Tinnitus for 1 Month After Loud Noise Exposure (I'm 22 Years Old)... My Outlook?

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on this site, and thank you in advance to those who read it. I wasn't sure if I should post at first, since I have been reading advice to stay off the forums to prevent worsening anxiety, but I figured I really have nothing to lose, and at the very least I can speak with those going through the same as me. I find people who aren't experiencing tinnitus have trouble empathizing, which is definitely understandable.

I am 22 years old, and about to enter my fifth and final year of college. My first exposure to tinnitus was during my early ears of high school, after I attended parties on two consecutive days with loud music. When I first noticed the lasting ringing, which I would categorize as mild, I was pretty fearful because it wasn't something I had experienced before. At a visit to the ENT they performed a hearing test and the results came back fine - in fact my hearing was better than that of the average person. The doctor gave the basic spiel about there not being a cure for tinnitus, and to use other sounds to mask it. After a few months and over the years (up until last month), the faint ringing had subsided, becoming almost completely negligible except for when I would occasionally notice a low volume ring while in bed at night. Even then, I knew how to relax myself in a way that would tune out the ringing before falling asleep. The only other times I could hear it was when I really focused on it in a silent room, and even then it was barely there. I have always been mindful to use hearing protection at loud events. Occasionally when I did forget, my ears would ring, but it was subside back to being negligible in a day or two.

However, almost one month ago (on 7/6) I made the mistake of not wearing ear protection when I went to see a friend of mine's band play, as I was in a rush to get to the show and didn't grab ear plugs. The venue was small, and the loud music lasted for around 20-25 minutes. Sure enough my ears were ringing after, but I figured it would return to normal the next day or so. But, as the days went on, the ringing persisted. I would say the ringing started off between mild and medium in volume. After a few days I went to a new ENT. Hearing tests again showed no notable hearing loss. I was prescribed a week-long Prednisone steroid treatment, which I believe did help a bit. Fast forward two weeks to 7/25, and the ringing was still present albeit with some improvement. It was then that I returned to the ENT and received options for further treatment. I opted not to receive any hearing aids/masking devices, and elected to basically "do nothing" for now and let time run its course. He suggested trying lipo-flavonoid in the meantime, which some of his patients claimed has worked, and I found out about ginkgo biloba through the internet. I have been taking them for only about 5 days so far. The doctor said that he is still "very optimistic" that the ringing will subside back to being negligible, given that I am young and that there has been some improvement over the past few weeks. To quote him, "I am not going to tell you that it will be gone in another week, but eventually I believe it will be."

I consider the ringing at this point, almost one month after the re-aggravation, to be pretty mild in terms of volume - I really can only hear a high pitch ring in a quiet room (at that point it seems loud and the most annoying, probably because it is the only noise present) but almost any external noises will mask it. But also, if I do focus on it in slightly noisy environments I can still make it out. I should also add that, in the morning, the ringing volume is at its lowest, sometimes bordering silent (this has been happening only over the past week or so). I do believe that the morning volume is decreasing very slightly each day. But, it usually picks back up in the afternoon/evening. Despite the mildness, it has still been extremely debilitating for me, and something I think about literally 24/7. I am constantly trying to listen, even purposefully inserting myself into silent places, to so see if there is any improvement, and there are times where I just wish the day would end so the next could come and hopefully things will be back to normal. It really is frustrating not to be able to be in complete silence. I feel very helpless and defeated and it has really been detracting from my quality of life. I know in a way I am fortunate that the ringing isn't much worse, but I think it's more than reasonable to not want any ringing at all. I am also having a lot of trouble coping with the fact that one bad decision might leave me in this miserable state for the rest of my life, at a young age nonetheless.

The positive part of this scenario is that again my doctor told me that he sees it getting better eventually - I guess I am just having a hard time being patient and I am terrified that it will stay this way forever. It really is the fear of the unknown. I have read that only very limited improvement will occur after 3 months... I guess I have another 2 months of biting my nails ahead of me.

Besides venting, my intention for this post was to hopefully receive feedback from the community about how to approach this. What are some effective ways to tune out the ringing when I'm in quiet places (if there are any?) How can I approach this mentally to decrease stress and depressing thoughts? Do you believe that, given my situation, things will continue to improve? I would love to hear your thoughts, and especially some of your experiences as well.

I would like to sincerely thank those of you who read this post in full, and to those who respond, I thank you even more. Best wishes and a hopeful recovery to all of you dealing with tinnitus.

