Ngo13

Wow, you’re not the only one who shares that same sentiment… @Ngo13 I totally feel the same too. Hearing through plugs has become more and more difficult overtime. Coincides with my tremendous H improvements. I honestly, can’t tell if my tinnitus has worsen these past 3 years though. It’s possible. I was thinking maybe my hearing has slowly deteriorated. But i haven’t noticed any significant loss.

@Ngo13 ‘s parenting skills on point :)

I'm a vegetarian, and at the nonprofit where I used to volunteer, we all got a good laugh when one of our members said that he used Wite-Out and a pen to rewrite children's books to make them more animal-friendly to his small children when he would read aloud to them before bed. As a sufferer of T and H, I would wholeheartedly endorse any children's book that encourages people to avoid loud noise!

The fear of worsening is completely rational. So I am not sure we should get past it?

I'm a tarot reader, and when I did a reading for myself on that exact same question, I drew The Hermit and The Nine of Swords and the Two of Pentacles. The Hermit is a card about staying home and isolating from others so you can rest and heal and do research. The Nine of Swords, however, is a card about insomnia and non-productive rumination.

The Two of Pentacles is about staying balanced, whether financially, physically, mentally, or emotionally.

I think the overall message of these three cards is to find a workable balance between extreme caution and extreme anxiety. Yes, isolate yourself and protect your ears when necessary, but don't paralyze yourself with excessive fear and rumination. Find the balance that works for YOU.

@Ngo13 I think the LDN is definitely worth a try when the time is right for you, especially given its relatively minimal side effect profile. It definitely doesn't take away the sensation fully for me, but it reduces it & makes it more of a numbness rather than a burning.

@Ngo13 I sincerely hope it is merely a 'not yet quite healing' thing or a central sensitization thing! Have you consumed any content on central sensitization? I'm currently quite enjoying Alan Gordon's podcast 'Tell Me About Your Pain.' The free Curable educational lectures are helpful as well.

Congratulations!!!

Thank you. I've been trying to take a break from this forum and it definitely helped my mental state. I still check from time to time but try to stick to success stories and research news.

Hope you are doing better as well @Juliane

I wear my custom plugs around my son most of the time. This is mostly preventive in case of a sudden shrill scream or cry, as well as eases my anxiety as my TTTS is particularly triggered by him. Reducing pain for me has been time and I have found some success with antiinflammatory supplements like ALA and NAC. I believe my pain stems from TTTS and associated muscle inflammation.

What kind of ear pain are we talking about? burning and stabbing pains triggered by noise around you?

Glad to hear you recovered. Sounds scary.

@ZFire burning pain on the whole side of my face and ears and sharp pains. Not triggered by noise exactly - only by TTTS movement (which is triggered by noise, lol) but especially talking, chewing, turning neck, etc. I think it was the movement of my eardrum or those muscles.

@ZFire Urgent care doc said my eardrums were bulging but no infection on 9/1. Still having more difficulty equalizing pressure when driving.

It was not fun and brought lots of panic for sure.

@RunningMan sleep was better, but no sleep again last night. I stopped the melatonin but seem to still have one sleepless night a week.

I hope you feel better soon and that your birthday still has moments of joy to make up for this.

I think it's an eardrum injury as I don't find the pain triggered by sounds themselves. I hope it heals quickly. Stupid ENT. Need to get TTTS under control

Thank you. Had a decent weekend in spite of horrible T but my strength to pretend to be ok comes in much shorter bursts now. Really bad today. Hope you are doing better than me!

@Ngo13 My heart breaks for you ❤️ I am in a similar place

I am right there with you today.

It's a catch 22. You could always try the very lowest dose and test the waters. If it doesn't work out then you know.

Very sad to hear that. Things can turn around for you. I understand your concern about ADs. They do make some people worse while they really help others. So tough to decide while being depressed. Is there anything (natural) that helps your mood a bit? Walks, swimming? Seeing a friend? Perhaps try that first and then decide? Big hug!

So sorry.

Oh, Ngo13. I'm so sorry. You will get there again! I believe it!

It is all very illogical. I don't understand any of this either.

I don't understand it either. You absolutely deserve another chance to recover, and it may still come.

Your chance can still come. Nothing is too late.

❤️

Sorry to hear you're going through this. I had nights in the early months, sometimes back to back with no sleep. It was tough but did get better to where I would at least get few hours of broken sleep. I still struggle and don't get enough, though. Hopefully, yours will improve faster and better than mine has.

I'm so sorry. I wish your hubby could show a little more compassion right now. You've gone through so much this past year. Even without T and H, it's very stressful for a couple to raise their first child.

Vent away :) I'm sorry about your current situation, hopefully you have a strong support circle to help you through.

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately I'm realizing I'm very much alone in my suffering.

Are you and your husband open to marriage counseling? Just a thought.

@ECP we tried but counselor said we weren't good candidates due to needing to work through our own personal issues first :( hubby just started therapy, I've been in for a year

Having individual therapy is still better than nothing. I'll keep you in my thoughts and hope that the two of you can come to an understanding soon, with or without the aid of a marriage counselor.

@Ngo13 So sorry to hear you’re going through this. Please know that this is NOT your fault.

Thank you @scared8. Let's hope for better days for us all soon

Of course you are! You are going through trauma. All normal reactions!!

I sincerely hope that however the relationship between you & your husband unfolds, you remember that you were/are not to blame. Sending much love ❤️

Thanks for the kind words. Helps me feel a little less alone.

So sad to hear that. I know from experience how the people close to you can behave in unimaginable ways when you need them the most. I don't know why. I hope you know that nothing is your fault. I mean, of course we change for the worse when our lives are being sabotaged by torturous symptoms! Big hug ❤️

Yes I do

They looked in my ear and shined a light.

Honestly, time is the only thing that really helped. I protected my ears around uncomfortable sounds and gradually stopped protecting so much as I felt more comfortable.

i'm happy to hear that! yeah definitely think i have TTTS the way u described it. does TTTS always come with h? i'm still going to protect myself regardless of it's H or anxiety

@Ellaenchanted868 no TTTS doesn't always come with H. It's actually really rare. I would definitely protect when you are uncomfortable, and if you can use natural sound enrichment as much as possible like being outside

Just in case it helps: when you find yourself obsessed, ask yourself, is this where I want to put my energy? I found it helps me to refocus on other things. Many times a day.

@Ngo13 I understand. It's hard not to obsess about something that's causing so much heartache. I was thinking about removing myself from these sites eventually to help move forward.

I have to be physically active while masked to genuinely stop obsessing. Being idle while masking is barely effective.