Previously Some Hearing Loss and Tinnitus — Recently My Ear Was Slapped and Tinnitus Got Worse

Hi everybody, my name is Krummi and I’m an Icelandic musician.

Recently I’ve been experiencing considerable ringing in the ears/tinnitus since mid-October 2020. I have some hearing loss from playing music for over 25 years and have had a VERY low hiss since way back that has never really bothered me.

About 3 months ago my right ear was slapped accidentally, not hard, I might add. But I knew right away that my eardrum was slightly ruptured. After my perforated eardrum healed I started to hear loud ringing in my ears, little more in my right ear to be exact.

My ENT doctor didn’t tell me much, but told me that my ears look fine after inspection and my eardrum was healed. My tinnitus fluctuates and there are days in between where I only hear low hissing in quiet rooms, then it flares up again. I’m pretty sure I’ve experienced spikes but not sure how loud they were on a scale of 1-10.

I’m hoping that I have acute tinnitus and it will get better in the next 2-3 months. The sounds are like high pitched buzz that fluctuates accompanied by hissing and sometimes a steady mid-range ringing.

I’m hoping that some of you could give me some information about my situation? I’m aware that you never really know about tinnitus recovery but I would love to get your perspective!

Thank you ❤️

Sincerely
Krummi

P.S. In the following attachment is my audiogram for reference.

 

Hi again, Just to be clear my main question is, how likely will I recover considering my hearing loss?

Would really appreciate a reply from someone! I’m freaking out and some days I feel like I’m having a nervous breakdown.

Thanks

 

Honestly it's not looking that likely to recover 100% since it's already been 3 months with the increased tinnitus.

But in 12-24 months many people's tinnitus either becomes a little less loud or they habituate to it.

And sometimes even if not that often people recover 100% even years after the fact, so don't lose hope.

 

Thank you for you reply. Much appreciated!

Actually the ringing didn’t start three months ago. It started after the eardrum healed which was in the beginning of October. Does that maybe give me more hope?

Kind regards

 

Have you been continuing to record, rehearse and perform during the time of your ear drum rupture recovery?

Do you use hearing protection when playing?

 

Hi Selah! Thank you for your reply

No I have not. Been staying away from all music activity except playing the acoustic guitar at home once in a while to calm my nerves.

I have not always worn hearing protection in the past, which I really regret, but will most definitely start doing that from now on.

I’ve been taking vitamins/minerals like Magnesium, Zinc, Ginkgo Biloba, B12 and sometimes iron. Hoping that it will make some difference and help me cope!?

Today my ringing is not that loud. It changes from day to day but I feel like it’s maybe getting better little by little each day but I can’t be sure because there have been some minor setbacks.

What do you think? Do I have a chance of some recovery? I surely don’t need it to be a 100% recovery but I would be very happy if I would end up with a low hissing in a quiet setting and occasional flare ups.

Kind regards ☺️

 

Hi Krummi,

Your audiogram looks a lot like my audiogram nowadays, after many years with hyperacusis and later on tinnitus. I am impressed by the speech recognition test, as the score is really good. Did you do the speech recognition with background noise or without noise?

My feeling about this is with a perforated eardrum sounds are dimmed, perceived less sharp, but maybe the sound exposure is more dangerous, as one of the barriers to the inner ear (the eardrum) is broken, which can let to the hearing system functioning in a different way... anyway, your eardrum is fine now.

Can you hear your tinnitus when there is music or general ambient noise that is louder than your tinnitus? I am asking this because my tinnitus fluctuates and during periods I have experienced the following situations:

1) Tinnitus that is like a "filter" of other sound... let's imagine we look at the world through a blue lens and everything turns blue. Well, this is like listening to all sounds around but on top of them there is a "filter" sound (like a colored lens would be for the eye) that I hear on top; I have experienced this one briefly after noise insults and it is very annoying, but at the same time I was able to perceive speech and other sounds quite clearly when this happened (my guess this is temporary recruitment derived from the noise exposure).

2) Reactive tinnitus: tinnitus that increases when one hears a certain type of sound (for instance white-like sounds like fans, aircon, etc), tinnitus spikes or flares as a temporary reaction to that certain sound, and calms down when the sound that triggers this reaction stops.

3) Tinnitus that is drowned by sound or masked by sound, if you like... when there is ambient noise louder than the tinnitus we do not perceive it. I think this may be the most common type of tinnitus, specially for mild cases (not for severe cases).

4) There could be a fourth category that would be like the third case but the tinnitus is not totally drowned. The tinnitus is still perceived not directly but "through" the hearing loss... in this last case you don't really hear the tinnitus but you know it's there, it's hard to explain because it is barely noticeable but one realises that sounds are perceived dimmed due to hearing loss (as shown in audiogram) and tinnitus is faintly on the background. So this can be how tinnitus coupled with hearing loss is perceived sometimes.

Ok, what are the options available to get better?

- If you have read through the forum you will realise that medication does not really work for this.

- There are some threads on diet: sunflower seeds, curcumin, dry fruits (hazelnuts, almonds etc), green tea, fruit... in general a healthy diet.

- There are some foods that make tinnitus spike for some people. For me it is coffee and the odd drink (although I seldom drink), and not always, sometimes makes my tinnitus spike. People talk about chocolate as well, but in my case (fortunately!) it does not spike my tinnitus. And generally sugar seems not to agree well with tinnitus.

- Try to avoid junk food.

- Alcohol acts on the central nervous system and can dim your tinnitus or make it spike, but for what I have read, I think it tends to make it spike.

- Exercise: also a matter of personal experience, every case is different. In my case it oddly either spikes the tinnitus or makes it lower but somehow more intrusive. It is baffling and I don't even understand it myself.

I think this is a great idea, playing guitar (without amplifier), or painting, or maybe listening to the radio (analog radio is best). Basically you need to take the focus off your tinnitus, so concentrating on something else that distracts you from it, is a good idea.

This does not mean that just trying not to pay attention to it, the tinnitus is going to be gone, but it can make a difference in a few months. You need to have in mind that tinnitus usually does not go away fast, it takes a certain time to adapt, and this is a slow process (months, in the best scenario).

Best and good luck,

Juan

Forgot a detail: I suggested painting as a distraction because it is not related to listening to anything, so your brain is working with images instead on focusing on sounds.....

 

There’s always a chance it’s a spike and you could return to your baseline tinnitus. Some people report that spikes can last several months. If it’s a new baseline it could still improve over time as previously mentioned. Unfortunately, there’s just no way of knowing.

Taking supplements may be beneficial. It probably can’t hurt. Nicotinamide Riboside, Astaxanthin and Curcumin are popular recommendations on here, besides some you are already taking.

If you improve the path may not be linear. Definitely use protection for performing. If possible give your ears more time to rest.

I’ve had tinnitus for around 1 year and 4 months now. It has improved substantially in volume in that time. So it is possible. But be weary as other issues can compound your problems if you continue to have other traumas. I have hyperacusis/noxacusis, ETD and TTTS issues also.

There are regenerative treatments in the pipeline, though they are likely several years off still. I hope the best for you.

Good luck.