Hello I'm new!

Hi my name is Dmitry, I am a 20year old guy from Manchester
I am so glad I recently found this forum as the support and strength it gives me each day is unreal!
A little about me.
My hobbies are swimming, piano playing and making electronic music.
I guess I have always had some sort of degree of tinnitus as a kid but I didn't think much of it then, I just thought it was normal that everyone's ears ring slightly etc. I never really noticed or thought of anything until I went to uni. The endless nights of clubbing, and band practice took its toll and when I first noticed the ringing in my ears permanently i thought I was going mad! Long story short I went through a hellish time of sleep deprivation, anxiety and depression. I honestly cant remember how I got through it being a zombie all the time but I spent slot of the time playing video games and becoming a chronic masterbator (excuse the crudeness) - I blamed.all this on my anxiety issues
I eventually got out of this mess and lived a normal life for about 1/12 years until about a week ago when I tuned into my tinnitus again on holiday and had the worst panic attack of my life and have been feeling so depressed lately.
In the past i was.scared.to.Google.this stuff because i have anxiety/ocd issues but realised now that I'm not alone, however am finding it hard to embrace this condition at the moment.
I should've picked up the early warning signs and stopped clubbing and listening to music etc. But oh well least I will learn now!
I am getting better mentally and want to say how encouraging it is to read.all these posts!
Hopefully one day a cure.will be found for this terrible affliction.

I was just wondering how loud everyone else's tinnitus is?
I mean, can it be measured against background noise or something? Sometimes I don't even know if I can hear it but sometimes I feel like I hear it all the time! Its so weird!
Sorry for vagueness! Its quite noticeable when I put my head in the pillow or put my fingers in my ears.
Hopefully this isn't considered bad yet?

Well first post I guess...

 

Hey man, welcome, we're the same age
I'm glad this forum is helping! I'm new here as well.
I like swimming too but I can't play any instruments lol.

As for the loudness - mine sounds the same as yours. Sometimes I think it's so quiet it's almost gone, even in quieter places, and sometimes it seems like I can hear it no matter what.
I'm not sure if this would be considered bad.. I hope not

 

First off, the loudness of your tinnitus is irrelevant. Why? Because it's your emotional reaction to it that is causing the problems.

It sounds like you habituated before which is a good thing. Why? Because I was reading a book on tinnitus (it was an academic book so don't worry) a while ago and it stated those that have habituated to it before can achieve habituation quicker the second time around.

Once you can control the anxiety and depression towards it you'll notice things get drastically better. Then before you know it you'll forget about it, and the sooner you forget about the sooner you'll habituate. The best things you can do is occupy yourself with hobbies.

 

I laughed hard at the chronic masturbater part. Man I felt the same way this past week. It's hard when you lose something precious, but I guess like everything else you learn to deal with it. Btw I heard that it's your brain setting of the alarm as a warning sign, and I really couldn't agree more. Best wishes to you fine sir.

 

Also forgot to mention that you do need to take good care of yourself from now on. It's not too late and you still have exceptional if not perfect hearing. So please keep this in mind. Always keep a pair of ear defenders on you at a 33 DB rating, especially when clubbing. It's very important that we preserve what we have left, and that goes for the rest of your health aswell, not just your ears. Remember this because it is really important. Take care man.