How to Cope? — Loud Tinnitus & Not Sure How Much More I Can Take

What loud noise is acceptable?!?

I need to off myself! I need to find a way!!!!!

 

Noooooooooo. Another trauma. I need to off myself asap!

 

Hey Pete,

I know it is frustrating, may be you don’t believe we’ve suffered the same way as you did but believe me, a lot of us know exactly what you are going through. Please hang in there for a little bit more time, trust me, things will get better.

 

The tinnitus is piercing as usual. I woke up at 6 and wanted to go back to sleep.

My ears don't feel normal. There is the tinnitus, ear pain and popping like sounds at times.

Yet, I am told to 'hang on.' For what?

So, I can continue to suffer? 'It will get better?!?" Really? How do you know?

I don't want people to talk to be about habituating bs either. I don't know how to make clear regarding my condition since I have tried repeatedly.

Why did I get worse from tinnitus to everything else? Is it all the noise here or? I don't know how to live like this. It is a nightmare.

 

How did you get tinnitus @PeteJ? I know you say acoustic trauma but what happened? Did the ear pain start at the same time?

 

Actually, I had ear pain after the acoustic trauma but I recall the tinnitus a day later at least.

The ear pain subsided but my left and right ear have never felt normal or physically the same as before the initial trauma.

My right was my 'good ear' until a loud sound. Later, I had creaking and spasms in that ear. Thankfully, it subsided but neither ear feels 'right.'

My left ear becomes overly painful at times. At first, I attributed it to my ear muffs which pinch (x4a muffs have been mentioned on here before) but now I am clueless.

The pain is in the ear canal area, the cartilage in that area and even my neck area that attaches to my ear. Plus, on my head behind my ear. The worst pain is in the ear canal and surrounding cartilage though.

Most sounds don't 'hurt'' as far as I know although, yes, I get upset if exposed to a loud noise. I don't want to worsen my tinnitus or other ear issues.

If this is some related form of hyperacusis, then kill me now.

 

A lot of the people on this forum including myself has gotten a lot better in time. I don't know FOR SURE that yours will get better but I am just telling you the odds are pretty good as long as you try to keep positive and not try to do something you will regret later...

 

Everything you're saying is true. Many people have passed or gone through this. What can not be done is to ignore that this exists, what is worse when it is done by professionals of the area, that is an incredible and inadmissible thing. You are not alone!

 

I feel alone.

I also think many on the site secretly wish I would just kill myself already.

People are tired of my 'whining.'

But, ear pain, all the forms of 'hyperacusis' and other ear issues including tinnitus, obviously, are difficult to treat or have various degrees of success (or failure) for people.

I have visited GPs so often in the last few months and my experience is they just prescribe ear drops or antibiotics.

Will ENTs be of any help? :-/

 

Why would you feel alone Pete? I Have been trying to talk to u everyday hoping to make you feel less alone and neglected. It seems like whatever I say is not gonna change your mind but I am not going to stop. You are not alone man!

 

ENTs are mostly useless for me. I have seen 3 of them. None of them will help or can help. To them it’s just a job and they just want to get you out the door so that they can get to the next patient as quick as possible.

You may as well come here and listen to people’s advice than to waste time with an ENT.

 

Pete,
Do not feel alone, we are with you. Only those who go through this can really understand what it is about.

 

I know but I still feel alone.

The t is so loud...if you have read my posts, it's the same.

 

I am tired of all the insensitive remarks, replies and ignorant comments to me, mostly in the chat.

So many don't read or listen to what I say or post.

People who can use ear plugs and muffs who rarely get ear pain think that they are more severe or that I am not severe. So outrageous.

Who here have such ear pain that they can't use plugs?

 

Amitriptyline.

 

Let me be clear. I only meant a few people and mostly from the chat. So many here try and I appreciate it a lot.

I feel lost and hopeless. I don't want to exist because the ringing is too loud and I don't want to feel the ear pain any more.

 

It is my understanding that he does that because he gets spikes after he is exposed to noise.

 

Other people here tell me I need to see an ENT and are very rude about it - mostly the chat 'regulars.' I suspect the ENT won't do much so I think you are being honest and they don't care what happens.

 

@PeteJ

Like others in the forum I have had many years experience with Noise induced tinnitus. I have also corresponded and counselled people with tinnitus and hyperacusis. I am not a doctor and don't profess to be one as you referred to me on TT chat. However, if you want your tinnitus to be less problematic and I assume that you do, then please take note of the information I am going to provide below. Don't follow the advice of some members who say an ENT doctor is useless because nothing could be further from the truth. It is true, ENT doctors are not tinnitus experts but they highly qualified physicians and are the people to see when experiencing problems with the ear.

When a person is complaining of tinnitus it is important that they are examined by an ENT doctor to find out what is causing it. For straight-forward tinnitus; by this I mean one doesn't experience: Dizziness, pain in the ears, balance problems, deafness or sickness. A period of 4 to 6 months should elapse before being seen at ENT. There is a good reason for this. The ear often rights itself and tinnitus can subside where one habituates to it within 6 months or it can go away completely. Too early an intervention can make tinnitus worse because the ear and auditory system are quite delicate. For this reason doctors prefer to wait and see what happens.

When a person is seen at ENT and tests are carried out. If there is no underlying medical problem within the auditory system or body causing the tinnitus, a person should be referred to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that specialises in Tinnitus and hyperacusis management. This is particularly necessary when the tinnitus was caused by "exposure to loud noise". There are a variety of treatments that can be helpful: Counselling, medication, sound therapy and relaxation techniques.

