Chronic and Progressive Tinnitus Since May 2014

Hello and greetings from Malaysia.

Firstly, I'd like to say that I'm grateful to have found a virtual place where tinnitus sufferers can share their stories and lend support to each other. I apologize in advance for being long-winded, but I have to get this off my chest. Even if nobody reads this, I guess it'd make me feel better just to write down my thoughts.

This is somewhat of a confession. I'm a 28-year old male, currently working as a piano/violin instructor. Late last year, I suffered from fever-induced psychosis, followed by several bipolar episodes. I was placed on leave from December 2013 to mid-February 2014. Up until around the middle of 2014, I have been on and off mood-stabilizers and anti-depressants (i.e.: lithium, remeron, olanzapine, etc.). From January to mid-April, I was constantly anxious, depressed and had obsessive-compulsive tendencies. I lost interest in practically everything. Worst of all, I developed the nasty habit of oversleeping. On certain days, I would sleep until lunchtime, get up for lunch, go back to sleep, then wake up at around 4 to 5 PM for work. In April, I started to feel better emotionally and began to normalize my daily routine, but by that time it was already too late.

In late April, I started hearing intermittent humming noises while lying in bed at night. I dismissed the noises at first. Five months later, my tinnitus is now a constant high-pitch ringing in my left ear, in addition to medium-pitch 'murmurs' in both ears. It has been getting worse on a daily basis. Every time I wake up, the ringing is always louder than before.

I'm aware that some of the drugs I mentioned have been linked to ototoxicity, but I don't think they're at fault. ENT specialists and audiologists have no answer. My tentative hypothesis is that all that oversleeping has somehow compromised the blood flow into my inner ear and is causing progressive degeneration of the hair cells. I've had several bouts of insomnia, and it's generally getting harder and harder to sleep. I try to keep myself physically active, but there's not much I can do when I don't get enough sleep.

Thank you for reading this.

 

Hey I am really sorry for what your going threw, depression I had and still do for many years and I know that and anxiety does not help tinnitus at all. My tinnitus started of loud then down a bit then loud. I just feel ENT's can't do anything these days ears are a big organ yet nothing they can't do nothing for them yet the eyes there's almost every cure or solution. I know your pain. it's good your hear! past few days being here has helped me.

 

Hi Han! I'm sorry for what you are going through. Have you tried maskers? I'm using white noise to help block some of my T. I'm trying to diet as well to help myself overall. I'm trying to rid myself of salt and sugars hoping it may help.

 

It might seem that way but that's not true. I have a friend who went blind in college because a virus attacked his optic nerves. There's nothing that can be done for him.

 

Damn that's scary just makes me sad as soon as you mention ears they can't help

 

I know exactly what you mean. My biggest fear upon getting tinnitus was that doctors wouldn't be able to help. And unfortunately that's what happened.

Situations like these really shows how fragile our health is.

 

Welcome to the support board, Lee. We may not be able to answer your every question but we had gone through hell with tinnitus, so hopefully we can share some experience. One thing about T is that it is quite unpredictable. So it is hard to pin down one thing which triggers it. In general, anxiety and stress or taking some meds can cause T. Some may get it due to acoustic trauma. There are so many factors which may cause T, so it is probably better to not spend too much energy into finding out. I mean if you can really narrow it down, such as a food or a drug, all the best, but if it is quite unsure, then perhaps focus on how to get yourself better.

Coming here for support is the right thing to do. Besides getting support, you can also browse the success story forum where you will find many members posting their success stories. Try to learn their insights of what work for them. You can also ask the doctors in the Doctor's Corner. The main thing is that during the initial phase, you are expected to have a hard time emotionally and sleeping is challenging. A few years back I was hit by my ultra high pitch T which was soon followed by severe hyperacusis. The H turned all normal sounds glassy and piercingly hurtful. I was overwhelmed by T & H for quite a while, while struggling to stay sane. Those were very dark days. But like most members, those early days will pass and you will likely recover if slowly. In the mean time you may want to get some masking to help you deal with your T. Take care & God bless.

 

I also have progressive tinnitus. The sleep thing, I go through bouts where it bothers me and I don't get much sleep, but then all it takes is one good nights sleep to realize "hey this can't really prevent me from sleeping". Another thing I do is, as I'm laying in bed, I think of some cryptic song lyrics and try to figure out what they mean. I find this does two things, one it makes me think of something else besides tinnitus, and two, the memory of the song in my mind takes my attention away from the tinnitus even more.

 

Hello guys!

It's been awhile since I posted on this forum. I'd just like to say that I'm doing well and I'm truly thankful for the support that this community has given me. My tinnitus has diminished significantly and I am feeling a lot healthier.

To anyone who is new to tinnitus or is still suffering from tinnitus, please don't give up. Life is big and beautiful!

Cheers,
Han