[mgleason_3]

I've had quite the opposite experience with noise-cancelling. My tinnitus has actually improved.

As a child, I noticed a high-pitched sound during a particularly windy night in Wisconsin. Over the next few days it got louder and louder to the point it was quite frightening. Obviously, I had tinnitus, but unfortunately lacked the words to describe it to my parents (or they just wanted me to go to sleep haha).

Eventually I figured out that it was a cycle. The more I focused on the sound, the louder it got. As I worked to focus on on other things, it gradually subsided over a few days.

Now, as an adult, it is with me all the time. It gets much louder some days. This can be caused by a bad night of sleep. Or random things I can't figure out. Doctors have variously mentioned salt, tomatoes, trying antihistamines, etc.

But one thing I know makes it worse is noise - especially higher frequencies. As a result, I really dislike many of the newer (pre-covid) restaurants with the hard surfaces and tinny speakers playing harsh music all the time.

My kids got me iPod Pro's for Christmas and it has been wonderful. We went to NYC and by wearing them, I was able to enjoy loud restaurants, deal with the subway, etc.

I also notice that by wearing them for even a few hours, my tinnitus is often significantly improved. My theory is that it improved by decreasing the amount of stimulation.

For those who experienced the opposite, I wonder the quiet they experience allows them to hear the tinnitus clearly for the first time? Then they begin to focus on it which increases it's apparent volume as I did when I was young.