AnneG's Tinnitus Journal

[Sherri786]

Anne camomile will relax your nerves, try to avoid the anti depressants, keep some music on in your room or white noise.

 

[AnneG]

Just when i was ready to stop weeping in the house and just get out there and get help from the psychiatrist. There goes my dad shattering me my hopes and heart into a tiny million pieces causing me to go back to my room and cry my heart out again. We live in a Marine Barracks here in the philippines my dad is pretty well know due to his rank. Which makes his Pride and name everything for him. As i said earlier i was getting to go to see a psychiatrist today. When my dad dissagreed. He said no, that he does not have a kid who needs to see a doctor who specializes in what he called "CRAZY PEOPLE" When he said that my heart just pierced. He has really made up his mind to think I'm crazy. I tried to tell myself that its ok, that i shouldn't get too hurt because he doesn't understand what i am going thru. But then what came next was something i couldn't tell myself anything to feel better. he said i was a DISGRACE for thinking that I HEAR IMAGINITIVE SOUNDS, that i am CRAZY. He then said that he'll take me back to the province where in he'll send me to a Mental hospital. So i told him i would rather be crazy than be conciously aware of this noise. Then i walked out and locked myself here in my room. With all windows closed, no mask noises. While typing this i am in tears like i never cried before. My mom and dad are still arguing at this moment. Thankful for my mom. At least she tries to understand. Now here i am, feeling more alone than i was. Why don't they understand?

 

[AnneG]

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.

By roller coaster what do you mean?

 

[Sherri786]

Sorry to hear that Anne, please dont cry and try to remain calm, all this stress will make your T louder
Wait to see your ENT please. Put some relaxing music on and try to ignore what your dad said, real life friends and family members do not understand what we are going through. Please try to remain brave xoxo

 

[jazz]

Hi Anne,

I am so sorry to hear your father doesn't understand your condition. But it sounds like you have an ally with your mom. Does she understand what tinnitus is? If she doesn't, maybe you could educate her by showing her some medical sites and support groups. She could then help you with your father. If your father still won't let you see a psychiatrist, you can probably get what you need from your family doctor. They can also prescribe medications, and perhaps the doctor could speak with your father about seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist.

You need to finish your visit with the ENT to make sure you don't have conductive hearing loss. This type of hearing loss may accompany a bad cold and needs to be treated with antibiotics. Finally, your ENT can also prescribe medications to help you with depression or anxiety.

You do have options. I know you must be in a terrible place now, but realize your parents do love you and would never want you to suffer. Your father does not understand your condition, but I believe he'll change his mind once he does. And, if he takes a while to come around, you do have your mom for support and everyone one this board.

Below are some suggestions for links you might use to show your father. There are many more, but this is a start:

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-tinnitus-basics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

http://www.mdguidelines.com/tinnitus

http://hearinghealthfoundation.org/tinnitus This link also has a section (see the sidebar) on veterans and tinnitus.​

The ones below are to two tinnitus research and support groups that also have information about the disease:

http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/

http://www.ata.org/
​

Be strong and know you do have friends and supporters here. I hope this helps.

xxxx

jazz​

 

[MT09]

Very sad to hear that Anne. Firstly, your dad will never understand what it's like having T. So, don't forcefully try to explain it to him. One can understand T only when he gets it. You can explain everybody in theory, but they ought to know how it FEELS like to really understand. If you really want to make your dad understand the seriousness of Tinnitus, tell your dad to visit this website and look around at everyone's situations. Apart from that, forget the psychiatrist. You don't need one. Relax your mind and stop thinking about T too much. Go see your ENT and try finding the cause for the T. Are you still suffering from cold? It could still be temporary. If not, you still don't need to worry. Your T is mild, and you should keep it that way. Anxiety will make it worse. You can hear your T only when it's silent, yes? So, as I've told earlier, avoid completely silent places. Have some gentle music playing in the background. Take a walk, or a jog. Keep yourself distracted. And no matter what, don't keep listening to the sound, that's the most horrible mistake one can make. It will make you feel sad that you can still hear it. So don't!

