Tinnitus Constantly Fluctuating

Hi all,

Looking for some support or advice, whichever you have to offer!

My tinnitus is constantly changing. It's never the same. Sometimes its there, sometimes its not. But when it is there, the loudness isn't so severe, but it still feels pretty intrusive. I'm having trouble habituating to the sound, because it's never the same. It's very somatic. It changes every time I move my neck, jaw, or even tense up. Each movement brings a different noise. These range from high pitched static, electrical noises, high pitched beeping...etc. Sometimes it feels like a hissing coming from the center of my head. They are all so different and every day I wake up I'm not sure which to expect or what to prepare for.

I guess my question is, is there any chance of habituation when you are dealing with so many different types of sound?

Thanks in advance!

 

This is a good sign for someone who is only 3 months in. Hopefully as time goes on there are more and more days when it is not there.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

What do you think, @Greg Sacramento ?

 

My tinnitus varies crazily day by day, like yours. This seems unusual. But I don't have the somatic tinnitus you have where it changes with the movement of the neck etc but this seems more common, plenty of people here have it. Having tinnitus that varies so much has always given me hope that in time I might have more of the quiet days, that my tinnitus in general is changeable - I would have less hope had it always been the same constant loud sound each day like many here. So I agree with Bill this is a good sign for you, the day by day change. The somatic tinnitus must be annoying, but supposedly the Susan Shore device (new potential treatment not yet released) only works for somatic tinnitus.

 

@Bill Bauer

Thank you for your response. I will read the thread you linked.

Greg has been helping me a lot via messages thus far. I am truly thankful for his knowledge and expertise.

I was hoping to see if anyone was able to habituate to so many fluctuating sounds.

Thanks again!

 

One can hope to achieve habituation about 2 years after onset. T tends to change, so 20 months from now, for all you know, you might have only one tone (or be blessed with silence). For now try to focus on riding it out...

 

@Agrajag364

That's true. Thank you for the perspective. I am new to all of this, so still trying to learn as much as possible about it. Are you getting used to your tinnitus being so different/fluctuating all the time now?

 

Hmmmm yes I am a bit more used to it after a year and a bit. It does mess with your mind a bit - you keep hoping that the quiet days will become more common! Do you think yours is linked to stress at all?

 

@Agrajag364

I'm not sure if it is stress related, it all started after a surgery I had. So it most definitely could be. Although it's only in one ear? Is that common for stress related tinnitus?

 

It sounds logical that tinnitus that can be somatically influenced (produced?) is rather one-sided.

But scientific data on this are unlikely to be available.
Science does not seem to be interested in the question of whether tinnitus is one-sided or bilateral.

Therefore a statement is not possible whether one-sided Tinnitus is linked with any Tinnitus cause.

 

It's very common for tinnitus to be in one ear only. My is in one ear only, and appears to be related to some kind of damage I sustained after a wax impaction in that ear, but I was under stress when I got it and mine fluctuates in response to stress. So I suppose it's likely tinnitus can be related to more than one factor. I have seen other stories of it starting after surgery -wonder if it's the anaesthetic drugs, or the antibiotics they might give you after, or the surgery itself?

 

Within this link below is what leads to somatic neck physical tinnitus where the jaw and facial can be effected. The most important discovery cause of somatic physical tinnitus is having one vertebral artery shorter than the other from birth. This leads to posture issues from muscle imbalance due to muscle spasms of neck. It causes the C1 C2 and C4 and lower cervical neck disc all the way down to lower back spine to react. It causes pressure and stress to the jaw and facial that can lead to all sorts of other tinnitus related problems.

Research shows that vertebral arties are cause along with the occipital axis and nerve influence. This article mentions dizziness, but that may not be present.

I don't think that I have ever posted a more valued link, but I have talked about all this many times.

What to do in trying to get improvement. Stretching head up exercises carefully may help.
Brush teeth and eat without having head bend down forward or turned to one side.

http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/central/cervical/cervical.html

 

@Agrajag364

Mine seems to get louder after I’ve eaten or if I’m tense, which could definitely be stress related. It also gets really quiet after I have a very light massage done to my shoulders, neck and jaw.

It could also be surgery related. It started almost exactly a month after my surgery though? I did take antibiotics for drains. But no pain meds, other than Tylenol.

 

Somewhat surprisingly for me bilateral tinnitus seems to be much more frequent...:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/poll-do-you-have-tinnitus-in-one-or-both-ears.4477/

 

That’s really interesting Greg thanks. Did you get any improvement yourself from these kind of exercises?

 

I had the dental crisis as discussed in the above link. It straighten my c spine and that caused a lot of other issues.
One short or stressed vertebral artery as discussed is found with most having somatic tinnitus. For those without tinnitus, very few maybe 1/10000 had this problem happen. The vertebral artery reaction discussed includes the C1, sometimes the C4 and lower, atlantoaxial instability, atlantooccipital instability that often leads to the jaw, facial and sinuses. How it happens is that the neck is placed forward and twisted to one side causing muscle neck spams placing pressure on the vertebral artery stopping or slowing blood flow. Atlantoaxial and atlantooccipital presence and arthritis may be present or it could be caused.

Muscle therapy may help some to slow degenerative disease as long as there's no loss of normal lordosis - a straighten neck from muscle spasms. Stretching exercises may help the atlantoaxial joint and occipital nerves as long as the main occipital nerve has not influenced the brain stem. Avoidance pressure to the jaw when eating or brushing teeth by keeping head straight is needed. All neuros know about this and tell you to do stretching exercises, but sometimes expensive surgery is needed and it's usually not offered.

https://www.physio-pedia.com/Atlanto-occipital_joint

 

Question: Both of my kids have the flu, I’m starting to get it as well. I’m taking vitamin C. Anything else I should do? Does the flu always take its toll on tinnitus? And lastly, is it different if your tinnitus isn’t noise related and it (appears) to be not related to hearing loss?

Thank you!

 

Sounds like a description of my tinnitus....