Reactive Tinnitus Is Real

and I find it insulting that docs or audiologists deny that it does in fact exist....I feel strongly that it is tied to hyperacusis or a form of H.

In the beginning of my T, I had bells that rang alongside the ticking of a clock..That is reactive tinnitus imo..my reactive T is now bells or hissing that when exposed to say, driving in the car, it gets louder and turns into a screeching hiss..after quiet time or a nights sleep.it is back to baseline..

If that isnt reactive T, please tell me what is?

My T spikes from foods..sodium, sugar and alcohol. I don't look at that as reactive but a spike.

Just felt like bringing this up because I feel at a loss.on how to treat my T with TRT if it's reactive!

 

I'm not sure about trt with reactive tinnitus. I have the exact same thing as you. My T creeps up and over whatever might mask it to start. I stopped using white noise at night, I wake up with my T at baseline instead of ramped up competing with the white noise. I also find my H a lot better not using white noise at night.

 

Could have told you that if you just asked me

 

@Street Spirit Yea thats how my T is too. When I'm out and about I usually don't hear it. But then when I come inside from being outside, it takes a little bit of time for it to settle back down. I always thought thats how T always was.

Mines always sort of been like that, but it just recently got worse after the spike that I had this summer.

 

I thought H was treated with in ear noise generators. I thought I was desensitizing my ears. Maybe for some people it works?

 

H yes, but not reactive T, unfortunately some people like me, have both.

 

p.s. I dont want to misinform people by saying one sentence answers. So just to make things clear, the experienced TRT clinician will make the decision about the reactivity of your tinnitus.
Dr.Nagler says clearly, that if the tinnitus return to baseline within 24 hours, then chances are in your favor. I would however say much less than 24 hours (that's pushing it, imo)
If the tinnitus does not return to baseline after 24hrs, then white noise gens are contraindicated.
Feel free to correct me @Dr.Nagler.

 

Not all audiologists dismiss reactive tinnitus. Some do recognize it. Here's an example from one of those Audiology CME sites:

Of course, most audiologists don't know how to treat reactive tinnitus. That's the real problem and is probably why the condition does not get the respect it deserves.

My own tinnitus is extremely reactive. My head would undoubtedly be happier if I wore ear plugs 24/7. I only have minor hyperacusis, but my tinnitus reacts to all types of sounds, especially electronic and mechanical. I can go from a 1 (out of 10) to a 5 just by the air conditioner kicking on.

I also cannot listen to music in my left ear. Not at all. I feel fortunate I can wear a SSD (single sided deafness) ear bud on my right ear, or else I could not listen to music at all. But better no music than a screaming head. Music, in particular, can cause a multi-day spike if I'm not careful. And so no tinnitus music therapy for me. Ever.

But I can listen to some water sounds without my tinnitus worsening. This is convenient at night for sleeping.

 

Can reactive t start at any point or if it's reactive it's like that from the very beginning?

 

Mine was not reactive to start but I did a lot of things along the way to make my situation worse.

 

I agree with Telis, tinnitus can turn reactive at any point.
Mine was reactive from day one, another person's might become reactive after a Klaxon horn is sounded in the ear, or it might just get worse over time. It might also get less reactive over time.

 

I have reactive tinnitus. When you hear a sound you will hear an attachment sound a second later.

 

My personal experience is that the only thing that works with H is time and keeping away from loud sounds.

 

Oh..I should also add when my H is better, my reactive T is gone..so I suppose the problem lies in the fact that not enough is known regarding hyperacusis...

Some folks, most get one tone or several, and if lucky (most are) habituate. Problem with my T is it fluctuates everyday, depending on noise exposure. I am not sure how to habituate to that.

Despite what everyone always told me to do,I stopped using sounds at night when I noticed I'd be worse upon waking rather than better. That only happened a few times before I gave up. I used nature and ocean sounds at the time. White noise has always been too much for me and I never use it. I now just have a ticking clock above my head and household sounds while I sleep. During the summer I kept my window open.

 

my T also fluctuates in response to loud noise. I thought that was normal

 

I have this same thing. Have you found a way of dealing with it or making it easier?

 

The only way mine got better was when my H did.

 

The attachment sound I hear seems to slowly be accruing more at the exact same time as when I hear a sound. Before there was more of a delay before I would hear it. Almost like an echo but with a high pitched tinny ringing sound. Now it seems to be more co-mingled with the sound so I dont seem to hear it as much if I try to just dismiss it and treat it like a background sound. About a year ago if I had a conversation with someone that lasted over 10 min, I would literally be done for the day.

