Tinnitus Aggravated After Years of Peace

Hey all, first post. In August of 2004 a friend blew an air horn inside of my car. It would be the moment that would change my life forever, so I thought. The ringing started immediately and would continue. I was only 20 years old. My parents tried to support me after the "accident" as I lost my mind, crying as an adult man, wondering why it was me this would happen to.

Weeks went by and all sorts of sick thoughts went through my head. Then, I'd say about a month later, maybe two (so hard to remember at this point), it started to subside, but was still there. Eventually, after what I'd say was quite a while, maybe months more, the ringing subsided to the point where I could no longer notice it. It was obviously still there, and would be forever until the present day, but I was a lucky one I suppose.

I would notice that being in loud clubs throughout my 20's would not be good for it. It would aggravate it to a degree. In a few rare cases the ringing would come back to a higher pitch. Then it would fade away after a number of weeks. That's right, weeks, not days.

Long story short, I'd say at some point in the early 2010's my tinnitus became an absolute afterthought. Sometimes I would actually forget I had it. Then it happened...

My best friends wedding was July 15th 2018. You would think the DJ was playing in a nightclub of only twenty somethings. The music was insanely loud to a level that I hadn't heard in years. I would try and protect my ears as I did for so many years after my initial incident and kept my time on the dance floor to a minimal. However towards the end of the night, I must have spent a solid hour up there, just enjoying myself.

The next day I noticed it. I had aggravated my tinnitus to the point where the ringing was back full force. This would be the first time in many many many years I would experience this. The problem now is it is August 28th 2018, a month and a half since that night and the level of the ringing has not gone down. I am wondering if it ever will not or if who knows, maybe I have damaged the inner area of my ear for good.

Any insight from anyone here would be much appreciated during this very hard time. Thank you.

 

Did you wear ear plugs when you were in the club>? Did you take anything after your exposure? Could it be that your stress and anxiety is just increasing the volume of your T?

 

damn, that sucks. maybe it will go away again.

 

Hi... Welcome...
I am so sorry to read your story.
One hour exposure to loud band wedding definitely will aggravate your tinnitus.
Have you visited ENT to get steroid medicine ?
I am sure that there will be more advice from TT forums here
(eg. @Bill Bauer or @Michael Leigh or @glynis ).

 

I did not visit any ENT yet as I'm still hoping and praying the ringing goes back to the near silent phase within the next few weeks (or months) like it did all those years ago. I guess I won't hit the panic button until later in the year but sadly by then I think it would be with me like this forever, idk. Terrible. I was foolish but at the same time not worrying about the louder tinnitus for many, many years made me spoiled, so to speak. Didn't have much of a reason to worry. Now I'm paying a brutal lesson, while also having flashbacks of 2004.

@coffee_girl I did not have ear plugs in, no. Would never think to need them after not suffering with loud ringing for so long. I'd say the last time I ever experienced the tinnitus becoming aggravated was all the way back in 2010. The ringing has absolutely nothing to do with stress/anxiety.

 

So sorry to hear that, I really hope you will be ok. I went through a 2nd exposure myself and it took a while to simmer down, hang in there.

 

Thanks @coffee_girl . I just so happened to read some of your original threads. Crazy how one night at a loud concert could change your life forever. Just out of curiosity, has your T subsided to a quieter level over the years? You just mentioned a 2nd exposure. Care to explain?

As I stated in my original post, I too had a few "relapses" so to speak of nights where I'd be out at a club and it would re-aggravate my tinnitus and for weeks after it would be loud again. Hoping and praying I get one more chance and will never ever again expose myself to loudness.

 

Yeah, weird thing was that i didn't even want to go to the concert...someone literally dragged me out of the house. I never even heard of the band, they really sucked...and I got T forever. The day before the concert we accidentally went there thinking they were playing that day, only to find we drove 3 hours and the band was pushed back to the next day, how how i wished i can turn back time and just resisted a little longer!

Overall yes the first 6 months was hell, I never thought it would go away...but slowly it did and stabilized within the first year. My 2nd exposure happened 5 months after the first one, a loud tire exploded a block away...it was so loud that my ears went screaming. My 3rd exposure was in a restaurant where a band started playing nearby, I wasn't wearing ear plugs because i was told by the manager that night that there wasn't going to be a band. Next thing i knew the drummer slammed on something and the feedback made my ears explode.
Even after all that my ears still healed very well, I cannot hear my T anymore unless i am in the car with all windows up...and after focusing for 5 seconds to "find" it, then I can hear it. If i am in bed at night, just laying still...no movements at all (no sound at all, windows shut) then i can hear it.

If my T went down that low after 3 exposures, i feel that yours can too.

