Posted: 8/28/2016 12:57:11 PM EDT
|
Short story
Coming off a bad surgery and my wife files for divorce. 2 months later, still under extreme life stress i shoot some cans with a ruger single six .22. Plug in my right ear nothing in the left. Left ear hearing is muted and ringing, its never gotten better. ENT says i have high frequency hearing loss and tinnitus. I need to get used to it. He said stress has been linked with hearing loss and thought to cause tinnitus. This was 3months + ago and I am struggling to say the least. I wake up everynight at 3am to the noise, it seems to have gotten louder. I feel sick to my stomach when i hear it. Has anyone received some kind of habituation therapy for this that works? Any recommendations for DFW? Thank you |
|
Pray it doesn't get worse.
What you describe would be a dream for me. Mine fluctuates from day to day, even hour to hour, but never gets below a pretty loud constant. I had it kinda sorta for years, then several years ago, over the course of a few months it ramped up. I'm not exaggerating when I say at times it can be truly mind numbing. Good luck |
|
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Heavy equipment mechanic, years of engine noise and power tools. 
|
|
Find ways to have background noise present, be it a radio or tv, oscillating fan, window a/c, whatever. It will provide enough noise to override the ringing. If people ask, tell them it's to keep you sanity. Anyone questions it, tell them it's like having a tuning fork next to your ear ALL the time. Having 2 young kids in the house usually provides enough noise to not think about it. Mine started 20 years ago with a nasty ear infection and is a daily companion, currently have iHeart Radio playing just loud enough to pick up the words, but can't hear it 8 feet from the computer. |
|
Quoted:
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Heavy equipment mechanic, years of engine noise and power tools. This |
|
Sorry for your multitude of troubles. Now you know why you wear hearing protection.
Stress and elevated blood pressure makes it worse. Additional exposure to noise makes it worse. All you can do is protect it from here on out to keep it from getting worse. Lawnmower, vacuum cleaner, means hearing protection. Sorry I don't have a better answer. |
|
Quoted:
22 years as helo flight crew. I feel your pain. Any white noise while you sleep will help. I use a fan. Same here, 12y ago tons of shooting without ear-pro in the Army...ringing is constant. I use a fan at night too. The quieter it is, the worse it is. Going out to the country or desert is really bad. Here in the city there's always background noise to help. |
|
I have tinnitus in both ears due to acoustic neuroma. My left ear is completely dead to external noise, but the ringing will be there until I have the tumors (and auditory nerves) removed one day. Thankfully, a little white noise helps mask it so I can sleep at night.
On the flip side, at least I'll save money on tax stamps and suppressors at that point. |
| 55 years after a fireworks joke gone bad as a kid, my dad got hearing aids to cancel out the tinnitus in both of his ears. While not entirely gone he says the difference is nothing short of amazing. I'm not sure if he sleeps with them in, though. Maybe you should check it out. |
| Thanks eveyone for comments. I know there is no cure. It had taken a step up in intentsity this last week and it is affecting me greatly. Bad sleep and having a hard time eating. Its quickly pulling me down. Im now afraif of shooting at all even with ear protection for fear of making it worse. |
|
I've been living with it since the late 70's. I can no longer hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping, but I'm thankful that I once heard them, and have fond memories growing up in the woods, lakes, and prairies with all the sounds around me.
Then came AC/DC and Pink Floyd concerts, which would leave my ears ringing loudly for 7-10 solid days after the shows, not helping one bit, but hey..... 
The key for me was to never be in a "dead quiet" environment, like a super quiet bedroom, or what have you. As others have posted above, always have some sort of background white noise, whether it's a fan, TV, radio or humidifier, etc. I haven't personally seen any correlation with increased stress making it any different for me one way or another, but I've had it for some 38 years now, and it started small in the beginning, getting worse as I got older. I stopped hearing birds chirping about a decade ago, give or take. It's livable, but takes getting used to. Good luck, OP. 
|
|
Quoted:
I've been living with it since the late 70's. I can no longer hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping, but I'm thankful that I once heard them, and have fond memories growing up in the woods, lakes, and prairies with all the sounds around me. Then came AC/DC and Pink Floyd concerts, which would leave my ears ringing loudly for 7-10 solid days after the shows, not helping one bit, but hey.....
The key for me was to never be in a "dead quiet" environment, like a super quiet bedroom, or what have you. As others have posted above, always have some sort of background white noise, whether it's a fan, TV, radio or humidifier, etc. I haven't personally seen any correlation with increased stress making it any different for me one way or another, but I've had it for some 38 years now, and it started small in the beginning, getting worse as I got older. I stopped hearing birds chirping about a decade ago, give or take. It's livable, but takes getting used to. Good luck, OP.
