What on earth causes relapses? What could make tinnitus suddenly reactive?

[Alugo6340]

For example what causes a person like me for instance, to go from mild maskable easy to forget about tinnitus, to reactive tinnitus and hypercusis? My dad is a musician and he plays his keyboards and has been for years and j was fine. I was born with severe hearing loss and been wearing a hearing aid for years with no issues then suddenly like overnight after years of doing ok, I suddenly get out of the blue for what seems like no reason at all, reactive tinnitus and possibly hypercusis if reactive tinnitus is in fact a part of hypercusis. I would get horrible spikes at the end of the day from working just in a grocery store for 4 to 6 hours a day. My tinnitus would go from 3 in the morning to 8 at night sometimes worse after working. It was horrible as I developed new tones and experienced a bunch of different sounds that would come and go, however my tinnitus is constant but I get different sounds alot although I get less new sounds now than I did the first 4 months but every now and then theres still a new sound. Cars when they pass by, my tinnitus sounds louder even when my tinnitus is low in silence, fans and cars dont mask, instead the tinnitus cuts through it. TV is tough to watch as the tinnitus reacts to voices. Somedays it's slightly less reactive and better but the reactivity has been there for 5 months. I havent been to work for a month now from an abstence leave. This reactive t makes me worried I wont be able to watch tv even with a fan as I'm afraid it might ruin any possible future improvement if I have any with reactive tinnitus since I hear lots of people's reactive tinnitus improves over time. It makes me afraid I wont be able to work again . I have no experience in office work and no college experience just high school. I'm afraid I'll never travel without it getting worse or spiking. It's never use to be like this. I got a CT scan and no fluid in my ears last time I checked. This did all happen after a cold 5 months ago. If anybody has ideas why relapses randomly happen like this then tell me? I cant think of a good reason why it became reactive. I didnt lose more hearing.

[Alugo6340]

When I said my tinnitus went from 3 in the morning to 8 at night I meant on a scale of one to ten in severity. It would be mild at the start of the day and severe and debilitating after work.

[Chall11]

I definitely have a similar thing but no hearing loss. I have extreme hyperacusis with many many different tones in both ears. I am convinced it’s driven by stress and if I have been frightened by a particular noise then the hyperacusis/tinnitus mimics that noise for a while. A psychiatrist would put me on antipsychotics but I know it’s the hyperacusis and tinnitus and the brain playing tricks if i am very stressed.

It sounds like you’re in a loop of stress and anxiety about it so my focus would be trying to get out of that loop the best way that you can.

Best wishes to you

[EirM]

Sorry to hear you are having such a hard time at the moment. I had something similar after a very bad head cold but things began to slowly get better after about 6 months. I still have tinnitus but it's not as reactive as it was at the beginning and I am coping with it better now. I hope things improve for you soon.

[Yogijo]

Stress definitely plays part in tinnitus and the perception of it. Personally I think the current situation with Covid 19 will be causing an increase in stress for a lot of people even if they aren’t fully conscious of it. The BTA has information about stress and tinnitus on their website tinnitus.org.uk/pages/searc...

[Constanzi]

Eat raw food. It is good to stop nervous system backfiring. Also eat yoghurt and milk. Rice and vegetables potatoes beetroot. Root vegetables. Natural fats are okay Dont use lot of bright electric lights. To be honest in short leave the city and eat less processed food. Do yoga or eurythmy. Do not use a mobile phone or google computer screen for 4 hours before bed! Reduce use on screens. I dont know if it will help. Move away from train lines and electric lights power heating concrete buildings/ big modern buildings... could all make worse acoustics for a sensitized auditory system. Its a sensitized system like a chronic inflammatory stress reaction either in ear or auditory cortex cells or even visual cortex agfecting auditory area i reckon. Something stressful triggered it, paired with hearing?

[Michael8272]

Hi,I have much the same problem, I have tinnitus two years now, it's reactive but not all the time but I can't work work out why some days it's ok with a noise and then the next day it would send my tinnitus crazy with the same noise.mines also starts in the morning good and then goes up by evening. I would say I have sinus issues. I get alot of different tones off and on never the same. Really hard to work out.

[Alugo6340 in reply to Michael8272]

It also doesnt help that my piece of shit dad keeps yelling at me over little things and small mistakes and I keep telling him not to yell or raise his voice but hes a loud talker and he wont listen. I could help clean the house and he still finds something to yell about. I'll never get better as long as I live with him. He could be hindering any chance i have at healing. Why couldn't he get this affliction instead of me? Hes an asshole. Nothing pleases him. This affliction just happened to me overnight and I'm only 23...

[Alugo6340]

Is it possible to learn to tune out reactive tinnitus and habituate to it ? Can it improve or go away in a year or two? Is it possible for it to improve with me? I'm afraid about when summer comes and people start using air conditioning...

[Alugo6340]

Also I wanna be able to go on long car rides and trips with my family again and I'm worried itll never happen again. I feel like my life it's like I'll never be able to work retail or any other job again. I dont have a college degree. I cant imagine going on a date with a loud spike.

[Annie07]

I am so sorry to hear about your situation and can fully empathise as I’m kind of in the same boat. I myself was diagnosed with tinnitus five years ago but over the gradual course of two years I became habituated to it that I almost forgot I even had tinnitus. Now all of a sudden since this week my brains picked up on the tinnitus again and it seems worse than the first time I got it. It’s a more horrible experience to go through it again after you’ve become habituated to it. I, like you am wondering myself why I’ve reacted to it. Personally for me, it all has to do with the mind. Like someone has commented on here about getting stuck in a loop. The more you let your mind fixate on it, the more stressed and anxious you will feel. When I first became habituated to it, it helped using pillow speakers to tune out the noise, I used to have herbal drinks before going to bed (mainly chamomile tea), practicing breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation just before going to sleep. And just keeping yourself busy and distracted, I noticed my tinnitus sounds louder if I’m focusing on it and that makes me feel like I’m gonna lose my sanity. But if you keep yourself busy and distracted the noise fades into the background. I’m gonna try to do all these activities again to get through this. I notice it’s been nearly a month since you posted this and I really hope in that time you have managed to find some ease.