Devastation.

We had a power outage yesterday, so everything went completely silent. Now I can hear all of the different sounds of tinnitus: three different sounds: these is a high pitched constant squeal, a shh like white noise sounding thing, and the right ear has a low frequency hum. It is so devastating to think that a year ago all I had was a slight high pitched squeal and now it has deteriorated - I feel so devastated. Each day is a struggle, but somehow I keep going. I need a large ridiculous amount of meds just to get to sleep, and even there, it is just kind of a twilight with no real solid sleep at all. I am so devastated, especially with the complete silence showing exactly how bad it is. I am going to attempt "music therapy" which consists of playing quiet easy to listen to music in addition to the constant pink noise/ white noise that I already am forced to use.

 

object16, you have had tinnitus for a long time, do you think you should get some therapy such as TRT or CBT to help you finally habituate to your tinnitus. My tinnitus has recently got alot worse, mine has gone from mild to hearing it everwhere and naturally i am depressed.

But what about those who claim they have severe tinnitus and they are no longer bothered by their tinnitus, they have reached full habituation to the point where they don't even care if their tinnitus is screaming.

i myself am going to look into TRT,CBT because wouldn't it be great if your tinnitus was loud but you simply didn't care?

 

Hi, I have contacted the audiologist a long time ago, and some I am familiar with the TRT thing, and constantly do TRT work, such as low levels of white/pink noise, etc. I keep in touch with Dhyan Cassie from the ATA and also the ATA volunteer. They provide me with the coaching, and I was doing really well until a year ago I played the stereo too loud, and then from then on was a down hill course with several noise episodes making it really worse and worse. My tinnitus got to the point where I was in the emergency room desperately pleading for something, and finally I am on a bag of meds, and somehow get by from day to day, but it is real rough, thanks for the support, pm.

 

Sorry you have hit a tough patch. Hope you get some relief soon. I find that since this "attack" in August it has changed who I am and what I do. I have started therapy because nothing else is working. It is a challenge daily and does not help when the professionals tell you just relax and tune it out. If only..... Peace.

 

Power outage sounds like my nightmare as well! I feel really dependent on listening to music or having some white noise or other sounds in the background. I feel sound therapy usually helps me, but it is recommended you listen to those sounds for at least 2-3 hours a day. It might take some time until you find the kind of sound the suits you best. Sometimes when I'm too busy I skip listening to nature sounds and then I feel my T gets worse...So it might actually have some effect.

 

I agree with Erik: I have CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) incredibly helpful. Yet my audiologist tells me many patients overlook or refuse "talk therapy." I really recommend it. Although I have to tell you, today my T is screaming loud and there really is nothing I can do except wait it out.

 

Sorry to hear that object16, isn't it s**t that it doesn't take much to worsen tinnitus! I mean A blast of music from a stereo wouldn't damage your hearing but it is enough to permanently increase tinnitus. All I read before was everyday noises won't worsen tinnitus, only really loud noise will increase it. I think tinnitus sufferers have lower tolerances against noise than normal people. Same with me, a car bonnet slamming shut wouldn't damage hearing, but it permanently increased my tinnitus, new sufferers should be warned it isn't noise that can cause hearing loss that increases tinnitus, it is everyday noise you would think twice about normally. You have to be very careful with noise once you have damaged your ears.

 

Object16- was it one episode of listening to loud music increased T?how loud was it ? And how long did u play the music ?did you wear ear plugs ?
hope you feel better soon .

 

I think I've always been a bit noise sensitive. But after T showed up, it's been more sensitive. I got in the car with husband who had recently driven the car. The car started and the music blasted on so loud I clamped my hands over my ears so fast I thought sure I was about to lose my hearing all together. I was so mad! I have an African grey with a screech so loud it goes right through you. He was on a mission to drive me insane the other night that I wore my ear plugs until he found something else to do. I was scared the T would be affected. I worry about the unexpected noises and whether they will have an impact on my future with T.
I think our threshold for noise sensitivity varies with the type of sound we are assaulted with. I'm grateful these noises had no effect but I worry what noise could. Scary.

 

hi, i had my stereo on too loud for about 20 - 30 minutes. the next day everything seemed o.k., the following day everything seemed o.k. and on the third day, when i was trying to get to sleep all of a sudden my tinnitus just went beserk - i had a huge panic attack and my heart was racing i was so afraid - basically then i took a lot of meds and that got me to sleep. gradually over the next few months it eased up, but then just everyday sound like a truck backfire and the tinnitus just goes crazy again. i have been trying so hard to "baby" my hearing now, and every day is a struggle - somehow i keep going, but not without a huge amounts of meds, which i definitely do NOT like to do, but just white noise / pink noise/ music etc on its own does not do the trick for me -
thankfully the tinnitus is SLIGHTLY easing up, and is definitely not like it was 3 months ago, but still it is so depressing to have your power go out, then complete silence, and then there is nothing to "mask" the tinnitus, and it is now so obvious that you have one nasty case of tinnitus, which is not going to ever go away.

 

I understand you. One good thing is though, that we got tinnitus now and not for example 100 years ago. At least now we have sound machines and mp3 players to make every day life easier for people with tinnitus. I don't know what I would do without my mp3 player and travel speakers that I can take everywhere. And my 10 hours nature sounds mp3.

I think it is really I pity that we tinnitus sufferers are often more sensitive to loud noises than other people. I was also relying on what my GP had told me, that I should only avoid those kind of noise levels that are generally damaging to the hearing. After what I experienced I'm trying now to be more careful as I don't want my tinnitus to get worse anymore. I am also hoping that will help to improve my tinnitus a bit in the long run.

 

thank you for the thoughtful replies. every day is a struggle, but I still do it anyway. many other people have what I have and probably worse. I tried to push my dose of tegretol, and the result was the tegretol actually gave me a monstrous dose of tinnitus, so I completely discontinued that med, until it clears out of my system and then only take SMALL doses, like 100 mg or 200 mg, not the 1000 mg that I experimented with.