Another New Member 'Ear!

Just found this site. Am 53, and had a ringing in left ear since Apr this year (2015).
So far doctor gave me steroid spray for the tubes, and antibiotics for possible middle ear infection.
Initially the ringing seemed to vary in volume, but pretty much constant now, combination of hiss and very high pitched tone.
Is there any hope for an improvement ? My doctor is MOST unsympathetic, not sure what I should be insisting on?

 

Welcome to TT. Unfortunately most doctors are not informed about tinnitus and so they tend to send us off saying 'live with it'. We may as well get a better answer from a psychologist than an uninformed MD or ENT about T. At least the psychologist knows how to say the same message to a desperate T patient without being too blunt. LOL. But at least your doctor is better than most. He gave you some steroids initially and that is what many members here recommend. My ENT told me the only way to stop my ringing is to shoot me. So count yourself lucky. LOL.

Yes there is hope for an improvement. In fact you see many of such examples from reading the success stories. So read them up to get some idea how to get better. Generally people get better over time, and with some successful strategies which work for them. These may involve alternative treatments such as CBT, TRT, mindfulness meditation, exercise, sports, hobbies, diet changes (such as eating more healthily & reducing intake of salt, MSG, caffeine, alcohol etc.) and life style changes. There are also those who take supplements (such as NAC, magnesium, B12 etc.), or those using meds (such as Trobalt, Keppra etc.) to get better. There are exciting new treatments being developed and/or being tested. Check out the Treatment forum for detail. One such is the Autifony trial and a member reports 75% reduction in volume. So there is hope on the horizon. Here is the link of her success story:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/i-was-a-guinea-pig-in-the-autifony-quiet-1-study-great-results.9743/

Many members report improvement after some time. Some are lucky to have T disappeared, some faded, and some just habituated. So T is not an end game. It is livable and it can improve over time. A few years back I was in a mess with ultra high pitch dog whistle T and severe hyperacusis. I thought my good life is over forever and T would be unlivable. But here I am living a good, normal and productive life, enjoying and living it abundantly. So don't despair and don't panic.

You can also try masking for the time being to help reduce the anxiety of facing the T sound cold turkey. Here is a TT link to some nice masking sounds as well as advice for new T sufferer. It even links to a sleep thread if you need help for that. Take it easy and take care. God bless your recovery.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

 

I agree with all that @billie48 said and I'll add, find another doctor. I went to my primary care physician (PCP or GP) after my ENT doc told me that there is no cure and I need to live with it. My PCP was very helpful and I managed to keep working. He educated himself about tinnitus and referred me for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. He also did labs to rule out any underlying cause and prescribed meds to help me through the crisis. There are many strategies to help you stabilize and eventually, habituate. Like billie says, it's not an end game. There are many of us who manage to live good lives with our loved ones and enjoy the things we always enjoyed before tinnitus.

We are here for you.

 

Also new here sadly like yourself. I am in my fifties as well and have had the same reactions from ENTs and GP, told nothing to be done and live with it. Infact GP wants me on AD's I said to him aren't they ototixic and he suggested I look it up on the british tinnitus website !

Hope I gave the strength to get through this. I have both a hiss and a high pitch tone as well and I think I have Hyoeracusis as well, so have recently become a hermit avoiding loud places. Thank goodness for my OH who goes out to the supermarket etc or I would starve and I wouldn't get to all the fruitless medical appointments I go to.


There seems to be more support on here than out there