So You Came Here Because Tinnitus Suddenly Happened? → Read This

Hello.

I have a certain form of tinnitus. I won't tell you which, or how I got it. I'm going to rather help you think objectively so you can relieve yourself of any anxiety, panic, or unnecessary worries.

First know this: Going to a forum is an idea, and I'm glad such a forum exists. But it's not necessarily the best idea for you at this point. Wait at least 2 weeks. You should go to your family doctor first and give them as much details you can about your tinnitus situation:

- Which context you were in when it started (excess noise, no noise, outside, etc.)
- How it currently feels (what you're hearing, if you have any physical symptoms, etc.)
- DO NOT SEARCH GOOGLE FOR ANSWERS. Seriously. Don't do it. You will end up finding information or studies which, when taken out of context, do not provide anything which will instantly change your predicament. Doing research yourself will almost only and certainly lead to more panic, you'll end up reading stuff you wish you didn't see, or which isn't related to your case, or which has limited studies, from random sources that often contradict each other. I've been there. Trust me. Don't do it. Don't read that list of Google questions about tinnitus and click yourself into additional worries.

Then, since you're obviously going to keep browsing this forum, know this:

a) A vast majority of people like you completely heal from tinnitus after a certain time which can range from a few days, weeks to X months. Tinnitus is not considered chronic until after 6 months, and even then, it greatly varies per individual. It's a medical guesstimate, as little is known about how tinnitus actually heals.

Yes, I know your tinnitus came suddenly, you want it to go away right now, but it invariably takes a certain amount time - much like a tree that needs to grow a new branch. Most of these people who've healed *do not* post on this forum, because they're fine now.

b) An average amount of people have difficulty dealing with the anxiety brought on by tinnitus. I initially counted myself in that group (thinking I would basically never find happiness in life anymore) , but I'm doing *much* better now and after 2 months have began habituating, as — against what I initially thought — my tinnitus started receding . Most of these people, including me, do post on this forum early in our predicament, and in doing so we contribute to additional worrying. I decided I would do something about this to help break this cycle.

c) A small majority of people are stuck permanent tinnitus only because of co-morbidity with other complex physical factors (considerable hearing loss, car accidents, cervical vertebrae problems, illnesses, etc.) which might not have anything to do with your case.

d) A small majority of people with tinnitus post here in a panicked, frustrated or anxious state of mind. Be careful as their stories and comments, even if you're trying to objectively inform yourself, could possibly bring you additional anxiety EVEN if you're trying to remain objective. Read at your own risk. What has been seen cannot be unseen, and you might think you can handle whatever you'll read here, but at this point you can't. Again, trust me on this.

What you should do at this point to preserve yourself:

1. Again, get an appointment with your doctor first. Don't Google anything.
2. As possible, your mindset should be set to this:

"Yes —My tinnitus is sudden, it's frustrating, I've never experienced anything like this before. I don't know how it came, but I do admit that right now it's in an acute phase and I feel nervous about it. What matters most is doing something to help me manage the anxiety that comes with it for now. Then, I should get professional information for the rest."

If you need some immediate comfort:

- Talk to your doctor as soon as possible.

- There are MANY treatment possibilities but NO instant cure, and a great majority of people like you with an onset of tinnitus eventually see it suddenly disappear, heal in time or habituate and go back to living a normal happy life. Albeit being even stronger than before.

- Sleep with white noise or music in your ears. You'll have to do this for a certain time until healing/settling down starts to make a difference.

- You can also try hypnosis sessions on YouTube, which will ease you into sleeping.

- Know that stress and panic can amplify tinnitus, and make it seem like it's getting worse. It's not necessarily your symptoms worsening.

- Every solution that you might come across has a true potential for helping you. Tinnitus is different for everyone.

- Yep, even if it came suddenly, tinnitus can take up to months to heal. Or days. Don't think about this for now.

- Some people begin an onset of tinnitus just because of stress and tensions. Do you have a stressful life?

Just remember:

Be patient. Healing happens every day.

Start by being kind to yourself.

 

Thank you @D5vid for a nice post.

There certainly some truth to it, but here's my perspective.

