Stupid Setbacks — Need Support

Had some stupid bloody setbacks today.

Yesterday I felt quite depressed and the noise and anxiety was really stopping me from sleeping. I finally managed to get to sleep about 6am only to get up at half ten to pick up a friend from the station. Obviously was feeling anxious especially with tiredness but also was keen not to overprotect so just put my headphones on without music playing (obviously) as they provide some reduction in noise and make me feel safer.

On my way to the train station however two gunshots go off nearby (don’t know if some idiot was hunting or something) and I must have been about 30m+ away but it was still very loud and freaked me out so I put my -16dB filtered plugs in. Didn’t feel any immediate effects from the noise but that doesn’t always mean anything.

Later this afternoon I was woken from a nap by the smoke alarm going off, slammed by hands tightly over my ears, blocking them, and ran downstairs, realised I couldn’t get out of the house without taking my hands off my ears so I went into the kitchen planning to go out that door (which I could have opened with my elbow) but not thinking of course that’s where the noise is coming from.

Find my housemates in there and don’t want her to feel bad so I spend a few stupid seconds reassuring her before running out the room again, braving taking my hand off my right ear for two seconds to open the front door and go stand outside in the rain still with my hands over them for five minutes till it turned off..... ears have felt weird ever since.

When I removed my hands completely my right ear felt blocked like when it gets stuck shut by wax, which went away mostly but not entirely and I think I can hear a slight new tone in it.

Left ear’s sound seems up (always been worse in that ear).

Terrified that these stupid things have made it worse and that I won’t know how much worse until tomorrow, and now I can’t sleep because my ears feel sticky and clogged and my head feels buzzy.

Also got a sore throat and nose is a bit blocked of course which isn’t helping. Very frustrated, looking for support.

 

@GeorgiaRose1812 My neuro doctor who is a tinnitus specialist and researcher told me this:

Those with tinnitus often come across loud noises. Only 2-3% will get a spike unless they stress on their noise experience. Those that don't stress have less than a one percent chance of the spike being permanent. It's unknown what the stress factor ready is.

 

@Greg Sacramento
Thank you so much that’s really helpful <3 just finding it really hard to tell what’s going on because it wasn’t noise induced with me, no idea where it came from so I worry about what will affect it. Thank you!!

 

There are many causes, single or combined, which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug reaction or side-effects from ototoxic drugs, ear wax build-up, ear or Eustachian tube infection or ETD, ear drum injury, fluid build-up in ears feeling pressured or fullness, sinus infection & congestion especially with a bad cold, TMJ, TTTS, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma/shock, head trauma & injury, neck injury or muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's Decease, barotrauma from sudden change of air pressure such as during landing & taking off on flights especially with blocked nose causing failure to balance the pressure changes, slapping of the ears, deep grief for the loss of loved ones, untreated sleep apnea, extreme, extended stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc., etc.

Whether T is caused by anxiety and stress, once it is here, our negative emotional reaction to it can cause higher level of anxiety and stress and that will surely aggravate T. So it is best we try humanly possible to keep positive and remain calm as that will help the limbic nervous system and the fight or flight mode in check to prevent getting worse with our T perception.

Usually a short exposure of loud noise in seconds shouldn't do permanent damage to the ears but when the ears are unstable it is possible to have spikes or symptoms of ear fullness for a while. There is no need to panic about it. Try to accept this as a new normal and remain calm and hopefully your spike will settle down. If needed, try some meds or better use some natural herbs such as lemon balm, valerian or chamomile to help calm the nerves. Take care. God bless.

 

It makes sense to always have Peltor muffs within reach (and to wear ear plugs, instead of regular headphones when one is outside)...

 

I keep reading about these peltor muffs, where can I get them and are they expensive? The only reason I haven’t been is that the ENT I saw told me I had no need to be careful around loud noise but since he also said it would clear up in a couple of weeks I’m losing faith...plus I’m a big believer in following your instincts so if noise makes me uncomfortable I’m going to avoid it.

 

@billie48 keep calm and carry on

You’re right of course, could have been any combo of all those causes - just so frustrating!! Not helping that I can’t sleep due to it and that whatever illness brought it on is still lingering and making me feel terrible otherwise / making the T and what I assume must be H almost impossible x

 

Sorry you are struggling with sleep issue which is quite common for sufferers of intrusive T. Have you tried masking your T at bed time with some soothing nature sounds. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for it.

Also if more help is needed, consider using some meds for sleep, or best to consider the natural stuffs first, such as Melatonin. Here is a site talking about using the natural alternatives for calm and insomnia.

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/lib...ealth/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia /

 

Thank you, I’ve been nervous of taking anything at all because everything seems to have been ototoxic to someone and made the tinnitus worse and I just know I couldn’t cope if it got worse, but perhaps natural remedies will be okay... I’m still hoping for it to go away as naïve as that may be. Thank you for the info <3

 

If you need some nice masking sounds, here are some suggestions:

TT's excellent audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net

or download free sound generator ‘aire freshener’: http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or click play to mix these sounds with this simple sound generator: http://asoftmurmur.com/

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

Here is Dr. Ancill's earlier post on how he is treating his T and the need to mask or take Melatonin as something as a new normal. Sometimes when we are more accepting of this new situation in life coping with T, it may help our journey with T easier.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/curing-tinnitus.4136/page-5#post-40854

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PELTOR-X5-HEADBAND-SNR-37db/dp/B01GTMAH1Y

It appears that doctors are not being taught about tinnitus in medical school. They are just being told that it is incurable.

Your experience (a spike following being exposed to loud noises) and the experiences of others (including me) seem to imply that our ears have been compromised and that it is indeed a good idea to stay away from noise.

 

I think it is realistic and not naïve. Having said this, it will be less likely to happen if you keep getting new acoustic traumas...

 

That statement makes no sense at all - there is no such studies or data which backup these claims .. perhaps the neuro doc things so and feels like brining percentages but again, we would need a large study to pin down these precise numbers and there even isnt a small study avaialble

 

I’m glad you think it’s realistic, you made me feel better just by saying that! I am doing my absolute best to stay away from any excessive noise (or even uncomfortable everyday noise) especially when I have more sensitive days. What’s a few missed parties compared to a lifetime of noise....

Hope you’re doing alright!