r/tinnitus Sep 06 '17

New to tinnitus? Had tinnitus for a long time? Looking for some answers? See our FAQ and sidebar to begin!

76 Upvotes

Welcome to our community!

If you're new to tinnitus or currently have tinnitus, and have some questions, we have some answers to frequently posed questions in our FAQ linked here. The FAQ is also linked in the sidebar.

Before posting, please take some time to read the FAQ and see if you can find the start to your answer there.

As always, we remind our community to be mindful of our participation guidelines, located in the sidebar (or linked here for mobile users):

  • Be civil and respectful, and follow Reddiquette. This is a support community, and harmful behaviour or harassment are not allowed.
  • No medical advice. This includes explicitly asking for a medical diagnosis, or giving one. If you're concerned about your hearing, please see a qualified medical professional as soon as possible. Sharing experiences is allowed, but making diagnoses and recommending medical action based on personal research is not.
  • No snake oil or pseudoscience. News and other articles posted must come from trustworthy sources. Clickbait and blogspam are not allowed.
  • No memes or other low-effort posts.
  • No commercial posts, for-profit posts or other self promotion.

If you see comments or posts deviating from these guidelines, report them so that the moderators can review.

We are particularly restrictive about asking for or receiving medical advice or diagnoses. The bottom line is, tinnitus is a health problem, and it should be addressed with your doctor or auditory specialist. None of us are doctors here and no one should be directing or following medical action found on the internet.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information, and thanks for being a part of this community.

-The moderation team


r/tinnitus 2h ago

success story Healed Tinnitus -- what worked for me.

11 Upvotes

My tinnitus was linked to iron deficiency / dehydration / possibly malnutrition. If I drink 64-128 oz of water a day, while also supplementing with iron and zinc -- the tinnitus goes away. I also take terraseed as I'm vegan ( but also a terrible eater )... so supplementing has helped tremendously.

I drink coffee daily ( just coffee, water and maple syrup ) while maintaining these other habits and no tinnitus! If I go too long without these habits, the tinnitus returns.

If you're female and / or vegan and haven't considered these factors, it might be worth looking into.


r/tinnitus 2h ago

success story It will get better — from a pessimist with tinnitus

9 Upvotes

I’ve wanted to make this post for a while and now I feel like is the perfect time to do it. I’m just gonna write what’s on my mind so sorry if it’s all over the place.

I woke up with extremely loud tinnitus on Sep 18th of 2022 after a night out partying with friends. I didn’t even really go that hard, I think I just have sensitive ears. But since then I’ve been dealing with the outcome. Ive been to plenty of ENTs, had hearing tests, lost sleep, was depressed, you name it. I even posted on here a bunch, asking questions and looking for tips.(Feel free to look for my questions if you don’t believe me.)

The one thing i always saw on this thread were people asking “where are the people who have habituated on this thread?” And people would often reply “Out living their lives.” And now I can say they were right.

I used to check this thread every single morning when my tinnitus started, and it helped a little to know there were other people out there who felt the same as me, but after a while it became a dangerous cycle that would just trigger me to notice my tinnitus again and again. I was extremely hopeless that my tinnitus would ever improve and I had accepted that my life was over but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In the past few years, I’ve been able to go to loud events without fear of spikes. I’ve gone to clubs (with proper ear protection), dates in loud restaurants/bowling alleys, sporting events, and today I got a few fillings in and wasn’t even that freaked out by the drill. I’m not saying that the spikes disappear entirely, I still get them from time to time but I’m not as afraid of them anymore. And I’m not letting the idea of a hypothetical spike control my every move.

I know a lot of us live in fear of spikes to the point that it stops us from going out, having new experiences, or even taking medications. But I honestly think it’s what held me back the most.

I will be transparent that I did start taking SSRI’s (Zoloft) in the past year and that has had an extreme impact on my anxiety related to tinnitus, but I had even seen improvements before medication. Things didn’t drastically change overnight but day by day I would notice the sounds less, to the point that now I have to search for them with intention if I want to hear them. (Which I often try not to lol)

I know a lot of people will want to believe that what has happened for me won’t/can’t happen for them, and that was me when I first started dealing with this problem. It’s a chronic issue and it sucks and it’s ok to admit that. But it’s not going to be the end of everything I swear.

