Tinnitus from Loud Music

Hello all!

I've had very minor tinnitus for the past 6 years or so, most likely from playing in many school bands over the course of elementary and high school. However 2 months ago I got it pretty bad in my left ear from about 10 minutes of loud music (bordering the pain threshold) from a car speaker while I was on a date (we're not dating anymore lol). I just wanted to go over my journey so far so that any of you in the throngs of a freakout can gain some perspective, especially if you're also dealing with tinnitus from acoustic trauma. It's hard, especially at first, but you'll slowly improve!

At first I had full ears, muffled hearing on both sides (especially the left) that left all high sounds faint and fuzzy and PIERCING tinnitus in both ears. Over the first couple days I developed hyperacusis with pain, and a general sore and tender feeling in the ears. It was really rough rough for the first couple weeks, I couldn't stand the sounds of squeaking doors, cutlery on plates trains stopping, conversations with more than one other person and even soothing river sounds were too much to bare. I woke up constantly at night with panic attacks from the sound. It put a big strain on my relationship with my parents. No one around me really understood how I felt, the worst. After a week I went to the hospital and got referred to a hearing specialist. I was told my audio gram was normal with no advice or followup. It was devastating to be honest!! I felt really lost and confused, I had no medical expert to follow up with and I was so scared. At this stage in the game I would frequently reach out to a local distress hotline to get calmed down. Honestly the darkest chapter of my life, I had no clue if or how much I could heal.

Luckily for me when I saw my family doctor he was extremely knowledgeable and compassionate about tinnitus. He's had his practice since the 1950s, so he's dealt with lots of tinnitus cases from WW2 and the Vietnam War. He told me:
-Deeper sounds (like bass heavy music) damage much slower than high noises (like gunshots) so I have a better chance at recovery, especially given my short exposure
-While structural damage to the ears is often permanent, all hearing loss is not structural damage. Over the weeks and months and even years from your trauma the higher frequencies can slowly return (which they did)
-Tinnitus will seem louder when the hearing is muffled, as it recovers the tinnitus will fade more into the background
-Tinnitus very often goes away on its own (even in cases where it lasts a couple months), I have no guarantees but I allow myself the optimism haha
-Low volume symphonic music is a good masking sound, to be played just below the volume of your tinnitus
-The soreness and irritation/inflammation of the ears will slowly recover, much like any other part of your body
-The crackling sound you may hear when swallowing is just due to inflammation in the middle ear (which can be triggered by loud noises), and while its annoying it does not indicate dysfunction
-Don't be afraid to take Advil, a good nights sleep will make it all more bearable

I'm very lucky to have had him as my doctor, his reassurance has really helped me pull through.

Anyway, these days my right ear is nearly fully recovered while my left ear lags behind. I need to plug my left ear when I'm around machinery/fans, at the cinema, or when visiting with many people at once. at the 1+1/2 mark my fullness in the left ear finally left me, and the pain/hyperacusis has slowly been improving since (the pain of my ear "opening" was MEMORABLE to say the least. I hope that in the new year I can become pain free! in the mean time I am pleased that I can lead my life as I did before, albeit with a stash of single use plugs in my pocket. I really thought my life was over two months ago, but I was very fortunately. Also, habituation to the ringing is much easier the second time around, I'm so concerned about the hyperacusis I often forget the tinnitus haha.

Anyway, I'm hear so that I can support and seek support from others that understand. It's hard for regular people to understand how quiet static from a speaker can give someone throbbing ear pain, or how there loud talking voice can overwhelm you, and most of all for me the isolated feeling I get from having plugs in when I'm out in my day to day, which makes it harder for me to understand speech.

We've got this!!!

 

Your doctor is pretty smart about this topic, Most ENT's are clueless dude.

Just rest your ears and stay positive I wish you the best.

 

Yeah, I really lucked out with my GP!

I'll be sure to rest up and stay optimistic. The slow heal will definitely be a lesson in patience, I had one setback early on and I don't want to make that mistake again.

Oh, by the way I've been lurking here for a while and I think your debunking of pseudo scientific treatments is really great!

 

thank you! It's my pleasure to stop these evil doers.

 

Quite right @Contrast Most ENT doctors are clueless about tinnitus because they are not tinnitus specialists. They are physicians that treat underlying medical conditions within the auditory system that is causing the tinnitus. They do not treat tinnitus.

