Sudden Tinnitus Spike Started 30 Minutes Ago When Playing Games — It's Now Extremely Loud

So as of roughly a year ago I had tinnitus start up. I'm 17 and it was annoying but I habituated to it in some time. Though, as of today it spiked quite a bit, and this occurs from time to time though it generally fades within the minute. About 30 minutes ago, it spiked and is extremely loud in comparison and has remained the same since it spike. I was playing games and talking with mates, with the volume extremely low, barely audible (started this as soon as tinnitus arose a year and a bit ago).

What are my odds that it goes back down/what can I do in the meantime as I wait?

 

HI @HypoCheese

Tinnitus usually spikes for a reason and the main one is exposure to sound. Loud sounds or from using headphones or headset even at low volume.

You have said that you've been playing games and talking with mates. I assume therefore you have been using headphones/headset? If this is the case I advise you to stop using headphones/headset as soon as possible as you risk your tinnitus increasing and becoming permanently worse. It doesn't matter how low the volume is through headphones/headset, it can still irritate the tinnitus especially if it was originally caused by "loud noise or headphone use".

I keep telling people that using headphones/headset even at low volume, the tinnitus can spike and may not reduce. Unfortunately this is the risk a person takes when using them. If you stop using headphones/headset then the tinnitus might reduce in time. Please click on the links below and read my posts, that you might find helpful.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/are-spikes-from-loud-noise-permanent.18156/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

 

Ahh, I use my PC quite frequently so using headphones is pretty necessary for me. Not too sure what to do otherwise to be honest, I kinda need to be using a headset, any way around it?

Thank you.

 

@HypoCheese

There is no way around it I'm afraid. If you don't want your tinnitus to increase and become worse, my advice is to stop using headphones and headset. Don't even use them at low volume. Listen to audio through speakers. Believe me if you think your tinnitus is loud now continue and you risk it getting a lot worse and eventually you will be forced to stop using headphones/headset because you will be unable to tolerate the distress that the tinnitus will be giving you. I am telling you this to help you because I know how distressing loud tinnitus can be.

If you want more proof, just read some of the posts from distressed people in this forum, that have used headphones and regretted it, after following the wrong advice given by ENT doctors and Audiologists.

Please read the post below. It is taken from this thread written by the member: HeavyMantra
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/drop-the-word-‘negativity’-once-and-for-all.36836/page-2

I wish you well.
Michael

continued use of headphones is what did me in. If I had stopped using them while my T was so low I forgot I had it, I would still have a good life. But no, I did NOT hear anybody talk about how dangerous they were. No doctor, audiologist or "scientist" told me about this. They told me the opposite. WHY would they even do that, instead of saying "I don't know, I don't think headphones are the cause of your tinnitus but please be cautious with them". What they told me instead, the clueless fucks, was that there was NO WAY my T was noise induced because I have NO hearing loss, not even hidden hearing loss. No doubt basing this on "science".

Michael could have saved my life, as it were. But I was not at a stage where I was distressed about my very low tinnitus, so I didn't visit these types of forums. If I had, I would have stopped using headphones before disaster struck. Instead, I listened to doctors and audiologists that have absolutely no clue about tinnitus in a practical sense

Headphones are fucking dangerous. Maybe not for your ears, good for you, and good luck.

If you haven't figured this out already, science isn't really valuable if a person wants to keep their tinnitus from getting worse. Anecdotal reports is all we have

 

Yes, you should ignore people who tell you there's some magic difference between headphones and other audio sources, make your own decisions about what is safe and reasonable for you, and ignore advice from anyone on here you disagree with (including me) regardless of their post count and regardless of how many fancy words when they constantly repost the same totally unscientific information about headphones over and over, supported by a handful of anecdotes they claim to have received from people who may not even exist

There are a lot of us on here who have had tinnitus for years or decades, still use headphones or play live music or drive racecars or whatever it is we do, and have found ways to make that work. We are disproportionately not represented in these threads for 2 reasons:

* people who are handling their tinnitus well enough to be playing a guitar on stage are almost certainly not sticking around here to post, with the exception of @Tom Cnyc who pops his head up time to time.