 

Thanks. Makes me feel better, even if for a little bit. I was like that for years, only hearing it in a car with windows up or in super silent moments purposely trying to listen for it. While I've had bad exposures a few times in the past, it's just scary how its been 1.5 months this time with virtually no improvement that I can tell.

 

Temporary spikes can last a surprisingly long time:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/head-movement-spikes-tinnitus.25179/#post-290614
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-how-long-do-your-tinnitus-spikes-usually-last.23110/

It makes sense to begin worrying about this spike being permanent only if there is no change for 3-6 months after the onset. If you are fortunate and this spike turns out to be temporary, I hope you will recognize that the fact that you have T means that your ears have been compromised and that the noise level that a healthy person might not even notice can make your body uninhabitable. Many people find that protecting their ears from the moderate noises (e.g., vacuum cleaner) and staying away from all of the noises that are actually loud helps promote T fading and protects one from permanent spikes. Earplugs and other hearing protection can provide a false sense of security (as evidenced by your July experience and by all of the similar stories on
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/learn-from-others-mistakes.28745/ ), so it makes sense to stay away from the loud noises and to not rely on earplugs.

Some of the information at the link below might help you avoid more major spikes:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

I am sorry to hear about the increase in your T. Its quite understandable for those whose T fades to become a little less worried about it. If I am honest, with a prior history of T, its not very smart to not have protected your ears if the music was "insanely" loud, but likely the social situation (best friends wedding) lead you to dance and enjoy without worrying too much (which is of course a good thing).

In any case, it doesn't help to fret about it, what's done is done. I had a similar moment in 2013 when I went to a party (though I was wearing my good earplugs) and the T spiked for me too. I blamed myself, but soon realized that it doesn't help, I went on, and got used to the new loudness after a while.

For now, I would simply get an audiogram (to check for hearing damage) and check whether there is anything physically which could be done. I am not sure (others may know better) but I think you're a bit too late for prednisolone to work (if that was ever an option).

As you have read probably many times on this forum, time does heal the wounds. For most of us having T. it either gets less or we habituate to it. This will very likely also happen to you. Its very scary indeed. I just went through a bad spike for about 5-6 weeks myself (resulting from a fall) and just a week ago started to recover a bit. The scary part does subside after a while. I occasionally take some medicine if I get too stressed, just to calm me down, but that's a personal preference and you should do whatever works for you to keep your anxiety down. Anxiety/stress etc will definitely not be good for your T.

For now, you could consider masking it (if possible) using an app (like sound pillow) and talk with friends (get support) and engage in activities which make you focus on other things.

Good luck.

Rinz

 

@Smartone202 ,
Welcome to Tinnitus Talk.
I have just read your story and can see you have had tinnitus a long time.

I would have your ears checked for wax,fluid behind your drum and your hearing tested just as a routine precaution.
As your tinnitus was caused by Acustic shock then it is important to protect your ears from loud sounds .

Try to keep away from loud places but it's going to take time to see if and when your ears will settle and as long as your hearing is ok,they should a little.
If you haven't already I would get some noise reduction plugs.
Keep relaxing music on when you need a break from your tinnitus and at night if need some distraction to help you sleep.
Keep posting for support as we are here around the clock and make some lovely friends whom know what your going through.
love glynis

 

I too have experienced a recent spike, I know its hard to not freak out that this new level of loudness will be permanent, but it usually is not. This same exact issue happend to me about 6 months ago after attempting to go on Wellbutrin. Tried again last week to see if I could tolerate it and well obviously I cannot.

Most stimulants seem to aggravate the situation. As does blood pressure increase. If you have the same issues try to not worry as that will make things worse.

 

My question may be dumb but I do not understand, how did you protect your ears if you did not have earplugs? Do you mean you tried to stay at a good distance from the source of noise?

I hope it will subside.

 

Yes for years even though my T was barely noticeable anymore I would always keep a safe distance from loud noise or at the very least not be around it for long periods of time. My damaged ear with the T (only in one ear FYI) is extra sensitive and I would always be able to tell when enough was enough whether at a club in my 20s or whatever it was.

That night at the wedding I knew it had crossed the line but I stayed a little longer on the dance floor. As I said above, after so many years of not worrying about loud ringing since it was so quiet, I didn’t think there was much of a chance of a spike like this happening, at least not for this long. If God ever gives me another chance I swear I probably won’t even walk onto a dance floor for the rest of my life

 

Thank you for your reply Smartone.
We tend to let our guard down when we are having fun, especially when we have some alcohol in the blood.
Please keep us updated on your situation, hopefully that other chance will come.

 

Yep, I have a wedding to go to in a few weeks myself and I don't even want to go. I Am hoping beyond hope that there is no band, but if there is i am outta there.

