Reactive Tinnitus? Hyperacusis? Anxiety? Frequent Spikes

First of all I want to say that I would not know what to do without Tinnitus Talk.

It's beginning to dawn on me that my problem is more complex than I thought.

My problem is that I am extremely afraid for my tinnitus to change by further damage to the ear. Maybe you can tell me what's going on with me.

I am having spikes all the time and I even have developed problems in my formerly tinnitus-free ear in the last two weeks and this is so scary because I had tinnitus for many years but after a stress-induced spike (my father got diagnosed with cancer) everything is different because I am constantly worried over my ears.

Let's talk about my day yesterday (and this is just the tip of the iceberg): I had incidents the days and weeks before so I thought I would keep it low and quiet, stay at home, clean, watch TV, etc. So this is what I did.

Then: the landline phone rang right next to me (2 feet from where I was sitting) lying on a wooden table. For what it's worth: it's a modern cordless phone by Panasonic.

I share a flat and I had the phone set to the lowest possible volume a few weeks ago but that was really barely audible. So it was changed back to a medium setting. I was startled because it was so loud, got out of the room fast and became worried. At this point just worry. I took the phone and wanted to change the ringing volume back to low. What I did not know is that upon changing the settings the phone makes two very loud beeps, each 1 to 2 seconds. And that was it. I heard the two very loud high-frequency beeps, obviously only 2 feet away from my ear. Boom. My tinnitus-ear was really loud and what is worse my non-tinnitus ear started ringing with a high tone.

I am still trying to calm myself. It's not as bad as it was then but my ears have changed over the past weeks so this is driving me crazy.

What is my problem? It's a f*** landline phone ringing on medium next to me and two loud beeps when changing the settings in the phone. And worst of all: If I hadn't changed the volume it wouldn't have been so bad. So my fault.

Am I thinking straight that whatever happened with this phone it could never ever be in a range of damaging volume even at 2 feet?
Why would a phone manufacturing company program a phone beep to be 110 dB/120 dB/130 dB? A phone ring set to medium could that be 110db/120db/130db?

Or are these kind of sounds whatever db hurting my ears because they are damaged? Did the phone hurt my ears and that's why they reacted?

I am very close to take the phone and f*** measure with my phone app but I think the measuring part would put me in more stress. I don't have muffs here and I had an itchy feeling yesterday so I don't want to use plugs.

What happened to my ears was real! I sat there in silence and my non-tinnitus ear was ringing loudly.

Is this hyperacusis? But no pain at all. Reactive Tinnitus? But it's also a new tone coming up in my good ear. What can I do?

Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this.

 

It's only been since yesterday so it could still be just a spike and you have time for it to fade. Keep in mind that once you damage your hearing, you are more susceptible to further damage as compared to someone who has never damaged their hearing at all. Just try not to have obsessive thoughts over it otherwise it will make it worse. Just hold on to the fact that you have plenty for time for this to fade and to take better care at protecting your hearing. I can't even use a phone so yes, the most minor sounds can cause spikes and T can always get worse so just be more vigilant and proactive at protecting yourself. Wear ear muffs as a precaution from now one when dealing with electronics you are unfamiliar with that may beep in close proximity. One trick I do with laptops and tv's is I plug up the headphone jack with with a fake plug tricking it in thinking headphones are connected so that the speakers wont make unexpected noises.

And if you are getting other unexplained spikes, then it could be your diet. For many anything with salt, vinegar, lemon or dairy makes mine skyrocket. I eat it anyways because thats how I roll. I'm just hardcore that way.

 

Thanks for your advice!

So just to understand this:

Beeps from electronic devices (and I dont talk about alarms, sirens, etc.) can cause damage in close proximity (1 or 2 feet) for people with T? The reaction I have is an indication of damage?

Do you have hyperacusis?

 

When my T was really bad, a phone ringing near by had permanently raised my baseline and I was wearing ear plugs and ear muffs already. So lots of things people didn't feel was possible causing damage, is. But for you, I think you, in this instance, you will be ok and its just a spike. But you know, hearing damage is cumulative. So one day you will be more susceptible than the day before to damage. So you just have to be careful and spikes are like your early warning system. So if beeps spike your T, then defend against them from then on so you don't end up with permanent damage because our hearing isn't not like normal peoples anymore. Need to get out of that mind set. We are more vulnerable but experience is on your side. So if something spikes? Avoid it or wear ear muffs against it. My T is a big fat baby. If look at a computer monitor over 30" inches with no sound at all, my T will spike. Like WTF.

 

Thank you @another sean!

So a phone ring at 100db with you with plugs and muffs would probably leave 70 db, and this range has caused a permanent change?