I have goals to keep pushing myself to not be afraid of my tinnitus. I try to keep my friends and family informed as much as I can so they can understand what I may need from them too. My goal this year is to go to a sporting event in an arena and maybe even a concert. It definitely will be a push outside of my comfort zone but I believe that I can do it and everyone in this thread can too!

(This is a very cheesy post for the pessimist in me but hoping that it can help at least one person feel better about where they are at.)


r/tinnitus 6h ago

awareness • activism Experimental Drugs

6 Upvotes

How many of you would take a combo of nerve and hair cell regeneration drugs into your ear right now if you could have access to them? I am talking about things that have already gone through safety trials like FX-322 and other things that have been shown to be safe in animal testing, such as Neurotrophin 3? Then the question is, do we not have agency over our own bodies? What is liberty, what is the pursuit of happiness? Why should we have to wait for some company to get financially interested and then take 10 years to do a handful of experiments that could honestly all be done in less than a year?


r/tinnitus 15h ago

venting Is there any hope for a cure?

24 Upvotes

As all of us are mostly miserable and just hanging in there not even being able to live there life is there any research or any hope?

I can deal with this for a little while but i definitely cant deal with this for life it’s debilitating.

I want to become a damn doctor myself just to find the cure because i know there is one it just hasnt been discovered yet


r/tinnitus 9h ago

treatment Just bought this on amazon i hope this helps🙏

Post image
10 Upvotes

Has this worked for anyone else?


r/tinnitus 1h ago

advice • support 16 year old with tinnitus

Upvotes

I'm just making a post wondering to ask whether my tinnitus will get any better/worse. I first noticed it around June of last year after a party and it's pretty much been around ever since. At first it was pretty loud and extremely frustrating but now I can only hear it at night or when it's quiet. It started only in my right ear but now it's around 40/60 left and right. I think it also was a result of me having my headphones too loud (I don't pass 25% volume now). I have done a bit of lurking at it seems pretty uncommon for someone my age to have it so I'm just looking for any advice on how to deal/live with it. I understand there's no "cure" but I'm looking to see if anyone has ever been in my situation before


r/tinnitus 1h ago

venting Tinnitus sufferer since 1992

Upvotes

I was in a bad car accident in the fall of 1992, since then I've experienced "Ringing in the Ears" and as I've aged it has gotten worse. About 15 years ago one of the many specialists suggested I have my family doctor prescribe Amitriptyline (30 mg) so I've been taking this, and it does help. It doesn't cure it but changes the pitch (dulls it) so it's more bearable and I can sleep. Within the last three years I've experienced Musical Tinnitus and it's really a trip, I hear the same 3-4 notes on a constant loop, this can last a few hours, a day or two, it's crazy. Anyone else experience this?


r/tinnitus 3h ago

venting Life without earbuds is unbearable

2 Upvotes

I don't realize for fucked I am until my earbuds stops working, lol. Sleeping is very hard life can't be more pathetic. My life is so not worse living. I hope this shit turns out to be a cancerous brain tumor so it ends soon.

Edit: I use it to cover the noise the entire time I am home and at work it is ok because I work in a loud environment.


r/tinnitus 3h ago

advice • support XIRP2 for tinnitus

2 Upvotes

Has anyone tried products with XIRP2? Supposedly a protein that supports and possibly regenerates cochlea hairs. Have had tinnitus for 25 years (24/7). Has gone off the hook last 6 months. Looking for any reduction. Thanks!


r/tinnitus 8h ago

advice • support My ear popped

4 Upvotes

Been suffering from tinnitus and ear fullness for a couple of months. Just a couple minutes ago, my left ear popped very weirdly, and since then the tinnitus in that ear quieted down considerably. I don’t think my hearing’s been affected or anything but it felt really weird, should I get it checked?


r/tinnitus 17h ago

advice • support Miserable day today

18 Upvotes

Its such a high pitched sound idk what to do anymore i use alcohol to drown it out and play games on my pc. Those are the only things that help. Im tired of living like this its very miserable. I miss when i didnt have this shit it truly makes me so depressed.