Since the 70's? How young were you when it started? |
|
Quoted:
Since the 70's? How young were you when it started? Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been living with it since the late 70's. I can no longer hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping, but I'm thankful that I once heard them, and have fond memories growing up in the woods, lakes, and prairies with all the sounds around me. Then came AC/DC and Pink Floyd concerts, which would leave my ears ringing loudly for 7-10 solid days after the shows, not helping one bit, but hey.....
The key for me was to never be in a "dead quiet" environment, like a super quiet bedroom, or what have you. As others have posted above, always have some sort of background white noise, whether it's a fan, TV, radio or humidifier, etc. I haven't personally seen any correlation with increased stress making it any different for me one way or another, but I've had it for some 38 years now, and it started small in the beginning, getting worse as I got older. I stopped hearing birds chirping about a decade ago, give or take. It's livable, but takes getting used to. Good luck, OP.
Since the 70's? How young were you when it started? I'd say about 11 or 12. Since we always had a tube TV on, there was a distinct high pitched eeeeeeeeee whenever I was around a powered up television. The frequency of the tubes oscillating was considered normal if any of you older guys remember the sound. It wasn't until electronics started moving towards solid state design that I started to wonder, as I was the only person in the room that could stiil hear any sort of eeeeeeee with no vacuum tubes powered up. I started to fail the hearing tests from about 18 on, but no clue that tinnitus was the issue, as it wasn't really a thing back then, just high-pitched hearing loss. I was a part time sound guy and roadie for several local bands for 5 years back then without hearing protection at all. Then add 27 years of metal fabrication, and I'm about 35-40% deaf, mostly above 8khz-9khz. |
|
Quoted:
I'd say about 11 or 12. Since we always had a tube TV on, there was a distinct high pitched eeeeeeeeee whenever I was around a powered up television. The frequency of the tubes oscillating was considered normal if any of you older guys remember the sound. It wasn't until electronics started moving towards solid state design that I started to wonder, as I was the only person in the room that could stiil hear any sort of eeeeeeee with no vacuum tubes powered up. I started to fail the hearing tests from about 18 on, but no clue that tinnitus was the issue, as it wasn't really a thing back then, just high-pitched hearing loss. I was a part time sound guy and roadie for several local bands for 5 years back then without hearing protection at all. Then add 27 years of metal fabrication, and I'm about 35-40% deaf, mostly above 8khz-9khz. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been living with it since the late 70's. I can no longer hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping, but I'm thankful that I once heard them, and have fond memories growing up in the woods, lakes, and prairies with all the sounds around me. Then came AC/DC and Pink Floyd concerts, which would leave my ears ringing loudly for 7-10 solid days after the shows, not helping one bit, but hey.....
The key for me was to never be in a "dead quiet" environment, like a super quiet bedroom, or what have you. As others have posted above, always have some sort of background white noise, whether it's a fan, TV, radio or humidifier, etc. I haven't personally seen any correlation with increased stress making it any different for me one way or another, but I've had it for some 38 years now, and it started small in the beginning, getting worse as I got older. I stopped hearing birds chirping about a decade ago, give or take. It's livable, but takes getting used to. Good luck, OP.
Since the 70's? How young were you when it started? I'd say about 11 or 12. Since we always had a tube TV on, there was a distinct high pitched eeeeeeeeee whenever I was around a powered up television. The frequency of the tubes oscillating was considered normal if any of you older guys remember the sound. It wasn't until electronics started moving towards solid state design that I started to wonder, as I was the only person in the room that could stiil hear any sort of eeeeeeee with no vacuum tubes powered up. I started to fail the hearing tests from about 18 on, but no clue that tinnitus was the issue, as it wasn't really a thing back then, just high-pitched hearing loss. I was a part time sound guy and roadie for several local bands for 5 years back then without hearing protection at all. Then add 27 years of metal fabrication, and I'm about 35-40% deaf, mostly above 8khz-9khz. Do you have any idea why you got it so young? |
|
Quoted:
Do you have any idea why you got it so young? Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been living with it since the late 70's. I can no longer hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping, but I'm thankful that I once heard them, and have fond memories growing up in the woods, lakes, and prairies with all the sounds around me. Then came AC/DC and Pink Floyd concerts, which would leave my ears ringing loudly for 7-10 solid days after the shows, not helping one bit, but hey.....
The key for me was to never be in a "dead quiet" environment, like a super quiet bedroom, or what have you. As others have posted above, always have some sort of background white noise, whether it's a fan, TV, radio or humidifier, etc. I haven't personally seen any correlation with increased stress making it any different for me one way or another, but I've had it for some 38 years now, and it started small in the beginning, getting worse as I got older. I stopped hearing birds chirping about a decade ago, give or take. It's livable, but takes getting used to. Good luck, OP.
