Reactive Tinnitus and TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy)

Hi all,

Has anyone with reactive tinnitus successfully used white or pink noise generators or TRT please? Or know of any cases?
Been searching related threads but so far not seeing this particular information.

Many thanks,

A

 

HI @Anna V.

"Reactive tinnitus" is often used by people that have tinnitus. The term was made up in tinnitus forums but there is no such thing. Please click on the link below and it will take you to a website explaining hyperacusis, which is what you have and the term Reactive tinnitus: http://hyperacusisfocus.org/research/definitions/

White noise generators used correctly as part of TRT can be very helpful in treating tinnitus and hyperacusis. I have had the treatment twice with good results. Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful. Please take your time and read the posts in full and not skim through them.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/trt-as-i-see-it.19555/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/what-is-trt-and-when-should-it-be-started.19024/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/

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

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-ent-doctor-and-hearing-therapist.24047/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/inspiration.22894/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-tinnitus-counselling-help.22366/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/a-change-of-lifestyle.20643/

 

Hi Anna,

I’ve read about two individuals in another forum with the worst type of “reactive tinnitus” (Category IV) who got way much better, one through TRT and the other by doing individual sound therapy (Pink noise CD).
My understanding is that this condition can get better but don’t expect this to happen within days or weeks and it may require many months of treatment. So you have to be patient.
If your condition is not too bothersome, try not to worry too much. It will probably get better over time.
Of course I’m looking forward to hearing how others with this affliction have progressed so far (with or without therapy).

Best

 

Reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis are two different things.
If your tinnitus increases when you hear certain sounds, you have reactive tinnitus (tinnitus that reacts in volume to some sounds).
If you have intolerance to sounds and you hear them louder than they are for a person with normal hearing (and possibly even have pain from the perception of those sounds at a higher volume than normal), then you have hyperacusis.
Your reaction to white noise may be different than mine, but when i tried white noise my tinnitus went much louder, as i noticed when i turned the white noise off, reason for which i do not recommend it.
Pink noise is safer.
I have not tried TRT. It may work, i do not know. What I do know is that the sounds used in TRT are not as bad as the sounds present in white noise. In TRT they use a single frequency, in white noise there are numerous frequencies. In pink noise there are less frequencies.

 

“Reactive tinnitus” and hyperacusis may seem to be two different things but they both fall under the umbrella of a more general condition which is called decreased sound tolerance.
Tinnitus does not have “reactive” properties itself. It’s the oversensitivity within the auditory system which makes the internal (tinnitus) and external sounds to appear louder. Of course nobody knows the exact mechanism as well as why some severe hyperacusics have mild to non-existent “reactive tinnitus” and others with mild hyperacusis have extremely “reactive tinnitus”.
As far as I know, TRT uses broadband noise which can be either white or pink. TRT never uses a single frequency.
Pink noise is preferred by most hyperacusics since it closely matches the spectrum of sound we hear in the everyday world.

 

If nobody knows the exact mechanism then how can anyone definitively say they are the same thing?

 

Reactive Tinnitus comes under Hyperacusis.
TRT on the NHS is not given by many hospital's now due to the cost and cutbacks.
Private TRT is very costly and can take many Appointments to show any progress .
Love glynis

 

Reactive tinnitus is the mirror image of residual inhibition. Residual inhibition is the (well-known) observation that some tinnitus sufferers have their tinnitus suppressed for a short while after listening to narrowband noise matched to their tinnitus frequency at a loudness of about 20 dBSL. For a small(er) subset of patients, attempting to induce residual inhibition has the oppositive effect – namely an increase in tinnitus perception, or "reactive tinnitus". Given that the volumes used in such examinations are well below LDLs, reactive tinnitus is separate from hyperacusis.

 

I was thinking of taking TRT in NYC, but opted for CBT instead, and I think that I made the right choice.

 

To say "there is no such thing" as reactive tinnitus is dismissive of people's experiences and symptoms. "No such thing" is simply a narrow opinion.

Also, the link he provided w definitions of hyperacusis don't even describe the symptoms of reactive tinnitus.

