6 Months Into Noise-Induced (Caused by a NutriBullet Blender) Tinnitus

Hello,

I've been lurking in the forum's since March when a noise induced trauma caused this permanent tinnitus that I'm suffering from. The culprit was a NutriBullet blender which was far too loud to be used indoors and in a domestic environment.

I've experienced the absolute horror that tinnitus causes to someone's mental health, sheer panic, torment, wanting to end it all.

There have been periods of improvement and definite spikes and a whole load of supplements that I have taken.

I'm currently in a horrible spike, right on the tails of some recent quieter moments.

Some of the best days have been where exercise has been consistent, where stress has been low and where I have had personal motivation and direction or something to distract myself.

The worst comes much quicker than the good and can literally obliterate all progress in a very short instant.

My tinnitus is mainly in my left ear, but it does radiate over to the right ear or it lingers centrally. Oddly it often seems to slowly fall to whichever side I'm lay down on over the period of a minute or two.

The tinnitus itself is around a harsh 12 kHz tone with some slightly more gentle long chirps in my left ear and a sort of echo/hall like sound that doesn't really have a tone and repeats aggressively.

At its best the longer chirps become tweets and the harsh tones subside and the hall sound fades, unfortunately this is highly rare.

In terms of medication I have tried Mirtazapine for sleep, Propranolol for anxiety and Betahistine.

Supplements include the usual such as Curcumin, Zinc, Ginkgo biloba, NAC, multivitamin, vitamin D etc Nothing seems to have any lasting or significant impact.

At the moment I'm struggling to sleep due to an arm injury that is keeping me awake, this could be causing my spike, I'm also out of Mirtazapine temporarily.

Like everybody else I'm desperately seeking some relief which includes considering smoking again but so far I have held off.

One small invention which may help others is cutting a chunk of magic sponge foam into a 1cm squared cube and putting it in my ear, it sort of mimics bubble bath bubbles popping and can be triggered just by moving my jaw.

I have tried other masking techniques but so far I find it best to actually get out into nature and have a walk, the problem is mustering up the courage whilst mid spike to take that leap.

I have been lucky so far that during the day the volume can be lower than vehicles, TV, people etc On the other side the false hope of hearing and then not hearing the tinnitus constantly is a battle in and of itself.

I read many of the post hear and feel so helpless and like everyone else (I'm sure) wish there was a cure or indeed a time machine to allow us to take back our lives.

Tinnitus sort of feels like having a plastic bag over your head, you can see normal life through it, but you are trapped inside, desperate inside a horrific nightmare!

On a more positive note, there can be good moments, I just wish that they were more frequent and robust and would remain.

In terms of coping I strive to habituate, but more, I want to have that care free calmness back that allows you to breath, have fun and ultimately be a "human being", a parent, friend and a person.

I hope everyone out there is coping.

Please, let there be a cure one day.

 

Couldn’t agree more!

Outside is always dangers with this thing... I’m soon giving up my bubble, then I’ll probably be back in the bubble after 2 months with the worst tinnitus ever...

 

@Jdwg, I hope you find some relief soon.

Careful with the dose there as Propranolol is ototoxic. That being said, people seem to have a range of tolerances for ototoxic meds. Just something to think about.

I hope these become more frequent. Progress can be glacially slow when it comes to ears. The first 3-6 months are generally considered the hardest.

 

Rooting for you Exit.