The Nightmare of Loud Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Is Back — Sudden Worsening in the Middle of the Night

Myself: 29 years old, originally from Spain but living and working in England.

My first knowledge of tinnitus was back in 2015. I realised that at bed time, when the room as in complete silence, there was a slight yet noticeable ringing in my left ear. The ENT doctor told me my hearing was perfectly fine and explained some basic things about this condition. Since the ringing was so mild I never thought that would be a problem, and completely ignored it for a couple of years.

In 2017 I got my first big spike that really made me think that I had tinnitus. I woke up from a sudden ringing, hissing in my left ear. As everyone else, I panicked and suffered from anxiety since the onset. My tinnitus started in my left ear but it migrated to the right one. It is bilateral but more predominant in my left ear. I also had mild hearing loss, but surprisingly, in my right ear which is the "quiet" one. I also developed hyperacusis and would try to protect my ears all the time.
ENT doctors, obviously, gave me the same diagnosis: tinnitus, you have to live with it. We do not know the cause. (I only had a MRI and that was all fine)

I tried everything to get rid of the sounds in my head: acupuncture, supplements (ginkgo biloba), some medication my doctor prescribed for blood circulation, I changed my diet, meditation, yoga...
After a year of trying and wasting money, I decided to stop the acupuncture, the yoga and everything else since it was not getting rid of the tinnitus. Since that moment, I did not do anything in particular, but unconsciously, I became habituated to my tinnitus to a point where I would not be bothered by it, it would not cause any trouble to sleep (never used sound maskers ever again at night), I would ignore it day and night (though it was always there at bedtime), but for some reason I would not listen to it for more than 10 seconds.

I thought for many months that I was very lucky that despite having tinnitus I finally managed to live my life normally (always taking precautions such as avoiding loud places and looking after my ears). I have had some mild spikes but they were always noise induced and they would always disappear the next morning.

However, without any noise exposure that I can recall or any other triggers that I can think of, 3 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night from a sudden loud noise in my head. At first I thought: it is OK, it is my tinnitus. But it was not. My ears were screaming with a very loud hissing all over my head and developed a new high-pitch noise in my right ear. Obviously, that night I could not get back to sleep. The next day I tried to manage my anxiety and get distracted thinking that it would go back to normal baseline soon. It did not, and has not for the past 3 weeks, in which I have not slept for more than 2 hours every night. I fall asleep because I am really tired but keep waking constantly because of the loud noise. Bedtime is now a real stress for me. I have downloaded noise apps again but they do not seem to mask the sound, and they even make it louder. Hyperacusis is back again.

I feel miserable and depressed because this seems to be another permanent spike, which I do not think I can tolerate this time. It is very very loud, I hear it over my laptop, tv...

I just started going to psychological therapy that I hope will at least fix my nervous system and anxiety and will deal with the sleepless nights. As to my tinnitus, I am sure this will be the new volume I will have to endure.

I have read so many things on this forum and I think everyone is so nice. I know that unfortunately, no one can help me at the moment, but I needed to let my thoughts out of my chest.

Nadia

 

Hi Nadia,

Even if it doesn't look like it, I think you'll soon have tinnitus under control again since you managed your condition very well in the past.
The spike might still go down. But that is actually irrelevant currently.
You are already doing things to get your sleep back which is the actually most important thing for you right now.

It takes strength to face this systematically and rationally without letting anxiety run wild, but seeing your post I am sure you are on the right way!

I hope you get sleep back soon!
Jaka

 

Thanks for the kind words Jaka.

However, I do not have any hopes of recovering and getting my normal tinnitus back. My ears scream day and night and now that I am back at work, they are even more exposed.

I do not know how I will be able to get through this. IT IS TOO LOUD.

 

Please be patient. If you look at my posts, I have been dealing with this for months. If you remain patient and follow the advice of others here, things will improve. I can't explain everything now, but if you read Michael Leigh's posts, and look up my posts, you will see that I actually had to see a psychiatrist and get medication to calm me down. Only with time, and listening to guys like Michael, did I see that there is improvement over time.

 

What does your tinnitus sound like?

 

My baseline tinnitus was a hissing in the left ear but extended to basically my head, I mean, I can hear it in my whole head. My right ear was always a more mild high pitch tone.

After this sudden spike my left ear has just increased the volume of the hissing, it sounds really loud and the right ear has developed a new high pitch tone that is not static, it is like the sound of an ambulance siren. Besides all that, I have always had a background noise that sounds like the engine of a fridge.

 

Dear, most people here can hear their tinnitus over a laptop, tv... and most are fine.

 

Hey Nadia, thank you for liking my post. I started noticing my tinnitus after a year. I do have to say I was on anti-anxiety and anti-depressants while in school which helped it become less noticeable. Feeling isolated as well and would love to talk to others.