Two Weeks of Annoying Tinnitus in Both Ears. What to Do?

[MarkSmith]

Hi everybody. I'm 60 years old on the West coast of the USA. Have not had any loud noise exposure. On 2/10/15 started having a few days of slight dizziness but the room spun only once. The off kilter sensation seemingly occurred just a few times a day and only when I looked down. It disappeared after five days, but was replaced with increased hearing (geeeeez)… everybody seems to talk too loud. Along with the increased hearing came tinnitus in both ears. Not sure if it's constant, but it's equal volume in both ears. Saw an ear specialist and a neurologist and my exam was normal except for a mild higher frequency hearing loss which they said is due to my age.

No one has explained why everything sounds loud and why I have ringing in both ears. I have to tell everyone to speak softer in person and on the phone.

A friend said to start Centrum multivitamins and 800 mg. of folic acid, so started those today. Otherwise I'm on no meds and feel fine.

What to do about the ringing and why is my hearing increased if I have the ringing and a hearing loss ??????

Thanks.

 

[billie48]

Welcome Mark. I think you have hyperacusis besides tinnitus. I had severe hyperacusis which turned all normal sounds piercingly hurtful to my ears. Yes they appear too loud. I could stand sounds from tv, driving, dish washing, movies, social party noises, not even the soft voice of my wife spoken too close. I have hearing loss in the high frequency. So my T is very high pitch. The H was very limiting as I dared not go out initially, always with ear plugs. But fortunately, like many people reporting, H just faded away slowly in a year. So don't worry about it much. It may just fade in time. Take care and God bless.

 

[MarkSmith]

Thank you so much. Does the hyperacusis disappear when the tinnitus disappears?? The hyperacusis is more annoying than the tinnitus.

My ringing is also high pitched and 10-40% volume compared to the sounds I'm supposed to hear.

So do medications help? Acupuncture? Does this ringing go away in most people?

 

[billie48]

Actually hyperacusis (H) just faded over time within the year of starting right after T. My T is still raging loud but the H faded. Yes, it is very limiting as I had to withdraw from social contacts. With T you can still go places, with H, you have to watch the sound level all the time and usually you can't go because everywhere the sound is yoo loud. If you want to know the detail of my story with T & H, you can read the success story in this link, and leave a comment or question you have on some points mentioned in the story and I will answer your question(s) there.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

[RB2014]

The important thing to do is to not let your emotions get the best of you. Remain calm and just deal with this. If you start thinking this is never going to go away, it might not. It takes time but eventually the sensitivity to sounds will go away on its own. You can have sensitivity to sounds with hearing loss. Eventually the sensitivity will go away and you are left with the slight hearing loss. The tinnitus gets worst with the sensitivity. Basically just take it easy and try to stay away from places that are too loud or make you uncomfortable. The tinnitus may or may not go away, but the less you pay attention to it the better off you will be. Don't do like me and start the never ending spiral of worrying as it will make everything louder, and then you worry more and its gets louder more and etc etc., until you are on medication. Welcome to the forums.

 

[MarkSmith]

The important thing to do is to not let your emotions get the best of you. Remain calm and just deal with this. If you start thinking this is never going to go away, it might not. It takes time but eventually the sensitivity to sounds will go away on its own. You can have sensitivity to sounds with hearing loss. Eventually the sensitivity will go away and you are left with the slight hearing loss. The tinnitus gets worst with the sensitivity. Basically just take it easy and try to stay away from places that are too loud or make you uncomfortable. The tinnitus may or may not go away, but the less you pay attention to it the better off you will be. Don't do like me and start the never ending spiral of worrying as it will make everything louder, and then you worry more and its gets louder more and etc etc., until you are on medication. Welcome to the forums.

Thank you for your posts. The tinnitus peaked two days ago, then went back to the usual annoying baseline. I am going to seek a cure or something which might immediately reduce the problem.

Anyone tried acupuncture ? (No, not needling the eardrum!)

 

[nills]

Thank you for your posts. The tinnitus peaked two days ago, then went back to the usual annoying baseline. I am going to seek a cure or something which might immediately reduce the problem.

Anyone tried acupuncture ? (No, not needling the eardrum!)

So your T is fresh, it might leave on it`s own, happens to a lot of people. Than again, the word `cure` you used is the magic word here. And up untill now we havn `t seen any magic yet. Some sparks here and there, some fairy dust but true magic? Not yet. I would at least eat healthy for the next time, skip too much sugar and bad fats. Coffee imo is okay and actually helps I find. 1 or 2 cups.

If I was in your spot I would read the Retigabine threads .. just saying ...

good luck

 

[Sailboardman]

Hi, MarkSmith,

I'm doing acupunture with traditional Chinese medicine and at times, my T is lower. It's not a cure, but helps diminish anxiety levels.

Try some supplements, like magnesium oil, calcium, zinc, vit C, and NAC. I also take melatonin, 5HTP and L-Theanine at night for sleep.

A sound machine in the bedroom, also works to mask the T and promotes sleep. I use a Hometics unit, with 6 nature sounds. I find the rain setting the best for me.

God Bless!

Sailboardman

 

[MarkSmith]

Thanks. The "T" is diminishing in the past two days, so will defer doing anything. It's true that ignoring it "makes it better".

 

[MarkSmith]

Hi everyone. Tinnitus is about 60% better, still bilateral, often gone or unnoticeable. Sometimes it seems multivitamins + 800 mg/day of folate helps, sometimes not. Doesn't seem stress-related. Generally worse in the evening. No correlation to anything, but it's better.