Will It Get Better?

[Mercedes]

So last weekend I have been feeling depressed and such and noticed my ears were being a lip weird but didn't pay much attention to it. On Sunday I was asked to go see IT and I took a shower and all that and realized my ears got a bit weirder, later I went to the movies and stayed for about 20 minutes and used ear plugs for protection but then left in fear my ears would get worse.

Later on in the day there was this high pitch noise that didn't really go away wasn't really to bad I could still mask it a bit. The next day it was the same but later on after taking a nap it got worse and by night it was worse and the high pitch noise is so annoying!

What I'm really asking here is, is this permanent or a spike? I've also noticed the new noise reacts to sound and it sounds a lot like the noise I get when my ears leak earwax.

 

[Mercedes]

Also I can mask out my regular tinnitus but I can't mask out this high pitch noise I can kinda feel it to in a way

 

[billie48]

Spikes are often temporary due to something aggravating T such as getting stressful or anxious, or due to some ear infection or so. Once these factors are resolved, then T can subside. Sometimes T can spike at random and these are the times that get us worried. But often they can settle back to baseline too, especially you try to stay relax and positive and get good REM sleep. As for masking high pitch T, you can try heavy rain, cicadas, waterfall, shower, even faucet sound. I used to mask with squeaky faucet sound as my T is the ultra high pitch dog whistle type. Here are some masking ideas in case you haven't tried these. Take care. God bless.

1) Mask at bed time if having trouble sleeping, by using a sound pillow or sound machine with pillow speakers. There are good sound machine & pillow therapy systems like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-...d-Oasis-Therapy-System-Speakers/dp/B00MH5HKTA

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds. Use wisdom in the use of headphones or earbuds as extended use or excessive volume may hurt your ears. Try set the volume slightly below that of your tinnitus.

3) With PC & speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds to see which one masks best:

TT's excellent audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or click play to mix these sounds with this simple sound generator: http://asoftmurmur.com/

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc. There are many tinnitus therapy videos that are high pitch, such as this one:

 

[Michael Leigh]

What I'm really asking here is, is this permanent or a spike? I've also noticed the new noise reacts to sound and it sounds a lot like the noise I get when my ears leak earwax.

Also I can mask out my regular tinnitus but I can't mask out this high pitch noise I can kinda feel it to in a way

HI @Mercedes

You have had tinnitus for quite a while and normally I would have expected you to habituate by now. There could be reasons for this and the clues for me are in your post. Tinnitus and loud sounds do not go well together. Even if you were to wear the best earplugs/hearing protection in the world one still needs to be careful. If external sounds are loud enough at the: cinema, clubs, concerts or other venues that may go to, they can pass through the "skull" and be transferred to the inner ear and this is known as "bone conduction".

If you have regularly been attending the venues mentioned or listening to audio through headphones, even at low volume, this is the likely reason that you haven't habituated. The introduction of a new "noise" that you mention is another indication that you are exposing yourself to loud sounds and your auditory system doesn't like it. Furthermore, you say that you are "masking" your tinnitus? This isn't a good idea. Tinnitus should not be masked so that it can't be heard as doing so can make it more intrusive.

Please click on the links below and read my articles on tinnitus and hyperacusis. I also suggest that you make an appointment at ENT for tests on your hearing and get a referral to see a Hearing Therapist for tinnitus treatment and management. Keep away from overly loud sounds and I advise, not to use headphones even at low volume.

Al the best
Michael

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

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

 

[Mercedes]

Thanks to you both but @Michael Leigh I have gotten use to my tinnitus beforehand but now that this new noise is here it's harder to get use to and I haven't been to the cinema for months and I never use headphones after finding out I had tinnitus. There could be a possibility that it is my bones that done it but the movie theater wasn't that loud only loud when the scary music played which wasn't for to long.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Thanks to you both but @Michael Leigh I have gotten use to my tinnitus beforehand but now that this new noise is here it's harder to get use to and I haven't been to the cinema for months and I never use headphones after finding out I had tinnitus. There could be a possibility that it is my bones that done it but the movie theater wasn't that loud only loud when the scary music played which wasn't for to long.

@Mercedes

What I am about to say applies to people that have tinnitus which was caused by "noise exposure". A person with noise induced tinnitus and has habituated, still needs to be careful of overly loud sounds. Although the sound in the movie theatre didn't seem loud. You would be surprised how the auditory system can be adversely affected.

Providing there is no underlying medical problem causing the new sound that you are hearing or responsible for your tinnitus becoming more in intrusive. When tinnitus change in the manner that you have described, the usual reason for this, is "overly loud sound" that has affected your ears and auditory system. You need to be more careful. If things don't settle down make an appointment at ENT for tests and then get a referral to a Hearing Therapist or treatment and management of your tinnitus.

If you are not using sound enrichment at night then I advise you to start.
Hope you start to feel better soon.
Michael