Tips for Dealing with a Spike?

Hello friends

A couple of days ago I was driving for about 4 hours (75-85 dB). While I was having a break after the first two hours and was wearing ear plugs the whole time, I feel like my tinnitus might have gotten a bit worse. This makes me somewhat upset because I feel like I have gotten so much better the last months. My ears are not as bad as they used to be, but I feel like I have had a set-back in my recovery. Especially since I find myself stressed about and focused on them again. I just hope this is just a spike and not more damage.

Do you have any tips for what I should do after such a spike/increase?

 

I think the best thing to do is to try and carry on with your life as normal as possible. Whenever you're in quieter settings where you find yourself noticing it then find something to mask it and keep yourself busy. Don't let yourself be drawn to the spike and don't get too upset over it.

The negative thoughts will make you more anxious and you'll be in a more constant fight or flight state. Tell yourself it's annoying or it's bringing you down if you need to, but mask it and carry on. Be happy and tell yourself you're not gonna let this hold you back. Hopefully if it bothers you less then it'll just start to come down and you won't even be thinking about it.

 

Everyone's different, but generally when I get spikes, I try to get more sleep, and I find that usually helps. I also try to decrease any muscular tension that I have in my back or neck, because I can alter the signal of my tinnitus by moving my neck around. If I have a lot of tension in my neck, I usually find that my tinnitus is louder. Running or a heating pad can help with that. I also take a decongestant (if I'm congested). Hope your tinnitus settles down soon.

 

The wearing of earplugs for such a long duration I would not advise. They shouldn't really necessary for the sound levels that you have quoted. I understand that you are sensitive to sound and probably have hyperacusis. The answer is to treat the condition and not keep away or suppress normal everyday sounds. All you will achieve long term is to make your auditory system hypersensitive due to a lowering of loudness threshold. Please click on the links below and read my posts, which you might find helpful.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/are-spikes-from-loud-noise-permanent.18156/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

 

In my case, I will be expecting Tinnitus and Hyperacusis spikes when I am hungry, tired or stressed. Knowing which body functions have an impact on my T and H has been useful to stay calm during a spike assault. As long I am not exposing my ears to a really toxic sound environment, I know spikes are now part of my normal life, and they will come and they will go away too.

 

I had to say I love your avatar @ludvi as I'm obsessed with sea otters and otters in general. They are my favourite animal along with dogs. I just love otters, your avatar made me smile so thank you for that. I'm jealous of my sister though she works with otters on a daily basis, she's even had one come up to her and sit in her lap eating fish and she gets to stroke them.

 

I have done a lot of driving, earlier this year (we are talking 10 hours of driving per day for several days in a row). I would also get minor spikes afterwards, but they would normally not last. Having said this, this was more than a year after the onset of my T, so there is a chance that my ears got a little more resistant to noises and shocks compared to how I was during the first year after the onset. Still, I think that if you had been protecting your ears, you ought to be ok in a couple of days.