Tinnitus Spike

hi all,
i haven't posted on here in a long time - mainly because i learned to live with my mild tinnitus.
first let me describe what i hear.
my hissing is equivalent to the hissing you hear on tv when you go on a "gray channel"- a little bit higher pitched though.
it was very high (at least I thought) during the first couple of weeks into the first month and i just couldn't take it.
eventually i habituated to the sound and in a way it "went away."
i had 3 spikes during that time, all i knew i would get because i was at parties and a concert (i wore earplugs at the concert)
but these spikes were short. they only lasted the night of and the morning after it was gone - my tinnitus would go back to normal level.
today i find myself back in square one. the hissing in my ears is loud and it reminds me of the first couple of weeks of my experience with it, which were horrible.
i should say that the hissing had progressively gotten louder since tuesday and last night i woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep because of it.
i am trying to find reasons to why it spiked randomly and hoping it will go away.
i haven't been listening to music on my ipod that much but when i do, i keep it at a reasonable level.
i haven't gone to a concert or party in over 2 weeks, so that can't be it.
i've maintained a normal diet - not drinking caffeinated drinks (besides tea in the morning)
i will say this, the past couple of days have been ridiculously cold and i don't wear a hat. could this be a cause?
also, this past week has been stressful and tiresome but now i am relaxed.
will this spike be a permanent thing?
i'm really worried right now.
hope all is well for the rest of you.

 

It will go low again, i just had a similar scare a few weeks ago, i live in Spain quite high up, and suddenly this big roar of thunder came from out of the blue!! my ears started to feel full, and my t went a bit faster and louder, i panicked and started crying and worrying ... but the next day it calmed down, and so did i ... i'm sure you will be fine, just remember to protect your ears when around loud places ... you have a weakness now and your ears just won't tolerate abuse like they used to!!

 

thanks for the response carol!
i'm glad to say that the spike has gotten better - my tinnitus is back to "normal."
it's amazing what a good night sleep and optimism can do for you.
thanks and best of luck!

 

Thanks and good luck to you!

 

I was playing drums yesterday now my tinnitus is about 5x worse than usual. Will it go back down...?

 

it most likely will! there's no telling, but just try to do your regular routine. avoid sitting there and listening to it because that will only make it worse.
to be honest, my tinnitus is constantly fluctuating right now - sometimes it's low, sometimes it's high but i'm just not letting it stress me out.
give it some time~

 

just got out of band practice and my tinnitus has gotten worse.
at least i wore earplugs, i guess.
apart from the hissing i hear, i have a light ringing now and i'm frustrated/worried.
i'm trying to keep positive but i don't know, it just sucks.
i hope i sleep tonight.
i want this to go away
fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

 

I never wake up at night because of T, but last night crickets were back after a very long time! i actually woke up at night and couldn't go back to sleep!and My T today is bit loud I went to a restaurant that was just lil but loud...not too loud and my friend slam the iron door next to me. I also had a one shot of Taquilla .
would all this things make T loud? Any idea guys?

 

definitely. alcohol can make it worse. combined with the loud bang next to you...

 

Maybe I should start a new thread but I have super high volume tinnitus along with hearing loss. It's the hearing loss that scares me more than anything, being a musician ;(

 

In this aspect every individual is very different. There are musicians who still make music even thought they have tinnitus (eg. Chris Martin, who claims to have have had it for 10 years without it getting worse). However, in this case VERY good protection is needed. Also, it depends whether you can regulate your concerts. With ears already hurt even slightly louder sounds can and will make it worse.

 

Stina, this brings me back to my confusion of ear plugs ... some say don't plug!! but if slightly louder sounds can make it worse, then surely one must plug every time they leave the house?????

 

yeah I meant more like when playing music if you are a musician you cant escape from the stage and also they have to play for hours and do it regularly, not to mention practices. + they have to spend time on the street as well. therefore, a lot more loud noise involved.

 

Oh, ok sorry got a bit mixed up!!!

 

My tinnitus is badly spiked .. Walked for 2 hrs on a treadmill while watching a movie ,and it started the moment I got off ....it's never been so loud before in the last 2 years ... It's already Been48 hrs since it started ....will it ever go back to its original loudness or has it caused further high frequency loss ....will I have to wear earplugs on the treadmill now ...I checked the combined sound of the treadmill and the movie and it was recorded at 80 db....am miserable. What a waste of a walk ...

 

If you didn't suffer an accoustic trauma with a TTS, there's no fear to have.

tinnitus does provoque a remapping of the brain, no one can predict how or what it'll do and there's no way to stop it so it might very well increase by itself or bring a musical tinnitus after some time.

 

Sameer. My t gets worse when I exercise, especially when I do my neck stretches. Watch how loud you have your headphones. I think your spike should come down.

