Hey all,
I’ve got a question. There have been times, personally, and I seem to remember having read that others have said that being in really loud environments for even short periods of time can cause tinnitus to be louder and more obnoxious.
If that is indeed true, then would it make sense that periods of complete or very close to complete silence would, over time, lessen the noise and the annoyance factor?
Does that make sense?
TJ
Hey TJ,
Yes and no.
For me it depends on where the noise is from. Being in a loud environment I can get a ringing in my ears, even after leaving the noisy environment. But that ringing is different for me than the noise I get which I consider ‘in my head’. For me the noise in my head beats with my pulse rate. If I over do it that beat seems more intense but it’s not an environmental noise. Add the two together and it can be overwhelming.
So I’ve found I have to balance it out, when I know I’m going to be in a noisy environment I try to minimise the ‘noise in my head’ or when the ‘noise in my head’ is bad I need to minimise the environmental noise. Again, it can be a real fine balancing act.
Does that make sense? 
Merl from the Moderator Support Team
Merl,
Makes complete sense. Let me take it one step further. I think that environmental noise aggravates the noise in my head. I also think I’m special because I have two types of noise in my head. My kids think I’m special…(never mind)
Both of them are worse when I’ve been in noisy environments. If that’s true, would they both, on the opposite side, come down a bit, slowly and gradually (I’m talking over the course of months if not years) if every day there was at least two hours a day (just a guestimate on time) where your ears had nothing to listen except your pulse and the noise the AVM makes?
Environment increases the noise in both of my ears, so if that’s true, then would a quiet environment lower the noise?
Does that make sense?
TJ
Does that make sense? Very much so, and I think that’s basically what I was meaning in saying “…So I’ve found I have to balance it out, when I know I’m going to be in a noisy environment I try to minimise the ‘noise in my head’ or when the ‘noise in my head’ is bad I need to minimise the environmental noise. Again, it can be a real fine balancing act.”
Often the problem I have is that as much as I try to manage it and balance it out, it’s not always possible. We do not always have complete control over environmental noise. But I must also say that over time noise has become less of an issue for me. Now in saying that though, for me, my eyes and light intensity is a problem that has not balanced out. Too much screentime or bright sunlight, even with prescription lens sunglasses, can exacerbate a ‘normal’ (if you can call it ‘normal’) headache into an OMG type headache. Again it’s all a case of management. And that management is not an easy thing to find as the scale all seems to move and can depend on a heap of differing factors. What seemed to work yesterday may not work today due to these differing factors. I do try to examine and learn from these changes/challenges but often it is not a simple A+B=C result but more A+B+C+D+E+…… it’s all SO variable which can be frustrating as all hell. If it was just a ‘simple A+B=C’ management wouldn’t be so much of an issue, but when it’s the whole damn alphabet trying to pinpoint a cause/effect is near on impossible. Ahh the joys of it all. NOT.
Merl from the Moderator Support Team
It is a balancing act. I have tinnitus. When I’m in a very noise environment, it makes the tinnitus worse. This effect lasts for several hours. Sometimes after time in noise, total quiet is awful. It makes the tinnitus REAL loud. Avoiding high volume of noise reduces the problem when it’s quiet. I’ve found it best to have a small volume of noise to cover the tinnitus, without making it worse.
nods his head in agreement at the screen on his computer
Anyone ever have any experience with something like this? https://quieton.com/shop/quieton-active-noise-cancelling-earplugs/
They are supposed to make the loud not so loud so that you can hear voices and conversations better. Using Merl’s A+B scenario…
A - Noise makes tinnitus worse
B - Tinnitus makes my head hurt, I mean really hurt.
C - Total silence does too.
So if I can apply E (earplugs that cut way down on the loud noises) that should, in an ideal world, result in less loud noises, which should then keep the tinnitus less painful.
It would also reduce the number of really loud sounds that are like daggers through my head. Which reduces pain which reduces…
Does it equal, $200 is worth the try?
Hmmmmm…
“Does it equal, $200 is worth the try?” HELL YES!!!
If it works $1000 isn’t too much.
Personally, in-ear plugs annoy the daylights out of me, so I’ve purchased a pair of wireless over ear noise cancelling headphones and they are brilliant for blocking out environmental noise. (I can’t even hear the wife with them on lol)
If you’re not sure, there are some cheaper options (<$50) with lesser quality you could use as a trial and if you receive a benefit then upgrade, well, that’s what I did.
Merl from the Moderator Support Team
One quick admonition. Make sure that you are not believing you have tenitus because a general medical doctor told you that. It could be bruit Which is the sound of blood flowing through the AVM. That was the only sign we had of my husbands AVM. Could call for an MRI check up.
Good point, however, I think tinnitus is like a high pitched noise while a bruit from the avm is the aforementioned “whooshing” sound like a heartbeat. I’ve never experienced tinnitus, but I definitely know what a bruit sounds like. GK
You’re completely right. I put that because one commenter put it sounded like their pulse. That was the precursor to my husbands rupture
Actually he said it sounded like breathing in his ear and we only could find the answer of tinnitus and it wasn’t.