What Is Normal Tinnitus Like?

I am trying to figure out if my experience is normal compared to the rest others with tinnitus. I can hear it anywhere without background noise. I can hear it in a quiet room with just a TV on, in a doctor's office, etc. I can't hear it in a grocery store, on the street, etc. When it's quiet it's loud, like an alarm going off. The longer I hear it the louder it gets, yet it seems to take less sound to cover it up than the amount of sound it produces when it's quiet.

 

That is exactly how my tinnitus is, on a good day, when I do not have a spike. When I have a spike or during the time when my T worsens, I can hear it over EVERYTHING.

 

Is it normal to not be able to hear it outside, while driving etc.? I thought I had moderate T volume (although extremely bothersome for me) but it seems like most people can mask it to some degree. Only rushing water like the shower really masks mine. It hardly ever fluctuates either.

Maybe that has more to do with pitch than just volume?

 

I think the frequency..not just the volume has something to do with how maskable t is. Also related to perception..though i know some wpuld disagree

 

@Alue

I think that the rushing water of the shower works for you not because it masks/covers/matches your frequency (the frequencies of rushing water are not high, they are pleasant, otherwise they wouldn't be used as sound therapy, they are under your regular pitch), but you do not hear your frequency because showering, with its plethora of sensorial perceptions (the water sounds, the heat of the water, the tactile sensations in almost all the sensors that are in the skin) steals your whole attention.
In order to hear a sound we have to also have part of our attention available for it to get into our consciousness. That is why in a room with a tic tac wall clock we hear it "on and off". When we are focused on something else, we cease to be aware of it, we do not hear it, and when our mind is freed enough again we rediscover the sound of the wall clock.
If you are an experienced driver, the act of driving takes too little of your attention (driving becomes almost a reflex, performed subconsciously) to not leave plenty of mind space for the perception of your permanent T sound).
While driving I have plenty of attention for my thoughts, while showering it's like I have a break from my life, that is all I do, I just "shower", hard for me to think about anything (else).
But that may happen just in my case so those are just my two cents.

 

There is no such thing, s normal. All of us hear different things at different levels, some have soft, some have harsh (like mine)...

 

I believe that by "normal tinnitus" that author meant most commonly encountered among T sufferers.

 

Yes that is what I meant. Does anyone know what most people with tinnitus experience?

 

I think normal T is like the T that you sometimes hear after a loud night out, a bit of background ringing that you notice when you go bed for the most part.

I I often wonder this as well as mine was not noise induced.

 

BTW, Telis, in what circumstances you got your horrendous T?

 

Wow. That sounds really nice. I am jealous. I wish mine was like that. I could just mask it and fall asleep.

 

@Jkph75
There is no such thing as "normal tinnitus", actually.
You invented this notion and now you are asking us what it sounds like. Not fair.
There is "fleeting T" which lasts only a few seconds, for no apparent reason, and alomost everybody experienced it at some point in his life, and the T after a loud night out, or a concert, that goes away until next morning or at the most in a few days, which is called "disco T". The term is obsolete now because the times and the music genres changed, but "disco T" was the term for ringing after loud music back in the old days.
I do not know how is called the T after a loud concert nowadays, but not certainly not "normal T".
Is not "normal" to have T even for only hours after loud noise, that means that damage was done to the auditory system. That damage is cumulative, and after many evenings of "disco T" (I do not know if the term was replaced with a newer one, like "rock T", never heard of that one) one day the person will wake up with permanent T.
There are also unlucky people who remained with bad permanent T after a single night out in a noisy bar.

 

@Dana

Point taken. I am just trying to figure out how bad mine is in relation to everyone else's. I woke up with this gift 2.5 months ago, so I guess I am a relatively new member of this distinguished club.

 

2.5 months of T only are very far from being declared chronical T sufferer, so you are not yet a member of our "distinguished" club.
Try to run away from this club, focus all the time on something else in order to forget about your T, and you will increase greatly the odds for your T to NOT become permanent.
"Health clubs" are way more distinguished, take measures to join one of those. One measure is to not pay attention to your T, which is what you are doing now.
Run away while you can!


