Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

Hi Escalado. Oh, I'm sorry. The community page I referred to is for the community where I live. Just a place where neighbors exchange information and say "Was that gunfire or fireworks?" every time they hear a noise and "Why are there military helicopters overhead" when the military base 20 miles away does their training flights over the exact same path every single week, lol.

I would not recommend any FB tinnitus groups. I joined one and unjoined in 2 minutes. It was an awful place. It was like entering the 7th Circle of Hell.

I think I'm doing ok. I woke up this morning feeling like my left ear sounded like a jet engine, but sometimes I think I don't process sound accurately in the morning, because as soon as I got up, it sounded like it always does. I'm actually not using any background sound right now. I have the hum from my neighbor's ac unit outside and that's it. I'd say the sound level is probably at a 2. It's perceptible, but the volume is fairly low and the pitch isn't too high. The only way I can think to describe it is as a hollow ring. Like air escaping from a metal tube. Like a whistle that doesn't work.

PS. It's never gunfire, lol. I live in a very nice suburb west of Chicago. It regularly makes the top of the Best Places to Live lists, but for some reason people still want to pretend they run to their cars dodging bullets every morning.

Oh my goodness, I thought it was a support group lol

I live in a sleepy town in England, Its such a beautiful and picturesque place. We are blessed to have nice surroundings.

Thank you for being a friend and so supportive.

I'm always conscious about how I lay on my pillow when I go to sleep. I'm paranoid about my ears closing up as I believe it might cause some harm for some reason or another. When I wake up, normally around 4am, I'll simply lay there until I drift off again, hoping that whooshing noise doesn't pick up.

How is your sleeping pattern currently, Sonia, and do you have unsettling dreams ?

I'm the same, very careful about how I lay my ears on the pillow. I try to avoid pulling, stretching or crushing. I put a hand or a blanket under my chin to try to lift my head a little. I sleep much better than I was in May or June. I pretty much was getting 2 or 3 hours then. Then I would crash and sleep for 14 at a stretch. I was constantly jumping out of bed and pacing the room in the dark.

Now I can stay in bed all night, although I wake up at 4am every morning like clockwork and can't go back to sleep, no matter how much I try to relax and just accept that the tinnitus is there. I don't think I ever go into deep sleep. It's very light and tinnitus often makes its way into my subconscious. I haven't had many dreams since this started.

How far in are you now? Have you seen any changes?

Well it all started by my left ear becaming infected around mid-July'ish after an earwax blockage. But I only became aware of the whooshing late August time. I can honestly say I've seen no change either way since first noticing it. It's my mental state which appears to be the biggest worry, I'm doing everything I can to combat that, even reminding myself regularly that I'm in my late fifties now, which does help