It's very true that forums such as this is a double edged sword. Most people who end up here are either in panic from a recent onset of tinnitus, or a moderate to severe case. What is written here does not necessarily apply to the majority of tinnitus sufferers. But this is a great resource of information for sufferers, recent or veterans, and this takes me to my next point;

I'd not recommend anyone to consult a doctor for tinnitus in the early days because: a) they can't help us with anything, except prescribing sleeping medication, and b) they can put us through medical procedures which can harm us during the time when the ear may be the most fragile. When I got my onset, and called the doctor, they wanted to remove ear wax through irrigation, but through the information on this forum and stubbornness I got it removed manually which probably saved me from deeper despair.

I'd instead encourage anyone to simply; take care of their ears, and if they can, try to continue living life.

I don't think that's realistic. In my opinion; if it's been ringing for over two weeks, it's most likely here to stay, and then it's better to work on accepting the fate rather than clinging to false hope.

Very good advice.

And to anyone who just had their onset; take care of your ears, and you'll most likely be fine, trust me.

All the best,
Stacken

 

Thanks for your comments, @Stacken77! At any rate, I just want people to know every case is different, and that it's better for them to start with hope and eventually seeing how it all resolves, rather than feeling hopeless or anxious from the start.

I think seeing a doctor is always the best thing recommend first, because:

a) It can at least alleviate some of the anxiety (especially for teens and noise-induced tinnitus);
b) Some sudden hearing loss conditions should be tackled within the first 4 weeks for maximum healing chances;
c) Ruling out any other medical conditions.

It's then up to us as patients to ask questions about treatments, risks and all (some people probably do get relief from ear irrigation, but maybe it didn't work out in your specific case).

But indeed, we should all take care of ourselves — it's the best way out of this

 

Very true. In those circumstances though, one should go to the ER immediately, since sudden hearing loss or acoustic trauma is a medical emergency. I was more referring to a general practitioner.

One can generally have wax removed through three procedures; ear irrigation, microsuction or manual removal with a curette. The first two are very loud, and it's a very bad idea to have the wax removed through those procedures if you've recently had an acoustic injury, that's just the plain truth.

All the best to you, @D5vid.

 

I would have to respectfully disagree with the 2 week timeline.

Mine faded slowly and took over 2 years to fade to near zero. I also know several people personally that had theirs fade at least 90% after a year or two. All these were noise traumas that caused the tinnitus.

 

This thread really helped me right now. Thank you. A few questions that I would love to read feedback and thoughts around:

1. I’m 38.

2. I’m 7 days into my acute tinnitus after an acoustic injury (gun shot). Initial temporary threshold shift symptoms have subsided, less the tinnitus. I think maybe this had been exasperated perhaps by years of poor ear protection habits (punk rock bands in my teens and 20s) and sleeping for years next to a loud sound machine.

2. I want to focus on reasonable protection of my ears. I recently noticed after this acoustic injury that the sound machine I’d been sleeping by for years was way too loud (78-80 dB) so I’ve already adjusted that to 62 dB to heal but also continue to use it to help mask the tinnitus. Per literature, this should be a safe level for us tinnitus sufferers while we recover, yes?

3. The anxiety I’m having is real. I’ve already been in tears. I have co-morbid anxiety before this and was coasting fine at 50 mg Sertraline. My doctor is recommending 2x daily Ativan but I’m nervous about it, and perhaps a bump in Sertraline. She’s a psychiatrist at Northwestern University so I trust her - but I want to see if others have done similar?

 

I took lowest dose Xanax until I could cope without. I took it every morning for 3 weeks straight, then, I was finally able to cope without it. Mind you, I was already about 3 months in when I finally threw in the towel and started taking it daily. Now I take it only as needed. Usually when my tinnitus is particularly loud or when I am having ear pain.

 

If you're only one week out, you can try steroids like Prednisone or Dexamethasone. Especially if your tinnitus was caused by noise trauma.

 

Would steroids also work for medication caused tinnitus?

 

I have no idea but I would not take them in that case because it would mean you're sensitive to medication, and you may be adding fuel to the fire.

 

I tried steroids for 6 days but they didn’t do anything for me, just made my anxiety worse.

 

Well, at least you tried. I think there's not much else you can do in the early stages aside from steroids and the low-level laser therapy (LLLT), but I have my doubts about the latter, despite some users having posted here it helped them.

 

Well, then I probably made the right choice. I'm already almost 5 months in anyways. I was just curious.