Sitting back and saying no-one can help or nothing can be done, is a deafest attitude and mindset. All this will do is instil negative thinking and if one isn't careful, they can become trapped in a vortex of confusion and perpetual doom and gloom. Forever be visiting forums and other social media platforms looking for someone to blame for their plight in life, instead of taking the initiative and see a medical professional.

Michael

 

ENTs really cannot help because they don't know how. But if you have ear pain, I'm sure ENT will give you some pills to ease the pain and you could also ask some sleeping pills.

I myself don't suggest using melatonin.
There are some good sleeping teas available.

I drink this one myself about 1h before I want to go to sleep:
https://shop.clipper-teas.com/products/clipper-snore-peace-20-bag

I took pain killers myself during the first weeks. The pain was so annoying. And also the ear soreness.

You are not the only one suffering Pete.

And people get frustrated, because they have their own pain and symptoms to handle too, and it takes lots of energy to help others as well.

I am myself constantly very tired. I use all my willpower these days to be able to get out for my daily run, search for job, etc. Trying to get my life back together.

So forgive me, if I am sometimes little snappy. As I try to do everything I can to beat this horrible condition.

 

ENT doctors treat the ear. If there is an underlying medical problem with the ear or auditory system causing the tinnitus. An ENT doctor will be able to treat it medically or surgically. When there is no underlying medical problem causing the tinnitus, as in "Noise induced Tinnitus" . A person should be referred to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that specialises in Tinnitus and hyperacusis management. These are the people to see and are experts in the field of tinnitus.

Many of these healthcare professionals were either born with tinnitus or acquired it at some time in their life. They often have in-depth knowledge of tinnitus not through studies at medical school or university, but actually living with tinnitus. They will be able to understand and empathise with what a tinnitus patient is going through. This can be particularly helpful in face-to-face counselling. One to one counselling over time, can help dispel and demystify the negative thinking that is often associated with tinnitus and can assist a person to habituate to the condition.

Michael

 

I am waiting my referral to go forward. My ENT put me forward, but that was on private side. Public healthcare didn't care at all. But what I meant is that ENT cannot cure tinnitus if it's got from acoustic trauma.

English is not my native language so sometimes I write little wrong.

 

At this moment tinnitus is like many other medical conditions that cannot be cured. However, it can be treated. As I have said in my previous post: It is important that a person with tinnitus who finds it problematic should be seen at ENT and tests to be carried out on their ears and auditory system to try and find out what is causing the tinnitus? It doesn't matter whether the tinnitus was caused by acoustic trauma or not. This is the job of the ENT doctor. If there is no underlying medical problem within the auditory system or body causing the tinnitus, then the patient should be referred to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist for treatment and management of tinnitus and hyperacusis. This is especially necessary when the tinnitus was caused by "noise trauma".

Just because an ENT doctor may not be able to cure tinnitus, doesn't mean that a person that finds their tinnitus troublesome, shouldn't go to ENT to be examined.

Michael

 

I can understand why many tinnitus patients on here feel less than satisfied with ENTs. Many are less than supportive and often adopt a "you just have to live with it" approach. However, it is true as @Michael Leigh says that they perform an important role in checking the auditory system. Also, certainly in the UK system you have to see ENT first before you can be referred on to audiology and receive what support is available there.

Indeed one area that I would not completely agree with him about is about the delay in seeing an ENT. In many cases very early intervention is important - particularly if the tinnitus was associated with an acoustic trauma, in which case early treatment (for example with a steroid) has been shown to reduce the risk of lasting damage. In these cases seeing an ENT as early as possible is highly advisable.

 

HI @david c

If I am not mistaken no GP or ENT doctor in the UK will prescribe steroid medication for the treatment of tinnitus even if it's noise induced. I agree that in some countries it is sometimes the practice to prescribe prednisolone for "noise induced tinnitus" especially with early onset. I note some people in this forum have found this steroid helpful but alas, I don't believe it will be prescribed by any doctor in the UK for tinnitus.

Therefore, I stand by my previous statement for those living in the UK. Providing a person has straight-forward tinnitus without additional symptoms: Dizziness, pain in the ears, balance problems or deafness. A period of 4 to 6 months should elapse, before been seen at ENT for the reasons I have mentioned above.

Michael

 

You are mistaken about this Michael. The latest thinking about tinnitus with acoustic trauma in the UK is that steroid prescription is likely to be appropriate in many cases. That is why it has been included in NICE's scoping of the tinnitus pathway they will be publishing in guideline form later this year. Certainly the older thinking in the NHS was against this but they are increasingly having to adapt to research and treatment patterns from abroad which has shown evidence for its use.

Long monthly delays in seeing ENT in the UK have nothing to do with the health of the patient and everything to do with waiting lists. As with nearly all medical conditions early intervention is advisable. Sadly long delays in the system are the case across the NHS in the UK which is why unfortunately we have some of the worst long term survival rates for cancer in Europe.

 

Here in Finland they prescribe prednisolon for hearing loss, and as fast as possible. It does help in some cases. I think it helped me a bit.

 

Thank you for this information @david c it is much appreciated.

Michael

 

You're welcome Michael. As it happens I agree with you about a delay before starting treatment with the sound therapy part of tinnitus retraining therapy - as you say ears which have recently experienced acoustic trauma and recent onset of tinnitus are sensitive and starting to use white noise generators with them early probably isn't a good idea.

But in any case I suspect that the NHS are now phasing out the limited amount of TRT currently on offer in favour of CBT . The reason for that isn't to do with efficacy but to do with money - CBT as a counselling only service is a lot cheaper to provide than TRT with its combination of counselling and sound therapy.

 

In Canada, they don't care. I tried to insist I needed to see an ENT asap but no one cared.

I also tried to get prednisone but was declined/denied. The response or approach to tinnitus here is different than there. I even said I heard an alarm. They don't care here.