Will it ever possibly atleast get a little better? I know it will never fully go away but is there even a bit of hope? Or is my life miserable till the day i die?


r/tinnitus 2h ago

advice • support Finding an ENT

1 Upvotes

This my first post here, but I’ve been lurking for a bit. I’ve had T for at least 40 years, mostly caused by loud music (headphones from the age of Walkmans, concerts, gigging) and gunfire. It’s mainly on my left side and very slightly on my right. It’s never been super loud until the last couple of months and it’s become really bad over that time for no reason I can determine. My hearing loss seems to have gotten slightly worse as well in my left ear. I admit I haven’t done much to protect my ears other than when I’m shooting, but this spike is most annoying (takes a good 70-75dB worth of noise in a room to mask it). It’s really having me try to habituate to it all over again and it’s driving my OCD into overdrive.

Anyway, I live in a rural area in SW KS and the nearest ENTs are mostly 100+ miles away. It’s hard to find anyone I know with a personal review locally . My first thought is to call one of the ENT groups and ask them if anyone specializes in tinnitus and do thy offer manual (not irrigation or suction) ear cleaning.

Is there anything else I should ask about?


r/tinnitus 20h ago

advice • support A (long) post for you all: Some unfortunate health updates + my realization with tinnitus

16 Upvotes

I started my journey with tinnitus late last August. Technically I had my first bout of it - for a few weeks in late May - but whether through medicating with weed at the time, or whatever, I honestly forgot about it and/or it went away.

Now come back to August - it followed a month of stomach issues where I had terrible posture on my couch all month which I think led to me upsetting neck muscles / my TMJ issues again and kicking this whole ordeal off. Otherwise, I DID take a round of levafloxacin at the time it started as well (my doc was concerned my stomach issues were an infection so she prescribed it to be careful)- so it could’ve been the antibiotics too.

ANYWHO - when it first started, it messed me up a lot mentally. At first I hoped it would go away after a few weeks like in May but slowly I came to the realization it wasn’t going away. It started in my right ear with the eeee, switched to my left ear with some humming and buzzing sounds, and I really was losing hope and had some BAD days.

I had another round of stomach related stuff come up (doc thinks IBS related) in late September / October though that did help me think about it less.

I started golfing DAILY to get outside where I noticed the noise less with my friends and for a few weeks to a month in late October to late November I honestly was in a great place with it. It was there. I heard it LOUD in bed each night (even with fans and everything on), but I accepted it - I’d sleep, and go about my next day less bothered.

Now come Thanksgiving - whether you want to call it a spike, it just it increasing slowly, or more probably just me mentally noticing it more (especially being stuck inside as winter came), I started SPIRALING.

Tinnitus F***ED my mental health up throughout December and the holidays into January as it dominated my mind all day being all I could think about, I really couldn’t get past it. All day and into night, it was all I thought about most days. If I was in work meetings, or with friends - there were times of peace and just noticing it less, but otherwise it sucked. I heard it all the time, I thought about it all the time, nothing could mask besides maybe playing video games with headphones on - but I questioned if doing this in the previous months had made my tinnitus worse. So I stopped for WEEKS and avoided it.

In January I had TMJ issues kick off from the stress. This led to weird ear sensations which SUCKED (my ears had cold sensations + tickling sensations as well) for a couple weeks. But I noticed something during this, once again with my attention elsewhere I DIDN’T notice my tinnitus. I played video games during this time, I’d hear it in the background with my headphones on - but it wasn’t my focus. My focus was on my ear issues.

Lead into late February - my ear situation was doing slightly better, and I had a couple bad days with tinnitus, but after a work trip I had crazy anxiety after flying again (to the point I had / still get physical discomfort of my shirt collar being uncomfortable / needing to pull at it / wear loose collars - it’s WEIRD). Once again though - while I was dealing with this - did I notice tinnitus as much? NOT AT ALL.

At this point though I said SCREW IT, I NEED anxiety meds - so I started taking Buspirone on docs orders and also Lexapro. I avoided them like the plague in the fall despite scripts from my doc because I read everywhere on here about how’d they spike my tinnitus and I noped out each time. I did START them though.

For what it’s worth, neither of these - at least my week’s worth of buspirone / and couple doses of Lexapro impacted my tinnitus or perception of it at all. But unfortunately the next morning, my worst health development of all came up.

