Went to the Tinnitus Center and It Didn't Help

I've already been to numerous doctors including an ENT and audiologist, so I didn't see the point, but was taken to a tinnitus center by my parents. The doctor at the tinnitus center saw my earplugs immediately told me I couldn't wear them. She told me it would cause me to pay attention to my T more. She said I shouldn't wear earplugs unless I went to a concert (I could never do that; even with the strongest earplugs and ear muffs ever.)

She told me I had severe hyperacusis and put a pair of earbuds in my ear and played these ambient sounds (which were really uncomfortable but I didn't say anything) and asked me at different levels if I still heard the ringing. She gave my parents this schedule that I was supposed to follow in which I'm supposed to listen to the ambient sounds everyday with these special headphones.

I said that regular sounds were uncomfortable for my ears and she said it was because of my hyperacusis. I explained I was afraid if I removed the earplugs the tinnitus might get louder and she treated me as if all of these problems were because of my anxiety.

When I got home my parents took away my earplugs because of what the doctor instructed. I can't do anything about it and my tinnitus has gotten so much louder these past few weeks. I can hear it everywhere I go. And I don't have my earplugs so I'm afraid it'll only get worse.

I have to endure every loud sound now and my ears are in so much pain all of the time. I never realized how bad the hyperacusis was and now when I lie down in bed at the end of the day my ears are aching. My parents don't understand and they say I have to follow the doctor's advice, even though my GP and ENT told me to keep wearing earplugs, and tinnitus wouldn't worsen. It's already much louder and I'm afraid it'll only get worse. Everyone seems to think it's just "anxiety," but they don't understand it's the tinnitus that's causing the anxiety. It feels like no one understands and they treat me as if I'm just exaggerating everything. I just have a lot of anxiety right now.

 

HI @butterfly75
I was in your situation 20 years ago when I first got tinnitus with very severe hyperacusis. With treatment I improved and I no longer have severe hyperacusis, it is completely healed. I do have tinnitus but that's another story. Your ENT Dr is right and I strongly advise you to follow her advice. Overuse of earplugs will make your symptoms worse and your auditory system will have difficultly to desensitize. I have written an article on tinnitus and one on hyperacusis and how to treat it them. You should be using a sound machine by your bed at night. Click on the links below to read my articles.

Best of luck
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Tinnitus does not get louder from most environmental sounds so the doctor is right that it doesnt make sense to be wearing ear plugs all day long.

I only wear my plugs during long drives, soccer games, busy roads in large cities and loud restaurants/gatherings.

What kind of ear pain do you get at the end of the day?

 

Aching pain throughout the day, and at the end of the day my ears just feel very worn out.

 

What I'm realizing is nobody understands or takes it seriously unless they have it. Sorry for your situation. Yesterday, my T was almost non-existent, I woke at up 4:00 this morning and it was still minimal. I fell back asleep and woke up again st 6:30 and the T orchestra was going to town. I adamantly believe that our distress comes from the T, NOT we have T because we are distressed/anxious. BUT, the only way these doctors would understand that is if they had it themselves at this severity.

 

I went to a famous center for tinnitus in LA many years ago. Never helped my situation either. You need to go see a trained professional that deals with H and follow their program. I had very bad H and still Horrible T, but these days I manage my T and i have no other choice. Being scared of every sound is not healthy. Not all sounds are equal, you for sure need ear plugs in concerts and clubs and very loud areas.

Everyone is different, but don't let tinnitus limit you, in every way. This doesn't help you at all...

 

@butterfly75
You need to give your inner ear some chance to heal so you would need to protect your ears with plugs/muffs for a few months, maybe a year or more until it gets better. Be patient it takes time.

Re-training your brain can come much later once you have given your ears some rest.
Both approaches are important the question is when to do which .

For now just get some new plugs and wear those whenever you feel its too loud. Or ear muffs. Only you can feel that, don't listen to other people advice. If it feels too loud its your body instinct to protect your ears and also a sign of nerve damage which makes sounds painful.

It did over-protect my ears for 18 months after noise trauma and I thanks to that I improved lot.

You have the rest of your life to re-train your brain but only one chance at healing your ears in the early stages ...or make it even worse

 

Get musician ear plugs..they still allow sounds in and protect your ears. I have a custom made pair and i take them with me everywhere i go.

 

I actually wish I was given advice like that.

But I'm in a minority I see.

 

I agree. Protecting my ears was helping keep my tinnitus from getting worse than it is.

I'm under 18 so I can't obtain earplugs without my parents who think I have to follow this doctors' advice. And the doctor observed my files and asked me about how it said I was being treated for anxiety so she's probably just diminished all my problems to the anxiety.

 

@butterfly75
Your parents cannot understand, don't expect them or others to ever understand all of this

Besides, aren't teenagers supposed to revolt against their parents..this is the perfect occasion


Its your own responsibility to protect your own ears for the time being - and I'm sure no shop or pharmacy is ever going to ask for an age check when buying some foam plugs..its not like your are buying alcohol or cigarettes

I would suggest the hearos or macks super soft foam plugs in flesh color..roll them thin and put those deep ...no one will even see you have plugs at all

 

I'm sorry to read about what you're going through.

The advice you were given is true, you need to stop wearing those ear plugs in normal environments and give the sound therapy a go! I would speak to your doctor about some medications to help with your anexity too

 

So you will wear ear plugs all day long for the rest of your life?

Use common sense and only protect in loud environments, no one is wearing plugs all the time unless they have severe hyperacusis

 

I know it isn't wise to wear ear plugs all of the time, but having them when I go outside would at least be helpful.

 

I think you should wear them while they make you comfortable and safe, but with a view to using them less and less, again as you feel comfortable not doing so. Small challenges first, working up to bigger ones in YOUR time, not the therapists schedule. I tend to agree with Bobby. If you break a leg when jumping you don't treat it with more jumping, but you do rest it and re-introduce jumping as your tolerance (and courage) permits. I find much of the anti-earplug dogma to be really unhelpful. Rehabilitation from this (it is rarely recovery) is a gradual process and anyone who comes at you with a "don't do that!" mentality has no concept of what we deal with. The psychology and the physiology of all this is inextricably linked and one cannot be managed in isolation from the other.

 

The medical profession, tinnitus 'centres', clinics etc. know so little about tinnitus that they really should be stopped from giving 'absolute' advice. When they have definitive treatment and a cure that actually removes T then they will be qualified to make statements like 'earplugs don't help'. We don't know that they don't help. It's the definition of 'help' that needs clarification here. Anxiety and stress may be relieved by wearing earplugs with T... I'm not saying they will help, because I don't know. My point is that neither does anyone else! Most ENTs are thinking about hearing when they give advice, not about tinnitus (even if they make it sound as though it's about T). Go buy yourself some earplugs - parents are often wrong (I have 3 sons and their intuitive knowledge often amazes me - just because I'm the parent it doesn't mean I'm always right). @butterfly75

 

Great comment! True of every aspect of the current therapeutic paradigm. How many here have gone for help with tinnitus and/or hyperacusis only to be told that their hearing is fine while being looked at like they are crazy? There will never be an effective treatment approach (cure or not) while Click's observation above rules the day among caregivers.