Feeling Worse After 2 Months

Hi there,

This my I-don't-know-what-number post in a short time.

This is because recently I'm really stressed out and have high anxiety. More than I did during the last month. Is this normal?

I'm approx 2 months in right now and first month was awful then I regained some hope and now I feel lost again.

Yesterday I went to visit audiologist. Based on some stories over here I thought going there would give me some comfort. But mainly she tested my hearing again and I felt like I knew more about it than the person who took my audiogram. I didn't feel reassured.

Cause of this forum I expected to hear something like: it's normal to feel so stressed right now, but over time you'll habituate to the noise. But she didnt really say it in those words. But maybe I expected too much.

She also said that the feeling of fullness in my afflicted ear would probably not go away anymore. I felt really disappointed...

I also took oxazepam today during the day. Something which I didn't do since the first month. I don't know what to do anymore. I feel really bad.

Someone who would like to talk to me a bit more (instead of only via this post)? I would like a real persons story who also went through the feelings I am experiencing now.

Lots of Love, Isabelle

 

Would you say that your T had faded compared to how it was 6 weeks ago?

 

@Bill Bauer. Not really. It only went from a high tone into a high hiss.

 

That's actually a very good news! It is changing for the better - this is huge. In fact, a hiss is often what you perceive when a high tone gets quieter. At one point I would hear a hiss, but when I would put on my Peltor muffs, it would be easier to hear, and I would hear a high pitch tone.

It might take a year, but your T ought to fade, and hopefully even disappear.

 

@Bill Bauer You are so nice. Your words are so welcome. Im really at my lowest point right now and so so scared and literally feeling sick of it. How are you? Btw its still a loud hiss (is that still improvement?)

 

Please see this page from the authors of this site:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

I have had T 2 times (both acoustic trauma) and my first T faded to zero in just under 2 years. My current bout is 11 months and my T has faded about 80%

It is very likely you will see significant improvement in the next 8-12 months, it just takes a lot of time. T is not always permanent, and for most it does fade away.

 

@jjflyman Thanks for your reply. I hope mine will also fade. This audiologist lady said that it was chronic after 3 months. Do you have any tips for me in the meantime while time is passing and hopefully hardening my brain

 

It is most certainly NOT chronic after 3 months (maybe it is "classified" as chronic, but that does not mean it won't get better)
Most ENT's say chronic after 1 year, but even that is not true. Some ENT's say the time line for recovery of Tinnitus induced from acoustic trauma is actually 1-2 years.
Just protect your ears from noise the best you can for a while 6-8 months? Wear ear plugs even when doing simple things like vacuuming or going out to eat.

 

@jjflyman Thanks for this info. Much needed. Where do you come from? Im Dutch and feel like docs etc here are really careful with doing optimistic statements

 

I've also read a lot if the tone changes to a hiss it's a good sign. But why I dont know yet.

 

Indeed.

Mine starts the day as a gentle hiss, but turns into a screaming high pitched(not that loud) tone by the evening. I wonder if thats a good sign.

 

There are no good or bad signs, it may get better over time, and time is very important. Being patient is the key. And usually the more time you give it the better it gets, either the tone or your reaction to the tone ...

I do not get it why anyone calls tinnitus a nightmare. This attitude just makes it worse for yourself, the Tinnitus does not bother .. it is an illness and best way to deal with it is to smile at it and say it will get better ... usually the body hears your attitude and it gets better ...

 

I think it is pretty normal especially in the early stages of T.

 

If in the past it used to be high pitch all day long, then it is definitely a good sign. Or, to be more general, if the time it spends being a hiss seems to be increasing while the time it spends being high pitch seems to be decreasing, then it has got to be a great sign.

 

Thank you for your kind words. When the volume is the same, a hiss is easier to ignore than a high pitch tone. Trust me, when it switches from a high pitch tone to a hiss it is a big improvement. After my first acoustic trauma, I had been improving. My T was gradually fading and switching to a hiss. It was a very long process. Unfortunately, at the end of month four, I accidentally pressed a loud phone to my bad ear. That acoustic trauma was enough to change my hiss into a high pitch tone. That was three months ago, and the time my T spends being a high pitch tone every day is still longer compared to that the day before my second acoustic trauma...

