Tinnitus Volume Decreases for 5-15 Minutes After Placing Ear on PIllow

Has anyone ever heard of the tinnitus volume decreasing when someone places their ear on a pillow? I'll do my best to describe what happens. The tinnitus volume in my left ear is considerably louder than the right ear. I'd say it's at least twice as loud. I've noticed that when I place my left ear firmly on the pillow, after a period of 5-15 minutes, the volume of the tinnitus decreases considerably. If I'm having a "good" day, the volume will decrease to where it barely noticeable. If I'm having a "loud" day, it still decreases considerably. Now this is what really seems strange to me. If I roll over and place my right ear on the pillow, within a few seconds the tinnitus volume in my left ear will gradually increase to where it was previously. I feel fortunate that this occurs but I'm confounded as to why it occurs.

Here's some background info. I've had tinnitus since May 26, 2016, as a result of acoustic trauma. My tinnitus is variable but in general it's loud. The volume on a loud day is about 7/10 on the subjective scale. However, on rare occasions, it will be less than 1/10. When it's a 1/10, I have to actively listen for it to hear the tinnitus. The tinnitus is a high frequency hissing noise at about 12kHz which is impossible to mask even in the shower. Also, I take 7.5 mg of Remeron for a sleep aid and it works great for me without any side effects. Actually, before I acquired tinnitus my sleep hygiene was terrible. I'd wake up 5-6 times every night. Now, I only wake up 1-2 times per night and I fall back to sleep within 15 minutes.

When I first acquired tinnitus, my reaction was textbook. Anxiety, inability to sleep, loss of weight and appetite, etc. All I can say is Xanax got me through the first 3 months then I quit under the supervision of my GP without any negative side effects . What a crazy ride this has been. It's a strange and difficult, if not impossible, condition to figure out for sure. I suspect that attempting to understand tinnitus is an effort in futility and that working towards habituation is the only rational course to take. On a positive note, at 15 months I'm largely habituated as far as my negative response/reaction goes. However, I still find it hard to believe that anyone can habituate their perception of severely intrusive tinnitus to any significant degree. I hope I'm wrong!

 

So what happens if you put an earplug in the left ear?