Spike After Playing Piano — Permanent or Temporary?

Hi

New to the forum but not new to tinnitus.

Long story short... I got tinnitus after an ear infection picked up at a hospital where I had grommets inserted back in 1997. After all the despair I finally habituated and have managed to live with this high pitched whine in my right ear/ middle head.

Two and a half weeks ago I played an acoustic piano (I'm an amateur) and the following morning I woke up and my 'normal' tinnitus was much louder and I also had a secondary noise like faint wind chimes. It hasn't let up since then and needless to say I'm worried this is my new permanent baseline.

Noise induced spikes - do they calm down, if so after how long? Has anyone else had a similar experience and did it settle back down again and if so how did it take?

 

Usually, giving some time, the spike will calm down.
I hope that you don't play acoustic piano too long.
Otherwise, it will take longer time.

 

Thank you.

Still love to hear others opinions or experiences.

 

usually tinnitus only worsens permanently is if hearing loss worsens or develops TMD, or low GABA levels.

 

@Contrast What is TMD? How do you know your GABA levels?

 

How loud was this piano?

 

I measured it on a phone app at about 85-87 decibels at its highest. But I'm a real amateur so it's not like I was playing for 30 minutes like Elton John.

 

So the prognosis is good Contrast? After 25 years I feel like I'm back to square one, particularly in my mental attitude towards it.

 

I highly doubt that the piano caused your spike. If you never had a problem for 25 years, I double less than 30 min of 80-85 dB sound would do it. Did something else happen? medication?

 

It depends totally on where your damage is there are haircells, ribbon synapses, auditory nerves etc. None of us here on this forum can absolutely answer this question.

 

Temporary.

 

Unless it is always relentlessly at the same level (and stays there for over 2-3 months), there is still hope that it might fade. It could take a year or two (this is based on the time it sometimes takes brand new T to settle, but those experiences imply that if I were you, I would wait for at least a year before giving up).

Temporary spikes can last for over 3 months.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-do-your-tinnitus-spikes-usually-last.23110/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-was-your-longest-spike.22099/

 

It is impossible for giraffes' necks to be as long as the necks we see in the photos of giraffes. No way!

As for not having a problem for 25 years, sometimes it takes years to cause enough damage for the person to realize that damage was being done all of that time. I hope that the poster won't play a piano again any time soon.

 

Or he could buy an electric piano and turn the volume down.

 

3 days after it happened I had a day of almost complete silence. That night I went for a Chinese meal and took a Nytol tablet (over the counter sleeping medication) and when I woke up it was back and its never let up since.

Around the same day it started I started a course of Lymecycline but I've had this before with no issues. I stopped it however.

Fortunately my piano is a hybrid so I can switch to digital...even though I feel like taking a sledgehammer to it.

So in general the opinion is a spike that will settle?

 

Was it loud there?

You will need to wait another month or two, before it would become possible to answer this. If your T begins fading during that time, then that would be a great sign. If it doesn't fade after three months, it would be a bad sign...

 

No, not at all Bill...just normal level chat. I was thinking more like the MSG in the Chinese.

 

@Allan1967, I’d be very careful when reading online forums. I’m by no means a tinnitus oracle who can tell you exactly what you need to do, but what I can tell you is that many of the posters here are really extreme, and if you’re not careful you will become as obsessed as them. Bill Bauer will have you believing that everything is dangerous and often gives out advice that is impossible to follow unless you intend on living in a padded cell.

Also, phone apps aren’t great for measuring noise and many apps over-estimate by quite a margin. There is no reason to quit playing piano at all. If you find it irritates your ears just wear some filtered earplugs while you practice and then you can have no doubt that you’re fine.

Good luck to you and I’m sure you’ll be habituated again in no time.

 

Many thanks to all who have responded.

 

Thanks. As it happens I have musicians earplugs, which is why I'm kicking myself as well as beating myself up as so was wearing only one in my 'bad ear.

 

Guilt is a horrible emotion. I’ve felt just like you so many times I’ve lost count. That feeling of ‘why didn’t I do this’, or ‘why didn’t I do that’. It’s truly awful. What I will say is that you need to put this behind you and look forwards.

I highly doubt that practising piano has damaged your ears; you may be over thinking it, or may be other things are going on in your life? The average piano played at home is between 60-70 decibels, with peaks up to 80dB if you play really aggressively.

 

Hi Ed...I don't believe it's damaged my hearing either as I have no pain, no fullness and no notable hearing loss that I can detect. The T just seems aggravated by it, again which I don't get because I've been in loud environments before...cinemas; power tools; lawn mowers; hand dryers; kids screaming, babies etc and all with no warning shots from my T. Except once when I'm sure riding my motorbike was making it worse...but that settled too.

I'm hoping this is my T's way of saying 'That's annoyed me, don't do it again' and will settle.

 

Well I don't have tinnitus anymore but I'm still aggravated by intermittent ear pain and pain across my cheek, which leads me to wonder whether my initial incident caused something like TMJ syndrome. Is it possible for a loud gong noise to do that? Does TMJ resolve eventually?

 

@Contrast is a very intelligent man, but he is also emotional just like the rest of us. I respect his opinions but he is not an authority on this issue, nor am I. He

I have had the same thought several times as I have had some pretty nasty spikes after chinese food. Yay China! First Mao, now this!

 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

 

When I developed TMJ on the left hand side of my jaw I developed a new and horrendous sound. I got a mouth splint to wear 24/7 and a cranial osteopath. After 3 or 4 months it went away (the T).. still have TMJ that aside from locking up every now and then doesn't give me any bother except for the popping jaw thing.

 

Anywhere between a couple of hours and several months.

 

has the spike subsided from the piano?

 

No. 3 and a half weeks now. Don't know if I'm expecting too much too soon or if this is permanent.

I remember when I had a motorbike I thought it was making my tinnitus worse. So gave it up and it settled eventually....Not sure how long it took

 

Did you take the lymecycline before the spike? I’m wondering if that is the cause or if it made it worse.