Michael

 

Uh, nobody treats tinnitus except maybe some rogue ENT's that will work with you to use unapproved medicines.

 

You are quite mistaken @JohnAdams I can only speak of what happens in the UK. As I have said numerous of times in this forum to try and make people understand. ENT doctors are physicians that treat underlying medical problems within the auditory system that is causing the tinnitus. They are not tinnitus specialists.

In the UK: When there is no underlying medical problem causing the tinnitus, typically noise induced tinnitus. The patient is referred to Audiology. Here, they are seen by either a Hearing Therapist or Audiologists that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis treatment and management. Depending on which NHS hospital one attends and what treatments are available it can be any of the following: TRT, CBT, Counselling, Sound Therapy, Mindfullness, Relaxation classes. Where necessary medication can be give on the advice of the ENT doctor.

This was told to me by my ENT doctor who is an Audivestibular physician and also have a good rapport with her.

Michael

 

No U.

 

I will not be commenting further.
All the best
Michael

 

You are just perpetually confused about what is and what isn't a treatment for tinnitus.

 

Hey @MrCrybaby - you don't seem like a crybaby at all.

Your GP gave you great advice and sounds like an overall wonderful person.

You're on the right track. Your life is not over at all, as you have already come to that conclusion.

In the three months I've had tinnitus my pain, ear fullness and hyperacusis have substantially subsided. The ringing has changed a lot and is still a beast (morphed into this morse code weirdness in my right ear), but I am optimistic that with time and sensible approaches to helping the healing, I'll improve. To help along the hyperacusis, I listened to the TinnitusMix at night. I believe it helped me a lot just having the stimulation.

Maybe consider some supplements like NAC, Glutathione and Curcumin.

I'm glad you're not dating this monster person who was involved in your medical demise. Unless they were super hot.

 

I was definitely more of a crybaby at onset haha

It's interesting to hear about people's tinnitus changing, because aside from how intrusive it is mine has been very consistent.

I actually can't sleep when I listen to white noise, but I might give tinnitus mix a try during the waking hours...

I coincidentally was already taking magnesium, but I might try some of those out too! Any trustworthy brands you'd recommend? (statistically ~%80 of supplements lie on their label so I'm very cautious)

As for the guy, he was hot enough that I kept dating him for about a month after the incident lolololol

 

Hey MrCrybaby, thanks for sharing the advice your doctor gave. It will be reassuring to many. Medical professionals can often seem to have a surprising lack of understanding for the condition. Above all its important to stay optimistic and keep a positive outlook.

In my experience, several weeks ago I started developing loud tinnitus symptoms, and while they remain, it has regressed slightly. It really is a bit of a lottery.

I'm also interested in the Tinnitus Mix treatment, though apparently in order for it to work, the instructions must be followed closely. For sleeping I'd recommend ambient sounds and/or pitch masking.

 

Yeah, it is a lottery. I have one ear doing great and one ear really not. Hopefully both will get there in time.

And yes, it is hard to find a sympathetic doctor. I saw two specialists who didn’t really provide any comfort before I saw my GP. That was a super rough time, and I don’t want people on this forum to be stuck going through not knowing.

 

My ENT told me there was nothing he could do to help me but “maybe Santa would bring a cure” at my Xmas eve appointment

 

Yiiiiiiiikes

 

ENTs are so useless and tend to talk bullshit. The last one I've been to told me I would not have tinnitus but just ETD which lead to hearing noises in my ears. Even if that was true (which is not), this is still considered tinnitus by medical terms. I told him exactly this and he threw me out of his surgery, lol.

 

I didn’t even know ETD was a thing before joining this forum. Told my second ENT that I suspected ETD and he said “could be!”

I had a previous health issue - something external that could literally be seen without any special devises. I saw 4 doctors - 1 go and 3 specialists and only on that 3rd specialist was I able to get help.

So it’s not surprising that these doctors are absolutely clueless if something that can easily be diagnosed isn’t treated for over a year.

I have 0 faith in medical practitioners.

 

That’s really the ONLY way a cure will happen, from some mystical entity that lives forever. Your ENT didn’t tell you Santa would have a cure until Xmas eve of... 2070.

 

Did your “bad” ear pop at all when you got your trauma?

