Scared of noise now

Hi guys, I have developed a phobia of even moderate level noise now, slamming a car bonnet has left me with a increase In tinnitus, it has gone from mild to moderate, i can hear it everywhere now, I can't believe it. I even got temporary threshold shift for a week, then this horrible increase in tinnitus these past 6 weeks.

Even this moderate tinnitus can increase even further, if slamming a car bonnet/hood shut can increase tinnitus, then similar unavoidable noises are going to happen in the future.

All I read before was very loud noise might worsen tinnitus, so avoid concerts, bars etc
Not the case with me,
How can I live normally with such a phobia I'm so scared!

 

If loud noises cause you pain, that's hyperacusia. Otherwise, as you say, it's a phobia. If you have a smartphone, get a decibel meter, I think I posted a list of iPhone apps if that is your brand. If anything under 80db increases your tinnitus, then you should get your anxiety under control, it's easy to do, and likely will decrease your focus on T.

I don't think that incidents of moderate noise (<80db) can really increase T. Is that even possible people?

 

Mick - I am also scared of noise now !
But I really think for you it could be drinking alcohol that's causing it .
Perhaps try over the counter sleeping meds and skip alcohol for one week ?otc Benadryl 50 mg will knock you out ..try n see how it goes ..

 

Thanks Sean, I went 3 days without alcohol last week and it was the same, but I think it makes you more depressed anyway, waking up everyday hungover feeling bad about this increase and feeling s**t from drinking the night before. I typical wake up the next morning feel like crap, say I won't drink tonight, get to the evening and start getting very anxious about going to bed sober, so I drink again it's a viscous circle.

I am pretty sure it's not the alcohol because I drank heavily for 6 months when my tinnitus first started, but it was always mild, it never changed one bit. I just don't get why I got temporary threshold shift from closing a car bonnet, it did take 6 hours to come on, but my ears were blocked for 1 week. I'm so confused!

 

It doesn't mean that it can't come from the alcohol. Thats the same thing as with the guy that posted yesterday that he had been abusing ecstasy from April until mid October and then the tinnitus came when he wasn't taking ecstasy. Drugs especially when they are known to be ototoxic can show their effects after some time... It doesn't have to be that you drink a glass of wine and you'll immediately feel that your tinnitus gets worse but if you keep drinking heavily for months or years it is very likely that ototoxity will set in at some point and harm your inner ear. The same with aspirin/ibuprofen- one pill probably won't do anything but if you take great amounts of it over some time you will most certainly make your tinnitus worse. I would say a car bonnet shut wouldn't harm your ears that much, but that much drinking would definitely do that. So as I said before I would really stay away from the alcohol and give my body time to heal..

 

thanks seal, i will stay off the alcohol until i see changes with my tinnitus, i never thought of it that way, maybe it is cumulative damage from the drinking over time.

But if it is from the drinking, once i stop for a while would my tinnitus lower or is it damage already done?

 

I'm sure your tinnitus will calm down, it probably only needs time because now everything comes together: the fear, the anxiety, the lack of sleep ( when you drink alcohol your sleep might feel ok but usually your body is just exhausted and doesn't recover while sleeping) and the alcohol. I'm sure once you "detox" , your brain calms down and so will your tinnitus ( I always feel that those two are connected) . If you need something to give you a good night sleep or for your anxiety issues especially at night take the advice @Sean gave you and talk to a doctor who will prescribe you something to help but that is safe for your tinnitus at the same time so you don't have to worry about worsening your tinnitus. Please don't give up, I really do think that once you cut back on the poisonous alcohol for some time you will feel much better, also tinnitus wise. And it doesn't mean that you can never again enjoy a beer or something, so no worries

 

count me in - I am super careful about any sounds now - anything loud will make my tinnitus worse - a Harley going by, a truck back fire etc. I always wear a Bose headset everywhere now - it feels like I am a hearing cripple.