 

[MT09]

You say you've got mild T, yeah? I had the same issue. All I did was open my windows while I slept. I live in an apartment. So, the outside noises like people murmuring, faint television noise from neighbor's, car being parked, etc. masked my T. You could try that if you live in a city where there are vehicles moving around quite a lot. And the most important thing is to not think about T while you're about to sleep. If you try to check the level of volume your T is at, your brain will focus on that sound ONLY and you will unknowingly ignore other sounds so it's hard for you to sleep. Try thinking about some other stuffs, about a movie, riding an awesome car, etc. It SHOULD work!

Ever notice the clock? If you really listen to it, the sound made by the 'second' hand is quite irritating. Every second you can hear that 'tick tick' sound and once you concentrate on it, it takes sometime to get your attention away from it. Your T works the same way! Many people have it really loud and sadly, they don't have that option. But you, you have the power to ignore n forget. So, the one thing you shouldn't be doing is try listening to your T level, especially whilst you're trying to sleep. That will definitely hinder your sleep. "Ignorance is bliss" holds good for your case regarding the T. Good luck!

 

[Amelia]

So many people out there would love their T to be mild like yours ( me included!)

Don't cover your ears anymore, don't listen for it and you will probably find in a week or so you won't hear it anymore

I honestly believe everyone can hear a T sound when the listen hard and long enough for one.

Try and stay relaxed as much as you - even though that can be very hard, do things which distract you and when you feel your mind wandering back to try and hear the T, remind yourself how well you did by not hearing it instead of getting stressed about it

 

[JTP]

By roller coaster he means your feelings would go up and down like roller coaster. In general first weeks with AD may be worse and more unstable than before starting AD. This applies to SSRI type drugs. Benzos act immediately, but like Meeruf said they're addictive. I don't know how old you are, but if it is under 18 there is special precautions. Of course it is your doctor who decides, we are not qualified to give medical advice. Take care.

 

[Petloy]

Anne, when you need to cover your ears to hear your T is good news at least, most of us here hear our T over TV, when we drive or out in traffic, I can hear my T over all this but I DID get used to it....don't despair, just try to take care of your ears from now on, wear plugs when you are in a very loud place like concert, bars or even in church where they play amplified music...listen to music( modulated of course and avoid earphones for now), or have a TV turned on or a fan when you go to sleep, keep yourself busy, exercise, take walks and go to an ENT bring your MOM and Dad let the doctor explain Tinnitus to them, hindi ka nag-iisa!! Marami tayo dito na meron Tinnitus (thats tagalog for you are not alone, LOTs OF US HERE HAVE T LIKE YOURS. -))

 

[AnneG]

Has anyone been very sensitive to sound lately? like you can hear sounds that are distant and think it could be near? Just wanna know.

 

[Darren Knight]

Hi Anne, I'm 6 weeks in to T and yes I'm really sensitive to sound at the moment. Hope this settles down with time. I would like to know from any other T sufferers if this is common at the beginning and then fades or is this does this condition stay for the duration of the T

Take care

 

[Amelia]

I am - I think it's me worrying that the sound is another one in my head. I'm constantly saying to others "can you hear that too?"

I feel I'm also sensitive to loud noises - car horns, my kids squealing etc, because I'm worried about further damage

 

[AnneG]

I am - I think it's me worrying that the sound is another one in my head. I'm constantly saying to others "can you hear that too?"

I feel I'm also sensitive to loud noises - car horns, my kids squealing etc, because I'm worried about further damage

OH MY GOD! That's exactly it! Its more of the worry that i hear a new one -_- Gosh. I just try my best to ignore it. Thinking about it triggers my anxiety and thats a big NO NO.

 

[Amelia]

I think in the initial stages that's normal (at least I hope haha)
My T is high pitched so it's only usually high pitched noises that grab my attention now - it's amazing how I never noticed them before!

 

[Cher69]

I think I'm more noise sensitive although the kids say I don't hear them ! But that's selective hearing all mothers get this !!! I defo though more aware of noises like clattering plates when un-loading the dishwasher and the dog barking can sometimes feel really loud and I've never been bothered by him barking in the past.

I work on a call help desk and if the person speaking to me has background music and any phone interference that can make me unsettled with the noise feels too intense. Yesterday I actually told someone I couldn't help them until they turned the music down in the background.

Maybe we are super aware of this sense now as it has become a bit of a focus in our lives ?

Cher x

 

[Carlo]

I think it's normal: days after the onset, I was worried to hear new sounds (my brain worked as a kind of radar) - worried about further damage, as Amelia wrote. Now is much better and just from time to time I focus on some sound.

 

[Shuffle]

I find it depends on the sound, I'm very sensitive to high pitched sounds. I can hear them from a great distance away now!

 

[AnneG]

So Finally i got answers. The cause of the whistling T of mine. is actually involved in the horrible Headache, Spinning room dizziness, and now the T. VERTIGO! Yes its vertigo. He prescribed me on Vitamin B to help my bloodflow. He says my vertigo has been building up for a while. He meant the stress, and yes i am very stressed this past few years. Family issues we faced that almost threw all of us apart. The most important thing i have to do now is RELAX. He said aside from meds relaxing myself, stopping any form of stress to get to me will speed up the healing process. Will return again tomorrow with my aunt who I just figured out had T due to vertigo. Her's lasted 6 months! So over all i am very thankful. Now i feel calmer. Hope everyone is doing great!

 

[Vkis]

relax ! that's was said to many of us.
it's easy to say but difficult to do.

 

[AnneG]

relax ! that's was said to many of us.
it's easy to say but difficult to do.

Very true. But hey worrying about it so much won't get us anywhere but more stress. And that's no good

 

[Cher69]

This is good to read you now need to focus on the fact this T is a side effect of another condition and focus on healing that ! Be confident this will go when in time the stress and vertigo settle. Now make positive decisions about how to live your life again have fun protect your ears would still be sensible though ! I am v v happy for you and send you lots of support and love to overcome this now you have the answers you needed.

You do need to find something to relax you maybe some calming music or try to research on the web relaxation ideas and find one you think interests you. I love my guided meditation hypnosis by Andrew Johnson but there are loads out there!

Be happy now and be confident xx

 

[Erlend]

for me it's when it's quiet, any small sound will be uncomfortable. i can be at a club with loud music without problems, but typing on my keyboard is a little uncomfortable, taking the cap off the box of butter in the morning, plates hitting each other when I take out out of the kitchen cabinet (or whatever the place where you have plates is called).

 

[Per]

@AnneG,

HOW did your ENT come to the conclusion of Vertigo? Did he preform strategic tests? Blood samples? Was it all based on questions and plausible guess work? Did you see anyone else that contributed to this diagnose? You mention medicine, what type of medication are you on? Is your T loud (as in louder than you can mask) or is it moderate? Meaning lower in volume, just a faint background noise etc.

 

[Per]

relax ! that's was said to many of us.
it's easy to say but difficult to do.

That's so true. When someone orders you to relax it becomes even harder. Even worse when someone says "you need to relax or else I can guarantee a heart attach" That in itself is enough to make the pulse increase dramatically even in lotus position.

 

[JTP]

Hyperacusis often accompanies tinnitus, but usually it wears off or at least diminishes as time goes by.

 

[Amelia]

That's wonderful you have a reason! Learning to relax can take time but at least now you know once you do you T may go away

 

[frohike]

Actually there is something called mindful meditation that has been scientifically studied. It can be taught and learned. Check for example http://www.ata.org/sites/ata.org/files/pdf/Gans_mindfulness_study.pdf

Yoga is one way to do it because you either focus or fall flat on your ass:


She teaches yoga online btw: http://yogisanonymous.com/yoga-video-library.php?teacher=Briohny+Smyth

 

[AnneG]

@Petloy
hahahaaha maraming salamat

 

[AnneG]

Its weird. Its like we now have super human hearing senses.