Tinnitus and hearing aids?

[NaiveGreen]

Hi

First of all I'm not healthcare doctor - only a curious tinnitus sufferer :(.

I had HUGE spike weeks ago (and I hope it will go down, but i'm afraid i will not recover completely). It was caused by some video with quiet voice (so i did volume up) and gunshots later ...

I had my hearing checked and it is VERY ok on paper (I can pick sound from tinnitus soup - no problem - i hear different frequencies in whole spectrum: LOUD tinnitus at one end and quiet audiometric frequency at the same time ). This makes me wonder...

Maybe my inner ear is broken (a little), and mind is trying to compensate by amplifying more by itself - which volumes up everything else (tinnitus included)

It seem plausible, as ear blockers are discouraged. (no external sound -> bigger amplification -> bigger mess in our heads).

To backup this a little further. I came back from cinema (which was loud of course) and i didn't hear my tinnitus as much (other sounds were quieter as well) for a maybe 1h ?

tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-an...

As I have 'good hearing', i shouldn't have hearing aid - but i'm wondering that maybe it would help anyway ? Could anyone propose good ones ? Similar experiences anyone ?

Take care, and stay strong.

[Happyrosie]

Hello NaiveGreen. Well, I found the aids helped me (though I was a bit deaf anyway!). The real world is a little louder so the T fades into the background a bit. The NHS ones I got are state-of-the-art. You mention you can pick out sounds from the T soup - but I can do that easily without my aids in. My T can be heard above a car travelling along at sixty, so it's loud, but as I'm habituated I don't hear it unless I think about it.

[Hop38 in reply to Happyrosie]

Hi Happyrosie I'm delighted for you that you have habituated to your Tinnitus. It sounds like.it was really loud, especially of you could hear it the car. I can hear mine also over the car also, can i ask how you did habituate? Did you use particular exercises, CBT etc or did it happen as time went by? Thanks

[Happyrosie in reply to Hop38]

Ah well Hop38 there was no magic, sadly. I got it when I was sixteen or so and thought it was part of growing up, and that everyone had it. I remember mentioning it to my father and he agreed with me. So clearly he had had it from childhood too.

So habituation was so easy for me, but it does go to prove that is indeed possible. Sometimes, yes, it drives me bonkers but I know the bonkers bit will go away.

Similarly, when I first bought a property all I could afford was a flat on a road out of London. When I first moved in I had bad nights because as soon as I fell asleep I would be wakened by the noise of a lorry, a backfiring car, emergency vehicle sirens …. I just didn’t know how to cope with it. But within a few weeks I just got used to it.

[Hop38 in reply to Happyrosie]

Aw i was secretly hoping you had some amazing trick up your sleeve or something😂! God i couldn't imagine having this when i was 16 but then again at that age you would think it was normal so you wouldn't attach any emotional connection to it. Glad your habituated tho😊

[doglover1973]

Hi NaiveGreen It's good news that your hearing is fine. I wonder if a hearing aid with a masker might help you .. I've not got one but I believe other people here have them. I think you can turn the amplification down and use white noise to mask the T. Perhaps someone else could confirm this. Hope your T settles either way. Spikes are unpleasant to say the least .

[notdodgy]

I have typical age related hearing loss. This would not normally need hearing aids.

However I miss parts of conversations unless I am concentrating. The NHS aids I have boost the levels at high frequencies and help a bit as it makes me less aware of the tinnitus.

They do have a white noise generator which helps desensitize the Tinnitus - I use it for a few hours before bedtime.

Sounds like using earplugs at the cinema may help you with the loud sounds.