* trying to have the same tired arguments about headphones over and over again with the same one or two people who are completely incapable of providing any rational scientific basis or peer-reviewed studies, but instead just copy/paste the same boring blobs about HEADPHONES REAL BAD! is super boring and unproductive. And, when such people hide behind silly arguments of "decorum" when their ideas are challenged -- that's a sign of someone who has no idea what they're talking about and is incapable of debating in good faith.

I am not telling you to use headphones. I am telling you that I do, and I'm also telling you that you should be deeply suspicious of anything anyone tells you on this subject because it's one of the most emotionally charged things people like to argue about here.

I only make this long winded post, because, from the cut of this thread you might assume "most people with tinnitus give up headphones forever!!!!!!!" and that's just, like, lol, completely untrue. Do some people with tinnitus continue to use headphones at too loud volumes and hurt their hearing worse? Of course! Do some people who drive too fast and hit a tree, continue to drive too fast and hit another tree! Of course!

The people who hit a tree once, realize it was a dumb thing to do, and then change their driving habits accordingly... well, they basically had a "boring" experience and might not have too much to say about it.

Final disclaimer: if any activity involving audio or noise, headphone related or not, reliably seems to increase your tinnitus, you should absolutely take that as a sign you're doing something dangerous. It's pretty hard to make a decision like that from one "spike", though -- after 20 years, my tinnitus changes all the time, but it's got its own whims. Years of complete avoidance of headphones and basically any noise over 65db did not cause me any "healing", and now having returned to years of headphones as well as using all the loud engines my life requires (with earpro, of course) so far has not caused me any additional issues.

 

If I'm being honest, that's what I was thinking. Headphones wouldn't differ much from other sounds as long as the sound is adjusted appropriately and is lower than prior that's for sure. I'd like to think, although all in gold nature, the guy is heaps emotion driven, and although headphones may have caused tinnitus for him, it wouldn't directly affect others in a similar fashion. Thank you for the help, it is much appreciated, I might head to the doctor and possibly get my ear flushed because I recall I was told there was hard wax on my ear drum that could cause some issues, so might get that sorted. Aside from that, once again, thank you!

 

@HypoCheese

The advice given to you by the member above is right if that is what you want to hear. Yes, by all means ignore what I am telling you. Remember, if your tinnitus gets worse and it has already because of headphone/headset use. When you are in distress and can't cope with the noise. The same person that is telling you to ignore what I'm saying, will not be able to help when you're suffering. Just remember that.

Take care
Michael

 

do be a little careful on that one; if he uses a "water syringe" and/or suction device, this can be extremely loud and this worries me much more than headphones. (I think ear syringing was one big thing that caused @Markku some of his issues, IIRC).

The ENT I see uses the "old school" method of removing wax, very carefully with a manual tool. This is much safer in general, and especially for people who already have compromised hearing. Fortunately I don't tend to get wax problems outside of the seasons where I tend to be in earplugs 12 hrs a day, and when I do I can generally take care of stuff at home with debrox and sterile olive oil.

 

A bottle of red.
A bottle of white.
There's not a tree in Long Island safe from Billy Joel, toniiiiiiiiight

 

Yeah I have narrow ear canals and so ear wax blockage is going to be a common occurrence throughout my life. I'll explain to the doctor that I do have tinnitus, as the last time I went in for wax removal the machine was bloody loud and definitely not comfortable in terms of noise levels.

Cheers.

 

I use a PC all the time, and I never use headphones, so what you say doesn't make sense to me. But the choice you face seems clear: stop using headphones, or suffer with tinnitus for possibly the rest of your life. It's hard for me to comprehend why there would be any difficulty with that choice.

I'd highly recommend NOT exposing yourself to that "bloody loud" sound again. Many people on this forum seem to have gotten very difficult (some permanent) spikes from sounds far lower than what you describe. -- Be Careful!

 

@linearb

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20054279

"Reported use of personal stereos was a significant risk factor with an odds ratio of 1.7..."

This study of thousands of school children found that use of personal stereos was a significant risk factor for hearing loss. The evidence against headphones is more than anecdotal to a few users on this site.

 

I use my PC for games quite often and voice calls, some I'd rather some people in the household to not hear personally. A speaker, sure would help with it all, but all in the household would be hearing it all and that sense of privacy would be gone.