 

It's really wild just how loud some wedding DJ's play their music. Like I said about the wedding that caused this spike, you would think it was a nightclub for 20 somethings, meanwhile half the crowd was probably over 40. Some very elderly people too. Lord knows they can't be enjoying that. My parents who are in their 60's recently went to a friends daughters wedding and they too said the music was ridiculously loud.

Anyway here I sit at the 1.5 month mark with no change. Really starting to get me worried now. Well, I was starting to get worried the other day which is what brought me to these forums. I'm not one for religion and never was but I plan to pray in some form for this to subside soon. Really a tragedy all around when I think back to my entire story. For years I basically almost forgot I had T, then one night it's back strong, scaring me.

 

Would someone mind explaining what people mean when they say you "only get a few chances" with Tinnitus and spikes? I'm reading it everywhere.

I've had this since 2004 and have probably had a good 3-4 spikes over that time, all of which went down after a couple of weeks max. This last spike has been the most serious of course.

 

Hard to believe it's already been a year and a half since I first got here. In a nutshell, my tinnitus can be described as fluctuating phases that sometimes last months, with more bad phases than good. I've gone through points, one very recently, where my tinnitus returned to baseline and I literally could have forgot about it completely. It was a joy. Needing to vent on here or sip chamomile tea in a depressed state were some of the furthest things from my mind. Then it came back, and it came back just as strong as it was.

My story is pretty hectic. Some of you may remember it, others may have to look back at my (endless) posts. In a very long story short my ear/hearing was damaged from an incident in August of 2004 when I had just turned 20 years old. The tinnitus that came with this incident eventually subsided a month or so later to a 1/10 unnoticeable level, however the ear was never the same. I always had to protect it from loud noises throughout my 20's and then early 30's. I would have a few (2 maybe 3) spikes over the next 14 years, but they would eventually fade away. For the most part, tinnitus was never really any sort of worry for me at all for a long, long time. Then, on July 15th 2018 everything, including my life, changed. I was now 33 (almost 34) years old while at a wedding where the music could only be described as horrifically loud. The DJ must have thought he was at a NYC nightclub for teens. I tried to limit my time on the dance floor but that night I went to bed with a spike that never went away. I went into full blown panic mode in the weeks and eventually a depressed mode months after, especially when my tinnitus became worse when it gained a "head buzz" noise following a flight I had went on in September 2018. Even though my ENT said that was "not possible", it was only a few hours after this flight that it began. Then, in what can only be described as an absolute horror, I began experiencing PULSATILE tinnitus a few weeks later as well. The head buzz and PT however would alternate on top of the already existing regular tinnitus. My head was a catastrophic mix of noises and it was a living hell to say the absolute least.

Eventually around the beginning of December 2018 things finally started calming down. I posted about it. I was thrilled. It was a blessing like I had never experienced in my life. The head buzz had even completely disappeared!! I thought I was out of the woods like I was in 2004, only this time having to deal with and possibly accept the permanent regular (lower tinnitus). But it wasn't meant to be. Over the course of the next 10 months since that first subsiding phase, it's been a back and forth of good and bad. When the bad returned for the first time around February 2019 I went for a catscan that came back negative. Things subsided again at some point in the Summer into the Fall. It was more beautiful times. Then around the holidays and winter things got bad again. Recently I had some relief, and now I am suffering yet again. All a back and forth. These days, or at least right now, it's still the same. A mix of the head buzz and PT on top of regular tinnitus. It affects my sleep some nights but not all, and a lot of times when home alone watching TV it affects me tremendously to where I feel I cannot concentrate on the show. In this last 1.5 years I believe I may have realized however, a few key triggers that may affect it. Some may say these are definite triggers in general, but to trigger spikes or as I like to call them "bad phases" of tinnitus for MONTHS is something that may be questionable..

#1 - STRESS... This is the #1 theory of mine. Over the course of the last 6 months especially I've been under some extreme stress in my life with regards to work and family things. But going back to even the beginning of my tinnitus journey I had stress in my life. I feel it may be some form of a trigger.

#2 - POOR SLEEP... Funny because I feel tinnitus in general can cause this for me sometimes, but I often have some trouble sleeping anyway and can go through rough patches (I have to wake very early for work). Recently for example during a good phase of tinnitus I had a bad patch of sleeping and subsequently my head buzz / bad tinnitus returned.

#3 - DIET (Eating crappy/fatty/sugary foods)... Again, this is all just a theory, because even during my good phases of tinnitus I've eaten crappy foods and it's not like things suddenly turned for the worse.

 

@Smartone202 -- Things like stress, poor sleep, and crappy diet can easily begin to affect us more and more as time goes by (otherwise known as getting older )

 

Get a high dose of prednisone ASAP daily for 2 weeks. If you can get a direct injection into the ear through the eardrum better.