Evil Mr. T Since 03/2012, Doing Mostly OK.

Discovered this forum by not really looking for it. Was looking at some of the latest info about treatments and a link was there and here I am. Some of the people and comments looked interesting so I signed up. Mr. T is mostly an annoyance, minor most of the time. I have sound generators to wear when he's at his most obnoxious and they help. I have had very low level Mr. T almost as long as I can remember, he became noticeable to the point of distraction and frustration in 03/2012. He calmed down some by 05/2012 and I habituated to him and he was pretty calm until 12/2014. He spiked to 28db left and 22db right for about two months then settled down again. 12/2015 brought another spike back to about the same level as 12/2014 and he is cooling down gradually again. My original success of habituating in 2012 served me well during the spikes and I used my sound generators during the worst. I have the good luck of living about 75 miles from a very good tinnitus treatment professional. She was trained by Jastreboff himself and has been very helpful. I have two noises, high pitched, they seem to be octaves. Sometimes I have a low pitched rumble not unlike water running into a bathtub at a large volume. This is rare and has always vanished after a few days. I can actually sleep without masking, but prefer to use it. I am 61 and I retired early at 57 but at 59 went back to work for the company I retired from in a different lower stress job. An interesting note, in my early research into Mr. T in 2012 lots of the info didn't give much credence to hereditary factors. Now I see that isn't true as much. My brother who is 68 has severe T aggravated by work related hearing loss and my sister is 52 and has mild T. She is a professional musician, piano teacher, and theater director. I am an amateur bass guitar player and music fan having endured several loud shows. People I know with much more exposure than me have much less problems. Thresholds and hereditary factors are different for all. Best advice, protection! I sent my 19 year old son to Red Hot Chili Peppers show with 33db reduction plugs! I used same type last April for Gov't Mule. Thankfully they weren't that crazy loud. I use my plugs anymore even at basketball games with my son. I don't need any further damage or hearing loss. I'm hanging in there and have vowed I will find a way to be OK and not let this ruin my life.

 

Hi David B.
Welcome to Tinnitustalk!
Just curious....Do you think that switching to a lower stress job has helped at all to quiet your tinnitus?

 

No, since it started after I retired. Stress, anxiety, and illness can make it worse. Stress is definitely a factor.