One Month In, Just Signed Up

Hi I'm Michael. Former lurker.

I had tinnitus back in January in the morning after some club nights. It bothered me slightly, but I could ignore it and it went away.

I continued clubbing weekly for months, had no issues.

I then went to a club at the end of March, suddenly heard it on walk home, but disappeared in morning. About a day or so later I noticed it there in silence. Began to worry. Had the worst week of my life (at that point).

But it disappeared again, a week to the day.

I then bought ear plugs, wore them everywhere loud, survived a club night with them on.

I then went to another club night a week later (all these were pre booked before the tinnitus btw) and I had ear plugs on but with ten minutes left they fell out and got dirty. I didn't put them back in. I should have. Tinnitus screaming after.

And here I am, six weeks later, still struggling with it. I'm fairly certain that my ears have reduced it some respects, but the different tones and hissing is still there. Trying to live with it. Struggling. I have no issues sleeping whatsoever though.

I can hear up to 17,000HZ in my left ear, and 17,500 HZ in my right.

Tones in silence: Ring in left which is lower pitch than the right. Background hissing noise.

Tones even in a room with a small amount of noise: High pitched hissing around 17,400HZ. Mainly in right ear I believe.

Thanks

 

Hi Michael
I have had Tinnitus 2 times in my life. Once about 12 years ago (from loud lawn equipment) and another bout started about 8 months ago after I went to an outdoor band with dancing. The first time it was screeching loud T with pain and fullness. It took 18 months to fully fade back to silence. This recent bout with T the "ringing" has faded, but I still have noticeable "hissing" in quiet places, and slight pain and fullness. I hope to get my silence back again, but it will be many more months of slow recovery.
IMO, you need to STOP clubbing and give your ears time to heal. 6 weeks is not nearly long enough to heal. Your Tinnitus can take up to 18 months or more to fade, hopefully it will fade back to silence. I see your'e already seeing improvement, and thats a good sign. Also, wear your earplugs anytime you will be exposed to loud noise.
I think you will make a full recovery if you take it easy on your ears, but it may take many months.

 

Hey man,

First of all thanks for getting back to me. My ears don't feel full or experience any pain whatsoever.

I have a festival planned for next week on Sunday. Do you think if I stood far enough back with ear plugs I would be ok or should I just not risk it whatsoever?

Furthermore, how long did it take you to habituate? Some days I think I'm doing OK but other days I really break down.

Thanks again

M x

 

Hi Michael welcome to tinnitus talk.
I think you should give your ears a rest for a while and keep away from clubbing and the music festival that you intend going to. Tinnitus is no joke believe me. What you've had so far is just a taste of what tinnitus is like. If you continue on your present path you're liable to make the condition a lot worse then you will really know what tinnitus is all about. It something you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Sorry to sound so sobering but in my opinion you're taking risks. Give things a rest for a while and I advise not to use headphones. Click on the link below and read my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View, which you might find helpful. Try to read it in full and not skim through it.
All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

 

If it were me, I would skip all festivals and clubs for at leas 6 months, but if you must go, please wear your ear plugs and stay away from the speakers.
For the record, I did not habituate, my Tinnitus completely faded to zero. My second bout is about 75% faded, so it is very likely (if you take care of your ears) that your T will fade to zero.
please take care and protect your ears!

 

Fully agree with you @jjflyman I was trying not to scare Michael too much but the truth is, give the ears a rest from loud sounds. Earplugs are not 100% safe as loud sounds can reach the inner ear by bone conduction. However, they are better than using nothing....

 

I think for your sanity I would give it a miss as days you really break down.
How would you cope if it spiked .
I'm not saying keep away for good as that's got to be your decision and be happy with the choice. I don't think emotionally its worth the risk.
Love glynis

 

I agree, 2 months after mine stated I mowed to grass with foam ear plugs AND ear protecting earmuffs. The noise still caused a spike because of vibration and sound conducting thru the bones. Best to just avoid loud sounds.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks again for your support this really means a lot to me.