 

That's interesting; I've never thought about it that way. I do not experience residual inhibition at all, but my tinnitus is very reactive to noise.

It would be interesting to do a survey and compare the results.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice and info. Much appreciated. Thank you for all the links Michael.

It's a complex area I guess. It's good to hear all the different perspectives. I definitely see more aspects to it now than I did.

In the end of the day I *think* we're all talking about the same phenomenon, whatever way we frame or name it. Still really happy to hear about anyone or from anyone who successfully dealt with it or is dealing with it.

Aegaeon, I was wondering do you have links by any chance to the ones you mentioned please?

Thanks again

 

Hello @Anna V.
My tinnitus may be similar to yours. I have constant tinnitus of different tones in each ear, which doesn’t bother me much. I also have another kind of whining tinnitus which sparks up in reaction to various sounds such as someone coughing, voices on tv/radio, music, my toothbrush etc. This kind of tinnitus or hyperacusis really bothers me though. I have been dealing with this for two years on top of the general tinnitus, which I have had for five years.
You asked whether anyone had achieved success with white or pink noise generators and I believe that mine have been a comfort. I’ve been using them for a year now and am currently reactive tinnitus free. During the past year I have had a couple of periods where the reactive tinnitus has gone, only to come back later. Of course it is impossible to say whether my improvement is down to the generators but I think they haven’t done me any harm. I find the pink noise sound they generate soothing. If you get the chance to try some I would give it a go.

 

Hi Redhen Thanks

Did they adversely affect your t levels when you started?

Thanks a lot for the
reply

 

One of the main issues relating to reactive stuff, a bit off point but anyway, is that the vent for the central heating system boiler is near one side of the house, where I usually am and where I sleep. Traffic is on the other side. Tried sound proofing the boiler vent as much as possible but it still seems to affect, even with ear muffs??

Electric heaters seem to adversely affect neuro stuff in my head. Tried 2 types.

Actually posted a separate thread for this, I know it's a bit off point but if anyone has inspiration please feel free to help.

 

Hi @Anna V.
You asked whether my pink noise generators affected my tinnitus levels when I started. I don’t think they did. My tinnitus is up and down anyway but I am no longer much upset by it. The generators make a very gentle sound, little more than a whisper. I have asymmetrical hearing loss (mild) and my audiologist set them up so that one is slightly louder than the other. The two levels merge and after a while I forget I am wearing them. They sound a bit like a quiet fan - which I also use to generate a bit of gentle background sound. Another thing I did to recover is to make sure that I was busy all the time with absorbing and relaxing tasks such as painting and drawing. I also try to stay calm. Some might say that it is this, and the passing of time, which has brought about my recovery and not the sound therapy. Anyway, I hope that you will feel better soon.

 

Okay thanks. So they're useless. kthxbai

 

My tinnitus is both so I don't know about this.

 

Appreciate you taking the time to pass that on Redhen. It's good to know more about how it went for people.

 

@Anna V.

Totally agree with this statement. In first weeks of my Tinnitus I was experiencing residual inhibition when using white noise or taking shower (temporary decrease in loudness or even disappearance). Unfortunately I was stupid enough to listen to TRT purists - saying that instead of protecting myself from sounds which find uncomfortable I should expose himself to every-day sounds - something in terms "if the sound is safe for a healthy person it's also safe for you". Effect - at the beginning I've had one rather mild sound in one ear only, now after a year I have about 8 different sounds in both ears, hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus. I can't use white noise generators on the lowest setting without exacerbating my Tinnitus... the same with computer fans or any other white-noise like sounds.

 

From my own experience, I can say reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis are two different things but are connected.

Unfortunately the so called professionals don’t know enough and tend to lump things together. Some people on this forum believe everything they are told by these experts, then disseminate this information verbatim. In this day and age so much is still not known with this very variable and complex disorder.

 

Hi, did you use in-ear noise generators or sound generators that you put in the room eg oasis. I'm having some problems with the in-ear ones via the nhs, they seem to flare up my tinnitus. I have the Oticon hearing maskers and they don't seem to work very well (can't change the program and volume doesn't seem to work either)