Hey

Hi my name is Shani, i recently developed tinnitus after being discharged from hospital with meningococcal meningitis which was life threatening. Luckily I have got past the worst but now have severe tinnitus in my ears which changes in pitch and at times i feel as though I am going deaf. Being a student it has been very hard to adjust to life with this, and even with the support from friends and family I still don't think they understand so thought I'd sign up to speak to others going through the same thing...Has anyone else experienced changes in their mood,I seem to have very down days where I feel drained and run down and other days I can feel fine...

 

Hey shani my name is andrew I have had t for about 4 weeks now my sound is a high pitched tap running somewhere in both ears you know that kinda sound I'm going through exactly what you are. The people on this forum are awesome just letting you know I got mine from antibiotics I think but from the support these guys tell me that it gets better to handle and our bodies adapt to it xo if you need a chat pm me and we can help each other

 

Thanks Andrew, yh sounds quite similar to mine. Nice to know there are people who know what I'm going through, just didnt know where to start with it all ...and thanks i will do

 

Neither did I but these guys help so much

 

First of all this site here is one of the best tinnitus support forums world-wide.
So you will get all information you need.

Difficult for me giving right advice since I am still struggling with my high-pitched head sound.
Having anxiety and depression is very normal during the first months having T.
The goal for everyone is reaching habituation where it no longer bothers you.

What helped me so far:
- White Noise generators or natural sounds on an ipod (on PC you can run Aire Freshener)
- Listen to music or audio books
- Hearing aid can help to get more outside information on hearing loss frequencies (covering T a little bit)
- Reading success stories
- Getting meds for sleep (I take 30 mg Mirtazapine) if you have sleep problems
- Getting meds against anxiety (I don't take any) if needed
- Stay busy and try living your life as normal as possible. This is a challenge to overcome depression.
- One can try clinical treatments like TRT, CBT etc.
- Live as healthy as possible and do sports (still difficult for me, but I go for long walks)
- Show your family what you are going through:

The Noise

At the end, most people get relief once they have accepted T and live with it.
Time should be our HEALER.

Some people find it useful visiting T forums every day (like me). Others try staying away and no longer think, read or write about T. It all depends.

Stay strong and try handling it day by day. Overcoming tinnitus is no olympic event. It takes time.
At the end, it is just a sound - which I still need accepting myself.

 

Absolutely. When I first got tinnitus, I was very anxious and even had thoughts of ending it all. In fact, I didn't have "down days" which suggests that the other days were relatively good. My mood was like a roller-coaster from moment-to-moment; one moment I'd be doing ok, but then literally within a span of like 10 minutes, I'd be anxious or fighting back tears. And I am definitely not the only one like this. So the way you're feeling is very normal.

But there are two things to keep your head up about: you're passed a life-threatening condition. So at least now you don't have any worries that your life is on the line. When I first got T, I thought I'd rather have cancer than T, but that was a very ridiculous thought of mine. I wouldn't; it's better to live life with T than to have my life at risk. And the other thing to keep your head up about is that many people on here have been able to cope with their severe T and pretty much live normal lives. This process usually won't happen over night. But it can happen.

And you're absolutely right about friends and family who might not understand. Often our well-meaning friends and family try to relate and make us feel better. But unless they've suffered from T before, then they can't truly know what it's like to have it.

Have you talked to your doctors about your tinnitus?