Getting Depressed

Hi TTalk,
It seems as if my Tinnitus is getting worse. It has gone from only being noticeable at at bed time too throughout the day. I have only had constant tinnitus for the past 2 and a half weeks but I've been noticing it more and more. I cant help but feel that my entire life had been flipped upside down. Ive struggled with depression in the past and this is sort of taking the cake. I cannot help but fixate on it which i know is a big no-no but nothing seems to been distracting me from it. I'm a single 26 year old who is about to finish his University degree. This is the point in my life where i am suppose to be growing as a person but I'm afraid my tinnitus will affect my career abilities and my personality overall. I'm also single and i am worried i will not be able to meet anyone who gets my condition. Life throws such curve balls and i don't know how to get through this.

 

Sorry to hear this.

Many go through this stage, it's completely normal.

I believe your Tinnitus is getting louder due to your anxiety and depression connected to it.
Your brain has linked the sound of Tinnitus with negative thoughts in your head thus making you more aware of your Tinnitus when you're feeling down.

Have you taken any steps to help yourself sleep? Masking (there's a broad range of files out there, from pink noise to purple noise). Breathing techniques, etc.

LDK

 

GMac14,
I'm sorry you are having a difficult time. My first few weeks were difficult also. Your right about focusing on it. It can take over. Have you tried to mask it in any way? With music, or nature sounds, or pink noise, white noise etc? Even in a shower, it can give some of us relief. It's very helpful to find something to give you moments of calm. I have found doing the dishes (water running) to take the focus off my T. Walking in nature for me is calming, with birds chirping, wind through the trees. Watching my favorite TV show keeps my mind off of the noise and I forget about the noise in my ear/head. I'm finding longer and longer periods of time when I'm not focused on the T, which means I'm back to living my life. I had a few minutes of silence once. It was the best feeling. It's back though, but I do things that I love, don't let the T take over. Hang in there, try masking it. Don't sit in silence, keep music on, tv on. Back ground noise is a helpful thing, so your mind focuses on that and not the T noise.

 

Hang tough GMac14, glad you found this site. As stated, the first few weeks are filled with all kinds of questions. Keep browsing around this site and read others experiences. Lots to read here..

 

Thanks everyone. Trying to stay optimistic. Just having a hard time understanding how all of this happened. I've found that the ringing doesn't exists in my dreams which is quite pleasent. Does anyone else get confused when they wake up and can't tell if they still hear the ringing? It's like it gets imprinted into my brain in the middle of the night and I can't tell the differnce between the ringing and silence.

 

Mine started 2 months ago and my first few weeks were like yours - this is all about a feeling of loss of control so you need to address that. The 4 steps are simple: (1) Education - make sure you understand what tinnitus is and what might be the causes or causes in your case (2) Make sure you get enough sleep - see your GP and get medications if necessary. What works for me is a combination of Ativan 1mg + Benadryl 25mg + melotonin 5mg (3) Find ways to keep calm and relax - you may need to seek psychological assistance and/or tranquilizers for the panicky moments, & (4) Tinnitus Retraining by consulting a properly-trained audiologist. It does get easier over time and yours may just go away. Complete or partial recovery occurs in more than 50% of all cases.

 

hold on man I'm suffering from tinnitus for 5 years now and i never lose hope i never let it to distract me but i distract it lol i can't deny the first days when i got it i was like crazy i wanted to break my skull but then i used to it and started to live my life normally and although it never stops even for a single second but sometimes i feel it's not there anymore!

i won't be exaggerating when i say that i visited more than 50 doctors and got my ears checked many many times and everything is fine! but still i didn't lose hope after those 5 years and i don't know i got the feeling that it's gonna go away soon although it's so loud lately like never before! and btw it's my last year at university too and i got the tinnitus in my first year at it and i made it to the last degree though so just believe you can do it and you won't be single don't worry it won't effect you and you will get married and have many kids just choose the right woman and go but please don't forget to invite me to your wedding

 

I wake up and immediately know it's there, It's when I actually get up and start my daily routine that after awhile I think...is it gone? Because I haven't heard it for a little while. But it's there. I'd just been too busy to care about it. Which is a good thing. That's why trying to get back into life the best you can is a good idea. You can start to lose the concern about it every minute and eventually you find your sweet spots (distractions)of peace that become longer and more frequent. There is hope. Don't ever give up hope.

 

GMac14,
My dreams are tinnitus free. If I should awake during the night the tinnitus is always low or almost gone. It will remain like that even when awaking for up to a hour or so..Gradually turning up the volume to a level that remains thru the day. There are good days when it is low and bad days when it is running at its max.

 

Mine is just the opposite. It is usually at its worst when I wake up. Then it diminishes as the day goes on. Anytime I wake up in the middle of the night (which is usually many times), my T is there. Sometimes I'm pretty sure it is the increased volume that wakes me up. I frequently have T in my dreams as well.

 

Hey GMac14: Listen to Dr. Ancill. Good advice there. Tinnitus will not keep you from achieving your career goals, falling in love, getting married. In time, it will be nothing more than an annoyance, like a bum knee.

But you are very new to tinnitus... There is a chance It will go away completely. Explore all options available to you in this early acut phase: hyperbaric oxygen treatments, steriod injection or oral steroids.
Accept that you may never know exactly how this happened. It s a mysterious disorder. Try psychological interventions that will help you deal with feelings of losing control.

 

I totally agree with all of the above - the first few days and weeks are the worst. It is definitely your attitude towards it that makes it worse. I can have loud days where I feel fine and happy quieter days where I feel low - it sounds mad doesn't it! I promise you will get to a point where you actually stop caring about it and it also may even go away altogether depending on it's cause, but stress and anxiety will make it worse. Mine started end of March - I was in a right state and felt like I would never enjoy life again. 6 weeks later, I hardly noticed it and stayed like that for 5-6 months. It has come back in the last 3-4 weeks because I have been through enormous stress and I also attended a VERY loud party just before it came back which is probably the cause. Hang in there!