 

I'm afraid you are making yorself a hearing cripple. It is necessary to protect your ears when it gets too noisy because our ears are already damaged, so protect them in noisy restaurants, bars, cinemas, maybe even in big malls with shops with music - but in your case you are just overprotecting your ears... You have to start using your ears again because your hyperacusis will only get worse with what you are doing and soon the Bose headphones won't be enough and the tinnitus will go off with any noise. If you break your leg you don't use it for some time until it heals. that's fine of course but if you'll never use it again your muscles will become weaker and weaker and with time you won't be able use that leg ever again because it's crippled. Also keep in mind that the noise canceling mechanism is not really taking the noise away, it just seems that way because of the anti noise. So actually it might be even more stress for your hearing to always wear the headphones. I would really try to get used to regular sounds again and cut back on the overprotecting, you have to keep the balance with our pre damaged ears , meaning no excessive noise/ protection but also not complete silence/ over protection

 

I try to gradually increase the volume of the MP3 to "harden off" the ears. I constantly listen to Restful Rain which is like pink noise, and gradually increase the volume. My own experience was that noises made my tinnitus worse, so I had no choice but to take these drastic measures. I agree, I have totally become a hearing cripple.

 

have you looked into music therapy especially offered for Hyperacusis ?(not for Tinnitus but really Hyperacusis!). I heard very good things about it and it might help you become less sensitive to sounds

 

Seal, about the alcohol causing this spike, it still wouldn't cause blocked ears for a week, just like when I first got tinnitus from acoustic trauma.

 

you might be right but as I said, in my opinion ( of course I'm NOT a doctor, just what I think might help you ) you weakened your cochlea/inner ear with heavily drinking for a longer period of time. a weaker inner ear reacts stronger to noises I would think. also, if you feel fullness in the ear from time to time, go and see a doctor about it, i have trouble with it for months now and I also thought it was Tinnitus related but I found out that this time my eustachian tubes are blocked and I might need surgery.

 

I have been looking into music therapy - there is research in this area showing improvement in tinnitus - I am hoping to put on Enya recordings and blend that in with white / pink noise to gradually "harden off" my hearing system.

 

sounds good... keep us updated how it goes

 

interesting you say that Seal because i read somewhere that when you drink heavily, your noise threshold is reduced. both me getting tinnitus from the fire alarm and me shutting the car bonnet was while i was drunk the first time, and the second noise exposure was when i was hungover the next day.

That leaves me with the question if i stay off alcohol will this spike go down?

i guess i will have to stay away from alcohol for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference, thanks.

 

I would go for it, there is nothing to loose. I would suggest not to drink alcohol for at least 6-8 weeks because you have been drinking a lot for at least a month now, right? Just give your body time to recover from the alcohol and cleanse itself, maybe also try to eat very healthy, drink a lot of water and work out a little ( working out helps also with sleeping ). I'm very curious if you'll feel better after that time, but I would guess so,.. please keep us updated on how it goes if you try it. I keep my fingers crossed!

 

thanks Seal, i will update my progress if there is any changes.

 

Mick1987
Lots of great advice here. I think we all have adjusted our diets in some way to see if there is any difference in our T. I know I stopped caffeine, sugar and artificial sweeteners. I also cut back on the salt and stopped having alcohol. Giving the body a break from some of our indulgences can be very helpful in figuring out what might be triggering or aggravating a condition. I've since realized I feel so much better without all of those things. My anxiety is gone, feel great physically, so why bring those things back into the picture. When I decided to reintroduce them I chose carefully. I have 1 caffeinated drink on occasion, I have an occasional glass of wine. I think anything in excess is to anyone's detriment. Even if 10 shots of alcohol took your T away, what kind of life are you living and what other health issues are you setting yourself up for? Just because drinking worked for one person doesn't mean it will work for everyone. What triggers T spike in you may not in me. I think it can be very random. It's worth it to remove things we know are not good for us to see if our body responds differently without it. Like lessening the effect of T. It's not easy but worth trying. Giving your body a fighting chance by being healthier is a good thing. Who knows what you might discover. Good luck to you.

 

Thanks Lulubug69, I have no doubt by quitting alcohol I will feel a lot better in myself, heavy drinking everyday would make anyone feel rubbish.

Maybe I am not feeling depressed because of the tinnitus increase, maybe it is because I am hungover everyday. I'm staying off booze for a few weeks and I will update my progress soon, thanks again.

