What Is Tinnitus Baseline?

Hello,

I've read a lot of posts that talk about T going back to baseline. I've had T for a little over 5 weeks now, and it has been loud since the day it started, with the exception of one good day last week when it got lower, and maybe a few hours here and there. How do you know what baseline is? Is my loud T baseline, or should a person have T for a while before determining what their baseline is? I sure hope this loud screech isn't my baseline.

Thank you.

Barbara

 

Hi Barbara,

I understand baseline to be when the tinnitus is at its least intrusive. It varies from person to person. Because tinnitus is relatively new to you it's unlikely to have stabilized. Once your emotional response is under control you will get a better understanding to what baseline actually is for you. This could take a couple of months.

When I first got tinnitus 6 years ago my tinnitus bothered me for around 9 months and then I habituated. It never changed after that point, it was always the same. I only ever noticed it at night or when it was quiet and it didn't bother me. It was no longer intrusive at that point. I never heard it during the day unless I was reading in a quiet room or heading off to sleep and background whitenoise took that away easily.

Right now, 6 months into my relapse my baseline is first thing in the morning. That is when tinnitus is at its quietest. Because mine still reacts to outside noise it tends to increase throughout the day. It only ever returns to baseline after a few hours sleep. It however does quieten a little when I am in a quiet place but not always.

If the screech ends up being your baseline do not fear. Given enough time you should naturally habituate, but you should be prepared to wait between 12 and 18 months for this to occur. If the tinnitus is extremely loud then you may want to consider some treatments like TRT. Even quiet tinnitus can be heard over background noise in its early stages.

Cheers,
Mark

 

No yours will likely go down.
For me I started of with a ring, then tv static, then quiet air sounds I could barely hear in the quiet bathroom, then I got a spike which I am having now where I have the air and another tone, the spike also brought along hearing distortion but as I understand it usually moves along after some time passes.
I wouldn't worry you're very early in, you have 18 months where tinnitus is considered to be in a anything can happen stage, in most cases the thing that happens is it resolves or it goes down enough for the person not to be bothered by it.

 

Thank you both for you replies. I am feeling better now and hope the noise will lower in volume or go away. There have been some negative threads lately and they really can be depressing, especially for newvies to T. My brother had T loud for two months and after that it is low now. It doesn't bother him anymore.

 

Mine was literally insane at first , settled down a lot .
It will get better

 

Hey Barbara,

This is a support forum. There are people really struggling with tinnitus and this is where they come. You should expect to hear negative comments. That aside you rarely hear from them again after 6 - 12 months and that is because they are no longer in the same position and do not feel compelled to visit this site. I assure you it does get better with time.

I am six months into my second journey with tinnitus. The first 3 months were unbearable, the last 3 have been challenging. But I am experiencing days where it doesn't bother me as much and moments where I don't even notice it. So I know I am on the path to total recovery.

I just want you to be aware of something very important. 2 years from now you will be in a better place regarding your tinnitus. You won't notice it as much and it will not influence your life in any way. As far as you will be concerned life will be normal again. This is a truly wonderful place to be! But I must warn you to remain vigilant. Never again should you put yourself in loud environments without using hearing protection. So if you go to the movies or to a concert, I would strongly encourage you to wear plugs. You can get acoustic defenders for $20 that allow you to hear low level noise but cut out the loud stuff. These should be your friend and with you when to visit loud places. BTW, loud places are places where noise would constantly exceed 85db.

I made this mistake frequently and often over the 5 years that followed after habituation. Now I am paying for it. The second time through has been harder and taken longer to recover from. I wouldn't want you to experience the same thing again. So be wise!

Best,
Mark