dennis_me

How did your tinnitus start? And where do you come from in Germany. I was born in wiesbaden and live now in the French speaking part of Switzerland :)

I am from Rostock. I dont know the real cause of mine. I was taking the hairlosdrug finasteride at that time and had a lot of stress (exams). My Girlfriend thinks its my neck or posture.

Ohh okay that's cool, all the way in the north haha. I'm sorry this happened to you. I also had a lot of stress bc of my university exams but who knows? How are you doing now ? I saw that you joined TinnitusTalk in 2014 ?!

Heyy @dennis_me, great to hear from you. Glad to hear you're doing much better. I'm not doing too bad myself lately. I'm finding that certain stretches really help in reducing my T (stretch my abdominal muscles and chest to counteract my slouching). I'm a software engineering manager. How's school going?

These last few days have been difficult, my tinnitus is more reactive again, it is so exhausting. I have anxiety phases about my professional future. I decided to take a year off to learn how to manage my problems and "habituate ?" so no classes at the moment. Wow, that's such a cool job, how is your ability to concentrate at work?

That's not a bad idea. When my T first onset, I took several months off work. It helped me to deal with my T, my anxiety, my negative thoughts. I hope you find the time off helpful. On my bad days, it can be challenging to stay focused at work, but work also provides a distraction, so not too bad.

I'm sure it will be fine. Only time can help us. My tinnitus started at the beginning of my 4th semester and for the first two months I was not functioning at all. I was falling way behind, absolutely sleep-deprived, and watching my dream of becoming a doctor burn away. 1/2

I'm not going to lie to you, that semester was really extremely difficult but as time went on, it got better and I passed my exams... You, unlike me, have had tinnitus for a while now so it's not all new to you. I still have at least 4 years of study left. I wish you all the best and hope you do well. My heart goes out to you. I am so sorry that this fate happened to us. I still can't believe it. 2/2

Good for you. You’re braving many years ahead. I don’t have much longer in my program and im terrified. But you’re right. I’ve had a few months through the summer, so I guess that sound help a bit. Time will help. Thank you. You too!

It will. Just get though this moment of weakness. Sometimes we just have to purge our emotional attachment to T before we bounce back.

Thank you so much @BrOKeN_1. You are right. It got a little bit better. I hope I return to my baseline

@dennis_me WELL DONE! See - you’re much stronger than you realise. Massive hugs to you buddy. Go celebrate that amazing brain and will power of yours. x x x

Thank you very much everyone. Thank you very much for all the support over the last few months. Tinnitus is still annoying on a daily basis but I am already SOOOO much better than I was 6 months ago. I love you all <3

That is excellent to hear @dennis_me, you are loved here too

I hope that, with less stress and more sleep, your T reduces

<3

But thank you all so much, I hope you are right and that everything will end up « well ». It's just so frustrating to see everyone around you moving on with life and nobody takes me serious with my Tinnitus

My first month and a half were some pretty dark times. I felt like I wouldn't be able to cope and do a fraction of what I was normally able to do. I worked hard to build resiliency, figure out the meds with doctors, and reduce reactivity with sound therapy. The mind is more powerful than we give it credit for. And we take you seriously.

I am already proud of the progress i made. The first three months I was extremely suicidal, never was before, and today I don't have such dark thoughts at all but daily life is still such a pain and my exams stress me SO much. I know you understand the struggle. I was talking about my family and friends :( But thank you for your nice words @Joe Cuber, you really seem to be a good person

Not to my knowledge. I know a great deal of American musicians have Tinnitus but as I understand it there isn't a lot of talk about T in their work.

@dennis_me “slowly growing deaf” by Mister Bungle. I can guarantee you won’t like the song, so probably best just to look at the lyrics. :)

Oh wow, this song is definitely special and interesting, thank you for sharing it :)

Who knows. I hate the fact that most ENTs don't care about Tinnitus. I have to work a month during the summer break at the hospital and I chose the ENT service. I am looking forward for august :) @blamingeverything

Totally weird, when I first started reading people's experiences on this forum, I was surprised to see such a variety of experiences and a variety of solutions they've found.

Yeah you're totally right. We are all here for the same problem and yet it can be so different for each person. I am also surprised by the diversity of the people affected. It can literally happen to anyone and when it happens it's too late...

I never thought I’d be in the position I am now. In fact, I hadn’t even given my T any thought until I stopped to reply back to you. So, like I said, one step at a time. Protect those ears, and get studying. Don’t let tinnitus ruin your dreams. You’ve totally got this! <3 :)

I'm sorry man. You can do it though, keep fighting, at 5 months you're still getting better. I'm at 6 months and can't believe where I'm at compared to months 1-3.

Wow, thank you sooooo much @Steph1710 and @blamingeverything. Your replies really mean a lot to me <3

@Joe Cuber I’ve had my “normal” tinnitus (not pulsatile tinnitus) for 2.5 years. I would say it was only at the 1.5 year mark that I really began to habituate properly - as in, I can forget about it for nearly an entire day. :) You will get there too @dennis_me.

That's awesome, I really hope I will get to this point of habituation. The best I can do inside right now is not to think about it for like 2-3 minutes. Whole days, that's awesome !!!

2nd time for me on this mary go round. I’m a year in this time and my T is still very intrusive. Last time it only took 6 months to calm down. This time it is mostly screaming 24/7 (with rare exceptions) with no sign of letting up. If anything it has gotten louder recently. I hope to get to a better places with it too.

It might go away in a few hours. Very rarely I get T in my right ear as well. Usually only for 2-3 minutes, but sometimes it persists for several hours. It always goes away eventually, unlike the T in my left ear. Just breathe, focus on something else and try to eliminate any worry from your mind. After you sleep tonight it might be gone.

Thank you very much @Lurius. That new sound appeared when I woke up this morning with a sensation of pressure in my right ear. It’s so weird and far worse then my usual Tinnitus… Everything was getting better :(

Hi @Kriszti, thank you. I’m in second year of med school in Switzerland. My tinnitus started during the first exam session in January 2022. This semester is so difficilt with this blasting tinnitus. I often can’t concentrate. Don’t know how I will manage my exams in june. I’m so scared

I saw that you were at law school in 2019. Are you still studying ?

I haven't managed to get my degree. I am in a weird limbo of active/passive semesters.