Regards,

Dan

 

Hearing test were never designed for showing cochlear damage, they just make sure you have enough hearing to communicate in a 1v1 environment in a quiet room. The standard hearing test was made in the early 20th century long before science had an understanding on how the inner ear worked.
https://hyperacusisfocus.org/innerear/#hiddenloss

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/lipoflavonoid-for-tinnitus-helps-or-not.333/
Please check out this thread to learn about the deep controversy behind lipo-flavonoid or any supplement claiming to directly treat tinnitus and hearing loss.

In my opinion (to prevent another lawsuit) lipo-flavonoid is a total scam and may only work in very situational cases where blood flow irregularities are to blame for tinnitus. Most cases of tinnitus are caused by cochlear nerve and hair cell death not circulation issues. It is not feasible for a supplement to claim to target the cochlea directly or treat peripheral neuropathy. Any supplement claiming to treat tinnitus in my opinion is a scam or junk science.

--
Now to get my rude but factual comments. Your just another person who screwed your ears over twice. First times understandable. Second time through pure ignorance. There are informative members on this very forum who try to prevent common mistakes just like your case, but like most people nobody listens.

I'll also make a wild guess you may have one of the following problems such as "ear fullness, hyperacusis, middle ear muscle spasms or pain from noise. Usually people fail to mention these problems, even to doctors who need to know. However sometimes people with these unclassified hearing/ear problems get misdiagnosed with ETD, TMJ, inflamation or an infection to explain these odd problems since scientific inquiry on how the ear responds to damage is very poor.

If you do have other oddball ear issues accompanying tinnitus there's little to nothing that can be done either, so don't bother barking up that tree as you can read many horrifying post of people seeking medical attention for obscure hearing disorders and getting no where but the ETD and TMJ flowchart diagnosis. The inner ear is a medical mystery it is not much understood.

You'll just have to habituate like everyone else.

 

Despite parts of your reply being, as you said, rude, I still thank you for taking the time to read my post and reply.

I never claimed that I wasn't just another person who made a poor decision. I am very much aware of that fact, and my intention of posting in the first place was not in hopes of being exonerated in some way. Sure, my emotional response to that fact is probably not where it should be, but that's why I wanted to post in the first place! I was only hoping to get some insight on other peoples' opinions, experiences, and habituation techniques.

You have given your opinion along with some facts and reading material on the hearing tests and supplements that I will look into, and for that I again thank you.

 

@CroakyBat -- From everything I've read, this is simply not true. From my own experience, my tinnitus/hyperacusis was so severe (from a single dose of a medication), that it fluctuated significantly for most of the first year. It wasn't until about the 8 or 9 month mark, that I began to notice the fluctuations were getting less, and I could realistically anticipate a "sloooow" trajectory for the better.

I'm at about the 18 months mark now, and feel I've got good reason to expect further improvements. I also think the prospects of improvement for yourself are quite good. If they're quite good for me, I think they are much better for you. You're still very young, and your latest noise exposure doesn't appear to have been overly severe. I actually think your prognosis is pretty close to excellent.

I think the key thing is for you to learn some effective ways to help you relax. I'm always working on this myself, and do many "alternative" type things like hot baths, castor oil packs, self-acupuncture, earthing, being in nature, vagus nerve stimulation, reflexology, etc. Regarding reflexology, the area on the hand that corresponds to the ears is between the little finger and ring finger. If you massage the inside of the little finger and the immediately adjacent area of the ring finger, you'll likely find them quite tender. Work on them gently over a few days, and that tenderness will work itself out. Some people actually notice an immediate difference in their tinnitus and/or the stress levels in their ears.

I'll just mention that I've sung a "spiritual mantra" for many years now, and have discovered since getting tinnitus last year that it has the ability to somewhat "transmute" the sound of the tinnitus. Essentially making it feel less intrusive and easier to deal with. Part of it is because this sound has the ability to calm my whole system down. If you're interested, here's a LINK in which I wrote a bit more about this really simple to do technique.

I didn't read the post you're referring to here, as I have this person on my ignore list. I believe too much of what he has to write is overly rude, so I wouldn't take what he has to say too personally. That just seems to be his nature. I myself don't think rudeness is conducive to the type of environment that most tinnitus sufferers are looking for. We're trying to find hope, and learn how to relax and heal. And rudeness just doesn't fit in with that. I wish this poster would understand that, as he has the potential to be a very positive contributor if he could.

 

Hi @Lane

Thank you very much for taking the time to read and reply. After that first response I received, for a split second I was debating deleting this whole post, but I'm glad I didn't. I'm not going to let it get to me, and I may just have to follow suit with the ignore list! I can tell that you are a positive contributor in this community and it's very reassuring to find someone willing to extend some words of hope and encouragement.

