Can You Help a Lost Soul

Hi Everyone

I'm Annika

I am in genuine need of some hope and support. I have noise induced tinnitus since the 2nd of December.

Feeling pretty hopeless. I went to see and ENT specialist who said I have excellent hearing, and thought it would it would resolve.

However is still here and I am finding it really difficult to cope.

Is there any hope is there a recovery time?

Any help is appreciated.

I put myself on antidepressants arranged a see a therapist.

 

HI @Annika1884

You are in the early stages of tinnitus and it can change a lot and might even go away in time. Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful. Try to read them in full and not skim through them. I advise you not to listen to music through headphones even at low volume and keep away from venues where loud music is played. Try using sound enrichment at night instead of sleeping in a quiet room. More about this is explained in the links below.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

Hi Annika
You didn't get real specific on how you got your T, only music. I can tell you that 3 weeks or so is still very early, as most T takes 6-18, even 24 months to fully resolve itself. I can speak from experience, as 12 years ago I got T from noise exposure and my T was very bad, but it faded to zero within 2 years. I am currently 15 months into a second noise induced T from a concert, and it has faded 80% or more.
It is very likely your T will fade over the next 6 months or so, and fully fade within 2 years. Protect your ears from loud noise (use earplugs if your going someplace if it might be loud) and no headphone (even at low volume) for at least a year.
I know how scary T is, but there are many success stories of people making a full recovery. Not everyones T is permanent, in fact, most noise induced T will eventually resolve itself.

 

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...itus-recently-this-info-will-be-useful.25741/

 

@Annika1884 ,
Tinnitus can be hard to cope with as the sound invades your life and the lack of sleep and unwanted emotions are just as bad and coping as a family or work or mum.
It is so important to get enough sleep and eat well and try to stay calm and relaxed as stress will only make tinnitus worse.
Tinnitus can take away your smile and laughter and develop low mood and depression if you let it.
Tinnitus can be caused for lots of reasons but remaining calm and trying get on with life keeping busy will help and not listen out for your sound.
Checking hearing and ears for wax or infection is the first things to do then find some music to relax to will help reduce stress.
Protecting your hearing from extra loud sounds will be somthing you will now always need to do .
We are here around the clock to support you and know you are not alone and we understand how you will be feeling.
We are incharge of what makes us happy so don't let tinnitus bring you down.
Love glynis

 

Thank you for your advice I am trying to stay positive.

I got the noise from a concert. I stood in the back. I even put tissue in my ears just in case, took regular breaks. And left early.

But here I am.

 

Mine got really bad around the same time. The first 2 weeks were really bad because I could not sleep at all. The anxiety and stress did this to me. Try to remain calm and get some sleep. Michael and Bill along with many others here have some great tips for dealing with the sound if you still have trouble. Mine was also caused by loud music and it eventually leveled out. I can sleep now with just an open window. The fact that you have a good hearing test means that you probably have minimal damage so your hearing should remain fine. But please take care and protect yourself from further loud noises. Wear earplugs outside the home. There are professional grade plugs for less than $50 if you don't want to look silly with regular foam plugs. Plus they have the benefit of providing better protection.

 

Hi Annika, yes there is hope for a recovery, of course. It happens very often that noise induced tinnitus go after a few days or weeks. Indeed it also happens that it stays forever, but that's really not automatic. Even if it stays, you can still enjoy a happy life.

But for now, the best thing to do is to relax and follow the advice of the ENT you will see. Outside of this support thread, I would advise you to stay away from tinnitus boards and avoid reading stories about tinnitus. They could give you a lot of anxiety and lead you to have a very pessimistic state of mind about what happens to you. Keep in mind that on Internet you will find much more horror stories than happy end stories, because the people whose tinnitus go away rarely post on support forums. Staying optimistic is paramount, anxiety and fear would hinder your recovery.

And I would also advise to avoid concerts or other places with such loud noise, at least for some months... and to protect your ears with good plugs if you decide to go back there one day.

 

It seems you were aware of this problem....... others in your family suffer from T? Did you experienced T before? If you want any advice please give more details

 

However it should improve by itself but I do not know if you take those medicine........ most are ototoxic

 

Thank you Julien87

This is what the ENT specialist wrote

I have put her in touch with out tinnitus therapist and tried very strongly to reassure her that the prognosis for her tinnitus is excellent and that

I would expect it to resolve.
I was delighted to inform her that her hearing is excellent at all frequencies in both ears and that there is nothing sinister going on here.

So I am hoping he is correct.

 

Hi, so my tinnitus is still going strong. Any advice?

 

Sorry you are having a rough time . When I feel really, really bad, I get outside and walk or run, anything to get the heart rate up and burn off some of my anxiety.

Best wishes to you.

Dan

 

I didn't notice any improvement for about 3 months, then it SLOWLY started to fade. After 16 months I am at least 80% faded and it continues to fade. IMO you will see improvement in the coming months, but very slow. Figure it will be a 2 year recovery.

 

@Annika1884 i have the same problem as you. Im only one month ahead, got first mild tinnitus out of the blue, three days later on Halloween went to a concert and club, and came home with loud tinnitus in both ears. It has changed alot But now sounds more like its coming from the middle of my head! Its also diffrent sounds both high pitch and sounds like a machine thats spins very fast. How do Your sounds?