 

Sameer- I think your T will go down .i have had several spike..longest was for 4 months after a concert .i had felt my T had spike after running on a treadmill ,since then I wear ear plugs when I am jogging .
You mentioned once that you are in India.i think you must wear ear plugs when going out .ita too loud there ..noise pollution is just too crazy . I had T and once I was visiting there and firecrackers went off next to me!! It seems my T volume has increased after that .

 

Thank you everyone for your support. This is definitely tough. Tonight I was thinking about living with tinnitus, ongoing. It's a really unique kind of pain. The high pitch actually hurts my ears, physically. But the oppressive, constant noise is psychologically damaging. I would love to hear from some of you who have lived with this for a while. How do you habituate, tolerate and accept it as the new normal?

 

I Sean ,, thanks for ur reply .....just wanted to ask u is ur social life also in the dumps .... I am really struggling to cope with this aspect of my tinnitus as here in india there is a lot of socialising , usually there is an invite every night of which now I am refusing at least 80 percent ... Here they have a dj in every party but now my ear plugs also don't save me ... Missing out on chatting up all the women and my x territory the dance floor .....this part makes my t struggle real hard ....don't mind the t as much as I mind losing out social life ....here in india we have so many celebrations that I really can't get away each time ...I really have to find a way to figure how I can live my life ....even temples ring like crazy every where there is noise ...need some really good high nrr earplugs ...

 

Hey Sameer..Sorry for the late reply. I am 40 and i had stopped going to clubs and bars 10 years -12 years ago so i am not missing out a lot. But, once in a while i like going to concernts and movies. It sucks because i cant go to movies or even weddding receptions!.
It seemns you are younger than me so for you it might be more challenging. You have no choice - you have to change your life style. I would absolutely would not go to clubs or concert no matter what!!.We tend to have wedding receptions where we have loud music, last reception i went to i told my buddies i cant stay as my ears are very sensitive and its a serious issue..they looked at me in a very weird way, because they have no idea what this freaking T is.
btw i am also originally from india so i understand what you will have to go through!. every one honks like crazy! its so loud!. You must wear ear plugs when you go out. Since i have been wearing ear plugs when i go out it seems i havent had a major spike.
When your T gores down dont forget it will spike with loud noise, so dont make mistake of going to clubs.
This shit will will require life long adjustment! but, what can we do? we dont have a choice?As i type this message i am in my room along and due to lack of sleep i am really really tired. my T volume is but Loud, but i am ok because I havev white noise in the back ground.
i see you are from new delhi! i was there almost 8-9 years ago..liked the city!.

 

Last night my heater came on and hurt my ears quite bad. It's not loud but it was a weird frequency and had instant pain and fullness. Over the weeks I was wondering if i was habbituating or the t was decreasing. The t is up again and I can clearly hear the t as I did when it first started . I was actually optimistic about this because now I know my t volume was def down and I think the heater might have been aggravating my t over the weeks. The muscles in my ear are tense like they were in beginning . I'm gonna be more careful going forward and fairly confident I can have a big decrease in my t.

 

Have you gone to a dr for the full feeling in your ear and tense? I would to make sure you don't have a infection or more fluid build up.

 

Yea I did. Going again soon but last two doscs saw nothing I think it's the muscles in my ear that are really tight and spasms so I'm gonna ask about that

 

Just before I read your post some kind of bell noise on a TV commercial hit me. These freaky frequencies are out to get us.

 

Hey guys I am pretty new to the forum I am 16 and have had T for about 11 mouths at first i hit rock bottom but after a mouth or 2 I just came to grips with it. Currently I am loving life everything day is a great day and it just keeps going up and up. Today my T spiked in my right ear I never went to a ENT because my dad has had T for so long and he just said Don't worry about it so much anyway I am kind of worried about it does the spike go away.

 

Hi Jes. I think it is great that you are adopting a positive attitude. You did not mentioned if your spike was due to any particular reason. Nonetheless, if you were to do a search for tinnitus spike in this forum, most of them will state that spikes do go down. https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/learning-that-spikes-do-go-back-down.4681/#post-46107

Having said that, I can appreciate that each spike can be pretty unnerving because I do not know if this is IT, a permanent increase. My T fluctuates like the stock market and I still get anxious at times.

 

My T started when I was 14. I'm 55. Mine's gone up and down all my life.

 

Hiya. Generally I think spikes go down after some time, depending on what caused it. If it happened randomly it should hopefully settle down again.

 

Good to know that a spike doesn't have to be permanent. I am about 7 weeks into having T and was just starting to get used to it and feeling better - then it spiked yesterday for no apparent reason while I was sitting on my computer in a quiet room. I'll just try to relax with the thought that spikes can be normal.