Does anyone know of any specific reason(s) that one minute my tinnitus is barely noticeable and then the next it sounds like a whistling tea kettle or just a loud rushing sound??? I have tried to pinpoint something...anything...but I just can't figure it out. One thing I have noticed is it will change in volume after exercise.
Does it keep time with your pulse? If it does you're hearing blood flow which would be effected by plod pressure and pulse. The faster the blood is pumping like during stress or exercise the louder and or higher pitched it will most likely be. Ringing tinnitus that doesn't follow the pulse is normally nerve impulses and not fully understood, this also changes volume and pitch with muscle contractions. Clenching the teeth for example. In theory the hearing nerve is picking up the sound of the muscle contractions.
No...it has in the past but most often and here lately it is just a solid sound. You mentioned clenching my teeth...I had been having headaches (still am) with pain in my temple and ear...my bad ear. The doc said he thought I might be clenching my teeth maybe at night but I know for a fact I have found myself doing it during the day when working in a hurry...I can tell because I can actually feel when I release that tension.
Tinnitus is a very complex Neurological and Auditory condition with so many possible causations. It is impossible for even the few (T) specialists, there are, to determine exact cause of volume & pitch changes.
You are on tract by noting differences in emotional behavior, stresses, new otoxic medications, sleeping patterns, noise environments, blood pressure changes, sugar metabolic balance, glucose readings, somatic problems [muscle & joint tightness - especially neck, jaw / temporomandibular joint], earwax, ear infection, ear fluid build-up, etc.
Many people with (T) get louder volume and pitch changes after or during exercise - and lying down after exercise.
Tinnitus noises, that we hear, are actually created by the hyperactivity of neuronal nerve signal sequences [synaptic nerve dis-synchrony in several areas of the brain components].
Among the abundance of (T) medical clinical studies and patient trials, it is shown that Sound Therapy [gentle and high-spectrum type music] helps to relax or slow down the rapid / excited behavior of the areas of the brain affected by (T) activity.
Types of Music: Medium Volume - Not LOUD:
Classical, World Music, Mellow Jazz, Gentle Pop, Soft Country, Soft Pop - music that covers the wide spectrum of frequencies and is harmonic in nature. In addition, the sounds of Nature, especially water falls & ocean waves, etc.
There is a strong correlation of (T) activity with the Limbic Nervous System; thus, when we remove the negative reactions to (T), we habituate over time and the (T) moves to the background of our conscious mindset rather than holding a front seat (so to speak). This is where TRT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis, and inner reflection perform as potential therapies.
For Medical Clinical Research Studies:
ATA American Tinnitus Association
The International Tinnitus Journal
TRI Tinnitus Research Initiative
NIH / Pub Med National Institute of Health
YES, life for you and me is a challenge with serious chronic tinnitus. However, if you put together a protocol [management program] you can learn to harness the symptoms of (T). It's takes lots of reading / learning, patience, trial & error, and an effort to finding a knowledgeable doctor. In medical schools (T) is a two hour conversation and that is it.
Important: More than 260 million people have (T) - you are not alone.
Thank You
I find if I do anything that exerts myself or am in a stressful situation or upset then the hissing sound loudens. Think it's to do with raise in blood pressure/temperature
Itwould only make sense for blood pressure to effect the sound of the tinnitus is pulsatile tinnitus as only pulsatile tinnitus is vascular.