 

No, my ears didn’t pop until over a month later when I was at a moderately loud restaurant. From that moment on they’ve both popped all the time, even though the left is much worse than the right.

EDIT: Oh! I get what you mean now. I don’t think so, but it felt like a sin wave was digging deep into my skull in the bad ear. Many people experience a “pop” though in my research. Idk what causes it.

 

Yeah I don't mean "popping" like Rice Krispies or ETD congestion popping. I mean just like one loud pop that started it all. Mine was like a pop and the sound of the ocean in my ear + a bit of vertigo in the middle of the day.

Maybe people who noticed tinnitus after a club or a concert also had this but didn't hear it because they weren't in a quiet environment when it all set in.

 

Hello Pals,

It has been a year since my very bad noisy music experience so I wanted to update you all on how it's turned out so far. I have been very lucky that I've been able to work remotely during the pandemic and strictly limit the types of noise I'm exposed to. I would say I'm "habituated" to my tinnitus, but I hope a treatment is proven/released in the coming years. It's annoying and I don't like it, even though I'm used to it. Hyperacusis is another story. I would consider mine "mild" but even so it does interfere with my daily life. When I am shut in at home I can live quite freely (nothing is even too loud) but out in the real world I have to plug my ear to stay safe. I was caught without plugs at the office when they were cutting down a tree outside at it gave me my first setback in a long time. I had burning pain in my ear and face for a couple days and then a stabbing pain deep in the ear for about a week. Hopefully I get back to where I was before in time. I've kept my eye on hyperacusis research, and I'm excited to see some research about hyperacusis related to both inner and middle ear pathology coming out soon. Subtyping would be a big deal, and help so many of us make sense of our symptoms. I'm curious about how middle ear damage, inner ear damage, and pathological middle ear behavior due to inner ear damage interplay with each other. Hopefully I can have a normal ear again before I die, that would be just peachy.

As far a life as a whole, this year has been very trying but I'm pulling through. I was diagnosed with a sleep disorder and had become so fatigued I could barely function in my daily life. I've been trying to slow down and pick up the pieces. On that note I'm really sorry @Hazel and @Markku for falling out of touch, hopefully when I get myself figured out we can work together again.

If you're new to all this, I strongly recommend avoiding sound for at least a few months and giving your ears a chance to rest. Not everyone will recover, but imo it gives you the best shot. I still deal with fullness and transient discomfort in my left ear but I can live most of a life now. There are some cool treatments in trial, such as FX-322 and Hough Ear Institute Pill, but keep your expectations measured. Ears are complicated beyond our current scientific understanding and not everyone is guaranteed to be cured of all symptoms by these treatments.

Anyways, I hope you've all been doing the best you can, whatever that looks like.

See you around,
Crybaby

 

Hello Pals,

Goodness gracious, I can’t believe it’s been two years already! Figured I’d pop back here to update you all on my case.

When they say it can take years for your ears to fully recover from a noise exposure They really mean it. Over the past year I’ve continued to slowly and steadily recover. My tinnitus is at around the same level as a year ago, and I think it will continue to be for the foreseeable future. It isn’t much of a bother except in quiet places, which I can live with. My hyperacusis has continued to slowly improve. I continue to live life at a reduced volume which I think is so so important. I never try to push my limits or expand my tolerance. The fullness in my ear is almost gone now, which feels great. Even when exposed to moderate noise the fullness no longer has a temporary increase. Unfortunately the ear can still feel fragile and I’m sensitive to certain mechanical sounds, but this is an improvement. Over the past year I’ve had a couple of accidental loud noise exposures and an MRI scan of my jaw joints, none of which spiked me as far as I could tell. I hope this is a sign of long term stability in my condition.

Otherwise I’d say life as a whole is turning out well after last year’s funk. Still struggling with my sleep disorder, but the plan is try go for some more effective (but invasive) treatments. Wish me luck! This will probably be one of the last posts I make here on Tinnitus Talk. A lot of my favourite members have drifted away over the years, and it makes my heart heavy to think of where they may be now. I’ll of course continue to peek in and see how drug trials are doing from time to time. It’s truly an optimistic moment in tinnitus and hearing research.

If you’re new here, I hope you find it in yourself to be patient about your recovery. A lot can change in a year, and even more in two!

Love,
Crybaby