Since the 70's? How young were you when it started? I'd say about 11 or 12. Since we always had a tube TV on, there was a distinct high pitched eeeeeeeeee whenever I was around a powered up television. The frequency of the tubes oscillating was considered normal if any of you older guys remember the sound. It wasn't until electronics started moving towards solid state design that I started to wonder, as I was the only person in the room that could stiil hear any sort of eeeeeeee with no vacuum tubes powered up. I started to fail the hearing tests from about 18 on, but no clue that tinnitus was the issue, as it wasn't really a thing back then, just high-pitched hearing loss. I was a part time sound guy and roadie for several local bands for 5 years back then without hearing protection at all. Then add 27 years of metal fabrication, and I'm about 35-40% deaf, mostly above 8khz-9khz. Do you have any idea why you got it so young? No, I really don't. My father took me hunting for pheasant, duck and goose, since I was probably 7-8yo with our Springer Spaniel and his 12ga Winchester. I had the eeeeeee at a young age, but being a dumbass, not protecting my hearing since then didn't do me any favors. I'm constantly preaching to the young fabricators in my shop to wear ear-pro, as I've measured the ambient sound levels to be 95-105db constantly for 10 hours daily, and the hearing loss from that kind of exposure is cumulative. |
|
Quoted:
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Heavy equipment mechanic, years of engine noise and power tools. Jet engines for over 40 years, shooting with no protection when I was a kid in the early 1960s. Loud constant high pitch that occasionally gets a metric shit ton louder. Used to bug the shit out of me, but I guess I am kinda used to it now. Edit: white noise does very littleto in my case. |
|
Quoted:
No, I really don't. My father took me hunting for pheasant, duck and goose, since I was probably 7-8yo with our Springer Spaniel and his 12ga Winchester. I had the eeeeeee at a young age, but being a dumbass, not protecting my hearing since then didn't do me any favors. I'm constantly preaching to the young fabricators in my shop to wear ear-pro, as I've measured the ambient sound levels to be 95-105db constantly for 10 hours daily, and the hearing loss from that kind of exposure is cumulative. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I've been living with it since the late 70's. I can no longer hear crickets, frogs, or birds chirping, but I'm thankful that I once heard them, and have fond memories growing up in the woods, lakes, and prairies with all the sounds around me. Then came AC/DC and Pink Floyd concerts, which would leave my ears ringing loudly for 7-10 solid days after the shows, not helping one bit, but hey.....
The key for me was to never be in a "dead quiet" environment, like a super quiet bedroom, or what have you. As others have posted above, always have some sort of background white noise, whether it's a fan, TV, radio or humidifier, etc. I haven't personally seen any correlation with increased stress making it any different for me one way or another, but I've had it for some 38 years now, and it started small in the beginning, getting worse as I got older. I stopped hearing birds chirping about a decade ago, give or take. It's livable, but takes getting used to. Good luck, OP.
Since the 70's? How young were you when it started? I'd say about 11 or 12. Since we always had a tube TV on, there was a distinct high pitched eeeeeeeeee whenever I was around a powered up television. The frequency of the tubes oscillating was considered normal if any of you older guys remember the sound. It wasn't until electronics started moving towards solid state design that I started to wonder, as I was the only person in the room that could stiil hear any sort of eeeeeeee with no vacuum tubes powered up. I started to fail the hearing tests from about 18 on, but no clue that tinnitus was the issue, as it wasn't really a thing back then, just high-pitched hearing loss. I was a part time sound guy and roadie for several local bands for 5 years back then without hearing protection at all. Then add 27 years of metal fabrication, and I'm about 35-40% deaf, mostly above 8khz-9khz. Do you have any idea why you got it so young? No, I really don't. My father took me hunting for pheasant, duck and goose, since I was probably 7-8yo with our Springer Spaniel and his 12ga Winchester. I had the eeeeeee at a young age, but being a dumbass, not protecting my hearing since then didn't do me any favors. I'm constantly preaching to the young fabricators in my shop to wear ear-pro, as I've measured the ambient sound levels to be 95-105db constantly for 10 hours daily, and the hearing loss from that kind of exposure is cumulative. That's awfully young. I agree with you about it being cumulative. I blame it on my total disregard of hearing protection in my adolescence and young adulthood. I was exposed to lots of gunfire, and loud music, and never wore anything to protect my hearing. As stupid as it sounds I use to put 45 rounds in my ears, at the range in my 20's. But that was pretty much the extent of my effort to protect my hearing. In my youth I wore nothing. |