So in your opinion even if I would measure the beep, it would not tell me if damage has been done?

Was this incident shortly after your onset?

This is all so confusing. I mean I am not new to T but this is really frustrating right now. So I should not only worry for things >100db but also 90db/80db/70db in terms of new damage?

 

Yep, the phone rang caused a permanent change in my T even when wearing protection. It was soon after onset and that is probably why. I have had worse happen now without protection and it ended up being just a spike for 2 weeks. So it's not just about decibels. It about timing, soon after onset, you more sensitive, at least in my experience. Also its has to do with frequency. If the noise in the frequency range that your damage is at, then it has a greater chance of causing more damage a noise outside the frequency range you hearing is damaged at. Mine is at 11khz, so 50db 11khz sound will cause me way more problems and possible damage than a 6khz sound at 80db. I see people worry about sounds at certain decibels and I feel thats the wrong way to go about it. Of course avoid obvious dangerous levels, but if a noise is spiking you at lower levels like at 40db or 50db, then protect against it. I am home bound. Cant use a phone, can't watch Tv at any volume. And a monitor makes some sound 8 feet away that I cant even hear and its spikes my T. So it can be at any level. Just follow the spikes. Don't ignore the warnings your ears are trying to tell you.

 

Oh ok, didn't know that frequency also plays a role.

So there is no sense in measuring the db of the ring and beeps, yes?

So @another sean you do not talk or think about hyperacusis in these cases, correct? because it is a matter of the frequency of damage.

 

Reactive tinnitus and hyperacusis are not the same thing but they can go together


Tinnitus would represent itself as tonal noises, beeping, chirping or mechanical noises
where as hyperacusis would represent itself as pain.

 

@Contrast so no pain, no hyperacusis, correct? An extra ringing or louder ringing in reaction to a sound below 100db etc. would not qualify.

 

do you feel like the sound is being amplified but no pain involved? Or just louder ringing

 

after a sound that causes your tinnitus to react plug your ears immediately and see if its louder.

 

No pain. But this is what happens:

loudish sound happens. Me: "hm that was loud, oh my god was is too loud, how loud was it, it can cause damage, can it cause damage," then the urge to know how loud it was by measuring (but I didn't know that sounds below 90db/100db at very short durations were also a problem, and frequency was not something I had given consideration) and this all happens at once and then the louder ringing, and since two weeks or so, involvement of the once good ear, which feels like further damage to me.

And this is not sth. like a continuous thought process over an hour but a reflex of a few seconds. Decibel measuring was the only thing that I could do to control myself a bit. But I realize: Who is to say that it has NOT done damage, a beep of 95-100db?


I think the biggest problem is, I will never know. I have read through the threads and posts here extensively: there are some of us who say "normal everyday sounds cannout do harm, just our anxiety feeds changes" and other that say to protect against sounds (especially of a certain frequency) even at lower volumes. There are examples of people doing permanently worse in both camps. No one will be able to tell me exactly what to do because no one really knows for sure.

But the reality is that the past months/weeks have been horrible and my ears are worse and I am just at the end of my wits.

 

These are all traits of OCD. I think you have become obsessive about sound to the point that it’s detrimentally affecting your mental health. You should try and get professional help.

The more you ruminate, and go through ‘checking’ behaviours, the worse T will make you feel. I get what you are saying because I was exactly the same. It became torture just to leave the house because I was scared of sound in general. You really don’t have to live this way.

 

@Ed209

Is there anything that I can do on my own to improve this situation?

How can I get to a point where I can know whether or not something is objectively harmful for my hearing or not?

What do you think about the assumptions that also lower sounds than 100db can cause damage and worsen T and therefore make it louder?

 

I’m so confused.

I agree that we cannot be afraid of sound......even when it physically hurts us because of the over activation of the nervous system and the flight or fight response. I have already seen an improvement in my TTS by not reacting negatively to noise.

HOWEVER, I still get spikes from noise levels that “should not be hurting me”.

And I haven’t been overprotecting. I may not go out yet but I don’t wear ear plugs at all while home which is 99 percent of the time. I force myself to watch tv at regular volumes.

So can someone help me understand why noise below 90 decibels “can’t damage me” yet levels at 60 decibels have left me with clearly defined permanent spikes? I don’t understand.

 

Objectively, you can’t and that’s the point. In my case I realised that T was taking me down; I had no life left and all my ambitions had been taken from me. It was literally killing me slowly. One day I decided enough was enough and figured I feel terrible anyway so why constantly worry about everything? I took drastic measures and rebooted my life.

