Really unhappy

Hi,

I got tinnitus 12 weeks ago this Friday. I went to watch a live rock band in a local pub and the 'music' was very, very loud. I realised part way through that I had been stood next to the side of one of the speakers to my left. I was there about 2 hours. The next morning I woke up with ringing in my left ear. I thought it would go away but it didnt. By the Wednesday of the following week I knew I was in trouble.

Since then its been three months of hell. I cant think about anything else and am more than kicking myself for not moving away from that speaker and the overly loud noise that night. I feel terrified that I will have this all my life and am so worried about the effect of it on my job (self-employed computer programmer).

I've seen doctors, two audiologists and tried several therapies. Nothing has worked to reduce the noise one iota. I don't get good days and bad days like other people seem to, its just there constantly 24/7 at the same volume.

To make everything worse, 2 weeks ago I went to the theatre as I'd had tickets booked for months. I didnt think much of it as I've been to the theatre loads before the tinnitus and its not 'loud'. But, its had a drastic effect on the tinnitus, its now much louder and at a higher pitch with a fizzing noise around it. I also now have it in the other ear a little. The worst effect of this change is that I can now hear it all day in the office at work, which before the theatre I couldnt. I used to be able to work as normal albeit sleep-deprived. I feel so stupid for not knowing you cant be in ANY sort of noise.

Since the theatre I now have hyperacusis as well, which I didnt have after the first damage on the rock band night. My ear feels horrible and sort of full or blocked too. Its not blocked, I dont have wax or anything, I had that checked last weekend. I feel like every noise is damaging my ears even more and that I should wear earplugs all the time but that makes me able to hear the ringing even more.

I am considering Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment but I have bad claustrophobia so dont know if I will be able to do it. I've been running around for 3 months solid, trying different things to help, spending money and all my time on it. Nothing has helped at all. I feel worn down by it.

If anyone has any advice for me please feel free to say.

Thanks for listening.

Louise.

 

The thing about Tinnitus for me is I don't notice it all the time, the more attention I give it the louder it seems to get and not being able to hear people talking very well also gets me listening to it more, but all in all, its not the most horrible thing in the world that can happen to me,although sometimes it does feel like its taking over my life..

sometimes when someone is annoying me I can zone into tinnitus and just drown out the noise comming out of their mouth also..so it does have some benefits.. So I have no advise for you sorry

 

Hi Louise,

My T sounds similar to yours. Mine is only in my left ear and is a result of a ear infection. Noise is my enemy and the more I listen too the worse my T gets, I now wear earmuffs while driving, what I have found though is not to cut all the noise out, I have earmuffs which have microphones in them and you can adjust the volume you listen too. If I wear earplugs my T gets worse as well.
I suggest removing as much noise from your day as possible for a week or so and see if this makes a difference.
I have had this condition for 24 years and trust me 12 weeks is a very short time, there is still a good chance it will settle down espically if you have a cold or are run down. Mine used to get bad but would then settle down, this could take up to 2-6 months.

 

Hi Jamie,

Thanks for the reply.

24 years? Oh God. I just cant cope with that. 12 weeks has nearly pushed me over the edge. You are so strong to have put up with that.

Could I ask a few questions about what you've said?.....

- You say that noise is your enemy (I have realised since the theatre that its mine too) and that when you listen to it your T gets worse. Do you mean permanently worse or worse for a short time? Mine has now been worse for 3 weeks solid since that theatre trip. Teh theatre gave me hyperacusis. I can hardly bear the voice of the woman who sits at the side of me in the office now (mind you, she is loud ). Normal sounds seem so amplified and I feel like protecting my ears. I do now wear earplugs for driving as my car is noisy.

- You say that yours used to get bad and then settle down and that it could take 2 - 6 months. Do you mean that it got bad due to noise and that used to take 2 - 6 months for it to go back to the previous levels?

I have had the idea myself that it might be good to give my ears a rest from all noise for a while like you suggest. I think there could be something in that. Sometimes you just 'know' dont you?

Gosh, hearing that you think there's a good chance it could settle down is so good to hear. I've had the opposite feeling because its got worse and also after 3 months they say Hyperbaric Oxygen wont work because you've had it too long and its ingrained. Also, after 6 months its considered 'chronic'.

Again, thanks for taking time to reply.

 

Wow. Ive read that about noise. I alsonhave big headphonecbut was listeningn to earbuds and maybe thatvmade it worse. How do you sleep at nightm

 

Hi Peg,

In that 9 weeks when I had T before the theatre trip I wish I had read that you should avoid ALL noise above a certain level. Its obvious to me now that my ears were so damaged still that they couldnt handle the 'noise' of an orchestra in a theatre. I've been to the theatre loads before the T and never had any problem whatsoever. I really should have known and am kicking myself. I would think this applies more to noise-induced T where there has been physical damage to the ear.

I know that you are not supposed to cut yourself off from all noise (and in fact have read a theory that this causes T because the neurons expecting sound arent receiving any and so go crazy) but it has to be sound under a certain volume I reckon and that volume is probably quite low for damaged ears.

Sleep at night was always my main problem but now its got much worse. The un-usual thing about me is that for the last 30 or so years I've worn earplugs to sleep as Im a very light sleeper and traffic etc wakes me up. The T is louder with the earplugs in because it creates silence.

Wearing earplugs at night for all those years never gave me T so Im not sure I subscribe to the theory that silence causes T.

Louise.

 

Hi Louise,

When I say it gets worse, it is only temporary, depending how much noise I listened too, most times it goes back to it's 'base level' in the morning but that is still pretty bad, then it just gets worse from there depending what I listen too.

Sometimes it would just go bad for no reason, other times if I had a cold coming on or got run down, I would think to myself 'this is it, it's never going to get better' but I normally found once I had calmed down it would settle back down, but as I said this could take sometime and proberly won't settle while you are paying it lots of attention.

I would suggest not cutting out all the noise all the time, like in your car, you can get plugs or muffs that let through some noise like the radio. I used to wear earplugs but found that this made things worse. Also being able to hear the radio might take your mind off things a bit too.

I also remember when I first got my T and I can still remember leaving the ENT when I was 14 and how loud the ringing was, but it definetly settled down after that. It is proberly back worse than that level now, I hope yours does the same and you don't have to worry about it for 24 years, by then I'm sure there will be a cure.