Hello

Hello everyone,

My name is Steve and I came down with T about four and half months ago. It was a normal work day, I came and home fell asleep around 8 pm and woke up around midnight, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and then went back to bed and there it was, this blaring sound in my ears. I freaked out thinking "what is this!". It was loud, and I mean loud. It died down a bit after 10 minutes but the sound persisted.

The next couple of months were very rough. Part of me wanted to just die but I had and episode of T about twenty years ago that lasted for about a week so I was hopeful it would go away. Without any noticeable hearing loss, ear pain, dizziness, hyperacusis, or a history of loud noise exposure I was optimistic but really annoyed by the sound. I went to a General Physician and he said it would probably go away and he was partially correct as it stopped in the right ear after about two weeks but still to this day, the T persists in the left ear. I went to an ENT a week later and the hearing test results came back normal but he said there wasn't much that could be done about the T beyond masking.

By this point I couldn't hear or would notice the T 95% of the time but the mere fact that I had this condition stressed the hell out of me. I soon developed insomnia because of the noise at night and the stress over having T.

But now after for months I'm doing much better as I've habituated for the most part. Sometimes it gets loud but I usually don't hear or notice it. I've beaten my insomnia and can sleep just fine. I even sleep with the left ear to the pillow and it doesn't stop me from falling asleep.

For new suffers, I offer the following advise:

1) Your emotional reaction in the beginning is normal but it will get better when you're attitude towards your T changes.
2) Prepare for a struggle with insomnia. Research Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia, this is what helped me beat it.
3) Put things into perspective. There are much worse ailments than Tinnitus.
4) Trust that you will get better. The human brain has the incredible ability to adapt and will learn to tune out the T and you will become emotionally neutral when you do hear it. There's a possibility that the T volume will go down or you may be one of the lucky ones and it may go away completely.
5) Protect your hearing going forward. Even though my T isn't a result of loud noise exposure, I'm mindful of protecting my hearing to avoid making it worse. Avoid ototoxic drugs if you can.
6) If you seek medical treatment, try to find a Tinnitus specialist. Many doctors and ENT's will tell you that nothing can be done about it and you'll just have to get used to it.
7) Watch out for the snake oil. There's a lot of useless "treatments" being peddled that do nothing but exploit your desperation for a cure. Do your research.
8) Hold off on the devices. There are a multitude of devices being offered in Audiologist and ENT offices to treat Tinnitus. Many of these devices don't actually cure T but instead help you habituate to it. These devices are expensive and can cost thousands of dollars and there's no guarantee they will work for you so I would suggest giving yourself a chance to habituate naturally before investing in these devices.

Even though I'm mostly habituated, I'd still rather not have this condition. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that medical science can figure out how to effectively cure this. Until then, thanks for having me.

-Steve-

 

Excellent advice! Thanks for sharing your experience. Helps alot.

 

Good advice! My T started in December and your story sounds A LOT like mine...

P.S. About the devices, this community has developed it's own DIY sound therapy which people can use with their own phones / iPods etc. Doesn't cost a thing and seems to help already some: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acoustic-cr®-neuromodulation-do-it-yourself-guide.1469/

 

Great post Steve (love it, TwinGlocks!!) !! Spot on advice for newbies!! I have habituated for the most part myself, but like you I would really rather not have it!!

Just a couple of things from my experience I would add;

Get plenty of exercise to get naturally tired

Stay connected! To life, to friends and family, to everything you used to do (as much as you are able)! Don't let your T rob you of joy in your life (I know for many that sounds impossible, because I used to think that!). Don't withdraw. Stay connected here on TT, where you have a wonderful community of people who "Get It""!! People who are going thru or have gone thru exactly what are!

Sound Wave has a great link above for a therapy that works for some T sufferers!

Lastly, if you can, support our efforts to build Tinnitus Network (link below), which promises to help promote research and offer treatments and therapies to the larger T community.

Peace !!