Tinnitus Worsened After Bone Conduction Tests at the Audiologist

Hi everybody,

I am having a spike at the moment which is my first substantial spike. It is finals week so I feel like it may be due to stress but I was wondering if it could at all be linked to my most recent visit to the audiologist.

So I got some tests done that I hadn't before. I didn't let him do the pressure one (tympanic) but there was one where he put something on my head that was super tight (not ears) and had me listen for stuff. I think this is probably a bone conduction test.

Do you think it is possible/probable that this may have worsened my tinnitus?

Do you think it is rather a stress related thing?

 

I know that when I am stressed my tinnitus gets worse, especially if I am stressed about my tinnitus.

I think that your exam stress is playing a roll in your spike. I don't know much about bone conduction tests so I can't comment on that. I had a bone conduction test done at the audiologist as well and didn't have an issue. The sound that was played through it didn't seem loud to me though so I don't know if yours may have been louder.

 

It was super quiet but he didn't tell me what the test was and I got kind of stressed about it because I know there are test that make tinnitus worse. But I guess bone conduction shouldn't be one of them

 

@Bill Bauer I feel like you may have experience with this kind of thing. Do you think it's likely to have given me a peak ( I will note that it was quiet enough to not be uncomfortable at the time so I didn't worry too much)

 

PS: I had gotten all the tests (including the pressure test) before in my primary audiologist. Nothing had happened to worsen it. I just went again to a different one (because I am away) because I was feeling a weird pressure in my left ear and I felt it may be related to sinus issues. I wasn't hoping to get any hearing tests done but they thought I should and I agreed since I didn't necessarily have bad experiences with them in the past.

 

I have done all audiological tests many times in the past including acoustic reflexes and never got a spike from it.

I would avoid acoustic reflexes though as it is loud and possibly also tympanometry.

bone conduction audiogram will not cause a spike as far as I know I just had a hearing test last month and got no issues from it.

 

I doubt the bone conduction test has anything to do with your spike.

 

Unfortunately, I remember reading about others who got spikes following bone conduction tests. It is unbelievable that audiologists are not being taught that some tests are off limits for people with T...

You will need to wait for several months before knowing whether this is a long term problem. For now, it makes sense to assume that this is a temporary spike...

 

Acoustic Reflex, CVEMP/Ovemp, ECOG, Microsuction, etc can cause hearing damage. I am still battling severe t and severe h and its going to be one year next month after I done these tests.

 

That's so weird. Do you know how it works and why it may be dangerous? There are several other things that may have been the cause of the spike so I don't want to necessarily point a finger at that. Especially since the first night there was no sign of a spike, but I noticed it the second night after the test. It might have been impacted by my heightened caffeine intake over the past few days, decreased sleep, and/or half an hour spent in semi loud space with ear muffs.
Also maybe stress.
But it hadn't reached this level before so I kind of linked it to the one thing that I hadn't been exposed to which is the bone test.
Do you find that spikes tend to happen immediately after exposure?

 

I have had multiple bone conduction tests within less than a year. No impact on my tinnitus.

 

I wish I knew, but I don't.

Thank you for your post. I was the one who asked the audiologist to do that test, so I am grateful for any evidence that this test might not be what gave T to me.

Same here. My T might be the result of the original shock, or it might be due to me doing Valsalva maneuver too many times.

That had been my experience, as well...

How many days ago did you do the test?!

My spikes normally happen within 24 hours of the exposure. For some people it is longer.

 

Same here.

 

That's good to hear.
I can see how some tests are dangerous, like when I had the acoustic reflex test it was so painful but that didn't even cause a spike.

 

Ohhhh I also pop my ears a lot. Is that bad too?
I'M DOING SO MANY THINGS WRONG. But I don't know how much more careful I can be and continue to exit the house. And also my left ear feels clogged all the time now since T and I just got in the habit of like popping it multiple times a day (kind of like yawning/popping)

 

But all in all I feel like it wasn't the bone conduction test, I'm relatively reassured by that now. It was more than 48 hrs after the exposure when the peak happened and I feel like physical fatigue and exposure to the loud working space probably has more to do with it.

 

sorry to spam you

 

If you use "Valsalva maneuver" as a keyword to search this forum, you will see that several people believe they got T (or got T spikes) after performing Valsalva maneuver too forcefully. Nowadays, I try not to pop my ears this way. It is likely not a problem if you do it gently, but why not go easy on our ears? If you have a full ear sensation as a result of exposure to noise, Valsalva maneuver will not change anything. Otherwise your ears ought to eventually pop all by themselves. Why rush it?

 

did you do an OAE tests? did that have any effect?

 

I did it and nothing happened. It has to be loud - like really loud! The DPOAE revealed damage, Speech in Noise revealed outer hair cell damage, also revealed inner hair cell damage.

 

I wonder how loud OAE are I did it a few times with no issues but I am having a spike now so my ears might be more sensitive I will have another hearing test tomorrow not sure whether to decline it or not.

So you audio gram was normal but the OAE showed damaged?

 

Audiogram used to be normal but after doing Caloric/CVEMP, it went down (Dip to 15db on 3khz and 6khz). DPOAE revealed damage in left ear (outer hair cells), speech in noise revealed damage in both ears as I cant hear in noisy areas (mild hearing loss in noisy areas). MY T is very loud, need to have laptop on, sound machine, and tv to get some relief.

 

@Bill Bauer, I know it is an old thread but I wanted to ask a quick question. I just tried the Valsalva but did not go all the way. I did it really slow and gradually and once I felt a pressure I immediately stopped. I did not even pop the ears. However, my tinnitus spiked and I feel like my hyperacusis is starting to get worse.

Do you think I might have caused some damage?