Firstly, just want to say that yep, I think I'm gonna cancel all my plans. I paid money but I'd pay money to not have tinnitus sigh.

Thanks for the article, I'll give that a read tonight.

Interesting that yours faded to zero like mine did for the first time, how long did it take?

I totally agree, thank you. I just can't risk it. The anxiety I'm in already over these events as well is just too much.

Thanks again.

M x

 

Wow, I've just had the experience of earplugs not working and I'm suffering with a big increase. Did the T decrease for you after mowing? If so, how long was your spike?

 

Yea the spike only lasted for a day or so, then returned to where it was. It has gotten a lot better since then.

 

An update: I went to both haha. I know, stupid!

But my ears are fine! If anything they're better right now and after both events I had no increase or difference.

I wore my ear plugs to both events, took regular breaks, stood far back from speakers. Even with the bass rumbling through me. Admittedly the day after or so was hard, expecting something perhaps to appear, but honestly it hasn't.

That was a week and a half ago and they're definitely better than they were three weeks ago. I don't notice them anywhere near as much (if at all) when I walk about in the park. I only notice it in a pure silent room, and even then, I'm certain it's quieter.

I went to see an ENT yesterday and he said I have above average hearing, ear drums are OK and I should just keep protecting and it should be fine. In fact sitting the sound proof booth yesterday it just didn't bother me enough.

I understand I'm lucky, and trust me, from now on I'm still avoiding loud events as much as possible, but I wanted to post again just as a update.

 

how could you stay this patient all those months.. Did yours fluctuate during the recovery process?

 

Thats great news. Continue to be smart about your ears, and protect them from concerts with ear plugs.
Enjoy your silence!

 

Yes, they fluctuated, but it was a very slow fading. It was the hardest 18 months of my life, believe me, and it was harder because nobody (family and friends) really understood what I was going thru.
Going thru a long fight with T remains the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my life.

 

Pff..Yes. The biggest problem is it generally fades VERY slowly so we can't notice the changes easily unless we try so hard to look at the bigger picture and during spikes it is even a lot harder to believe there is some progress being made.

 

And yes, it is harder when you are alone. I'm ok with them not understanding what we are going through. But it kinda feels like you need to know they are with you, you are not alone.

I am incredibly lonely. I stay at home, alone, all day, my boyfriend comes home very late, falls asleep after 2 hours, and I'm alone again. No family. No friends. It is really, reaaally depressing.

 

Mine is not fading. It actualy adds new sounds But that doesn't stop me from being in a good mood and going out with friends. It will go away some day, that i believe.

And yes, i know the lonly part especialy at night. You can't sleep and you want someone to talk to ... But i am getting used to it. Reading or something. Just don't let the bad thoughts get the better of you. Everything is just temporary ... even life itself Time will pass and you will only remember that period with laughter

 

Hi i am wondering how did your Tinnitus sound like when it started to fade the first time? Was it spontanously silence or gradually?

 

Very gradual. really only measurable in months. The T had many tones, a very loud high pitch, med tones and a loud hum, like a transformer, defiantly started out as a 10/10. I never would have thought it would go away, but it did completely (slowly) fade to zero in about 18-24 months.

 

How are you doing?

 

Hey! Apologies for the late reply...

When it first started to fade, it was almost instant! I was lying in bed and it just started fading, and beeping in and out like SOS.

It took maybe another day or so until I literally couldn't hear it.

I'm doing so much better.

I went on holiday last week, and wore ear plugs at both a nightclub and on the plane. Being hungover makes it 10x worse, but since coming home, I have been able to wake up calmly without my ears being the first thing I think about for the first time in four months.

I now go extended periods of time without thinking of it, and I am able to forget about it easily. It has certainly improved.

I am also now avoiding loud events, and carrying ear plugs everywhere.