Severe Tinnitus Keeps Getting Worse and Worse :(

Hi everyone, I just needed to vent again at least to people who may know what I am suffering from this extreme loud noise in my head.

Since my last post, my tinnitus got extremely loud and it keeps getting worse and worse everyday that goes by. I do not know why. Right now I'm in my room trying to sleep and it's impossible. I use to be able to mask my tinnitus with the AC on high blast, now I'm laying down with my head straight and it's impossible to mask it now with the AC. It's screeching loud and it's scaring me because it keeps getting louder and louder. To what point can this noise get?

I have gone to the ENT three time and got seen by three ent doctors but they think that this is normal and I can deal with it and there is nothing they can do. It is hard for me to do anything anymore or concentrate because of my severe tinnitus that just keeps getting worse. I remember when I use to be able to sleep on my sides, now that seems like a nightmare for me. I don't know want to do anymore, I don't want to lose my job but I feels like my life is ending soon because of this getting worse and not knowing what's causing it or why it's happening.

I don't know what to do anymore to help and improve my tinnitus anyone please help or any advise. I'm losing hope as my tinnitus is screeching loud and impossible to mask at night with any noise.

 

@Gloriaaa3
Have you tried medication to help with sleep? If you can get your sleep under control, I think you'll be in a better space to be able to deal with the loud tinnitus. I used to take a low dose of Mirtazapine to sleep, and that worked like a charm.

In terms of it getting louder - have you had any exposures to loud noise, if you are taking medication, have you checked if it may be ototoxic?

Unfortunately for us all, and particularly those of us who don't know the cause of our tinnitus, all we can do is take the best care of our ears to ensure things don't get worse.

Is your tinnitus high pitched? Have you experimented with different masking tracks? Quite often ones with crickets work well for higher pitched tinnitus. There is a great shower masking track available for free on this site. Also one with beeps, that's excellent and gives me some residual inhibition as well. I like pink noise as well, much less harsh than white noise.

Hang in there, my tinnitus does vary quite a bit, I seem to have narrowed it down to be in line with my cycle.

 

No I have not tried medications. Do you take it every night to go to sleep? I tried masking it with different things but unfortunately my tinnitus is extremely loud and high pitched and it's impossible to mask with any noise, I can still hear it over everything. I went from having bearable tinnitus to extreme severe tinnitus that is blasting loud over any noise.

 

Hi @Gloriaaa3

Have you had tests on your auditory system at ENT? I will assume that you have and if no underlying medical problem is causing the tinnitus, then you should be referred to a Hearing Therapist for treatment and management of tinnitus. Various treatments are available. Tinnitus usually gets worse for a reason. As I've said, if there is no underlying medical problem causing it and this includes medication, then "sound" is the likely cause. Do yo listen to music through headphones or go to clubs, concerts where loud music is played? Do you work in a noisy environment?

Please click on the links below and read my articles on tinnitus that you might find helpful. Try to read them in full and not skim through them.

Michael


https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

@Gloriaaa3
I still take a very low dose - 7.5mg, though I suspect that I would be fine without it.
Maybe you could try a natural alternative before you use a prescription drug?
Maybe something like Valerian?
Also, I know it's hard, but listening to a guided meditation may also help to relax you.
Finding a masking tone that will at least mix well with your tinnitus might also help. Even if it doesn't mask it, something that it might blend with to make it less noticeable.
Pink noise works for me.
Tinnitus really is a shite condition and to experience an increase is just as distressing as when you first get it, I think anyway.
So, try to get your sleep under control and certainly have everything checked as Michael suggested. That's what I would do first.

 

Gloria,

Much easier said than done, but perhaps consider mindfulness cbt?

Have a look at the back to silence video....Terry's t sounded horrible, and yet after a relatively short period of time after suffering for many years with his t, he has habituated and doesnt hear his t very much (is what i understand from his posts)

I do know that your brain wants to forget all about the t. Help it along with the above.....

and get some sleep with a sedative or valerian if you can ...

 

I was put on Nortriptyline and it stopped my head tinnitus and helps me sleep.
Love glynis

 

I can't provide you with comfort, but I can suggest a strategy:

1. Do the following training before you go to sleep. Once you've got the hang of it, you'll notice how you momentarily pass out during the exercise:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/meditation-practice-to-deal-with-tinnitus-suffering.8165/

It's explained especially with the aim to promote sleep in mind.

