Came Back to Post This Success Story...

In the Spring of 2013, after a cross-country flight I had a plugged ear for about a week. After a week, my ear started ringing. I remember being afraid that it was going to last forever. However, after a month or two, it slowly reduced in noise and then faded away completely. I don't attribute it going away to anything, other than time (although I did take nasal spray, claritan, etc.).

In October 2016, I did some quite a bit more air travel. In Mid-October I started to hear the ringing again. For the first week or so it didn't bother me much, I felt like it would go away, so I brushed it off. By the end of October, I ended up going to the Doctor. He prescribed Prednisone, which ultimately had no impact on the ringing.

Nov-Dec 2016 - These were really the worst months, I had a lot of anxiety and had trouble enjoying anything. I couldn't even listen to music, it seemed to exacerbate the ringing. I heard the noise 24/7, and thought about it at least every 15 seconds of the day (which isn't an exaggeration,). Every night I couldn't wait to get home, and lay in bed, watch TV, and play ambient noise. I cried several times, feeling completely hopeless. I remember how awful I felt on Thanksgiving, and even going out to get my Christmas tree in December. I did my best to ignore it, knowing that the ringing wasn't the issue, but my anxiety and reaction to it. However, that is much easier said than done! I also tried quite a few things to make sure my sinus issues were in check (humidifier, decongestants, antihistamines, nasal spray, etc.). I also tried Ginkgo Biloba for a few months as well. However, I really doubt any of these had any impact on my gradual improvement.

Side note: For whatever reason, this Cricket Symphony Track did a great job of masking the Tinnitus, I listened to it every night for a few months:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-ZwwWeO6DI

-January, February 2017: There were significant improvements. I had little anxiety over the ringing, however it still annoyed me for quite a bit of the day.

-March to June 2017: Everyday I spent less time focusing on the Tinnitus, and more time going about my day. Things gradually improved.

-In the last month or two, July, August 2017: I rarely notice it, unless I go out of my way to listen for it. I can plug my ears and hear it clearly, but it doesn't bother me at all. I believe the ringing has improved quite a bit, (and even gotten quieter) but also I am much better at not letting it bother me.

To this day, I'm very careful of exposing myself to potential damaging noises. I avoid excessive air travel when possible, and I protect my ears with ear-plugs when using loud tools, going to concerts, etc.

I've been meaning to make this post for quite a few months. However, when things start to look up, the last thing you want to do is think about Tinnitus. I'm sure there are many more success stories with Tinnitus, but people don't come back to post them. A majority of the posts on Tinnitus forums are made by people while they are currently suffering and understandably so. I've spoken with quite a few people who have dealt with this same issue at one point in their life, and it ultimately resolved itself, or become a non-issue for them. Reading these success stories kept me going during some very tough times, and I promised myself if things got better I would post something, so here I am.

I wish the best to everyone struggling with this. Give it time, it will get better, and life will go on!

 

Thank you for sharing your positive T experience @gek1642 !!

 

@gek1642
Thank you for taking the time to post your success story…..gives us hope!

 

Thank you so much for this helpful encouraging post! I am having a really bad tinnitus day today and also found that the night time crickets are masking my tt better than most other sounds at the moment.