Hi everyone,
I've had tinnitus in my left ear for over 10 years. It was probably caused by mild hearing loss, though it was so minor that my audiologist said I didn't need a hearing aid. It was tough at first, but I was able to habituate after a few months. Eventually, I hardly noticed it unless I was in a completely quiet room or someone brought it up.
A few weeks ago, I started TMS treatment for depression. Around the 14th or 15th session, I had a fill-in technician instead of my regular one. I left that session with a headache and felt woozy. The next morning, I woke up with my right ear screaming. It was a completely new sound, louder and much higher-pitched than what I had in my left ear.
Most of the sessions had been targeting the right prefrontal cortex, but the last few added an anxiety protocol that used a different type of pulse over the left side, just above the ear. I'm not sure which one triggered it, but something definitely changed. I used foam earplugs during each session and never noticed any ear irritation or pain during or afterward.
Since then, I've been dealing with a lot: panic attacks, high anxiety, and barely any sleep. The TMS clinic has been really unhelpful. They never mentioned tinnitus as a possible side effect, only headaches and seizures. When I contacted them, they were vague and didn't explain much. They sent in a prescription for a benzodiazepine without explaining why. Later, they offered to try a tinnitus protocol, but honestly, I don't want anything to do with TMS anymore. The machine they used was a BrainsWay Deep TMS with the H-coil.
I went to the ER and ended up being hospitalized for a few days because the anxiety and suicidal thoughts became overwhelming. I'm back home now, trying to hold it together. They started me on Gabapentin, but I don't think it's helping, and I'm nervous about medications in general because I don't want to make the tinnitus worse.
I had an audiogram done after the spike started. It was identical to one I had back in January, when I was dealing with vertigo, so it doesn't look like there's any new hearing loss or acoustic trauma. I'm going to be seeing a specialist soon for a more detailed hearing test that includes extended frequency ranges.
Right now, I'm in week 3. The new tinnitus is very high-pitched, possibly reactive, but it's hard to tell. It seems to change a lot. There have been short stretches when it's almost gone, maybe for a few hours, but usually only when I'm in a very quiet room, like with just my water fountain running in the corner. If I go outside or turn on the fan or AC in the car, the tinnitus seems to rise above it. Then again, there have been one or two afternoons when I was out and about and it didn't really bother me. It just seems completely unpredictable. It has been noticeably present at least 90 percent of the time since it started.
Sleep has been a huge issue. I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I usually wake up after two or three hours, and then I'm up for most of the night.
I feel like I went into TMS trying to treat one problem and came out with a much worse one. If anyone has been through something similar or has suggestions, I'd really appreciate it. Even just hearing from people who understand helps.
I've had tinnitus in my left ear for over 10 years. It was probably caused by mild hearing loss, though it was so minor that my audiologist said I didn't need a hearing aid. It was tough at first, but I was able to habituate after a few months. Eventually, I hardly noticed it unless I was in a completely quiet room or someone brought it up.
A few weeks ago, I started TMS treatment for depression. Around the 14th or 15th session, I had a fill-in technician instead of my regular one. I left that session with a headache and felt woozy. The next morning, I woke up with my right ear screaming. It was a completely new sound, louder and much higher-pitched than what I had in my left ear.
Most of the sessions had been targeting the right prefrontal cortex, but the last few added an anxiety protocol that used a different type of pulse over the left side, just above the ear. I'm not sure which one triggered it, but something definitely changed. I used foam earplugs during each session and never noticed any ear irritation or pain during or afterward.
Since then, I've been dealing with a lot: panic attacks, high anxiety, and barely any sleep. The TMS clinic has been really unhelpful. They never mentioned tinnitus as a possible side effect, only headaches and seizures. When I contacted them, they were vague and didn't explain much. They sent in a prescription for a benzodiazepine without explaining why. Later, they offered to try a tinnitus protocol, but honestly, I don't want anything to do with TMS anymore. The machine they used was a BrainsWay Deep TMS with the H-coil.
I went to the ER and ended up being hospitalized for a few days because the anxiety and suicidal thoughts became overwhelming. I'm back home now, trying to hold it together. They started me on Gabapentin, but I don't think it's helping, and I'm nervous about medications in general because I don't want to make the tinnitus worse.
I had an audiogram done after the spike started. It was identical to one I had back in January, when I was dealing with vertigo, so it doesn't look like there's any new hearing loss or acoustic trauma. I'm going to be seeing a specialist soon for a more detailed hearing test that includes extended frequency ranges.
Right now, I'm in week 3. The new tinnitus is very high-pitched, possibly reactive, but it's hard to tell. It seems to change a lot. There have been short stretches when it's almost gone, maybe for a few hours, but usually only when I'm in a very quiet room, like with just my water fountain running in the corner. If I go outside or turn on the fan or AC in the car, the tinnitus seems to rise above it. Then again, there have been one or two afternoons when I was out and about and it didn't really bother me. It just seems completely unpredictable. It has been noticeably present at least 90 percent of the time since it started.
Sleep has been a huge issue. I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. I usually wake up after two or three hours, and then I'm up for most of the night.
I feel like I went into TMS trying to treat one problem and came out with a much worse one. If anyone has been through something similar or has suggestions, I'd really appreciate it. Even just hearing from people who understand helps.
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