Is your tinnitus only a sound or pain-like?

[Fridays_Child_62]

I am just wondering about the nature of the tinnitus experienced by members of this forum. Is tinnitus simply an internal sound for you or is it more than that? Mine is variable in both loudness and texture, which ranges from hissing to whistling/screeching. When at its worst, it takes on a sharp texture which puts me on edge - a bit like nails being scraped down a chalkboard. I liken this more to the brain's reaction to pain than sound. In fact, I have seen tinnitus described as a form of pain. Does anyone else get this sensation?

[surviveT]

mine sounds like this - the solid tone intense tone is what distresses me the most - and its been like this over past week - i prefer the hissing , buzzing as its easier to live with. I have loud volume as well - not sure if it is a pain sensation , could be

[Fridays_Child_62 in reply to surviveT]

I find the hissing easier to cope with too, although when loud it can become 'prickly' which plays on my nerves. But it is the most distressing when loud and shrieky. For me, the texture is almost as significant as loudness in how bothersome the tinnitus is.

[surviveT in reply to Fridays_Child_62]

prickly ? is this a sound ? I have noticed i have some typewriter tinnitus recently - thnx

[Fridays_Child_62 in reply to surviveT]

Well, I meant a rapidly fluctuating sharpness to the noise perceived as the equivalent of the skin being prickled. I am trying to convey that the brain can react to tinnitus in a similar way to pain.

[Happyrosie]

For me, I have a continuous loud buzzing (badly-tuned radio) plus the occasional screech - the nails down the blackboard sound.

[Fridays_Child_62 in reply to Happyrosie]

Probably similar to me but mine alternates between the two from one day to the next.

[Gloomster]

Mine varies a fair amount although the volume only went wild about 3 weeks ago up which point I rarely thought about it. Now it is tough ....pink noise , escaping steam sort of thing and pretty loud .

I do experience it as pain in a way in that it is uncomfortable and quite unlike the same sound coming from a source like an AC unit or the wind or sea ..which would be fine for me .

I would say not pain but not just noise either .,..sort of painful noise

(Glad I could make that less clear than ever ...... ahem )

[Fridays_Child_62 in reply to Gloomster]

I think you're getting what I was trying to get at - not a physical pain but a texture of tinnitus that gets a similar reaction from the brain as pain. On occasion I've had it such that it makes me squirm and I can't be still, much like my reaction to intense pain like when I had gallstones. More commonly, it takes the form of an unpleasant sensation like the noise has a metallic feel and my hearing (not ears) is being rubbed with wire wool. For me this is the worst aspect of tinnitus, even worse than the noise, but I've only started experiencing it in recent years, especially this year. It's a pity pain killers don't work to ease it.