I don’t think I’d go that far, but I do use it as “reference frequency.”
I can’t remember when it started but I think I first noticed it college. It has definitely gotten louder as I’ve gotten older.
I heard something recently about it being an attempt by the brain to amplify certain sounds. But instead the “noise” gets amplified. Sorry I can’t be more specific.
For me it is, but everyone has a different experience. There are also different types as others have noted.
Yeah, pretty much the same here, but it does seem to vary quite a bit - or at least my perception of it when I notice it does.
I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.
Maybe because it was since i was a small, small child, but I’ve experienced very little anxiety over it.
Mote than once I’ve referred to it as my constant companion, as it is everpresent.
Over the past couple years I’ve noticed a troubling occurance. Randomly one ear will increase its volume to the point of drowning out all other sound in the one ear for a period of time, usually not exeeding a minute.
After a long sleep loud noises are much more likely to cause pain, even a loud person in a car.
I’ve also noticed that I am apparently more sensitive to pressure differentials than many.
I don’t know if its related, but being in a noise isolated room (professional recording booth) was quite disturbing.
Over the years I’ve managed to learn to temporarily increase or decrease the perceived volume of the ringing, mainly by concentrating on it while awake at night. Now I can decrease the volume sometimes when I’m out and about, a good portion of the time.
One interesting thing is that when i would, years ago, take ‘magic mushrooms’ the ringing would turn into multiple stringed insturments playing in concert, and I could control the music. It was quite beautiful then.
My apologies, bit typing in the phone is a great incentive to be brief.
I’ve had it since I was little, basically a background high-frequency (12-13 kHz) tone. Hasn’t been anywhere near “debilitating,” fact is I barely notice it unless I sit there and think about it.
I’ve had mine for about 20 years. I’d had some symptoms of an ear infection, tenderness on one side of my head, and as I was driving one day I felt my left ear close up as though I had water in it. The infection healed but my hearing has been the same since that day: a mixture high-frequency whine and white noise, with a partial hearing loss. It’s never gotten better, but no worse either.
It sucked accepting that it might be this way forever, but I don’t think about it much anymore. It really only interferes when I’m out somewhere like a noisy restaurant or club, somewhere with a lot of ambient noise. There’s even an advantage, in that I can turn the “bad” ear away from my pillow when I sleep and it’s like wearing earplugs.
I do hope I’m able to retain the hearing in my “good” ear. Tinnitus in both ears must be especially difficult to cope with.
Aaaaaargh I’ve woken up this morning with just that. Guess I need to knock it on its head ASAP lest it make my tinnitus worse than it already is?
My regular lifelong stereo eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee has been enhanced with a rushing rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr in the right ear like there’s water in there.
I find it interesting that people who acquired it as adults (not just in this thread) seem to find it a lot more distressing than those of us who have had it since we were very small. I was a little disappointed during a several days’ long power failure to have conclusive proof that the theory that it’s related to electrical fields is wrong in my case at least, but it’s not that big a deal the vast majority of the time.
I’ve have it since August 1, 2004. When i had what the doctors think was a micro stroke. Severe dizzineess that lasted for about ten days , hearing loss in one ear and tinnitus. I always have ear plugs in my purse and sleep with a white noise machine on. Avoid salt and psuedoephedrine products or its worse.
A friend of mine had it for years, and it tangentily came up in conversation by me one day. She was completely surprised I was describing something she had experienced, minorly, for years.
She was in her mid 20s and otherwise extremely well read. This was last year.
So yes, there are people who have no idea about it, even some who have it.
From personal experience, no one i know is debilitated by it, but everyone I know has had it most of their lives and has not been significantly distressed by it in the first place.
I think the level of distress is high when it comes in unexpectedly, or increases in volume to the point of severly affecting a persons life.
I’ve had it for many years; I can’t remember exactly when it started or how. I’ve had my ears checked, and they tell me I have some hearing loss in one of the ranges (but I can’t remember right now).
Some days I notice it more than others; today it’s pretty strong but other days it’s barely there. I don’t consider it disabling, more annoying.
My hearing loss seems to vary. I have trouble hearing when there’s lots of other noise around, and my husband mumbles a bit. My filters don’t seem to work all the time to filter out the background noise to focus on the speech. I need to check and see if the tinnitus is worse on the days I have trouble hearing.
Anyway, it’s generally annoying but I’m kind of glad I’m not alone.
Maybe it was mentioned earlier, but I thought that garden-snake-variety tinnitus (ssssssssss ) was always the result of hearing loss. It seems I’d forgotten about that though. Now my earlier comment makes sense (to me - try not to think too hard about the problems with someone explaining something to oneself).
To add just a bit (and this may not be accurate), if some cilia get damaged, they’re sort of in the ‘always on’ position - which explains both the existence of the sound and it frequency and/or tonal qualities.
This part I’m very unsure of, but I think to then add insult to injury (it’s never *just *the injury is it?), your brain detects something is wrong with the sound in that range and tries to “amplify” it, but only the noise gets amplified.
Getting back to hearing loss, I tried one of those audio files you download and listen to at home. I used a pretty good Yamaha receiver and NHT 3-way speakers. It’s hardly a professional examination, but it seems I’m only good up to around 8-10 kilohertz. It’s right around there that it drops off sharply. The noise from tinnitus is a bit below that but I forgot to make a mental note. I’d guess around 4-5 khz.
I don’t even know if what I experience is tinnitus or something else. I have a more-or-less constant “rushing” noise, like the sound of steam heat entering a radiator. It changes in volume, never totally disappears, but it is definitely not ringing and doesn’t really bother me. I guess I’ve had it for ten years or so.
Hari, is it a pulsating noise? I and others can hear the blood rushing through the vessels. If not, I elude guess it may be tinnitus, I know many have a harmony of tones, and i imagine a certain combo could have the hiss of steam.
Is there a known range for the tinnitus afflicted on frequency range?
One claims 4-5kHz, I know mine is above 14kHz or so…
I imagine it must be more trouble to deal with when its in the lower, vocal range, frequencies
Fuck it, it’s been three days, I’m on antibiotics, but it’s still there. Got slightly better the first day but is worse than ever now. Off to the doctor I guess.
I have to stop coming to this thread. I’m perfectly fine with no thoughts of tinnitus at all. Even reading the thread title in my subscribed list doesn’t do anything. Then I come here and start reading . . . I guess it’s my own fault for being obsessively curious and/or nosy. :smack:
No, quite steady. I couldn’t put a frequency on it since it is anything but a pure tone. It is pretty much what I think of as “white noise”. And not really disruptive, except I think it may interfere with my hearing speech.
:eek: You mean…that’s not normal? I’ve always, and I mean always even as a small child, as far back as my memories go, been able to hear my pulse in my ears. Sometimes it’s louder than others, but it’s always there if I concentrate. I had no idea it wasn’t a normal human thing.
My SO developed EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE tinnitus after a career as a paramedic in the Bad Old Days when the siren was above and in back of the driver. (Apparently, the siren now is in front of the driver, to reduce job related hearing loss.) It got much more severe after these last couple of years’ surgeries and electrolyte imbalances and boatloads of new medications. No way to really tell what’s aggravating it; too many variables changed at once.
But he just got his first set of hearing aids from the VA, and they’ve cancelled out his tinnitus! He’s pretty thrilled.
) was always the result of hearing loss. It seems I’d forgotten about that though. Now my earlier comment makes sense (to me - try not to think too hard about the problems with someone explaining something to oneself).
:smack: