AnneG's Tinnitus Journal

@AnneG,

My audiologist, gets T after a cold. I was working with a tiler today who has T. I was working with a plasterer yesterday who has T. 1 in 10 people have T. I remember when I 1st got T I wanted to go to sleep and kept looking at the clock. Every minute I was awake seemed like an hour. Now I sleep like a baby. My T spiked today, but only for an hour then went right back down. Time is a healer and this WILL get better.

 

Yeah, its funny how many people actually have this condition. The more interesting is why some is bothered by it, when apparently there is a lot of people out there with loud T that are not bothered one second by it.

 

i did not know my dad had T until he found out i had T? lol he had it for 30 plus years and says he forgot about he said he cant hear it unless he listens for it t... and two of my bosses have it to and i worked with them for 10 years and did not know .. wow when i found that out it made me feel like everything was going to be ok... life goes on .....

 

Yeah, my grandpa have it. Don't look like he care. My boss have it too. And my girlfriend noticed it when I started to talk about it.

 

Hello Anne, Those peaks, happy feelings then sad feelings are quite normal. your brain does not know what to think. I have had T for over a year, and I still get those up and down feelings, not as bad as when I first got T.
Please, keep posting here with how you are doing. We are all in this together....

 

I am so Thankful for everyone!
thank you for all your words! i was able to sleep last night after taking deep breaths. So it wasn't the T that woke me but the anxiety feeling like i said its not really Noticable but for some reason my brain keeps forcing me to listen to it lastnight. I'll be seing The ENT today, I'll let you all know how it went.

 

Sounds like you have a very mild case. That is very good. I'm happy for you.

The reason your brain try to focus on it is because it labels your tinnitus as something dangerous and alien. If you meet a tiger in the forest, but get away. You sure will listen for tigers next time you go in the forest. You see? Its a brain thing, its for surviving.

The good sign for you however is that your tinnitus is very mild. I think after some days or weeks, you are so bored with the sound that you forget about it. I think you even will forget that you was at this forum, and you will never come back. That is a good thing.

However, you had a tinnitus experience. That means you can be vulnerable in the future. Don't rape your ears with loud music or clubbing. Then you should be fine.

You just had a cold. Nothing to worry about. Hakuna Matata!

 

Hi @meeruf!

Wow that 'Brain Thing' totally makes sense! You are so right! Its 9:10am here in the philippines and i did a lot during the time i woke up at 7am, i did something i haven't done in the 3 days it all started. I JOGGED! And i can't believe during those hour and a half i totally forgot what i was worrying about when i got home i felt NORMAL. That's something a lot of people here told me. Keep doing what i love! So i went inside, my little brother and sister are getting ready for school. I decided to go with my mom with dropping them Off and during those times in the car i found myself laughing with my mom again! The noise of the car seemd to mask the noise. So now I'm home, feeling more positive! Also here in the philippines there are a lot of Morning and night time critters that make noises and for the first time ever i am thankful for them! ha ha ha! thank you!

xoxo

 

Hi everyone! I'm here to give an update.
Went to the ENT today. But unfortunately i was not able to finish the whole examination due to a panic attack i had inside the Hearing test room. I am claustrophobic so after a while of being insidr i felt my chest getting tighter, my heart beating wild, started sweating like crazy! i had to stop because all i hear in my ears are my beating heart. So they told me to stop there because i looked like i was gonna faint. And i really do felt like i was going too. I'll be coming back tomorrow to finish everything.

 

Can anyone please suggest what they do to Cope with their T at night? I really need some idea. A good night of sleep seems to be my only rest

 

@AnneG:

If you are having problems falling asleep and staying asleep, talk to your doctor about taking low doses of Remeron (Mirtazapine). Many people, including myself, having benefited greatly from the sedative properties of this antidepressant.

-Golly

 

It is important to have constant white noise or pink noise set at low level which will distract your brain from it, gradually. this effect takes weeks or months or even a few years. mirtazapine is a nice safe sedative anti depressant, also i find lyrica is a nice sedative that helps - you can start lyrica with a low dose of 25mg and work your way up, or mirtazapine 15mg. - night time is totally the worst for me - i always never know if i'm going to get to sleep or not. both these meds help me out, but start with a low dose, and try to not increase it unless you have to. also avoid any new loud sounds, and make sure you get no new hearing injuries - you can get Restful Rain online as a CD or MP3. and you can also listen to it all day on your MP3 player as well. this will help your brain to habituate, and it should gradually ease up for you.

 

I keep an electric fan running but did this for years before the T. I also have a sound machine and pillow speakers. I usually keep the sound machine on "ocean waves" which seem to be the best for me..Also use REMERON antidepressant..Used Klonoplin and Xanex before starting the REMERON but would advise caution to anyone before starting any benzo drug. The benzo lost its effectiveness and I had a difficult time coming off the drug. Been using REMERON about a year and so far so good.

 

Just so everyone is clear, Remeron is the same as Mirtazapine (which is the generic name).

You can even go lower on the dose if you are only using it for sleep. Sub-theraputic doses of 7.5mg, or even half that, still knock out most people. Remeron has a paradoxical dosing effect in that the less you take the more sedating it is! -Golly

 

I've really struggled with sleep so feel ya pain on this one !
I read in your post you went out jogging exercise is good I've found the strength to rejoins exercise routine so try and do some exercise you enjoy to help then go to bed when tired really tired not just because it's 10 or 11 at night try and wind down first turn off tv phones pc screens etc and do some chilling relaxation stuff maybe a warm bath or I like listening to guided meditation but that's a personal choice. Also do ask for help from a doctor for sleep it's so easy to fall into a cycle of not sleeping and most of us try various things to help but as the guys above have mentioned there r things medically to help.

Nighttime is hard pls try now not focus on this try to when you feel tired and sleepy head to bed then the usual routines then put some background noise on to help distract you and curl up and just think its time to sleep.

Bless ya hun I hope you sleep well xx

 

The reason you can't sleep when you have T is not so much because of T itself, but your reaction to it. I'm guessing you think something like: "I have T, because of that, I can't sleep". It's not the T that is robbing you from sleep. But the thoughts and feelings you have to it. That is the key to not suffer. When you have learned to not react to your tinnitus, you will stop suffer, you will think less of it, and then you won't hear it. It will be a meaningless sound that just goes in the background.

If you remember the tiger. You can't sleep next to a hungry tiger. But its not because of the tiger itself, but your reaction to it. Of-course, it would be quite stupid to sleep next to a hungry tiger. It would probably eat you. But, you get the picture.

I know this is hard. All on this forum can tell you that. But you will get there and be 100% happy again. Just remember that you can come to this forum anytime of the day. Venting, complaining, be angry and be sad. We will understand you and be there for you. And remember. Most people who actually have tinnitus, is not bothered at all. Just a small % is bothered, and of them, most will habituate after some time.

 

Anyone here tried Sinequan? It's an anti-D, but not an SSRI. Generic is doxepin. I told my psych this week I want to stop using Xanax as a sleep med and he recommended this. But I am a little worried, as Sinequan is on the Physicians Desk Reference list of ototoxic meds (which is more reliable, in my opinion, than the Bauman list).

You guys know if Remeron is compatible with Xanax use? I will need to continue lose doses of Xanax during the day for the next few months.

Thanks as always! Sleep dreams to you all. Oh, and AnneG: You might want to try taking melatonin before bed. It is a natural supplement but treads close to the line of being medicinal, so don't think you can take unlimited quantities. I believe doses from about 1 mg to 3 mg are OK, but start at 1 mg.

 

Magnesium can also help you relax before bed too, or some camomile tea if you wanted to try something more "natural" before a prescription.

It's hard. I'm 6 weeks in and still struggling but it's getting a tiny bit easier every night - although I still have bad nights

 

Before I got a masker, I used a portable AM/FM transistor radio with an ear plug during the day. I would put the radio on FM mode and tune it to where there is no station, this is what they call white noise. It makes pretty much the same white noise as my masker.

For sleeping I have three fans running, and I then use my radio with the ear plug listing to a talk radio station. I concentrate on what they are talking about and drift to sleep that way. It seems concentrating on what they are talking about distracts my T

 

Yeah, do that. I tried magnesium. I don't know if it helped. But it's just a supplement and it don't hurt you. You have nothing to loose. I also stopped with coffee and Coca-Cola. Caffeine makes you more hyped, that don't help on the anxiety and unrest you may feel.

 

I noticed something this morning. A new sound on my right ear that is very faint, the only way i could hear it is when i cover my ear. The sound seems to be like i can only describe as whistling. Is this a new one? Am i really stuck with this forever? The one i have is already enough to drive me insane and take my life now this?

 

400 mg of magnesium with a cup of Camomile tea works wonders for me.

 

@LadyDi;

My doctor has no problem with mixing Xanax and Remeron. While I take 15mg of Remeron nightly, I take 1mg of Xanax only on occasion (say once or twice a month). My understanding is that there are no adverse reactions when one mixes Remeron with benzodiazepines in general (I also take 1mg of Klonopin about once a week).

-Golly

 

@AnneG

Try to be grateful for that you can only hear it when its completely silent. There are people out there who have jumbo-jet tinnitus that can't be masked even if they put their Ipod at max volume. Some people are even deaf and could not mask it even if they tried. And guess what, a lot of them are doing just fine.

Don't worry, everything is going to be okey. It just takes time.

Best wishes from me.

 

I really do try my best to fight the urge to now cover my ears and listen. It only makes things worse for me that's for sure. I'm currently getting ready to go to the market and grab some chamomille tea. they say it helps, after that i'll go to a psychiatrist to ask if she could prescrib me some antideppressant to help me sleep and relax. and hopefuly return my life back to normal.

xoxo

 

Great. Had an arguement with mom and dad, They really don't understand. They think I'm crazy for wanting to go see a psyciatrist. i guess if it weren't for you all i would be alone. The way mom and dad looks at me is like WHO IS THIS GIRL!? They think I'm crazy.

 

As told earlier, please don't keep searching for the sound. As @meeruf pointed out above, there are people who can hear their T very loud, yours is very mild. Quit looking for it, because if you try listening to it, you'll definitely hear it. Distract yourself! That's what you should be doing. Avoid completely silent environment as much as possible. If it's too silent, have some mild music playing. Do NOT check for the sound, that's the worst thing to do when you've got the T.

 

If your doctor prescribe anti-depressant for you after four days with tinnitus you should change doctor. I don't think that's what you need now. It's only been four days for you, you really need to calm down. If you can't do that. Ask your doctor for something that can calm you down. But don't start with Sobril/Xanax. That's quite heavy stuff, and addictive.

Anti-depressant takes weeks to work, and before it gets its intended effect, you will go through a roller-coaster of feelings.

 

Family members usually do not understand, that's why I hang out here !