Very Severe Tinnitus

Hi everyone.

I'm posting in hopes that people that are going through the same thing can give me hope.

I have very severe noise induced tinnitus. Last night I went to a nightclub (with custom made earplugs) and I could hear my tinnitus over the music. I thought I could habituate and was on my way to doing so but the fact that I can hear it over loud music is so scary.

It's so incredibly loud and I'm not sure if I can ever not care if it doesn't get quieter. I just want to hear from others that have it this severe as well that they managed to habituate.

 

My tinnitus is so loud, it feels like a spike 24-7. I can be at a concert(with ear plugs of course) and my tinnitus is louder than the music. It takes lots of mental strength to deal with LOUD/intrusive tinnitus. All in all, it is what it is for me at least. My tinnitus will NEVER get lower. Although this tinnitus is brutal, it will NEVER get me down or get a rise out of me. I tend to welcome the noise and not fight it and not dig myself into depression....

This kind of mentality, thinking and way of life takes lots of dedication and willingness on our part. You have to work at it and take it day by day. In time, it is possible to habituate and live your life, even with LOUD/intrusive tinnitus....

 

Going to a night club with noise induced tinnitus can be risky depending on the noise level even with plugs
Plugs don't do a good job at cutting low frequency sound waves which can resonate around the bones so you get additional damage while being under the impressio that you are protected

Which is perhaps why your T spiked

I got my first big T and H episode in a nightclub and I wearing plugs all the time in therr so I know.

And I love nightclubs in general I have been to a lot since my teens until my late 40s but there is a limit to what ears can handle unfortunately

 

Brave man. You have a lot of strength, but not everyone has the same pain tolerance.

 

How long have you had tinnitus? What caused it?

 

I was not always like this. I was a fragile pussycat in my life, for quite a while. I just got tired of being a victim and decided to turn the tables and take charge of my life....

We can be, do ANYTHING..as long as we believe we can.

 

I have severe tinnitus and I am having a hard time coping with this.

 

I've had it for a year and a loud club caused it. I've been going out alot last year and it didnt increase but now it just seems so loud. Maybe is the fact that its 38 degrees here that increased it but I just cant mask it anymore.

 

Did you do an audiogram?

 

The damage from noise is cumulative. I strongly advise you to stop going to clubs and other loud places. Let your ears rest and heal. Your hope lies in preventing this from getting worse.

 

The fact that you are visiting nightclubs is scary.

 

That would mean stopping my life. Going to clubs, parties and festivals is all me and my friends do.

 

Yes, it is insidious - it doesn't always turn on right after the noise exposure, sometimes the ramping up of the volume is gradual.

 

Yes. It showed 35db hearing loss or something like that. Not alot. I'm getting a new one done in a month.

 

Your reliance on earplugs is a more likely cause. I hope that you stop doing what is clearly not working for you, and stay away from loud noise.

 

My audiogram was initially 5db on 4khz, but after vemp test which was loud as hell it dropped from 5db to 30db on 4khz.

 

Sorry you are suffering at the moment.

To be perfectly frank with you, since my onset, I have avoided loud venues. I just think once the hearing apparatus is injured, it is rendered vulnerable. Havent seen any studies to suggest otherwise. I know audios try to reassure us that noise up to 80db is safe, but how do we know that when I fail to find any studies to prove otherwise?

I just dont think it is worth the risk, and I never liked loud noise even before my t and h, and hearing loss.

The fact that you can hear it over the music may not suggest that your t is getting louder mind you. I think the frequency of your t is relevant too, and whether the music you were listening to is capable of masking it. It could also mean you have some sound sensitivity, so your t reacts to external sounds.

You need to rest your ears and your nervous system. I can reassure you that I have experienced a number of noise induced related spikes since my onset, that have settled down once I give my ears a rest. One time in particular, was a solid wooden door slamming right near my left ear. Immediately, I felt pain, muffled hearing, louder tinnitus. Then, of course, the panic sets in and the catastrophising. I took magnesium and nac, and raced up to Melbourne for an urgent audiogram. You could do that if you really wanted, or try one of the online audiograms to get a rough idea what your hearing is doing? But, I just wanted to reassure you that it is likely your t will calm down.

