Back to Normal

In my experience, both time and lowering your anxiety serve as important healing factors.

I'm now 5 months in and started being able to sleep a bit better at 3 months or so. This sufficiently lowered my anxiety so I started feeling a bit better overall. I actually had several pretty good days, despite the tinnitus still being perceptible throughout the day.

Unfortunately, at around 4 months in, my 10-month-old entered some sort of screaming phase. He'll just randomly start screeching/screaming as loud and high-pitched as he can. Sigh, kids.

So currently, I'm experiencing high levels of anxiety again, because I never know when he might start screaming. It hasn't affected my sleep, though.

Wearing earplugs or headphones is one way to deal with it, but wearing them for prolonged periods of time kinda drives me crazy due to how much it amplifies my tinnitus.

Anyway, once he turns back into his normal cute self I'm sure I'll start feeling better as well.

 

Thank you for the advice, Jason. I am doing my best to cope and I think I am doing well. Life does not stop for tinnitus but sometimes it's hard, especially in the evening. I also wanted to ask you about timing.

Did it really take you 2 years or even longer to recover or did you start to feel almost "normal" somewhere between 14-18 months mark?

After reading your inspiring post about recovery I also gave myself two years to get back to normal and I feel really happy that things are slowly changing for the better. I am 10.5 months in and it makes me happy to realize that maybe I am almost halfway there.

Thank you for your inspiring success story.

 

I am glad my story gives you some hope
It was a good 2 years before I could really say Tinnitus had gone for me. I know this doesn't happen for everyone, for some it resolves within 3 months and others it never resolved fully but it did go away for me and hopefully it does for you too

 

You should be canonized for genuine miracles.

 

lol wait till he's around 2. My daughter is 2.5 and when she's having fun she unleashes deafening screeches.

 

Two years is a pretty long time but it does not seem that way after almost 11 months of tinnitus. I think time will fly. I have lots of things to do plus it became much easier recently (I mean waiting and the condition itself). Sometimes I even think that I habituated a bit.

Thanks for the answer, Jason. Take care.

 

Hey. Your message is from June, so I hope you kept improving over the 3 months that passed. I was very happy to read your message, cause I have the same experience. My noise-induced tinnitus also evolved from a roaring wind in my head in December to a static sound in May. It has been a static since May, but gradually getting lower and I started getting day with no or little tinnitus. So in my case the the switch from a roar to a static was a positive experience.

 

Hi!

Yes, I continue to improve. Life got much easier. I am happy to hear that other people with the same cause of tinnitus also make a great recovery.

 

Yeah, not looking forward to that. In the Netherlands we have a saying for kids that age: twee is nee.

It translates into two is no, or two is fudge you if you still want it to rhyme

 

So it is true, silence can return. Amazing story, motivating and congratulations!

 

Did you taper off the Bromazepam, and did you have any withdrawal symptoms like louder tinnitus etc? Thanks!

 

Hi!

I took Bromazepam during my first four months. I did not take it every day, only when my anxiety was very intensive and I couldn't cope with it myself. I usually took half a tablet before going to sleep.

I did not had any withdrawal symptoms. I used Bromazepam very responsibly and it really helped me in the beginning. Now I'm off Bromazepam for 8 months.

 

Hi,

Did you ever get any other sounds, like a typewriter sound?

 

Hi,

My ringing started 2.5 months ago. I also suffered acoustic trauma from loud noise.
I hear the ringing everywhere, even in a crowded environment.

Did you hear your tinnitus everywhere in the first months?
Was it reactive tinnitus?

 

@Jason C, this gives me a little hope.

 

Are you able to go to gigs, like big parties etc with you hearing now? Of course with earplugs.

 

Hiya, tbh yes I can. Obviously if the noise is really loud I’ll move away from the noise but restaurants and parties are generally ok.

I find acoustic gigs to be fine but anything more than that I’ll use earplugs.

 

I wish I can follow up your healing story, because I can't live without gigs and my symptoms were and are really similar to yours from the beginning.

4 months in.

 

How long the reactivity stayed with you? Did it fade with your hyperacusis?

Did it react to all external sounds or just certain frequencies?

 

Three years in, and my tinnitus is still as loud as ever. My hyperacusis though has improved lowering from an 8/10 to 4/10. I've been able to attend 3 carefully-chosen concerts in the past six months with no ill effects. I wouldn't say I enjoyed them though, as it's hard to fully enjoy something when you are worrying at the same time about protecting your ears, are you making a big mistake etc.

A friend of mine had Meniere's disease with jet engine-level tinnitus that kept him awake howling with grief at his lost life through the nights. However after several years of basically healthy living and not much else, he recovered, and he's celebrated by going to see the likes of Iron Maiden, AC/DC etc. I certainly don't recommend this, but he's doing well.

 

How long did the fullness last?

 

@Jason C, did you use white noise or similar all the time or almost all the time during your tinnitus?

Thank you for your story.

 

UPDATE: I should add that my friend was left completely deaf in one ear by his illness and earlier years, and he has said that the AC/DC concert was "a mistake". So be warned!

 

Good one for your friend. What do you mean when you say recovered? Habituated, or tinnitus gone?

 

Tinnitus much reduced from jet engine levels to only hearing it in a quiet room, as it was a by-product of his Meniere's disease from which he has recovered. However, he has mostly given up playing electric guitar and usually plays acoustic instead now

 

Fantastic news!

 

How many years did it take for your friend?

 

It was quite a number of years, at least ten.

I've had my bassy rumble for that length of time now so I guess that it's here to stay. I don't have Meniere's though. Always something to be thankful about.