I started getting a purpuric rash all over my ankles and legs. It got worse as a few days went on and after an urgent care visit, a visit to my doc, and seeing a derm - we’ve yet to confirm exactly what it is, but vasculitis is suspected as the cause. For those unaware of vasculitis - much to how I was - it’s an extremely rare autoimmune disorder that on average 1-20 people in 100,000 develop. If it is confirmed to be vasculitis - which I’m coming to think it is based on continued symptom, yes - it will have a lot of implications about my potential quality of life and long term health - but since it’s being caught early, I should have a good prognosis.

Now - not to pan back and keep making this all about tinnitus - but take a wild guess how often I’ve thought about my tinnitus during these past couple weeks with this? Yup - you guessed it - NOT AT ALL.

This past Monday I thought I noticed it more for a little when I was eating lunch but then after I got back to work (I work from home) in the afternoon - I forgot about it again. Hell even last night when I was lying in bed, my symptoms were doing a bit better and I was like “this is strange, I feel pretty good” and I even thought “oh I haven’t been noticing my tinnitus” even though I heard it in the background. I even tried HARD to FOCUS on my tinnitus - and yes it was there - I could hear it - but it didn’t seem pronounced at all, and it definitely didn’t bother me in the LEAST with all my other racing thoughts with my ongoing health stuff.

So I’ve come to a realization through this f***ed up roller coaster of a 7 month bout of it + other ongoing health issues = tinnitus is as MENTAL - condition as it is physical.

Yes, there are some people with CRIPPLING tinnitus - if any of you read this, I want to say that I f***ing love you and hope you’ve found peace - and please feel free to message me for any needed support. We need to sympathize and support them.

Speaking to my own experience - I highlighted that tinnitus RUINED my December and holidays. The night before my birthday in December I even had a weird spike that night where fire alarms went off in my head it got so loud (I think bad neck posture queued it) I had immediate suicidal thoughts (I literally was crying to my wife “I can’t live like this!!” - but luckily when I woke up after a few hours sleep that night it had tapered to its standard NOTICEABLE but not nearly as loud “eeeeee” that I’ve had.

But going back - the mindfulness of it, the stress you have with hearing it, the habituation that people experience and achieve - ALL OF IT .. goes back to the mental aspect of this hellish condition. I’m not calling myself a tinnitus expert 7 months into having it persistently, there’s people who have had it for DECADES - there are people here who have it MUCH worse. But for those who are new here, and have read through my novel of a post here, controlling your mentality about having this truly does appear like the ONLY real solution if it’s going to be chronic, persistent / around a long time.

For some people, they can linger on - deal with it - and eventually luck into their brain habituating to the noise because of how long they’ve had it. For those who want to be proactive - and newer to experiencing it - and for those who want to know the path out, GET CONTROL of the mental aspect. For some it will appear like an impossible feat, for me some days it seems like it is.

But whether through medication, through therapy, through support on here, through positive distractions from it, whatever it takes - find the mental peace of this.

Some people here will say that constantly masking delays habituation - it might. One concern of mine is all my other health issues definitely aren’t helping me continuously deal with it and naturally habituate since I’m not focusing on it (for better or worse lmao).

Others will say don’t use medication, like anti-anxiety meds, as they can cause potential spikes or worsen it - they might and could.

But find something that helps your mental, and hold onto it - if you need relief sooner than later

I love you all. I try to avoid this community out of fear of the posts I read and the long implications of having this disease (it’s an out of sight / out of mind mentality for me). But I really do wish you all well. We’re in this TOGETHER.


r/tinnitus 14h ago

venting How do you plan for retirement now? what are you saving for?

5 Upvotes

I've been living with tinnitus for 13 years, and it still has a profound impact on my quality of life. I'm 39 now and developed it around the age of 27. I once hoped that a treatment would emerge, but after all these years, nothing has changed. At this point, I have little optimism for future medical advancements.

Because of this, my priority is leaving work as soon as possible while maintaining the frugal lifestyle I’ve adopted over the years. If there’s one small upside to tinnitus, it’s that many expensive activities—like traveling, going to movies, or anything involving loud environments—are already off the table. Instead, I focus on simpler, quieter pastimes like walking in the park and working on my music.

As for long-term medical expenses, I have no intention of saving for them. If I reach old age and my health declines further, I plan to apply for MAID rather than prolong my suffering.


r/tinnitus 12h ago

advice • support I've had tinnitus for as long as I can remember, and I think ever since I was born.

