Hey Everyone!

Hey ya'll,

I'm 22 and I've been dealing with tinnitus for about a year and a half. I am an avid hunter, who always wore hearing protection when on the hunt. However, one day while at a skeet shooting event, I decided not to wear my hearing protection because I wanted to be a macho man like a few of the other guys I saw at the event (A mistake of youth). After that one event, my tinnitus has stayed with me in my left ear. My friends and I slowly began to notice a change in my behavior, I began to drink a lot more than I normally did at parties and when going out to the bars because it seemed to make me forget about the tinnitus. I also began to grow more irritable which became a dangerous combination with the increased drinking. I was more prone to get into fights which was unlike me because I have always been a rather peaceful, quiet, and conservative guy. I began to research tinnitus and learned that it could cause depression, irritability, sleep deprivation, etc. I went to the doctor and she sent me to an ENT, he did the tests found out I had permanent inner ear damage, and basically he said he couldn't do anything about it.

In January, my tinnitus increased to a 5-6/10, coincidentally it occurred when I was filling out law school applications and was under a lot of stress. Even though I have finished the apps and am not under as much stress the tinnitus has still remained loud. The tinnitus caused me to become depressed, anxious, irritable, sleep deprived, and unsocial. I went to the doctor and she prescribed me Zoloft and Ambien to counter these symptoms Many days all I did was lay in bed, watch netflix, and not go to class because I was so damn miserable even on the Zoloft (I've stopped drinking since I am on Zoloft btw). My sleep schedule has been messed up to the point where I only get about 5 hours of sleep if im lucky even while on the Ambien. When I try to explain the situation to many people, they simply don't understand how something such as ringing in your ears can lead to all these symptoms of depression, anxiety, irritability, etc. The only people who seem to understand this problem are people who currently have it. It is driving me crazy. Last night, I began to sleep with quiet relaxing music and my tinnitus for some reason got real quiet. I realize the more sleep I attempt to get the better my mood is and the better chance that I'll go to class.

I've been reading many of the posts on here and trying to try some of the methods that have helped other people. Hopefully this new ENT will be able to figure something out in the form of a masker or hearing aid. I thank ya'll on here for being brave enough to post your experiences and to give me hope!

Arnie