Cicadas Chirping.

Hi, Merle,

I'm sorry you recently found out you have tinnitus, and my heart goes out to you. Even though you cannot afford to go to a doctor right now, there are things you can do which may help you with your condition.

1. Sleep: You may be having trouble getting to sleep because of the tinnitus. Most of us with tinnitus have this problem, especially at the beginning. You might try taking a natural supplement, such as melatonin, or even chamomile tea, to help you with sleep. Also, you can try using a sound device to help mask the tinnitus sound. I use a sound machine in my room, that has various nature sounds on it. Water sounds, in particular, seem to help me. You might try experimenting with sounds to see what would be most soothing for you.

2. Diet: For some people, diet plays a role in how severe the tinnitus is. You could try cutting back on the following, to see if it helps: Caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, sugar, and even wheat gluten. For some people, certain foods trigger tinnitus spikes. It's worth experimenting to see if this might help you.

3. Supplements: For some people, taking B vitamins helps calm tinnitus. Other supplements worth trying include magnesium, zinc, fish oil, holy basil, reishi mushrooms, vinpocetine, gingko biloba. You could try one of these at a time to see if they help you.

4. Exercise and distraction: For me, at least, both exercise and distraction helped me in the early days of my tinnitus. I know it's easier said than done, but if you can immerse yourself in an activity that you find enjoyable, you will find you don't notice the tinnitus as much. It doesn't happen overnight, but if you try this, you will eventually notice that it helps.

Other people on this forum may have additional suggestions for you. Experiment, and see what works for you. It is possible to live with tinnitus, and as time goes on, you will most likely find that it does settle down.

I wish you well, and am glad you joined us!!

Best wishes,
Karen