First of all I stopped coming here, I stopped reading about T everyday, and I stopped reading research papers. I also gave up looking for a cure. I found I had become obsessed with tinnitus and I felt like I was in a bubble being consumed by it.

Next, I cleaned up my diet and started exercising regularly (this is great for reducing anxiety and improving your mood).

I started learning songs that were on my radar but never got round to. I also started playing chess again because I found the deep concentration of being lost in a game made me forget my concerns for a moment; even with the noise raging in my head. This was a very gradual process; it’s not like I started the first game and thought that noise ain’t bothering me anymore! I’ve habituated!! It’s not like that at all.

I stopped wearing earplugs when I left the house and in the car. I realised a lot of my problems stemmed from the fear I had built up around sound, so I set out to systematically destroy the control it had over me and regain some rationality. I felt my emotional wellbeing bouncing back and my obsession with sound decreasing. This step is incredibly difficult and many may need help with it. My personality is quite determined and once I start something, I have unbelievable, freakish, willpower. I have custom plugs, foam plugs, and ear muffs that I use when the occasion calls for it, but I must stress that I no longer walk around analysing everything in case it’s a threat like I used to. I believe 90% of my day used to be me checking and worrying about every moderate noise I heard.

Start helping people. It’s a fact that helping others also helps yourself. It can replenish your soul, and a simple act like giving a homeless person a drink and a sandwich can boost your own wellbeing.

Reconnect with friends old and new, and be social. If your personality fits with this, then do it, as laughing with friends is very hard to beat.

Take up a new hobby. This is another method of distraction and is all about taking your mind away from the obsession of sound, and making it obsessed with something that is healthy and benefits you. One method I’ve spoken about before is to turn negative energy into positive energy. This is something I’ve done many times in my life. What you do is make a list of goals (keep it small to begin with) and then try and attain them. Make sure they are things that can revolutionise your life. If you do achieve these things then you can thank Tinnitus for giving you the push to do it; for giving you that motivation that you never knew you had. This is how I originally started playing guitar, so believe me it works. On some level the guitar saved my life.

You could try cold shock therapy which involves swimming in cold water. It’s proven to help ones mental health.

Finally, and this is really important: do not put a timetable on yourself. Recovery is not linear and you will take just as many backward steps as forward ones. It is like watching a child grow older: you don’t realise just how much they’ve aged until you see an old photo. Recovering is no different; you don’t realise until one day you notice you haven’t thought about it for a few minutes, and this gradually turns into longer durations almost unrecognisably.

All these things help break the cycle of control that tinnitus can have on a person.

Good luck.

 

How you feeling today, @JanTD?

 

Hi @Ed209

first of all thank you so much for your post! I really take this as my guideline.

I am determined to stop overthinking and started after reading your post...

...but it is hard because the thought of potential damage lurking everywhere is not easy to get rid off.

Can I ask you about your handling of protection like plugs and muffs? I gathered your comments from threads here and there but I would greatly appreciate your input.

Normal or need for protection?

• Restaurant without music
• Walking in city traffic
• Walking past a construction site
• Staying in an office with a long loud squeaky staircase
• At home with windows full open with traffic passing by
• At home nearby my entrance on the first floor while someone slams the front building door one floor below really hard in a communal hallway that acts like an echo chamber
  
• Being in the kitchen (dish washing, preparing food also frying etc.)

I know it's about loudness, distance and time. I also know that ultimately I would have to find out myself but it's incredibly difficult to find a balance and so far I have never thought about plugs/muffs because I do not go to bars, clubs, shooting, etc.

I had T for years and I had no problems at all with all of these things (never even giving them a thought) before getting into this 'new' phase.

 

It is difficult, Jan, and I can only offer you my opinion.

You’re fine, enjoy yourself.

Generally speaking you should be fine. I just cover my ears if a loud bike or ambulance goes by. People with hyperacusis will have more difficulties.

I just hold my ears until I’ve passed. That’s if it’s loud enough in the first place (depends how close you are).

No problem with this at all. Don’t even think about it.

Don’t worry about it. Again, this doesn’t require protection.

These last few are quite phonophobic in nature and suggest anxiety is controlling your thoughts and behaviour.

I don’t wear earplugs in the kitchen. If you put a blender on or something you can just cover your ears.

Most everyday life doesn’t require you to wear earplugs. I know too many people that have walked this path and are now nervous wrecks, double protecting themselves, 24/7. I get many PMs from people saying they can no longer cope, or go on, because their fear of sound is destroying them.

You should protect your ears, but try not to obsess about all sound. Protect when you are somewhere loud, or whilst using loud equipment.