Even normal level noise makes my tinnitus come back louder.

[bapvd]

After a couple days using ear plugs to avoid most noise the tinnitus in a least one of my ears seems to go away, but then when going taking the ear plugs out it comes back after several hours. Can listening to even normal level sounds make tinnitus worse? It seems like it does to me.

[Happyrosie]

As far as I’m concerned, bapvd, the only things that change the tinnitus are:

1. Ignoring it, which I can do most of the time by being busy, such as reading, being in the open air listening to the nature around me,

2. Wearing hearing aids, so that the real world is a little bit louder than the T.

Just normal level sounds are the same. To me.

[bapvd in reply to Happyrosie]

The level of my T goes down after a long period without sound like sleeping, but increase after a long period of sound. I'm also taking niacin three times a day and amitriptyline at night.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Hi bapvd

It may not be helpful in the long run to wear earplugs as you've described. Rather than achieving a permanent reduction in your tinnitus, wearing earplugs for long periods of time to 'avoid noise' as you say may result in your tolerance for sound becoming artificially lowered. I would guess this is why your experience of 'normal' sound seems to cause an adverse reaction.

When it's possible to do so, please consider talking to your audiologist or a hearing therapist about this practice - I realise that with the current pandemic's restrictions, access to medical support is difficult, but giving yourself an unrealistic perception of sound or developing a phobic reaction to it isn't in your best interests.

[bapvd in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

I believe you are right. I have developed a higher sensitivity to ordinary soundsand will not wear ear plugs except when around loud noise. My tinnitus had decreased substantially until yesterday. I was trying to adapt to ordinary sounds and not wearing ear plugs then right after going to bed I was listening to soft music to fall asleep and all of a sudden the level of my tinnitus increased by a factor of 10. Like someone through a switch. I can only assume it was due to removing the ear plugs all day. It looks like it is going to be hard to get adjusted back to listening to ordinary sounds.