 

To be honest, I am totally perplexed as to why you wouldn't just take your phone calls to another area, and then you wouldn't have to use headphones. Maybe I read your earlier post wrong, but I thought you said that you really can't think of anything else that might have caused your tinnitus to spike. Which is why I surmised that you (and I) think it's the headphones. It sounds like you've made up your mind on this, so I won't post any more cautionary notes. -- All the Best!

 

I'm on PC so I cannot move the call elsewhere, the calls take place as I play games so I am definitely unable to move places. My initial start of T a year and a bit ago remains unknown, it just happened one day and has been that way since. Spikes have always occurred, I'd like to believe that it occurs during the use of headphones was merely coincidental as I've had it occur in classrooms which were loud, quiet and in the middle too.

 

It's really all a matter of volume. Personally, I don't enjoy using headphones to listen to music since having tinnitus. I avoid it unless there is a need for me to listen to something in that moment.

But I do work in an office and have to take calls, so I end up using headphones probably about 6 hours a week or so, minimum for that. I also get bored as hell and listen to podcasts.

This study is flawed though. It doesn't compare the impact of sound from speakers vs headphones. It just says people that are more inclined to use headphoens are more inclined to hearing loss.

No shit. They're also most likely to be people that LOVE music and listen to lots of music through speakers. It's hard to create a control/expose study here that removes enough noise to get a real outcome.

Years ago people used to think salt caused high blood pressure. Now we know that it really has more to do with low exercise and processed foods. Processed foods HAPPEN to have salt - but if you eat real food and real salt you can actually use it rather liberally.

Signal to noise ratio is trash on these studies.

 

It may be all about volume in terms of headphones, and the noise damage. I think in too many cases though, folks tend to listen to their headphones louder than they would their speakers, and hence the problem.

Also:

"When there’s extra sodium in your bloodstream, it pulls water into your blood vessels, increasing the total amount (volume) of blood inside your blood vessels. With more blood flowing through your blood vessels, blood pressure increases. This puts an extra burden on your heart and blood vessels. In some people, this may lead to or raise high blood pressure. Having less sodium in your diet may help you lower or avoid high blood pressure."

https://www.heart.org/-/media/data-...-abh-why-should-i-limit-sodium-ucm_300625.pdf

I would not be so liberal with either the headphones, nor the salt. Some groups tend to be more sensitive to sodium, but who knows until it is too late as once you get hypertension, it tends to not get better, and can only be controlled with medication.

 

You maybe have heard about Michael Boulton and what happened to him.
There is a lot of conjecture what happened. Some believe his physiology was weakened by depriving himself of using headphones because he along with all others with a brain don't buy into the notion that headphones have anything to do with tinnitus unless they are abused. Same with hitting yourself in the head with a hammer btw....or using a wrench as a hammer as some do which can and has taken out an eye because it wasn't designed to be used that way.

But some believe Michael did strain his vocal cords too much.

On tape in fact and here is a brief video...

Jim Carrey as Michael Bolton - When a Man...

 

Again, this is an old viewpoint. In recent years they've learned BALANCE is more important than low sodium. It's actually much more important to have adequate potassium than to have low salt.

Again - it's correlation vs causation. People eating shitty processed foods had very high sodium. But that wasn't the full picture.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317099.php

 

@Tom Cnyc

The study you reference is an interesting one. However, dont take one study, particularly when it is not a randomized controlled one, in isolation of plenty of other research. As always, more study is required.

I still would not encourage a higher sodium diet, more more exposure to noise.

 

Why not just use speakers on low instead of headphones?

I think the problem with headphones is no one knows what volume is acceptable and duration. I think some headphones have some rating but remember, much of this applies to people who have normal hearing and no one knows if the threshold is the same.

I would be cautious and use speakers but that is just me. Get a free mic if you need voice but I would make sure any settings are at a low volume.

 

I can use speakers, but it is definitely an inconvenience to family members. My headphones are closer to 0% volume than they are to 25%, so if I were to give them to majority to listen through, they would be hearing and complain about the whispers. Once again, the past two days I've had two flareups that are still here and they offurred in a mid-level environment.