Very Strange and Scary Tinnitus Experience After Waking Up from a Nightmarish Dream

I've had tinnitus for years and years but mostly it's always been a very quiet background noise, similar to the noise from holding a seashell to your ear or crickets. There have been occasional spikes however, but nothing alarming.

Until a few nights ago . . . . I had a dream around midnight, I don't remember what it was about other than thinking it was "very intense" and bordered on a nightmare. When I woke from it I had the worst tinnitus ever, it was extremely loud and fast, banging, clanging, whooshing (almost but not quite like an MRI). In my half wake state I thought to myself "this is what it's like to hear your brain working." And it felt to me (again in my half wake state) like my brain was trying to process the big dream I just had. I go up to open my window and it lessened somewhat but then increased when I lay down again. All in all it lasted about 15 minutes, diminishing slowly. As as lay there I thought that it may not be tinnitus as the noise seemed to be coming from the back of my head/brain rather than my ears. I was definitely awake, I wasn't dreaming this. I'm wondering if they noise is what woke me.

I'm pretty freaked out about this, thinking worst case scenario. I'm wondering if anyone has ever heard of anything like this.

 

This sounds like a case of irregular fleeting tinnitus.

I commonly get the loud high pitch eeee that blasts into your ear for a few seconds, but there have been a few times over the span of the past 3 years where I’ve had what you describe.

It was really freaky, so I get you, but if it happens again it will likely diminish again as well (like I said, has happened to me more than once - second time was scarier because I thought it would stay).

Hugs to you man. Sounds like it went completely away correct?

 

Yes, it's gone away, at least for now, and I'm back to my "normal" tinnitus. I'm so afraid of it happening again but even more afraid of what it may mean. I don't understand why it happened. It was loud!! and I've never experienced anything like this before. What causes this? Along with this I've had a "headache behind my eyes" for a few days. I should probably go to the doctor but too scared of what he may tell me.