Seen Everyone. No Help But It Isn't Their Fault.

@Marie79 there is no need to feel guilty for your anxiety. What you have described in your Thread is very common.

 

Silly is you telling other people how loud their T is or isn't.

 

Which is exactly what you and snow are doing in this thread. You are making out like only your tinnitus matters by comparing; that's the whole point. I'm saying it all matters and comparisons are pointless when everyone is suffering.

You can never understand or comprehend anyone else's T compared to your own, it is simply impossible. We can only help each other.

I only pointed out that comparing your tinnitus to a 90db source has no meaning to it. That is by no means a viable way on conveying how loud you hear your T compared to others. Don't shame others into thinking their depression is unwarranted because they only have "over the counter tinnitus". How do you know how loud their "over the counter tinnitus" is? It maybe louder than yours, but what does that even prove?

You are turning things into a pissing contest which helps no one.

 

This is true. I can hear mine well over 75db, but when I did the tinnitus loudness matching test in a sound booth it was only about 30-33db to my best estimate, my hearing threshold is near perfect in the normal ranges, though.

I work places that are 90db, but I double up on hearing protection when near them and try to limit my time there as much as possible, no way I'm risking my hearing more to try to see if I can hear my T. And that's 90db measured by a calibrated meter, my cell phone puts it at 95-100 db.

 

That's very much the case @Alue. I tried to measure mine in the past out of curiosity but nothing I used is calibrated so it's pretty meaningless.

I posted about this before and had a strikingly similar number to you. It was around 37db from memory, but I was comparing the tinnitus loudness I perceived to a 4khz frequency (a frequency at which my hearing is perfect) but is not my tinnitus tone. I too have perfect hearing across all the speech frequencies. I have no idea about the higher ones.

At the tone to which my T closely matches (12.5khz) I needed to push the decibels a lot higher to make the perceived volume match. I can't remember exactly what it was, as it was a while back, but it was likely around 50-60db. This suggests to me that I almost certainly have a dip at this frequency, (or maybe the headphones aren't very linear across the frequency range which is a likely component) meaning I'd have to delete the threshold number, if I knew it, from the perceived match to get an appropriate sensory level measurement.

But the whole test was a bit pointless anyway, as I have no way of knowing how accurately calibrated the equipment is (iPhone 6s and ear buds) and I'm sure various other factors are at play.

 

Why are you so angry? I haven't compared my T to anyone's in this thread. All I stated is that mine is loud, and that I'm not sure exactly how loud, that's it! How is it that I'm turning this into a pissing contest? Seriously man, relax and read the posts clearly, I think you are somehow very confused and jumping on me for no reason. Pleaee take it down a notch.

The only reason snow was defensive is because he was told that his tinnitus is not as loud as he says. Maybe he is wrong but how do you expect him to feel/react? Maybe in anger? He was told his T is not as loud as he says it it is so he did the same thing back right?

This conversation is going in all kinds of directions and you are accusing me of all sorts of random things. Chill!

 

Give me a break. I live in reality, ty.

 

Telis I'm not angry in the slightest. I still don't understand how on earth a post like this even got to where it is, it's crazy. I merely pointed out that tinnitus can't be measured at 90db, that's it. Everything else is a load of back and forth nonsense over nothing, and the angry tone only seems to be coming from you. I have no idea what bothered you so much about that initial post, and no matter how civil I try and keep things, you just won't have it.

I'm lost for words to be honest.

 

Well snow86 always gets so personal and starts insulting when you confront him with something. As soon as you disagree with him he gets childish and directly calls you a troll. Look at my first post in this thread, I nicely commented that hearing your tinnitus over 90 db, doesn't mean it's 90 db loud. This is not a theory, but a fact. I'm sure there are members here who can provide with you sources supporting what I just wrote.

I find snow86 very egoistic. I don't know if it's a result of his suffering or just his personality. But this is a support group, and he should be aware of that. Look at this comment snow86 made:

How can he so openly assume that we don't have bad and loud tinnitus? Maybe we don't, or maybe we do. What does he know? Yet he always talk about his tinnitus as if no one in forum has it as bad as him. I can guarantee you this isn't the first time he has done it.

I rest my case.

 

Accusing me of I things that I have not said/done is not civil, it's confrontational. Anyway, I'm done, spew out whatever nonsense BS you can conjure up, I don't really don't care. Take care. Bye

 

Okay, I understand, I'm going to back out here. Thx

 

I understand what you're saying, but I think most people think of the loudness of their tinnitus as the decibel level it would be if it were measured in isolation and not against any other threshold. In other words, my tinnitus volume was really competing with the Netflix sitcom I just watched, which was probably 70db. Does that make my tinnitus 70db in isolation? I don't know. Also, I have no idea what the level would be when matched against my hearing threshold, but I'm sure technically it's significantly lower. But I bet if you put my isolated tinnitus at one end of the room, I'd be able to hear it yammering at me at the other end of the room.

Maybe one person's loud volume is much louder, even if it's technically at the same level, in someone who has hyperacusis. That would certainly add immensely to the distress.

 

All I was trying to say is that the loudness of your T can't be measured that way. It's just an educational thing so that people don't go out comparing the volume in their head to the loud traffic noise that's right next to them for example. If they match it doesn't mean anything. You can have T that seems comparable in volume to a fan at 50db that's perceptibly much louder than someone else who is comparing theirs to the rush of traffic at 85db.

The important aspect is how it affects you personally, which is why Drs use a questionnaire to gauge severity.