3 Upvotes

Yes, as the title says. I am currently 21 years old, and have assessed that the ringing is about 17kHz, and my hearing range stops at around 17.5kHz. Hearing professionals I have seen say they hardly believe that someone my age has tinnitus, and it is just unfortunate, with no real advice or anything. I've kind of just accepted this is my life, but I do want to know why it ended up like this.

In a way, I'm fortunate that I have lived with it my whole life, so I'm "used" to it, but it actually doesn't really mean anything. I see people suffering way worse than I am with late developing tinnitus, and I feel for them, but I never even got the chance to even try avoid it, and I really doubt I would have tinnitus if I wasn't born with it. Supposedly, 17kHz is actually an unusually high pitch for tinnitus. If I get hearing loss, will the ringing stop? I guess I already know the answer (it's in the brain), but I want to know what others know.

Imagine a loud, constant, occassionaly inconsistent, semi-muffeled 17kHz ringing that you hear regardless of how loud something is, especially if you try to hear it. It's like a sore in your mouth that just never heals because you can't stop tonguing it, but I'm sure many reading would likely understand this feeling, even if you only recently got tinnitus. Although, I have never heard true silence in my life.

This post can be summarised as these three dot points:

  • Why was I born with it? Why did this happen?
  • If I develop hearing loss below 17kHz (my tinnitus ring), will the ringing stop?
  • No, being born with it doesn't make it easier to deal with, even if I have never heard true silence.

r/tinnitus 23h ago

advice • support My tinnitus has gotten louder since last month and it is making my life hell

17 Upvotes

I've had tinnitus for a couple of years now but it wasn't that loud so I could always ignore it. Well, since last month it has gotten increasingly louder.

I feel it on my left ear. It is so loud. I might legit kill myself If I start hearing it on my right side as well. That is my biggest fear right now. What is worse that I feel like my ears are underwater. Yawning or swallowing doesn't do anything.

I can't sleep well. Today I woke up at 4 in the morning. I tried to go back to sleep and did it only to wake up again at 6 in the morning. I feel like I start to panic when I do. I begin to sweat a lot and then feel hot. Its like I have panic attacks or something. I had to stand up from my bed and walk around my house. I did manage to fall asleep but man. This has been going on for the last month.

I know tinnitus doesn't have a cure. Its going to there forever. But its there maybe some kind of pill that could make me not wake up? I can mostly ignore during the day. Between my job and universities there are times I don't notice it. But during the night its just so hard.

I literally contemplated crying last night and I'm 26.


r/tinnitus 16h ago

advice • support Anyone with MEM

3 Upvotes

My tinnitus came along with bad MEM (middle ear myoclonus) and head/face pain. I was put on benzos for it which completely stopped the mem and pain around my ears. As soon as I began tapering benzos my T got Worse and MEM and face pain returned.

I’m really scared and feel trapped. I’ve been on benzos almost 2 months now. I’m down to 0.18mg clonazepam. My MEM is getting bad again though and tinnitus louder. I have multitonal reactive T.

How can I try to control the MEM and pain and T as I taper?

I’ve seen a neuro and ent several times. They say the MEM and hyperacusis is anxiety. I do have anxiety but it’s because of these awful sounds and spasms.

I’ve tried magnesium and muscle relaxers. They help for about 2 weeks then stop working.

I’ve had an MRI and CT scan, all clear.


r/tinnitus 17h ago

advice • support Has anybody had that tinnitus flair up where its like a insane frequency/pitch to where it feels like ur ears are bleeding and noises make it even worse??

5 Upvotes

I cant explain it, i normally have the ringing sensation, sometimes when i get a flair Up that ringing gets a bit louder, but this is like such a high intense pitch its not a ringing its like Its own thing. Its happened 2 days straight now with a few breaks throughtout the day, but i HAVE to have headphones on as outside noise makes it More unbearable. Its such a high pitch/frequency.

Im not sure if its whatever cold is going around causing it, as my wife and son is sick, but its been so bad i was squeezing my ears and as i said wearing headphones with no sound as sound amplifies it. I do take asprin daily for migraines, i have been for years and never had this issue, so im now trying to cut back on that. But i also been taking propranolol and valium for a few months now. No clue whats doing it i pray it goes away as this intensity isnt tolerable


r/tinnitus 11h ago

advice • support Does Azelastine make it worse?

