76 db noise level and I was wearing plugs and muffs) yesterday and it affected my ears.

I have a full feeling in my ears and they feel more sensitive to noise again. This isn't like the first months of t but I definitely went backward.

I don't feel like it's a huge deal but I still can't believe after 14 months my ears are so sensitive.

 

Doubt this got caused by an electric weed trimmer while using double hearing protection.

The exposure to the leaf blower at that distance could certainly cause a spike. The larger ones tend to be very loud.

 

Almost 15 months

I woke up early today, around 5:30 am which is unheard of for me, because the sun was streaming through the windows.

The t was noticeably piercing when I woke. At that time of the day things are quiet. The birds aren't completely up and road noise is at a minimum. I opened some windows and turned on my kitchen masker which I haven't used in months.

I heard the t but it didn't cause the anxiety it did a year ago. My mind fairly quickly said don't listen to it and I did my best to not listen and mask it by playing my sound machine just below the level of the t.

I went on with my morning activities and didn't give it much thought.

While driving my diesel dump truck today with my Peltor x5a's on it was also piercing. I told myself I have ear muffs on and to not let it get to me. It's piercing but I can hear enough background noise through the muffs to soften it. Once the muffs come off I still hear it but I don't focus on it. It's a high pitched eee noise like an electronic device is playing pure tone about 10' away.

I found myself debating whether it was getting louder or harsher over the last few weeks. I remember things seemed to get better last summer but I think that was due to open windows, masking and time. Last week I worked at two houses with babbling brooks and I didn't even notice the t. Houses that didn't have babbling brooks I heard the piercing t as if a pure tone was playing perhaps 15 feet away.

I have been using my battery powered weed wacker with plugs and muffs and also a handheld blower. I set the blower so the noise level is below 75 db and wear plugs and x5a muffs. I admit I have gone over that threshold of noise with the blower a few times for less than a minute.

When I first joined the forum I contacted several members who had similar t from a similar cause. Unfortunately, none of the people I talked with said the t had gone away. Many said a pattern developed which seemed to take place over the course of several days. I wonder if the t I have now is what I will have.

It really hasn't gone down in a while, probably since last summer sometime. Whether that's just the course of the t or I brought it on myself with my mistakes is anyone's guess. While I can't say I've been perfect with noise, I've been remarkably good.

It seems that many who improve have a lessening or softening of the t within the first few months, and I thought I had. I wonder if I was dealing with the variability of t in the initial stages. I've stopped hyper-focusing on the t every moment of the day so if it's still changing I'm not noticing. Right now all I notice is if it sounds sharp or soft. Right now it's sharp and I can concentrate enough to write this. All I have for masking is a fish tank 8' away. I should put some music or rain sounds on.

I'm doing better but I'm not sure the t is and I'm not sure the t ever will be better though I hope it will.

I make the assumption that t will either stay the same or lower in time if I protect my ears. When I say to protect my ears I mean single or double hearing protection for sustained noises over about 70-75 db. I hope this isn't a bad assumption. I suppose all I can do is proceed a little at a time.

I'm doing better than I was at this time last year. However, truth be told, I hoped the t ordeal would be over by this time. I still fall into moments of panic and despair but they are less desperate and shorter than they were last year.

 

Yesterday I spent 2-3 hours in the yard using my new battery powered weed wacker and leaf blower. The weedwacker volume is 72-78 db and I keep the leaf blower at a lower volume that stays below 75 db. I checked the levels with my pocket db meter.

There was sunny day weekend traffic going by, lots of noisy Harleys and diesel pickups and Hondas and Toyotas with holes in the muffler to make them louder. I kept earplugs in all the time and added Peltor x5a's when using the blower or weedwacker.

I finished around 7 pm and around 11 pm I started to hear the vibrating machinery through a tunnel noise I get once in a while. This noise is under the normal t but more 'real', I sometimes can't tell if it's a real noise I'm hearing. I've heard this noise before for perhaps half an hour to an hour and it seems to correlate to a louder noise exposure though sometimes I hear it and can't figure out why.

I woke up a couple of times during the night and it was still there. When I woke this morning it was still there though getting softer. Sometime in the afternoon it disappeared. Thank Goodness!

This is another sign that even with double hearing protection and 'quiet' tools I have to be careful. I'm thankful the noise went away. I know it will return again if I pass some threshold that I've yet to figure out.

While using the battery weedwacker yesterday I tried the trimmer line I used to use and it was 98 db. The line that I've been using with the battery powered weedwacker is 78 db max. You're talking a 20 db difference based on the type of trimmer line. I used to use the loud trimmer line with a gas weed wacker. That must have easily pushed it up to 100 to 105 db.

 

Could it be that these tools created vibration (other than the noise) that got passed to your inner ear?

 

It does sound more like transmitted vibrations, than acoustic trauma. The electric lawn equipment is not that loud to begin with, and with good earplugs, and those high quality muffs, I doubt much sound could get through to your ear if it was all working well.

 

@Bill Bauer & @Digital Doc

It could be a vibration thing. My hands were a little numb after using the equipment but I thought it was because I was using a death grip. The vibration is a lot less than gas tools.

The first time I heard the machine through a tunnel noise was when I was splitting wood with an axe with plugs and muffs for about an hour. Another time I drove my diesel truck for about 5 minutes with no hearing protection.

I'll monitor if vibration is the determining factor. I'm also going to get some anti-vibration gloves.