My ent Says it will go away But i dont know. I have mild hearing loss, and my tinnitus is so loud i can hear it everywhere, i can hear it on the bus while Im listing to music, over TV, when i talk to someone, in the car driving with the stereo on, and so on, i cant mask it. If you have it the same way, whats helping me is remeron for Sleep! My goal is just to hear it in quiet rooms

 

What scientific research back's up that statement?

I think you mean most tinnitus from acoustic trauma (one single event) eventually resolve itself. Long term noise induced T is a whole different ballgame, and rarely will fade, from what I have read on the web.

 

Hi lille Julie it sounds a little bit like a statics noise.

Like a old television, I can also hear it in the same places you do. Apart from I don't listen to music on head phones.

I am also taking the same anti dedepressa as you.

Have you noticed any weight gain?

Many Thanks
Sarah

 

Yes, long term exposure is different than a one time event (like a concert)
but I believe @Annika1884 stated in a post that it came from a concert , so I believe it will resolve itself over time.

 

@Annika1884

Its such a annoying sound, and I have headace all day because of it.

No, not any weight gained! I was very afraid for that, but I dont eat anymore then before. I have no other problems/symptoms after i started with the medicine either

 

That's really good that you haven't gained any weight. I haven't been so lucky. Seem to be getting bigger and bigger.

I was told by the doctor that I can continue with this medication for a month or two more, and to monitor my weight. I am a UK size 12 now.

Are you based in the UK?

However I am sleeping so I guess thats the most important thing.

It would be nice if we could all meet upuand ring, hummm, buzz togther.

 

Yes the ringing starter after a concert. I have only ever been to two concerts in my whole life

 

@Annika1884

Yes u should continue on it for sleeping. The weight u can deal with later. No Im not from UK

 

Hi, this is my first post here and ill find time to write an introduction soon but i recently got T from a gig in my local rock bar approx 3 months ago. I was only in there for 30 minutes but it was a small venue and the volume way too loud. I knew something was bad as soon as i got home as the ring was way worse than anything iv experienced before. A few days went by and didnt notice anything much until i remembered about it and searched for the T. My heart sank when it was still there which was basically when i started to freak out.

To cut a long story short the first month was hell, it seemed to get progressively worse and consumed me completely. It has since started to fade into the background and the spikes have levelled off and I'm convinced in the last week or two its reducing in volume but very slowly. T is such a strange thing iv thought many times that its gone especially in the morning only to find out each night that its still there. It has been like a roller coaster of ups and downs but over the coarse of 3 months the trend has been volume down. It started in the left ear with huge head splitting spikes which came and went several times a day. Then it swapped ears and resonated in my brain for a while, now its both ears but low volume overall. I felt like it was the end for me, i was so panicked about it and depressed. I couldn't socialise or anything i couldn't rest i couldn't do anything. Iv started to take a small supplement of magnesium, zinc and apple cider vinegar and I'm wearing ear plugs when out of the house. Im convinced that even moderate sounds that we think are nothing are not letting the ears heal. So like people have advised let your ears rest as much as you possibly can and get some ear plugs for when your out of the house. This place is amazing iv been lurking for a month now and iv never come across a nicer forum. T is something that will change your life, try and make something positive out of it and try not to give up hope. I felt so depressed when i read so many people never recover from it, i never knew about it before and it felt so overwhelming to me that this could be forever. I hope every second of the day it won't be and my heart goes out to everyone suffering, i almost feel bad as mine has become quite mild compared to some peoples and it has ruined me emotionally. Im a little bit further into it than you so all i can say to give you hope is that time is a great healer and i hope you get better. Good luck.

 

@john paul you are very very lucky to have days there you dont hear it until its night and its quiet. I think yours is going to go away!

 

thanks julie, yeah i hope so too. I think one time trauma from noise has potential to go away slowly but nobody can tell. You would assume damage is damage but all i can do is hope and take each day as it comes.

 

I assume you are aware of tinnitus support groups Annika1884?

Usually one is most areas, tend to meet once a month. Easy to find via the British Tinnitus Assoc website.

...and don’t lose hope. Whether it goes away or not, it will get easier to cope with and you will attenuate to it. The brain is very very good at psychological healing where physical healing falls short - and you’ve already made it this small distance. You’ve started doing the right things - no head phones (ever again if possible); ENT tests with positive results & exploring others' experiences.

 

Hi Annika,

I have T since two n half months. I was in a very bad place for 1 and half month and starting to react better since a month.

Please try CBT. It helped me not to panic and cry.

White noise helped me sleep. Falling asleep is still hard but once I fall asleep I sleep now.

When I wake up its hard I hear it loud. So, I get up immediately. Having increased bed time is what worked for me.

Hope you feel better.

 

Hey

I have also booked myself onto a CBT course starting in March. They it should help me cope with the tinnitus in a more effective way (Not quite sure what that means)

So today I decided it about time I treated myself so I booked into have my hair done. A lovely idea you may think..... Well as I approached the door it dawned on me that there will be hair dryers... A cold sensation ran down my spine. Like nothing I have ever felt. The type of feeling when you have when you know something bad is going to happen.

Lucky I always carry ear plugs on me. I made my way in and tried to explain the best way I could that I would have to where ear plugs. So please don't think that I am being rude.

This seemed to go down well, so I currently sitting here hoping that the sound won't increase and my new hair style will be worth it.

The most important thing is that we can't let it win.... We just can't