Tinnitus Forum - Mytinnitus

Also I thought I would outlay some other peculiarities of my tinnitus in case anyone recognizes it as similar to theirs. Sorry if this is boring, please ignore if so.

When straining physically( lifting, yawning, toilet ha ha even sex ) the tinnitus on my right side spikes slightly( I also notice now for the first time the whole right side of my neck, ear and right top of skull get a prickling sensation over it- gets goose bumps) when I also strain. Maybe I always did this, maybe its unrelated.

I think my tinnitus is related to my blood pressure too as in a room I hear it less if I am standing, slightly more when sitting and even more if I am lying down, which relates to blood pressure I believe in those positions.

I can create a worse tinnitus sound( high pitched washing water sound behind my head it seems) by clenching my back teeth for too long. Found this out the hard way but luckily the sound left after a few days.

The worse tinnitus day was when I had strained my back lifting and I was left lying around several days to recover. My tinnitus at this time came in both ears as a sort of washing white noise and also seemed slightly pulsatile, increasing in time slightly ahead of my distal wrist pulse. However it only matched my pulse for 3-4 beats before changing and just becoming noise again so perhaps it was in my imagination.

Driving my car seems to make my tinnitus worse that afternoon and night.   This worries me as I obviously need to drive to live. I am hoping I am not making tinnitus permanently worse doing this. 

Actually just considering today the changes the tinnitus has made the last 3 months. I have gotten more used to it, but I must admit I think it has in fact gotten a little worse, and even the potential to be louder when its at its loudest.

This worries me a little...I am not sure what I am doing wrong if so. I am in fairly noise free home environment.My blood tests(thyroid), dental xrays, vestibular tests, sinus and brain scans were all ok.

All I can think is I am living with my brother and small children who sometimes scream loudly but I protect my ears as soon as possible. However sometimes I am unprepared I guess.

Maybe even driving a car or having cars pass me on the street it too much for me and I should protect against this too? This will be problematic for living a normal life if so.

So you can see I was feeling up for my first post, but now feeling a little down again

Hi Mick,

Welcome to the forum.

Even after 3 months, the tinnitus will still react sensitively (and often erratically) to all kinds of influences (be it noise, physical activity, food etc.). It can take another 3-6 months before your nervous system has fully adjusted to the situation and the sensitivity dies down. So on the basis of the present symptoms, I would not make any irreversible long term decisions for your life right now. In a few months time it might all look different.

Having said this, night shifts might not be ideal here (with or without noise) as they could upset your hormonal balance and aggravate your tinnitus (for some people a short nap during the day can do this).
Work load as such is not necessarily bad though. If you are motivated enough and get satisfaction from the job, then this can actually be even beneficial. What you have to avoid is the 'negative' stress when you can't cope anymore or have negative thoughts about what you are doing.

Do not worry about the long term future too much. Those worries and anxieties will only make it worse and drive you into a vicious circle. Try to deal with the problems on a day to day basis. A few months down the line things will improve.

On a more practical note, avoid at the moment any caffeine and alcohol. You can also try whether taking a few painkillers (Paracetamol (Tylenol in the U.S.) or Aspirin) for a couple of days, or an occasional alcohol-free beer can calm the tinnitus down.

Thomas