Hello All.......I'm glad to be here, isolation can be terrifying. I got Tinnitus in my left ear the day after I got Vertigo. It drove me crazy because my ENT told me to get used to it, no cure. The worst thing was that I had no control over it. I developed anxiety and panic attacks, losing weight, losing sleep, had intrusive thoughts, ideation, and other ailments. I went to several Doctors and they all wanted me on antidepressants, I took several kinds and had ideations and other side effects. I started Xanax and Valium, however I searched the ATA website and saw a long long list of Ototoxic drugs, the antidepressants I had taken and the Xanax/Valium all made my Tinnitus worse. So I quit all drugs and started doing a search of so-called cures. I tried many but to no avail. I bought a hearing aid/Tinnitus masker and this helped during the day but I had to remove it at night and the noise seemed higher after I removed it so I quit using it and went threw meditation, prayer, and being in sound rich environs. I used a sound machine at night and still do. After 7 months of agony and terror I habituated, just out of the blue. Sometimes the sound gets louder and bothers me but not for long. I know that certain things can make it worse but try to avoid them. Anyway, I've gone a lot of misery like all of you, and I will help anyone if I can, I'm glad to be here.
Welcome to Tinnitus Talk, Maximus! We're glad to have you, and now that you have habituated, you can give others a lot of insight into this condition we all share --- and a lot of hope, too! Thanks for coming on board! Best wishes, Karen
@Maximus Proximo Welcome aboard. Glad you habituated. I'm in my 8th week of a relapse. I have habituated before and will do it again. Thank you for sharing your success story. Ken
Ken....Sorry about your relapse, did your ringing become worse causing you to habituate again? I know I can never let my guard down but reading other stories of success really stregthens my resolve and it also relaxs me..
Maximus. I have had a few relapses, unknown reasons. Always habituated over time 6-12 months. This relapse I believe, of course doctor didn't know, but he had many guesses. I took it was caused by a virus. Classic dizziness and tinnitus. Dizziness is gone now 8th week early to deal with T.
Hi Ken....Thanks for sharing.. Their are so many variables with Tinnitus....When I was dizzy I thought I was having a stroke but then they ruled that out and said it was Vertigo so my ENT did the Epley Maneuver and cured my dizziness, however I did throw up following then got Tinnitus.
Maximus, Looked up Epley Maneuver found a youtube it doesn't appear to be a violent procedure. You got Tinnitus after the maneuver?
Yep, the procedure wasnt violent but the Nytagmus of my eyes freaked me out and I had a full blown panic atttack, my first in my life, I was 61 at the time. I threw up due to the panic. From then on I had many anxiety and panic atacks. I felt like the most miserable person alive. I still have anxiety issues but not with my Tinnitus, as far as I know, one Dr. told me that the Tinnitus sound affected my Amygdala causing a flight or fight condition.
I've had the Epley maneuver, too. My dizziness/vertigo occurred after I had tinnitus, so I was really glad that the maneuver helped both of those conditions. The dizziness/vertigo are both gone now.
Max, very happy for you. It may be a good idea to post this thread on Demi's "The Positivity Thread" it is listed under support. A good story for that thread.
Thank you Karen and Gary. Even though I've habituated I still get depressed and anxious. I'm not sure my story is a success yet. I'm looking for natural supplements to help with anxiety. I will never go on antidepressants or Benzos, the trouble with supplements is that they don't seem to work all that well.
Max, I know what you mean! I was determined not to go on antidepressants or benzo drugs when mine was at its worst. It was hard finding supplements that worked. Have you tried holy basil? It takes a few days to build up in your system, but it does have an overall calming effect. There is also pharma GABA. I used that for awhile, too. I also used reishi mushroom capsules. The best thing to do is experiment until you find something that seems to work for you.
Hi Karen..... I take Holy Basil at times but it doesn't have much kick. I started taking L Gaba 2 days ago, I had read that the supplement couldn't cross the blood/brain barrier. I bought the NOW brand with Inisitol, Taurine, and Theanine, which are supposed to assist it in working. The first day I felt great using it but yesterday it didn't seem to work at all. I'll keep experimenting. I've tried Valerian for sleeping, Passion Flower, Lemon Balm, Kava Kava, nothing works or has the kick as a Benzo, but I refuse to take one. I'll try Reishi Mushroom in a few days to see how it works. Have you ever looked at Dr. Neil Bauman's list of Ototoxic Drugs? Talk about depressing, you can hardly take any medication that doesn't cause or make Tinnitus worse. I saw the list on ATA.org. I took Corydalis ( a herb ) for pain one time and 5 minutes later my ear was howling with Tinnitus, I'm almost fearful of taking anything but vitamins and supplements. I'm about to take some GABA and see how it works, I'll let you know. Thanks Karen for your help!
@Maximus Proximo, I agree! It's really hard to find a supplement that works well, but it's also better to stay away from drugs, if at all possible. It was a blood pressure drug that caused my mild tinnitus to become severe, with pulsatile tinnitus added to the mix,so I don't want to take any drugs that aren't absolutely necessary. The holy basil worked reasonably well for me for a little while; then I switched to other supplements. Magnesium chloride tablets seemed to help me, and I am continuing to take them. I'm also still taking moringa oliefera, more because of its healing and antioxidant properties than for calming. I feel fortunate to have gotten through the worst of my anxiety without resorting to anti-anxiety drugs, although several doctors tried to give me drugs such as Xanax, Lexapro, etc. I hope you find a supplement that is right for you. Also, don't forget to try distraction, exercise, and meditation for the calming and mental benefits they offer!
Hello Maximus, I started getting dizzy all day long ad a few month my T started , did your Vertigo started before t, doc. does not know what is wrong with me did all sorts of test , everything is fine.is your Vertigo still there and how long did it take to go away? Thanks Take care.
Hi Karen... Thank you for the advice.... I take CALM, a magnesium powder to realax me... I've seen some improvement with it but not much. I like to keep tv's on in the house and music.... but like right now as I type it's silent in the room except for my Tinnitus, but it doesnt bother me. It's gone down some in intensity the last 2 days, now watch it get louder since I mentioned that. :>) I saw some Youtube stuff on Niacin and Anxiety, that's something I might try at a higher dose than in my multivitamin. I'm sorry about your Tinnitus, I'm leary about any drug anymore and am concerned about some herbs being bad. I guess we live and learn.
Hi Alifilijohn......I was in my garage about to do bench presses when I laid down and got really dizzy, I got up worrying that I may be having a stoke, then I laid down again it was worse. When I was erect I was ok. My wife took me to the urgent care center and the PA, who didnt know much, threw me back on the exam table and my eyes were darting back and forth.. called Nystagmus..and I felt very nauseated.... however, he didnt know how to perform the Epley Maneuver. So he told me to go to an ENT, but it was late Friday and they couldnt get me in. In the meantime they told me to sleep with my head raised until I saw them on Monday. During the weekend I noticed my left ear ringing loudly and it freaked me out, thats when my panic attacks started. When I got in to see my ENT she did the Epley Maneuver on me twice... it stopped my Vertigo but I was shaking and threw up. She said my ear ringing might have been started from the trauma of Vertigo plus some hearing loss, she said not to worry about it that there's nothing you can do for it. It was great for my Vertigo to be gone but I then had to live with anxiety and panic from my ear ringing. I never got on a weight bench again though. :>) Those events changed my life but now my Tinnitus doesnt bother me but unfortunately I live with anxiety of which I'm trying to find natural ways of curing it. The Epley Maneuver is demonstrated on Youtube, you can even do it by yourself, maybe you should look into that, Vertigo is a scary thing to me.
