Who Remembers What Silence Was Like?

Hi, my tinnitus started around 8 years ago.

It has consistently increased in volume from the faint hissing at the start to just under the vacum cleaner volume in that time frame.

3 1/2 years ago it when silent for a second, can't remember what it was like but do remember it happened.

Does anyone else have tinnitus that is increasing in volume.

Regards,
Doug Bell

 

My T has increased in volume. hHowever it seems to vary a bit depending of diet and anxiety levels. I do remember what silence was like as I'm just coming up to a year of this. I do miss it a lot especially when out in nature.

 

I certainly do not! Silence for me has Been highpitched so to speak all my life. I do not really know why ;S

 

@kioakviz
It's funny you should ask about remembering silence. I've had reactive tinnitus with hearing loss since 2008 and every morning I have about 3 seconds between being asleep and being awake that it is silent. It used to make me sad because I was focused on how life used to be but now I'm happy to have those seconds and although brief, are welcome. My tinnitus increases in volume if I'm around any sound at all, hence the name reactive tinnitus. That is why my home is my sanctuary because I can control the noise around me.

I agree with volsung37 that its very hard to be out in nature because its never quiet now. I used to hike alone but can't do that any longer as there are some large animal predators in my area and hearing is essential. I have replaced the 'can't do anymore' things with other activities and it works well for me. My biggest challenge is still being around people. Unless they speak directly at me I can only fill in the blanks of the conversation to get an idea of what is being said. A lot has to do with the pitch of the person's voice so new encounters are always a little nerve wracking.

 

I have been blessed to hear silence after 12 years only short spells or hours...like now I can not hear my ears at all...taking every precious moment with a gift and hope many more to come...
Never give up hope....lots of love glynis

 

I remember. I also remember what it was like too listen too music and really enjoy it.

I miss waking up in my quiet house or enjoying a nice long sleep at the weekend.

 

I don't miss silence but I miss waking up on Saturday mornings and putting the stereo full Blast on, with my favorite music - the whole house was shaking back then

And in the car

I have a pretty powerful high end sound system with a large subwoofer

Now I have to behave like I am some kind of fragile guy made out of glass with ears that will crap out at the first loud sounds

 

I miss silence. I remember my last moment enjoying silence... It was about 13 months ago. There was a heavy snowfall here (which is rare where I live) and for whatever reason I decided I wanted to go for a walk late at night in the fresh snow. Freshly fallen 'fluffy' snow absorbs sound and there were zero cars on the road. All you could hear was the sound of your breath and the crunch crunch of each footstep. I would often seek out moments of quiet and solitude like that.

 

I don't remember ever hearing perfect silence, I don't think that's a thing, there was always something, internal noises, breath, heartbeats, etc.

I enjoy my wooded walks in relative silence, still. The tinnitus is just another internal sound droning away.
edit: and that state of mind took me something like a decade to achieve, and I'll be the first to admit that if my hearing were to get catastrophically worse I'd be in a different situation.

 

Didn't read the tread, but I can remember what music sounded like when it sounded right, and I'd take getting that back first and formost before getting regular silence back. Though I would want regular silence back as well, for clarity of mind, and spiritual practices.

 

This is how I feel as well. Yes the T is annoying but I find the distorted hearing and sensitivity to sound much much worse. I can clearly remember listening to music without a single issue, I miss it so much and it really brings me down.

 

Having had tinnitus all my life, I don't remember. That might be a good thing, I guess. Total silence is a dubious concept anyway. Enough silence is plenty.

 

Like @linearb, I don't know if total silence exists. If there ever was such a thing my life, I don't remember it.

Closing in on my fourth year from tinnitus onset, I do have moments where my high-pitched T hiss seems to have vanished. I will suddenly realize it's absent -- which, of course, then makes it always come back because I am paying attention to it. I had one of those moments on New Years Day, when I was kayaking with friends down a lovely river in a wildlife sanctuary, looking for osprey and manatees and noticed, no noise. Grateful for these times.

Re. volume: Sometimes my tinnitus is very loud, sometimes not. It can vary from day to day, or from hour to hour. But I wouldn't say that is has increased overall over the years. I have grown used to the fact that its unpredictable and have a white noise app on my phone, so I can start masking when necessary.

 

I do miss music a lot. I think music can connect us to others and is just plain fun to listen to. It is now just gibberish and hurts my ears so haven't listened to anything since 2008. I have learned to ignore my T when on walks in nature but at the beginning it was very hard to ignore the loud drone in my head. So to anyone that is new to T you can adjust but it usually takes time.

 

I agree; in fact, if anything, it's overall less variable and less loud than it was 4-5 years ago. I attribute some of that to natural healing, some of it to lifestyle changes, some of it to the particular regimen I follow, and some of it to blind luck...