 

Hi guys-gals... I think all of you above have probably read this already (below), but I will throw it in here in case not. Typically a long post but it may be helpful as an overview, refresher, plus some 'how-to' stuff re the whole "What the hell is Reactive T" thing.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-vs-tinnitus-hyperacusis-some-basic-differences.5110/
Fell free to bump it up if you want as I see this 'reactive' issue coming up time and again, so some newbies may find it helpful v. 'out of sight out of mind'.
I keep cajoling myself to write an updated version titled something like: "Tips, Tricks and Guidelines for Reactive-T", wherein I'm sure all of you could flesh it out even more. Been in the dumps though so not much creativity at present.

Take care all, as indeed this "Reactive T & H" stuff is an excruciating dung heap.

Zimichael

 

So sorry things are unwell for you @Zimichael I uunderstand.

However that proposed title of a thread "Tips, Tricks and Guidelines for Reactive-T" made me laugh, so thanks for that.

I too feel this all stinks to high heaven.."excruciating dung heap" indeed!

Lynn

 

I guess I have reactive tinnitus too. My tinnitus reacts to the spices in Thai food (which I love!), and it also reacts to extreme stress (which I don't particularly love). It doesn't react to loud noise, but it definitely reacts to Thai food and stress. So I have reactive tinnitus, right?

stephen nagler

 

No you have tinnitus that spikes with certain food and stress. Not at all the same thing.

 

I do not wish to be argumentative here, but the only difference I can see is that your tinnitus reacts to noise while mine reacts to food. However, they are both reactive.

I am unaware of any place in the literature that defines "reactive tinnitus" as tinnitus that reacts specifically to noise.

If you want to call what you have "noise-sensitive tinnitus," "sounnd-sensitive tinnitus," or the like, I think that's fine. But if you choose to call what you have "reactive tinnitus," then I'm going to choose to call what I have "reactive tinnitus" - because both of us have tinnitus that reacts.

By the way, it's an important point with important clinical implications. Otherwise I would not have entered the thread.

Best to all -

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

I'll be honest I never really thought of it like that. Mine reacts sometimes when I come from a louder environment (like a car) or when I have a beer or two. I just always thought that was really normal with Tinnitus.

I guess for some people, maybe their T may just have more things (which is a bummer) that effect it and cause it to go up or down for a certain amount of time.

Like we all know on this board, Tinnitus and all it's different personalities can be quite quirky, weird and unpredictable.

 

Thank you for including that link here. This is an excellent post for everyone with T&H.

 

It is!

The problem is that some folks have convinced themselves that because their tinnitus reacts to noise instead of a beer or two, that makes them so incredibly worse off than the rest of the universe of tinnitus sufferers.

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

I think the difference might be that you don't have to eat spicy food. You do however for the most part have to expose yourself to some noise. Avoiding certain foods vs avoiding life may be a bit different for some.

 

What about folks whose tinnitus reacts to fatigue, to stress, to any number of factors that cannot be avoided in life?

Look, I'm not saying that folks whose tinnitus reacts to noise do not have certain challenges. They do. But we all have our challenges. And there is nothing inherent in noise-sensitive tinnitus that makes it any tougher to treat than stress-sensitive tinnitus or fatigue-sensitive tinnitus. The exception is when the exacerbation after noise exposure lasts more than 24 hours, but that is not the case in the vast majority of individuals whose tinnitus reacts to noise.

For what its worth, I do not avoid spicy food. I eat it whenever I want to and realize that as a consequence my tinnitus is going to spike. In other words, the way I deal with my reactive tinnitus is ... I don't give it another thought.

More to the point. Thousands upon thousands of folks who have noise-sensitive tinnitus have overcome it. So there must be something standing in the way of those who haven't overcome theirs besides the fact that it is sensitive to noise.

@Telis, earlier in this thread you posted "I'm not sure about trt with reactive tinnitus." Well I am. The success rates in trt are the same whether or not the tinnitus reacts to noise, the only exception being if the exacerbation lasts more than 24 hours.

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

Yes there are other factors that can not be avoided, my comment was directed at your post regarding coping with noise induced reactivity vs a night out for food and drinks.

 

I'm not a fan of coping with tinnitus. I'm a fan of habituating it so you do not have to cope with it.

I entered this thread to present an alternate point of view, one that I believe is very important. Having done that I'll leave and wish you all well.

Dr. Stephen Nagler