Poll: Has Your Tinnitus Increased Over Time?

I have to agree on this one. Over-protecting and scaring ourselves of daily sounds does no one any good. You can build up fear, paranoia, OCDs and possibly create hyperacusis. Our lives are already messed up to some degree because of tinnitus. It's good to protect the ears, but going overboard is NEVER a good thing. I'd avoid doing this, at all costs.

The fear,stress,anxiety, paranoia,OCDs can possibly lead to increase in the tinnitus, so what's the point? I attribute the demon level tinnitus I am at...due to constant loud exposure that I was exposing myself to. (bars, pubs, concerts, dancing by spearkers). NOT from brief daily exposures to daily sounds...

 

Great post as usual @fishbone I haven't seen you for a while and wondered what happened? Tried sending you a PM just to say hello, but "starting conversation" box is missing on your Avatar.

Take care
Michael

 

The above is not an argument.

I don't remember advising anyone avoiding 40 dB fan noise.

I Am disappointed about a slight worsening (possibly due to work-related stress) that I have been experiencing for about two weeks now. But I can still keep it together. For now.

Good advice. Likewise, avoid UNDERprotecting, at all costs.

 

I am a sensitive person @Bill Bauer and one has to be to counsel people with tinnitus. I knew something was affecting you and hope you start to feel better soon.

All the best
Michael

 

10

 

I love bars, pubs, resturants, and cafes. I wouldnt go to concerts with tinnitus.

 

Loud noises exposure

 

Likely if that's whats not increasing it. Its possible that it is not the main contributor to your T. There are plenty of factors that go in to T but typically from what I've seen its usually one. Like ototoxic drugs or loud music.

Maybe look at what medicine your taking or if you have a deficiency in something.

 

Before the trauma it was a single 1//10 volume tone in my right ear, for a few months or so after the trauma it was 5-9/10 fire alarm/morse code/squealing balloon sounds simultaneously in both ears, and now it's become this psychotic symphony of rapidly fluctuating tones playing underneath several constant tones mixed with some soft cricket chirping. The good news is that the volume is at a stable 3-4/10 most of the time. So in that regard I would say it's better now.

I just wish it would stop fluctuating much so I could filter it out.

 

I'm just going to say that sometimes it's a party up here

 

I was told to stop worrying about noises and that got me to where I am now, at the age of 23 with tinnitus which went from mild to moderate. I actually lost my shit at the audiologist who told me that overprotecting was bad when I came back in after what had happened and told her I was protecting my ears again and she told me that I was "doing the wrong thing". I have since found a new audiologist who says that some people really do just need to protect their ears more and that the risk of developing hyperacusis is pretty rare from it. She has 23 years of experience and tinnitus herself so yeah.

 

How long it took to improve?

 

It's really hard to tell, I've had my biggest improvements in the first half year, but after that it still continued to go down.
Sometimes it's louder again, and than I get a periode of a couple of days where I doubt my actions and get really anxious again, but now I am entering the part where I can tell myself that's its a temporary increase.
It's still not gone completely, but if it stays like this I am fairly happy. Just now need to get rid of the H (because of overprotecting) & the part where I am too scared to do anything and it's intervering way too much with my life.

Sidenote: I had a co-worker, who was standing on stage and firework went off next to his ear, serious acoustic trauma, lost hearing for a while, came back, and 2 years later he's totally T-free. It went down and he didn't even notice the fact that it went down. Then one day, it was just silent.
The guy continued working at concerts etc, but did protect himself as much as possible. So it is possible.

 

Do you know what kind of treatments he did? Just time?

 

Yes. I've had it for decades since I had an ear infection in high school but was not to bothered because it was at low volume. A year ago it spiked higher and stayed loud, I didn't think I could ever tolerate it but I finally adjusted. Just when I was getting on with my life much better a month ago it got even louder and seems to be staying at this louder level.

 

Piracetam I think or sortlike to get the blood flowing in the inner ear.

 

This poll is in a lot of ways not helpful to new sufferers coming to this forum. Sadly, the members of this forum are not the majority, and hear because of the problems tinnitus has caused them (not all of course) so you're going to get a skewed result. Tinnitus improves for majority of people.