 

Mick - Concerts and live music bars must be avoided - no choice !
My T has been very low from last 3 days and today some one at work very loudly slam the iron door !!T hasn't spiked but I am so god damn scared !!i had covered my left ear with finger so may be it won't spike but to live in fear sucks .
It's 8:00 pm and I am scared to go to sleep .its been such a beautiful and quite last 3 days !!.i didn't even need white noise to go to sleep .
I hope I get more of these silence !

 

Hi Sean, hopefully your ears will be ok, more than anything now I want my tinnitus to stabilise so I can get some confidence back regarding noises. It is staying at this new louder level, but the pitch keeps changing, it's like the noise I was exposed to opened up the flood gates for my tinnitus to do what it wants.

It is now 6.30am and I have been awake all night, first night going to bed sober, but it's a highly annoying dry cough keeping me awake, great so I am going to go without sleep for 2weeks until this cough clears, while listening to this new loud tinnitus, I'm so annoyed!

 

OMG i´m just reading all the comments and tears are rolling down my cheeks... i was going to have a beer as i´ve been awake all night with a churning stomach thinking about how my life isn´t my own anymore it´s been stolen by T , and now it looks like alcohol will give me a spike, jeeze does this effing T take everything away from you? if so then i don´t want to have a life anymore!!! i´m opting for a beer right now as i´m very very angry about this new enemy i have just had come into my life.

 

noone says that you can't drink a beer anymore, just don't abuse alcohol! There is a huge difference between having a few drinks from time to time and heavily drinking every day for months. and noone wrote that if you'll have one beer, your Tinnitus will spike.

 

Where does the cough come from? are you having a cold at the moment? have you thought about taking some melatonin? Did you get the 1 $ pillow speakers I suggested? They are really cheap so you can easily afford them but very effective at night...

 

Thankyou for your reply, i´m having mineral water instead.

 

Can anyone advise me of a pain killer i can take that is non ototoxic? i have no idea!!!

 

Paracetamol is fine!

 

Seal, it was from a viral infection a few weeks ago, i went to the doctors and he told me to use cough syrup.

i told him about my situation and he said it was possible it was from the car bonnet, he said that loud noise doesn't damage your hearing in one incident, he said it is cumulative and that was the last straw for my sensitive ears. He also said TTS happens most of the time instantly after the noise, but in my case he thinks it is possible it could be delayed.

Im so depressed thinking i have permanently worsened my tinnitus from loud noise!

 

@mick1987 reading through this thread, I think you're doing yourself more harm from panicking than anything else. Take a deep breath and start taking some concrete steps to help yourself feel better rather than thinking the same negative, self-defeating thoughts over and over. My t is noise-induced as well and I have struggled with guilt, but blaming yourself does nothing.

I agree with @seal, drinking that much that frequently is definitely not good for your health, but do not use it as another thing to blame yourself for, just wean yourself off the alcohol in a healthy way and start leading a lifestyle that is more respectful of your body. It sounds like you have a lot of anxiety - I have to deal with that too, I would very highly recommend finding a good, understanding psychiatrist to help you with sleep/anxiety meds and perhaps also to help you keep on track with detoxing from the alcohol. Tinnitus is difficult and lonely at times, it helps just to have someone looking out for your as much as anyone can. Take the time to find a good doctor, don't just accept the first one you find. In a good relationship, this person will be with you for the long-haul.

Also, mick, I would not be so quick to say the car hood/bonnet was what gave you this spike, especially if you had a viral infection! Viral infections all by themselves can give people tinnitus (and that full ear feeling). Do not hang on every word your ENT feeds you, he really has no idea. He's just saying something because you walked into his office asking for answers.

Don't blame yourself for everything - just be kinder to yourself moving forward. If you're doing something that's not good for your overall health, then it's not good for your ears either, they're connected to your whole body. That doesn't mean you can't have a beer now and then, but I wouldn't look at this as an experiment for 6 - 8 weeks to see if not drinking helps, it's an opportunity to start taking care of yourself. It might take some serious time for your body to heal, but it wont be able to go in that direction if you're hampering your systems with toxic substances on a daily basis.

Again, I don't really think the daily drinking has necessarily gotten you here, and I really don't think it's the car hood, but I think you will feel better and give your ears their best chance to heal in the long run if you get on a long-term healthy track that's monitored and guided by a great psychiatrist.

Things can get better, Mick! We're here for you. Let us know how it goes!