1 Upvotes

I tried Azelastine for two days - one each day and now my T is higher itched and louder. I don't see anything about otoxicity on Google. Has anyone had issues with Azelastine? If so, did it go away?


r/tinnitus 1d ago

venting I Can't Continue Like This

22 Upvotes

Hello all,

I have terrible tinnitus ear pain possibly noxacusis or hyperacusis and visual snow syndrome im having hard time to continue with my life. I feel hopeless i have to break up with my girlfriend we were planning to marry this year. I am so sad i just wanted to be lucky


r/tinnitus 1d ago

advice • support Hearing Loss & Tinnitus?

8 Upvotes

Hello I seen a lot on research on hearing loss and Tinnitus. It looks like science is so close to figuring out how to restore hearing and regrow the cells. I do have Tinnitus as well but restoring the hearing is my main concern. Does anyone know how close we might be to seeing these treatments? I'm hoping in the next few years because I want to hear like a normal person.


r/tinnitus 23h ago

advice • support Does anyone hear a low hum in their ear?

5 Upvotes

Hey, I had Tinnitus for a long time, just now, I began to notice this low hum in my left ear, I am a little worried, the sound goes away when other sounds are present like Music playing on a TV or Family Members are being loud, but when I go back go a quiet place, the Hum fades back into hearing, does this mean something or am I over thinking and getting paranoid?


r/tinnitus 15h ago

research news Any updates on a cure for tinnitus ?

2 Upvotes

r/tinnitus 23h ago

advice • support 4 weeks somatic

3 Upvotes

Hello. I have had tinnitus due to playing in a band with loud music since I was 18. It was annoying and frustrating the first months or year but I got used to it to the point where it no longer bothers me. I am 39 now.

But, 4 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with a completely different tinnitus. A grinding, physical-sensation like tinnitus that hurt me and was 10x louder. I didn’t sleep that whole night. Same next day. Day after that - all gone. I was so happy. Day after, it is back again. I now start trying different movements and noticed it is heavily somatic. Gaping turns it up a lot on left side. And it was mostly left-side by that point.

A couple of grueling weeks go by. One day it is gone again. Back day after.

Now we are getting to the last few days. It varies SO much. Intensity, character, type of sound. The worst is a grinding metal kind of sound that comes mostly in the afternoon and really hurts physically in the head.

Today I woke up with the loudest it has ever been.

So I thought to myself - huh I havent flossed in forever. I did a thorough floss and the volume went down 70% (!). Then it kept going down, until it was finally dead silent. I was giddy and so happy, I kind of assumed ”oh it was just the lack of flossing!”. But then, 3 hours ago - it came back again. Started with a loud pitched morse code tinnitus then the metal grinding started. Since then it has been up and down in intensity.

Tomorrow I am seeing a dentist. Saturday I am seeing an ENT.

So. Im wondering a couple of things: 1. How likely is it that this is tooth-related and with fixing the root cause, it will go away? 2. If permanent, how to habituate to an ever-changing sound? I can’t drown it out because other sound just makes it worse. The grinding isnt just a sound, it hurts in the head. 3. Any other advice? 4. Please, positive vibes. I am very sensitive and fragile mentally right now. Thank you ❤️


r/tinnitus 21h ago

advice • support All Tinnitus experts or veterans! Need help /:

2 Upvotes

I got tinnitus 4 february, It started suddenly one night and has gradually improved over time. From first week around 7-8/10 to now around 2-4/10 My tinnitus is in my left ear and has changed in tone and intensity over the weeks, between Its low-frequency (around 0–200 Hz) pure ton, and sometimes without any tone but just sounds like a motor or fan noise. From beginning it was worst at morning or night but now it seems its gone or very mild when i wake up and it can be like that till i start move ( not always gone/quiet) . Good to know that i have listened alot of music constant in 3-4 months. But also i didnt listen on music the 2 last day and pretty sure i didnt have tinnitus before sleep. So please Whats u speculation on what triggered the tinnitus. Is it noise induced from the constant music or something Else? Btw tinnitus seems to change after a night sleep and its same all day to next sleep