2. Don't resort to pills, as you're better off in the long run by getting by on your natural bodily functions*.

3. Protect your hearing against each and any loud noise. The easiest way is to carry foam ear plugs when leaving your home. I use these:

https://www.amazon.com/Uvex-X-Fit-U...TF8&qid=1506440617&sr=8-1&keywords=uvex+X-fit

Make sure they're properly inserted. Google for instructions.

Stop using the AC.

4. Do stuff that are good for health in general: physical training, eat vegetables, fruits, and berries etc.

5. Wait and see.​

*This advice is debatable. I'm just telling you how I do it.

 

@Gloriaaa3 From what I read and the effects for me.
I can't sleep on one side either as it makes my T louder. I have to sleep on my back.
Articles state the reason for increase T when sleeping on side is because something is off balance. Where a problem is often more on one side.
It could be nerves, joints or muscles in neck or mouth. If it's the neck it's usually either loss of normal lordosis or bilateral muscles.
Often T or neck issues can lead to mouth problems.
Mouth problems can often be more on one side. So if you are sleeping on side where problems are on closest to the pillow, pressure will be placed there. If you sleep on other side, gravity will also cause soreness.
Neck problems are often associated with T - The neck needs to be balanced. I was told to curl a thin pillow under neck and place that pillow slightly in front and slightly on another pillow.

I know little about this, but trying to total mask may not be a good idea.
Medications for tinnitus are now under review again as data in 'good or bad' for longer term use is in the spotlight. Some say that a taper for those with T should be 2 0r 3 times longer than for those without T. That means that tapers can be many months.

 

I believe that sound enrichment can be helpful. If the sound of your AC doesn't work, try using nature sounds. The sounds of crickets/frogs helps when your T has a high pitch.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the poster writes "I used to be able to mask my tinnitus with the AC on high blast ..." I wouldn't use anything "on high blast" in her situation. Though I could have clarified that it was the volume level that worried me, not the use of sound enrichment in itself.

 

You are probably right. The damage done by sound depends on both exposure time and noise level. I couldn't imagine the sound of AC hurting one's ears, but you are right, it might do damage to a person with ears compromised by T, if one is exposed for 8 hours every day to it...

I confess that during one of the first nights when I had tinnitus, I discovered that nothing would mask it. I played nature sounds through a speaker, and when that didn't mask it, I got my ear close to the speaker. It still didn't mask it and I might have done more damage to my ear... People can do crazy things for a chance to get a moment of silence when they are in the middle of the horror that is tinnitus.

 

Gloria, who else have you seen besides ENTs? There are plenty of possible causes for all kinds of T. You should be branching out and seeking the help of other specialists, a neurologist is an absolute must, a cardiologist wouldn't hurt. You need to see some other professionals, medical and psychiatric. You're putting yourself into a negative feedback loop, where the lack of sleep makes it worse. Watch this - and his other vid, Julian helps a lot of people with T.

Sleep & Tinnitus

 

So many things can cause tinnitus. Some are more engaged from age related problems. Other tinnitus causing problems don't care about age.

If you are unable to sleep on your side because T gets louder then it could be somatic in nature. I guess just two of many questions would be does your neck hurt and is your jaw ok. If you are older, then there's are many age related conditions that can relate to your T and often those things are neck/head related such as arterial plague, neural narrowing, facet arthritis, spondylosis, loss of normal lordosis, joint hypertrophy and all sorts of other degenerative changes. It's often difficult for us to point out problems as a cause. Although somatic T has clues within one's complaints. T moving ear to ear. Not being able to sleep on side.

A doctor recently posted here and other doctors agree that the neck is responsible in broad relation for 60% of all tinnitus. The older one gets, the more prevalent that is. Noise is the number one cause of T, but some who are exposed to loud noise may have been bending their necks.

A doctor that I see said: Why do those who attend an action movie are less likely to get tinnitus than someone attending an outdoors concert. He said those watching a movie have their necks straight to the screen, while some at an outdoors concert are moving their necks.