In any case, based on my experience, you should not be worried/surprised when T takes unimaginably long time to change for the better. However, any change for the better is a great sign. If it keeps improving even at that glacially-slow rate, there is a chance that after 12-24 months you will be feeling Much better.

The time between weeks 4 and 6 after onset were the absolutely worst time for me. Up until that time, the only time I cried as an adult was when I learned that my dad had brain cancer (I was 15 at the time). Between weeks 3 and 6 I weeped uncontrollably many times a day, every day. In any case, to make a long story short, it gets better. Just make sure to protect your ears so that you don't get a second acoustic trauma. Soon after I began to stay away from moderately loud noises like that of a vacuum cleaner or a blender, my T began to show signs of slow improvement.

 

Horrible! There are published studies out there that mention a rule of thumb that the doctors might consider it to be chronic after 2 years. See the links below:

Some people had reported getting better even after 2 years... On
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...ted-to-feel-ok-again.15649/page-2#post-271024
10 people said that they got better after 10 years.

 

@Tinizzy Hey friend, you might get better yet . I have had T for about 18 months or more now. In the beginning it was horrific . It was so loud i could hear it over jets screaming low over my garden ! I was suicidal . I thought that this was my life over . My Doctor was little help and told me to live with it . I wept everyday and wanted to die .
However ,now , about 50% of the time my T HAS GONE ! I have regained silence ! It is wonderful !
When I do still have bad days it is very bearable . You do get used to it .
It gets easier ,I promise. Who knows ,you might get better too
Don't give up ! Good luck .

 

@Bill Bauer
@fedup
Thanks for your replies. It means so much to me. I am not functioning anymore. Although I hope and also kind of believe it will get better over time I cant seem to get out of my anxious feelings. Im gonna start with some meds. Unfortunately but hopefully it will make me feel somewhat more normal. Did you use any?

 

I used only amitriptyline - to help me sleep.

I also had huge quantities of valerian root. I took 5 times more than the recommended daily dosage of valerian root pills every day. I also drank tea made from dried valerian root, every 3 hours.

 

Btw, I also have a question. Monday Im gonna go get my wisdom teeth retracted. Its on the side of my affected ear. Now Im scared it might get worse because of it. What do you think?

 

@Bill Bauer Did it help you?

 

With T you never know how you would have felt had you not taken something. I ended up improving, perhaps it has helped me. But I can't be sure. Well, now that I think of it, without a doubt it made me calmer.

 

@Bill Bauer Yes, that is ofcourse true. You dont know ecactly what kind of effect it has cause you cant really compare. But making me calmer would be really nice

 

Unless this is an emergency (i.e., the teeth hurt), I would reschedule it. I would wait at least 3 months (possibly a year) before doing it. It will most likely be ok, but it is certainly a risk. So unless there is a good reason to take this risk, I would avoid exposing myself to an unnecessary risk.

 

http://www.herbco.com/c-133-valerian.aspx Sell Valerian root for $8 per pound. It is the cheapest product I could find, and the quality is good. I went through more than 15 pounds of the stuff.

 

@Bill Bauer Hmm.. it hurts sometimes. Not awfully so but he said this is best time cause now Im still under 25. And the top tooth has gone grey and with cavities.. I made the appointment because I first hoped that getting them out might benthe cure (since I read that somewhere)

 

Hopefully someone else who has actual experience with this can help you decide what to do. It is good that there will probably be no loud drill noise involved. Actually, I heard that a tooth can break, and then they will need to drill the tooth and extract it piece by piece. Some people on this forum ended up with spikes after being exposed to the sounds of the drill...

 

@ Bill Bauer Im trying to call the tinn help line here in my country. They might know

 

If the doctors are not being taught about T in medical schools, I doubt people at the help line would know anything...

 

@Bill Bauer Hmhm. Just gonna try. And Ill make another thread on here. Im in med school myself and hadnt heared of T yet before I saw this movie in the cinema about it.