I asked about steroids in this situation. I was told unless there is a noticeable dip in my hearing threshold, that it would have no value. However, maybe people who have used steroids prophylactically, could comment.

Have I habituated to loud tinnitus. YES!

I knew several years prior to the onset of my t that i had a mod bilateral hearing loss, that didnt impact on me at all.

24 hours after the last dose of IV ciprofloxacillin for an ear infection, I met my t for the first time 5 years ago.

It was loud, intrusive, and unrelenting.

Then came the spikes, and the hyperacusis.

I threw everything at it in a desperate bid to 'get rid of it'

Nothing worked.

Until i decided that I would have to 'learn to live with it'.

By the time, I decided to do stem cells last year (for severe joint pain, not t), I was already habituating.

Since the stems, I have noticed the reactive component of my t has improved dramatically, along with the spikes, which were the hardest of all to deal with because it obstructed my ability to habituate.

It is definately possible to habituate to loud, intrusive tinnitus. Just have a look at the back to silence thread and video. The OP suffered with very loud tinnitus for several decades before trying a method that has led to his successful habituation.

Hope this helps

Deb

 

The weird thing is it doesnt feel louder when I'm focussing on it in a quiet room. Its the same loud dog whistle it has always been. I can just hear it alot easier and quicker now, so I can even hear it over other loud noises.

Also I'm going on a vacation to spain with my friends for 8 days. Which will be pretty much 8 days of going to clubs. Cant really cancel that.

 

What is the NRR or equivalent for your custom plugs?

 

Do you live in the uk?

 

You really have to make a decision about what is most important to you. Do you want to risk dealing with severe tinnitus for the rest of your life? There is so much to life. Loud clubs and concerts are only a small part of it. Friends can come and go. Tinnitus often stays.

 

A lot of tinnitus members of TT forums have to give up their life time hobbies
(eg. playing saxophone, visiting disco club ...) to avoid aggravating their tinnitus.
Hearing loss is irreversible. Currently, there is no effective medicine of cure.
Again, it is your personal choice.

 

30 or 35 db. Not 100% sure but it was the best they had.

 

Losing these friends would hurt me more than the tinnitus. I'd rather stay with them and hope for a cure in the nearby future.

 

Everyone seems to be jumping to the conclusion that going to these clubs worsened my T. I've been going to them ever since I gof T and it has never increased. Only now an immense heatwave hit the Netherlands it seems to be alot more noticable. That makes me think it has more to do with the heat.

 

No I live in the Netherlands

 

Since it was only last night id imagine that in time it will calm down. It took about 4/5 days when i went to gig with ear plugs last month. Once Tinnitus is established i think we notice every little change really easily. Mine has been slowly dropping in intensity these last few months which has kept me positive and chilled out about it but i know that it wouldn't and doesn't take much at all for it to feel like its loud and scary again, its a very fine line. Within 5 minutes of being around loud music even with plugs was enough to get it excited again. If your Tinnitus is fairly loud then going out regularly even with plugs is going to stop it getting better and you wont notice the changes when your going out. Hence you said its never made it worse before, this is probably because you haven't allowed it to get better.

Im not going to tell you how to live your life and i understand that for some people friends, festivals, music is life. To give those up would be to give up life itself and i get that. Severe Tinnitus i have experienced for maybe two or three nights of my life and i can only liken it to sitting on a fire (which is weird because iv never sat in a fire). I know i personally cant handle severe T for the rest of my life, so iv took the decision to never go anywhere near loud stuff again with or without plugs.

 

Ask yourself why it never Decreased.

 

hey man. I'm not in the medical industry, I write computer programs for other industries, but I do hold a BS in Biomedical Engineering Technology, and I can undertsand/comprehend medical journal articles and I have been desperately trying to find m own cure for tinnitus and from what I have learned and understood about tissue regeneration and the already accomplished state of the technology, I think they already have the cure at both Frequency Therapeutics as well as Decibel Therapeutics. Even more so with Decibel because they've raise more money. There's just more info on Frequency because they're already in FDA trials. So have hope and hold on.Ive even spoken with a representative at Decibel and my perception of the call was that they already have the cure and or a viable treatment.

 

I am fine not going to concerts, clubs, festivals ,etc as long as my t reduces to mild. But I really want to go to restaurants, cafes, malls, etc. My T is Severe and it wont permit to do anything really.