Questions and My Story

so I'm starting my 6th week with tinnitus tomorrow, it started in my left ear, but now that ear seems totally clear and I think it's all in my right ear

I just wanted to get a sense of how severe mine is in relation to other people, so here are a few questions I would like people to answer:

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room?

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street?

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume?

Can you hear it over a shower?

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing?

and the final and most important question: do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation, I think my volume might have decreased by 25% since on-set but that could just be me getting more used to it too

I think the hardest thing for me is because it has switched ears and improved a little bit volume wise I keep hoping and thinking it will dissapear and it hasn't yet, the ear it appeared in is silent as far as i can tell and im hoping the other ear follows suit....and I think this hope is maybe standing in the way of me habituating better... any advice is much appreciated

 

I can hear my t in a dead silent room.. It sounds like a quiet hiss ring.. Cant hear it on the street or anywhere in general just sitting in my kitchen next to the fridge masks it.. And even tho mine is very quiet.. It doesnt get louder in loud envirements that i know of.. Sometimes a louder hissin but goes away..notice it even gets quietter at times. My T went from real loud to almost nothing within 2 days of onset soo 6 weeks is still early also.. And very big possibility it will lesson even more or just go away as time goes on.. Sometimes it can take a year or so ive heard.

 

I can hear mine during my last flight across Canada in the noisy plane when I paid attention to it. But once I focus on something else, I wasn't aware of it. Habituation does not require the volume to decrease, but that your brain is hardened to the sound to the point it doesn't react negatively to the sound any more. When you don't treat as a threat, the brain can fade T out of consciousness, even loud T. How so? Well, when we are riding a noisy train or in a flight, the noise may be loud, but if we don't think the noise is a threat and we are focused on reading a book or watching a movie, we often don't hear the noise around us. That is the same with habituation. Very often we talk to people who habituated to tinnitus, they will say, 'Ah, now that you mention about it, I hear mine loud and clear'. But in a few minutes when they are busy and the mind occupied with something else, they are not aware of T again.

 

Here are my answers. I've had high pitched T for almost 9 months in both ears.

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room? YES

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street? YES

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume? YES

Can you hear it over a shower? NO

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing? NO - afterwards tho, yes.

and the final and most important question: do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation, I think my volume might have decreased by 25% since on-set but that could just be me getting more used to it too
My volume has not decreased with time and if anything, it has increased. I believe it's all habituation, which I obviously haven't come anywhere close to achieving.

 

You are very very lucky .... Wanna swap T?

 

Aww wish i could give you and everyone on here my T.. ( hope i didnt just jinx myself and make it worse now) lol

 

I can take over reply from Amelia:

I've had high pitched T for almost 5 months in both ears (head).

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room? YES

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street? YES

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume? YES

Can you hear it over a shower? NO

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing? NO.

and the final and most important question: do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation, I think my volume might have decreased by 25% since on-set but that could just be me getting more used to it too
My volume has not decreased with time and if anything.
It is always like an old TV sound.

Habituation is not there yet. I hope I will reach that point.
I guess it is much about handling anxiety and depression.
Once you have lost this, things will improve.

 

Hi Mpt. To answer your questions:

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room? 98% of the time yes I can

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street? No

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume? Sometimes but usually have to focus on it.

Can you hear it over a shower? No

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing? No, but mine changes in volume and sound so I wouldn't be able to day for definite

Do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation? Mine has definitely decreased since it first started, because in the mornings it used to feel really loud - like someone was whistling in my ear - but for the past few weeks it has not been like that. I put Olbus oil in my pillowcase so when I sleep I inhale to decongest, and ever since then it has not been as loud.

Hopefully since it has disappeared in one ear it will go in the other too. Mine is because of a cold leading to fluid in my ears, and he says that it can take months until it goes. Mine started on January 17th and he told me to wait it out until mid-April, which indicates just how long he says it can last. Good news: he said that he sees 26 tinnitus patients a year, and out of all of them only one actually ever sees the specialist. Unfortunately T can take a lot of time to clear.

Hang in there, and let us know how you're getting on!

 

I just joined this forum after doing some research on scams for tinnitus. Mine started in December 2013. I was in the hospital for 3 days. It is in one ear and the sound stays about the same. I have severe hearing loss in my right ear. I have had sinoplasty surgery and 3 steriod injections into my eardrum. I have also had chiropractor treatments for 3 weeks. Nothing has helped and I have been release from my ENT with "Your hearing may come back and the ringing may stop". I didn't realize it was so common. I just wish I knew the cause. I don' t want me other ear to follow. I guess my next step is to try the diet and exercise route. I sure can use the weight loss!

 

My response:

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room? Yes

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street? Yes

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume? Yes

Can you hear it over a shower? No

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing? Not that I've noticed. Going out actually helps mask my T, as long as the restaurant/music isn't TOO loud.

Do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation? Not able to answer this personally. I have not noticed any decrease so far, although I do have a couple quieter days during the week. I think I'm still trying to habituate and have not achieved it yet; I'm still quite anxious.

I'm still hoping it will get better! Hope yours will too. I talked to my niece yesterday who had pulsating T like a "whooshing" sound. Hers went away after 6 months. She thinks it was caused by stress.

 

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room? Yes

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street? Yes

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume? Yes

Can you hear it over a shower? No

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing? Yes, if I don't protect my ears

and the final and most important question: do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation, I think my volume might have decreased by 25% since on-set but that could just be me getting more used to it too My volume decreased around 30% since the onset and after the therapies. I can't say I am totally habituated - still T it' s annoying especially some days in the evening, but the situation has totally changed compared with the first weeks - a kind of hell.
Don't loose your hope: it can go away! In the meanwhile:
- don't focus on T constantly
- fight anxiety, if you have it
- use earplugs when needed
- protect your sleep
Things will be better! Good luck

 

Can you hear your t while sitting in a silent room? Yes

Can you hear it while walking outside on a quiet street? Yes

Can you hear it over a tv at modest volume? Depends on the volume really, if it's pretty low I can hear it if I concentrate on hearing it.

Can you hear it over a shower? No

Does your t get louder when in loud environments like busy restaurant with music playing? Yes, but in a really noisy restaurant I would protect my ears

Do you think volume decreases with time or that it is all habituation? Depends on the person I would say, for some it decreases for others not.