BTW, We accept new members only after 18 months of T.

 

Barotrauma, ruptured ear drums and then ototoxic drugs inc antibiotic ear drops. I was olso hit in the head and had concussion shortly after as shown on a brain scan, I'm still dealing with post concussion symptoms as well, I think? It's been so long and not a lot has improved so not sure. I guess mine was made worse with noise but not until after the damage. I don't know if it's the T that bothers me or a combo of constant ear pain, dizziness, and H. It is however the T that seems to get me the most but the combo is bad. I just can't get my head off My ears and head in general, my ear pain gets worse with any noise and so does the T, impossible to mask or find any relief. If it was just T, maybe I could get busy and ignore it (not sure) but as I stated, I can't get my mind off my ears and have a lot of other ear/brain symptoms besides ringing. Maybe noise trauma is different, I don't know, I never really had a issue with a lot of noise until this so at times I wonder what those people with noise trauma experience. The first thing that comes to mind is minor ear ringing after a club, but who knows. I guess it's all different and no can really say. All just speculation I guess.

 

Only 3 months since onset... not part of the club? heheeh

 

Haha. I think I deserve to be let in the club now. Here's my reasoning.

1. I have at least 3 different sounds.
2. I have something more than just tinnitus b/c things get worse if I don't take Prednisone. Drs don't know what is wrong with me yet.
3. Not to show off but I am already deaf in one ear.

I think this is worthy of early admittance.

 

Some truth here. I believe something like >half of new onset cases resolve with a year.

@Jkph75 Your current situation "sounds" like mine. I've had T for close to 25 years. I only hear it in quiet rooms, seldom in my quiet office, and never in stores or on the street. I believe our perceived loudness, if you will, is not common. I rate mine a 3 (varies from 2-4) on 1-10 scale.

You should mask it as needed, and think of anything but T. You'll likely habituate fairly easily if it's not too bad.

 

It's hard to mask tinnitus when there is hearing loss, I have a masker but can't completely mask because I have hearing loss, anyone else with same problem?

 

How much hearing did you lose?

 

BTW if you just lost your hearing the sound might go away entirely. There are people who lost all of their hearing in one ear and the noises went away after a while.

 

I lost it 4 months ago lt hear severe to moderate loss

 

In one ear or both?

 

Unilateral left

 

I would think that if you are in enough noise you would be able to mask it. You just wouldn't get much benefit from wearing a masker. Although, I really have no clue what it is like to hear out of 2 ears. Thankfully, my deaf ear is quiet.

And 4 months is very recent for such a loss. They think I had labyrintitis and lost a small amount of hearing. My Neurologist said that it would take a year or more for my ear to heal.

 

Your T is in the good ear? And the deaf one is silent?

 

Yep. Never had tinnitus until recently. Sometimes I think I hear/feel a high pitched tinnitus in my deaf ear but I think that is some sort of nerve overstimulation. I never had it before

 

Weird, I got SSHL on 4/2 and immediately had loud intrusive T , for first 6 weeks I was anxious and suicidal now I am just annoyed. Noise will not allow me to enjoy life! I hope I can habituate, I had one or two days in last 2 weeks were my
T was a low hiss and the high pitch eeee was not Audible I could live with that !
Last few days I have high pitched loud eeeeee and a lower tone hissssssssss
How long have u had the T

 

5 months. I got it a month after I had my daughter. I was also dizzy and had a clogged feeling in my ear. At least that has resolved for the most part. Now I am left with this tremendous noise. It still makes me anxious b/c I am afraid that I will lose the rest of my hearing which doesn't scare me as much as this noise getting louder. Mine is pretty much the same every day even though the sounds change. Recently, I had a few very low days. Then yesterday was out of control. Today back to"normal". Very strange. They are still telling me that it might go away or at least become a lot quieter. Idk what I think about that. What are they telling you?

 

I had steroid injection normal MRI and hearing loss and T continue, I also feel blocked it's 4 months now, at John Hopkins university a otoneurologist told that there is nothing to do he told in 6 months it will be 'less' intrusive ?
I had 2 hrs of severe vertigo about 3 months ago, now I just feel unbalanced
Dom