Exacerbation

I have had tinnitus for 30 years, and habituated to it. In the last 5 years it has not been a problem at all.

Last week I was in a store when the tannoy system malfunctioned. It let out a piercing noise for a minute, and my tinnitus has become as bad as it was 30 years ago.

I'm experiencing the full spectrum of symptoms, anxiety, agitation, sleep problems, poor concentration. 30 years ago, it got so bad that I attempted suicide, was in a coma for three days, and when I woke, was taken to an Asylum where I stayed for 6 weeks.

I am clear that this is not my intention, but need support. I'm sure things have moved on in 30 years, so any help about sleep in particular, and relaxation techniques would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading this post.

 

When I was in this acute stage, I found that amitriptyline has helped me sleep. It is non-addictive and it didn't make me feel drowsy the next day.

You can use products like
https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Koala-Concentration-Relaxation-Sufferers/dp/B01FRW2WBA/

or

https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-S-5000-Deluxe-Therapy/dp/B018KUVEOM

to provide you with sound enrichment, to give yourself something else besides T to listen to. The sounds of crickets work well for high pitch tone T. Or you can use something like
http://mynoise.net/ or http://mynoise.net/

 

You might also wear ear plugs when you are outside of your home (at least for the next 6 months). You can purchase
https://www.amazon.com/PELTOR-Ear-Muff-Headband-X5A/dp/B00BBCTQK6/
and wear them everywhere you go (in case a fire alarm goes off, etc.) You don't want to get a second acoustic trauma right now.

 

I'm sorry. What you've went through in the past few days sounds very stressful. I'm glad you don't have the same intention as you did 30 years ago. I hope you don't go through anything like that ever again.

First of all, I totally understand the feelings you describe experiencing after your tinnitus suddenly worsened this week. You've already been through this years ago, so you know what it's like. And it got better that time, so it will get easier this time too. Eventually, the feelings of panic and fear will fade and it will be easier to cope with.

Consider getting a white noise machine. There are ones that you can play ambient noises on like rain, thunder, ocean waves or wind. Similar to what @Michael Leigh has said, even if you can hear your tinnitus slightly above the ambient noise, that's okay. If you mask it completely, you'll never be able to habituate to the ringing, so keep the volume of the ambient noise slightly below the level of your tinnitus, so you can still slightly hear your tinnitus.

The ringing is causing you a great deal of anxiety right now. Acknowledge that it's causing you anxiety and fear. Don't try to subdue it. Say to yourself "I'm feeling a huge amount of fear and anxiety right now because of the ringing. I'm afraid. I'm feeling very scared but the ringing can't hurt me. I'm not in any danger. I'm safe. I'm feeling very scared, but I'm safe." Acknowledge your feelings and reassure yourself that you're safe.

Distract yourself in any way you can. Surround yourself with family members and don't forget to laugh and engage in conversations. Don't spend time alone. It isn't good to be alone when you're feeling distressed.

There are also drugs like amitriptyline and nortriptyline which aren't addicting and can help with sleep so you can talk to your doctor about those.

 

Sometimes it takes more than just one thing to help with sleep. So, in addition to some of the good suggestions stated above, you can try 3mg of Melatonin about an hour before going to bed. It has helped me a lot during difficult times (spikes) over the years. I'll get a good 6 hours sleep or more as opposed to 3 - 4 hours when I don't take it.