Tinnitus Volume Fluctuation & Healing...

Hello to all,
I'm new to the talks but have been afflicted with T & H since 4/6/16 so approximately 4 months now...my tinnitus began due to a head injury and concussion on the side I was injured.
Unfortunately, I already had mild to moderate high-frequency hearing loss on the side of injury so it was the perfect storm.
After almost 4 months of psychological and physical torture of very loud and piercing T alarm ringing sounding like a power line fell on my head and went into overdrive or a fax machine that never shuts off being implanted into my brain, I slowly started feeling like the volume may have begun fluctuating to a bit lower and less noticeable for tiny little increments to longer and more frequent increments but then there are times like now where I feel the volume rise again for no apparent reason, not having done or eaten anything that may have driven the volume up...I had a tiny glimmer of hope that I was on the mend and healing but now I wonder if I truly am...is the road to tinnitus healing and habituation up and down like many other health issues? It is disheartening to work so diligently at my health and lifestyle which I always have been on top of prior to this injury to feel that it is all for naught...trying to keep the faith and stay strong...would appreciate any insights into this. Thanks!

 

...And I of course have the unbearable spikes from time to time where my T goes into overdrive after social gatherings in settings where sound acoustics are awful.
I now feel and know that I must plug up my ears immediately when there are more than a few people present at small dinner parties to avoid the miserable wrath of the spike. Hoping that I will not have to deal with T&H and constant protection forever. It doesn't help that I live in the loudest city in the world! Every time I walk outside, I have to plug up to keep myself sane and safe from the constant traffic horns, construction loudness, sirens and annoying narcissistic individuals who feel they need to speak at a volume to be audible for an an entire city block!!!

 

@JadeNYC ,
Welcome to the forum. I am so sorry that you are having so much trouble. My own hearing loss and tinnitus began three years ago. The noise and discomfort is still with me but has improved and yes, the process has been up and down. Have you had your hearing tested post concussion?

 

Thanks @Lorac, yes I did and I have a high frequency hearing loss on the side of injury.
I hope that you're feeling much better and have come a long way 3 years later!~
So frustrating as we all hope T&H will spontaneously remit and completely disappear one day but it's a long process and hard to know the trajectory as it's so individual.

 

@JadeNYC when the T is associated with some clear cause (like head trauma), there is a big chance of it going away, even after a long period of time. Hopefully, your T falls into that category.

 

What's the rationale behind this statement?

 

Thanks for your message @undecided ,
From your mouth to god's ears
My T was definitely brought on @ the onset of my head trauma, the aspect that makes it more complex is the preexisting high-frequency hearing loss on the side of trauma.
Praying that that doesn't preclude me from the likelihood of T backing off in time.
My neurotologist seemed optimistic that things will improve over time but I'm not much better off T-wise almost 4 months later...I know it's a slow process but thanks for your optimism. I'm left wondering if I should try to wait it out or begin using an ear level treatment sooner, if at all.
Still exploring these big questions...

 

The cause of tinnitus (head wound, concussion) is getting better, so the tinnitus will get better as well.
Where's the mystery?

 

That's nice but not all causes get better, far from it. Just because you know what is causing your T doesn't mean you have ways to fix it. Case in point (and quite common among T sufferers): hair cell damage. No it's not getting better with time. Not with current technology. Hopefully this will change in the near future.

 

In the original message, the OP mentions a head wound and a concussion as the cause for his/her t.
I quote:

If the original wound is getting better maybe the tinnitus will too. I am obviously not 100% sure it's all going to be peachy soon but that's my reasoning.
She doesn't mention any hair cell damage, I hope a trident didn't go through her cochlea or something so I remain optimistic.

 

And I was wondering why you generalized it with your statement. If you're backing away from that generalization, then I don't have a question about it obviously.

 

In correspondence with Thomas Coleman of Tinnitus Miracle, he asked: "Has any doctor ever done the tuning fork test? It can reveal whether your hearing loss is caused by damage to the eardrum, the sensors or nerves or damage to both."
I guess there is a way to test for this but in visits with AUDs, they always seem to ask me what I attribute my hearing loss to so I'm assuming that this test was never performed. It is something that I will look into.
Concussion wise, thankfully most of the symptoms besides T&H have subsided with time and care so I want to and have to believe this will also improve with time.
Thanks again @undecided for your optimism and instilling a glimmer of hope and faith as it's all we have to keep us sane and strong with these very emotionally and psychologically taxing issues.

 

There's a few tests that you can do indeed to try to localize where the losses are from. There are tuning fork tests, but also an audiogram should show the split between conductive & sensorineural losses. Do both.

 

@JadeNYC

In many concussion cases, the T is caused by hair cell damage. The shockwave of the trauma has similar effect to acoustic trauma. My forecast is that the T will stay about the same and you will habituate.

 

Hi @InfiniteLoop,
I appreciate your insight and response but pray that you'll be wrong as I'm really struggling with my sanity and sleep still after almost 5 months in hell with loud and piercing 16,000 KHZ tinnitus @ 65 Db...I keep trying to believe that it will eventually back off but it's hard to find similar examples though everyone is different. I have been experimenting with the Neuromonics app trial and don't feel comfortable with using earphones and after 20 mins seemed to make it worse and have heard that the in-ear widex zen noise generators aren't all that effective either which only leaves hope with LLLT and time. It is very hard to habituate to sounds from hell...hoping I can get through this torture and misery and it improves with time.

 

Hi Jade! I'm sorry that things have been rough. I got T and slight H 6 months ago. Within 2 months H started to back off, but I still had some sound sensitivity. Eventually the sensitivity faded all together. T is still there, but I am adjusting. Due to it being a TBI you might need a bit more time. We are all different. It is a messy 1 step forward 2 steps back, but it will get better. I'm wishing you the best in hopes for you improving.

 

Hi @Starlord,
Thanks for your kind and sweet words of inspiration rather than negative predictions which are very emotionally destructive ...I'm sending you prayers and blessings as well as wishing us all a true miracle...believe and receive

 

@JadeNYC

You will get stronger over time!! Yes, everyone is different and perhaps your T will subside. I had the same hope when I was a few months in this strange journey. More than two years later the noise is about the same. Some days are relatively quiet and some days are really loud. Today is loud and I am spending too much time on TinnitusTalk! Neuronomics will not do much beyond some partial masking and distraction. One can do the same for much less money with some smartphone applications (I like myNoise)