I am very glad to hear that you have been seeing continued improvement over the past 10 months or so. It is reassuring to know that healing is not restricted to only the first few months after onset and that there is no strict deadline for things to get better. One of the things I need to work on is patience, but after a bit of keeping a hopeful attitude like yours I think I will be able to do it.

These sound like great relaxation techniques. I am especially intrigued by the reflexology, and will follow your massaging suggestion over the next few days. I will try to focus on other activities that put my mind in a more relaxed state, including spending more time outdoors.

Will definitely check this out, and will report back on how it does for me!

Like you said - tinnitus sufferers are looking for hope, relaxation, and healing. I really do thank you for taking the time to offer me help in achieving those things, and for sharing your insight and experiences. Looking forward to reporting back soon and hearing about your continued recovery. All the best to you!

 

Hello Dan. I have read your entire post and first of all I want to tell you that I am sorry that you are in this situation.

My case is very similar to yours. I am 25 years old and I identify very much with you and with many of the things you say in your post. There are things you say that I think exactly the same. The fact of being so young and starting with this I think it affects us a lot.

What I want to tell you is there are hope. I have compiled and read many success stories and there are many cases that are resolved in 9 months, 6 months or even 1-2 years. We have to have hope and not despair at this problem.

Sorry for the possible mistakes, I'm not a native english speaker.

 

I am 20 months in, life is still livable. It takes time and courage to get used to it, and my tinnitus is very loud.

 

Wasn't yours mild? What happened?

 

Hello @acute - thank you for the response (and your english is great!). It's nice to find someone going through a very similar situation. I am trying my best to be hopeful, especially since it has only been 1 month so far. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you had T and how severe is it?

 

Hi Rohit. I'm sorry to hear that your tinnitus is severe. But it is very encouraging to know that you have found ways to adjust and live your life. It makes me a little more confident that, if need be, I can adjust as well. Keep it up and best wishes to you.

 

Typical story for an acoustic trauma, and 1 month of healing is not nearly enough. This can take anywhere from several months to a few years to heal. The key is to not injure yourself further, so be vigilant with protection, and avoid further any loud venues. Also throw your earbuds/headphones away, and only listen to music or TV at a low volume.

While not with great science, I take daily omega3 and think that it helped the T improve.

Feel better soon!

 

wow this is amazing. my internet just went out and I was playing that dinosaur game and when it popped back up this thread was at the top of recent posts. spooky.

 

Thank you for responding! I am definitely learning that I should not feel too much pressure over not being healed in only a month. While it will take some patience, I am trying to look forward optimistically. Rest assured I will do everything I can to make sure I do not aggravate the T any more. Perhaps I will give omega3 a shot as well. Thanks again for your insight!

 

Wow! That is spooky. Maybe it's some sort of sign..for what, I have no idea, lol.

 

I'm 7 months in today and I just tend to ignore it with external sounds, when it started I felt sick to my stomach because it was all I was able to think about and felt very anxious, I would constantly monitor it if it got louder or lower but that's also not a very healthy thing to keep doing. Now to sleep I use a fan or some music on low volume to distract me.

 

This is exactly what I have been doing over the past few weeks, and it has made me pretty miserable. I am trying everyday to stop and learn to just keep living normally while things take their course. I have also been using a fan when I sleep/when I'm sitting in my room and it's quiet to mask the ringing, and it works quite well.

Thank you for your response and I wish you well on the road to improvement!

 

@JohnAdams - I came across some of your posts from a few months ago regarding supplements. Do you have any recommendations at this point for supplements that effectively lower tinnitus caused by noise trauma? Are there supplements that you suspect may aid in cochlear hair cell regeneration? (I know this is a long shot..) I am currently taking ginkgo biloba.

 

I was taking 7,8 DHF for several months which is a neurotrophic supplement. I have also been taking large doses of curcumin. I didn't take it last night and my tinnitus is gone right now.

I also went to Seoul, South Korea and had a doctor inject me with a ton of bone marrow, and platelet rich plasma. I don't know what has exactly caused my improvements but I will say the most immediate affect I've had was from curcumin. Curcumin has many effects on nerves, stem cells, etc and I don't know it it quiets my tinnitus from just being anti-inflammatory or from acting on receptor sites.

Long story short, I've tried many things, something helped and I don't know what.

 

Thanks for the info. If it's not too much trouble, do you mind shooting over a link to the curcumin you use? What would you suggest as a daily dosage? Any side effects?

 

https://www.iherb.com/pr/Jarrow-For...VGJSzCh3IEwC2EAQYAiABEgJ10_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I take 3,000 mg with dinner.

