Waxing and Waning Mid-Range Tinnitus for Months, Shrill More Recently

[18.2kHz]

Hi all, hope you're well. Just making an introductory post I guess - hoping I can figure out what is causing the issue for the me so I can at least prevent it getting worse.

I'm guessing I first noticed this within the last sixth months, when lying in bed it was a quiet but noticable mid range tone, came and went over the next month or so, and has been most stabilised since then. I think there was a bad week or two in November, but although it seems incessant I only notice it now if I listen for it. It's more noise-like than tonal now.

The last week or so I've developed a new tinnitus tone which seems to be right towards the top end of my hearing range. I've checked and the tone seems to be about 18200Hz. However this comes and goes, I almost never have it when I wake up in the morning, but it comes on over the first few hours of the day. I feel like showering might be bringing it on. This new tone is particularly annoying because it's usually not continuous; it's on a smooth amplitude cycle of about 4 seconds, and usually at the same time a much shorter cycle so it sort of flutters as well as pulsing. It's like a bird tweeting perhaps (I could graph the oscillation if that would be interesting to anyone). Last night there was something like habituation of it while I was laying in bed, but if I turned my head or rolled over it would be heard as if it was part of the sound of my movement. Perhaps this is what I've seen referred to as hyperacusis?

Today I've actually had a couple of hours relief from it. It was almost as bad as it's been for most of the last three days, but today I was in good spirits having a good laugh with friends and was able to just keep reminding myself it doesn't represent a real threat, and since then I haven't been able to detect this high tone even if I've tried. It is somewhat noticeable again since I started making this post however. Not sure if that's coincidence or if me worrying about it having a direct effect on its apparentness.
Almost forgot to mention this is almost all in my left ear, which is actually my 'healthier' ear. In my right ear I've damaged my hearing from about 14kHz upwards, but any tinnitus in that ear is so small it's unnoticeable, at least compared to the left.

I'll try just summarise the other things I wanted to mention because I tend to overexplain things.

+ I rarely go to gigs but have been playing with audio for about 10 years, listening to to a lot of prolonged drones in that time. I feel this is probably the primary cause.

+ In fact I have experienced what I refer to as 'transient' or 'ephemeral' tinnitus many times over the last few years. This is a random mid-range tone that starts with about a second's notice and fades out (habituates?) over 5 ~ 30 seconds. This usually is within 48 hours of being somewhere loud or listening to music.

+ I had a few episodes of low humming (maybe as low as 100Hz) tinnitus a couple of years ago which I am fairly confident was a side-effect of talking escitalopram for anxiety and depression. It started maybe a few weeks after being on the drug, and stopped when I stopped using it. This hum was normally co-present with a neck/sinus headache.

+ I've been vegetarian for almost 3 years, and am wondering if there's some thing I'm missing from meat (this includes fish) that could be provoking the problem?

+ Also I've been eating a lot of very spicy food for the last year or so. From what I understand this should help improve circulation and if anything should have a protective effect regarding hearing health, but thought i'd mention it anyway.

+ I've been for a hearing test a couple of months ago but they're only interested in frequencies necessary for speech (up to 8kHz). As for tinnitus they could only suggest I see a cognitive behavioural therapist to help me learn to deal with it.

Today has given me hope at least since it's been at it's peak the last few days and after a good bout of laughter it was undetectable.

That's it for now I think. Thanks for reading. If anyone has any insight or suggestions that would be much appreciated

 

[Bill Bauer]

If it became more high pitched, it is getting worse. Have you been protecting your ears from moderate noises like that of a vacuum cleaner?

 

[18.2kHz]

It's not like it's been rising gradually, it was random tones in the mid range that I got used to, then suddenly started with that one at the top end. Should I be protecting my ears from things like vacuum cleaners?

Today the pulsating top end tone I've described has been only barely noticible for a few minutes max, instead that frequency seems to be behaving like it's hypersensitive. If my keys or something else metal jingle it has a particularly loud resonance.

 

[Hazel]

today I was in good spirits having a good laugh with friends and was able to just keep reminding myself it doesn't represent a real threat, and since then I haven't been able to detect this high tone even if I've tried. It is somewhat noticeable again since I started making this post however. Not sure if that's coincidence or if me worrying about it having a direct effect on its apparentness.

This sounds familiar. I've also had a new tone appear recently, and unlike the sounds I already had (which are very constant), this new one seems to come and go. Whereas my baseline sounds seem impossible to influence - they're there if I'm anxious, they're there when I'm relaxed (though obviously they bother me a whole lot less when relaxed) - this new sound can be entirely gone when I'm feeling good, and then suddenly pop up when I'm anxious/stressed/tired, etc. Lack of sleep particularly seems to bring it on.

This new experience has convinced me that my original strategy for coping with T through body-based therapies (yoga, massage, breathing/relaxation exercises, meditation), which calm down the nervous system, is the right approach. I'm convinced if I keep up this strategy I can keep the new noise away, at least most of the time. Perhaps it works differently for you, but I just wanted to share this in case it helps.

Good luck! Stay strong and be patient and kind with yourself, things will get better...

 

[billie48]

Perhaps this is what I've seen referred to as hyperacusis?

Not likely hyperacusis as H will turn all normal sounds too loud and piercingly hurtful, to the point of feeling painful at times.

If my keys or something else metal jingle it has a particularly loud resonance.

If you feel the resonance like piercingly hurtful to your senses, this may be hyperacusis. But can't rule out if you have a mild element of H there with the resonance.

If your T becomes much lower after relaxing and having a good laugh, then stress and anxiety may have played a part in making your T worse. So if it works by relaxing and keeping calm, keep it up. Good luck. Take care. God bless.

 

[18.2kHz]

My high pitched tinnitus hasn't been as bad since I first posted. Sometimes it's present in its pulsating form, but mostly it isn't present. The mid range tinnitus noise that I've been used to for months is more noticeable, but this might just be because I'm paying more attention to it now. The sharp resonance seems to be gone now too.

I'm not sure how much the whole thing relates to my sense of wellbeing, but I'm working under the assumption that I need to keep up good spirits and be more relaxed, which is helping me with other life things anyway. Thanks

 

[glynis]

@18.2kHz ,
Lovely to hear your doing a lot better.
Positivity it the key .
Love glynis