A Month In and It Looks Like My Tinnitus Is Here to Stay... Help!

Hi

I’ve had tinnitus for a month now. At first I was optimistic that it would go. Two weeks later and a visit to my GP and some time looking up online has left me down. It seems this is not going anywhere anytime soon. I’ve had a hearing test and my hearing seems fine.

My main problem is sleeping!
I’ve tried white, pink, and brown noise, rain, wind etc. How does that mask anything when you're a side sleeper ‍♀️‍♀️?

I can still hear it magnified through the pillow.

It started in one ear, now it's in both ears, worst at night and in the morning.

Feeling down and tired. It’s so noisy. I just want some peace.

Does it get better for anyone?

Will I ever be able to sleep through the night again?

 

Hello Tranquility, I love your username.

I do believe that it can get better, because it has gotten better for me. In the beginning, sleep absolutely did elude me, I want to be honest.....you deserve honesty. At about the six month mark I noticed that the tinnitus was less intrusive, and I was able to sleep better. My doctor did prescribe a sleep aid, to be taken only when absolutely necessary. There were nights when I did just that.

Knowing that I had the choice to take an aid was very helpful, I didn't have to accept the stress of sleepless nights. I have only had to take the aid, rarely. Just knowing that I have the choice helped to decrease the stress that came with worrying about sleepless nights.

 

I have had tinnitus for a year and a half now. Believe me the tinnitus will get better slowly. But we need to be patient because the ears are very sensitive and they heal slowly.

Make sure you protect your ears from now on like avoiding loud concerts and listening to music via headphones. The T will slowly get less intrusive and possibly fade away completely for some.

 

The first few months are the hardest, and many of us have been there. I have had some periods when the T was so loud it was waking me up after just a few minutes from sleep, which was totally exhausting. Furthermore, ithout adequate sleep, the T just spikes worse and it becomes a downward cycle.

I broke it some melatonin at bedtime to help maintain sleep. I also wear earplugs at night so I stopped waking up at every little sound with a car passing. Also, the omega-3 helped, along with green tea. Between it all, things have definitely improved over the last several months, but be patient as it takes a while, with little to notice day by day.

 

Yes, it fades for many people. This fading normally begins 1-3 months after the onset. It can take 6-24 months to get to the "can hear it only in quiet rooms" stage (some people even get to hear silence again). You are right - if it hasn't faded during the first month, it will likely not end any time soon. But it might still fade and get better.

You are now living through the most difficult phase. Try to ride it out - chances are that it will get better.

I believe you will find some of the tips in the thread below to be helpful to you:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

You will also want to protect your ears to ensure that you don't hurt your ears again. If you notice that moderate noises (e.g., vacuum cleaner, hair dryer) give you spikes or don't feel right, consider avoiding those noises.

 

There are accounts of tinnitus going away after four years, so you absolutely are not necessarily stuck with it after one month. If it doesn’t go away it may get a lot quieter, in fact that is probable. As for sleep, it is very common for people to be unable to sleep properly for months, but most people report that the brain adjusts and that they go back to sleeping just as well almost as well as they did before. That is what happened in my case.

 

Well for me I have had it for like 10 years now and was doing ok, but recently it has upped it's game on me, on a whole new level, with increased volume, like it's all new to me again.

So for all of you here, I pray that this nuisance goes in the right direction for you.

 

Wow thank you all so so much for your positive replies thinking that there might be some relief at some point it’s so encouraging!
I wish everyone here gets to that ok point too

 

Hey I’m in the exact same boat, had tinnitus for 10 years and was doing alright but randomly woke up to a new loud noise over a week ago and struggling to adjust again. Hope you get some relief soon.

 

Glad to hear you’re doing better. My tinnitus was almost back to normal levels on Friday and Saturday so I got my hopes up that it was temporary but came back full force yesterday. Wish I knew what makes it fluctuate like this but hopefully it’s a good sign.

 

Hi @Tranquility

Habituation is your best friend when it comes to living with T. Personally, it took me 4-6 months.

 

Thanks Erik , glad to hear that.