Side effects are similar to being on blood thinner. I recently started seeing my hair thinning and falling out a little and I stopped taking it last night.

 

IMO you have a very good chance of your tinnitus fading away,
I had a very bad acoustic trauma 13 years ago, and my ears were screaming loud, but it faded to zero in under 2 years.

Fast forward to 3 years ago, I had another acoustic trauma from an loud outdoor concert. and that tinnitus has faded 90%.

I'm 59 years old, so I think there is a good chance your tinnitus will fade back to what is was, but it may take a year or so of slow improvement.

 

@CroakyBat -- You may want to keep it below the threshold of turning orange. IIRC, I think @JohnAdams had his skin change color while he was doing some very high dose curcumin.

 

Hi @jjflyman - thank you very much for the encouragement. Awesome that you've been able to recover well from two acoustic traumas; it does make me optimistic about my own chances of doing the same. The hardest part for me is being patient, as obviously this is something I wish would be better asap, but such is life! In the end I will definitely take gradual improvement over none at all, so that is the mindset I will push forward with.

Have you done anything in particular to aid your healing process, or just let time do its thing? Hope to hear soon that your remaining T is 100% gone!

 

Haha, I think I was reading that in one of his posts earlier! For now I plan on sticking to a regimen of ginkgo and some relaxation stuff. After a bit of time, maybe I'll try the curcumin if there is no improvement, but at a lower dose rest assured!

 

You'll get better at handling it even if the ringing itself doesn't get better. I'm about 6 months into this latest bout of T and I've been able to get back and focus on the important things around me. Also at this point if I'm doing anything outside or just get zoned into something I lose the ringing to the background noise. Your sleep will also get better. As you slowly realize that this isn't the end of the world for you and it is livable you will calm down about it and stop trying to hear it everywhere, and if you do accidentally look for it remember you will probably lose the sound in the background again soon. Since there is not much you can do to "fix" this you just have to learn to live with it as we all do. Keep your chin up and keep moving forward! Don't let this take you away from living your life the way you want.

 

Thank you for your positivity. Truthfully I am very much hoping this does get better, but if not, I suppose I will have no other choice but to learn how to integrate it into my life because I really do not want it affect how I live. Unfortunately that's been the difficult part so far, especially the uncertainty of it all. Right now I have such a bad habit of listening in on it and naturally it upsets me but like you said over time I think that habit will fade away as I start accepting it. Just have be be patient, keep my chin up, and move forward until it hopefully dissipates or I learn to live with it. Hearing that you have been able to do that makes me optimistic. Thanks again for instilling that hope and best wishes

 

Hi again, @CroakyBat.

I hope you feel better as the days go by, it happens to many people.

I'm 3 months and 27 days with tinnitus. I am trying my best to be hopeful too, but after passing the three month mark it is making me tremendously difficult to feel good, since it seems to improve NOTHING and in fact it's worsening.

There are times when the tinnitus is very loud, for example today and in recent weeks, new noises have appeared and I can hear it everywhere except in the shower. It is quite scary and hellish.

How is your T? Where can you hear it?

 

Hi @acute, nice to hear from you again. I'm very sorry to hear that your T has been with you for a while without improvement - I can only imagine how frustrating and debilitating that must be. Many people have voiced their optimism to me about recovering, so I would urge you to try and keep that same optimism towards yourself as our situations are very much alike. Many have said that the healing process is very gradual, taking up to a year or two. I know it's terrifying to think that you may have to wait that long, because that is how I feel, but at least it is kind of a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to. I will admit, I am equally terrified that this will never go away, but I am trying my best not to live everyday with that mindset because that will only make things worse.

I consider myself lucky in that my T isn't overly severe right now. I can really only hear it when I'm in silent places, but that is when it drives me crazy because I cannot escape the high pitch without some external sound. If I listen for it I can also pick it out when I'm in slightly noisy environments. Overall being out and about I can't really hear it, and I've been keeping a fan on in my room and when I sleep to mask it - but obviously I don't want to have to avoid silence for the rest of my life. Lately there have been mornings when I wake up that it is almost silent. I can only hope that this is a step in the right direction for recovery. Unfortunately it seems to return to form in the afternoon/evening without too much improvement yet.

I encourage you to try some of the relaxation techniques mentioned on this thread, as well as explore some natural supplements that are linked to tinnitus management if you haven't done so already. There are plenty of people on here who would be able to recommend some. Just hang in there and try to live the best life you can right now. I try to tell myself from my other life experiences that things always tend to work out in the end, and I'd like to think the same will happen for all of us