Worsened Tinnitus

Dear Tinnitustalk members,

I have been a tinnitus sufferer for over 4 years now. The problem is I don't want it to become worse over time, because I fear that eventually there will be a moment when I can't live anymore with my Tinnitus due to its severity.
A few weeks ago I was in a car with some kind of music system, I told my friends it was far too loud for my tinnitus so I asked if they could turn the volume down, and they did. My Tinnitus felt just the same as before when I got home. The next week I went on a holiday trip and I had barely any problems with my tinnitus, it was even less noisy than ever before. As soon as I got back from this trip my tinnitus somehow worsened. I now have a new sound in my right ear, which seems to have a variable frequency, which is extremely frustrating and my fear (first paragraph) may be becoming reality. My Tinnitus is momentarily ruining all my motivation to achieve my personal goals and on top of that I have got hardly any energy / motivation left to actually meet up with friends. I feel absolutely awful at this moment, because my tinnitus has worsened before, but never this severe.
Thank you for reading my story, it really means A LOT to me if you read through it. I sincerely hope somebody is able to give me some advice on how to carry on at this moment.

 

Oxygen, I know how you feel, even though I'm only in my first year of tinnitus. Please read some of the research news on here and take hope in the possibility that a cure for all of us may not be far off.

In the meantime, perhaps it's time you considered some therapeutic option, such as anti-depressants, TRT, and/or hearing aids? We know so little about the mechanisms of the tinnitus itself, I wonder if you're experiencing a setback due to new hearing loss.

 

@Oxygen did you take a plane to go to your holiday trip? anything new in your life, lack of sleep, medication, stress? Anything at all?

 

First of all, thank you for the replies @ampumpkin I did try drinking a few glasses of camomile tea every day in order to relax. But I don't think that's the cause of my worsened Tinnitus. @rtwombly I really consider this as a major setback in my life, because before it happened I felt really well even with my Tinnitus, but now...

 

@Oxygen you can try magnesium. This is all I take, 250mg daily. It helps my overall mood

Also, when I sleep less, my T does sound MUCH louder. Get as much rest as possible and try to focus on something else..otherwise, you get caught in a vicious cycle and it can drive you nuts!

 

The moment you mentioned magnesium actually made me aware of another change in my life. I used to take some vitamins in the morning, but I ran out of those and didn't buy another bottle. These vitamins may have had some influence on my Tinnitus, but I doubt it, because I barely heard my Tinnitus during my holiday during which I didn't take any vitamins at all. Nevertheless, the magnesium idea sounds like a good option to try , thanks for the advice!

 

flying can make tinnitus worse- if you flew on holiday I would place a bet that it was due to that rather than the noise a few weeks earlier or a change it vitamins, etc

 

I agree with @Mpt...

 

I didn't fly to my destination, that's why I mentioned the other possible options

 

It could be a variety of reasons however analyzing might not get you anywhere. If I understand correctly your tinnitus did not really get louder but you developed a new tone in one ear. Most long term patients have changed tones - it does not mean further damage. Nobody why that happens, it just does. Try not to focus on it and continue protecting your ears

 

Like others said, its common for new tones to pop in and out at times. I have/had weird tones that some go and stay but all at the same volume just some you can notice more cause if its a higher frequency etc. lately ive just had hissing so it seems quieter in silent rooms but when i get this jingle bells mettalic kinda sound that comes and goes its more noticeable but not louder then the others so could be the case with you too.. And the tone could leave as soon as it came so dont get to worried!!!

 

Dude I know what your saying it was the same for me,two years with my T and I was completely normal and happy and really felt on top of things,would have my ears cleaned by professionals,never stay in an loud environment for more than 20-25 minutes and if I had to vacuum or use tools or attend a birthday with loud music I would always use hearing protection.I felt great and my T had been lower than ever I never even experienced a spike in two years it was just a hiss that stayed the same.And then blamo with one quick unexpected noise that part of my life was over,new T and H now absolutely heartbreaking to say the least.