Full Circuit: Finding Hope and Coping with Tinnitus — My Journey and Advice

I am writing this for those of you who are feeling as I did back in March of 2023.

My tinnitus began from an acoustic trauma related to a single recreational firearm event. I had all the symptoms of acoustic trauma: threshold shift, muffled hearing, mild hyperacusis, and tinnitus. After a week or so, my hearing mostly recovered, but the tinnitus did not.

To make matters worse, a history of episodic anxiety and depression complicated my introduction to tinnitus. This new challenge sent me into a full-blown spiral.

I soon became a psychological train wreck. I saw several audiologists and physicians, tried a 10-day course of high-dose Prednisone, downloaded a decibel meter detector, wore earplugs everywhere, and avoided any situations that included loud or unpredictable noise. I consulted a psychiatrist to reinitiate SSRIs and was prescribed Lorazepam. Between all of these actions, I was either in a state of high anxiety or inconsolable tears.

I am sharing all of this because I want you to know it was bad. Having experienced depressive episodes before, I was in a full-blown hole from which I felt there was no escape. I felt anxious all the time, like I was a burden to my family, and honestly, at times, I felt as though I could not move forward with my life.

However, here I am, 17 months later, and I have learned to cope, adapt, and live with tinnitus. Believe it or not, tinnitus no longer dominates me, even though I still very much suffer from it.

Below is a list of what you need to know and what I did to help myself.

Perspectives I Learned and What I Did to Slowly Recover:

• Stop trying to run from how you feel. Allow yourself time to grieve your new reality. This helped me a lot in the early stages. I allowed myself time to sob and feel bad for myself. I needed the catharsis.
  
  
• Accept that your recovery will not be linear. You will have good days and bad days. You will have moments where you feel as though you are making progress, only to be overcome with the same feelings of devastation the following day. This is normal.
  
  
• Stop looking for a cure because there is none. The more you look for a cure to tinnitus, the more you distance yourself from the psychological and psychiatric issues that CAN be addressed.
  
  
• Stop scouring message boards and running Google searches. Save a few success stories from which you can siphon hope and move on from this habit.
  
  
• See a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist can prescribe medication that can treat the neurotransmitters responsible for your anxiety and depression. I restarted an SSRI (and am still on it) and was prescribed a course of Lorazepam to take as needed for the first four weeks.
  
  
• See an expert practitioner in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. You may not recognize it, but you are burdened by certain cognitions and behaviors that fuel your distress. I paid out of pocket for Dr. Bruce Hubbard's therapy and layered this with psychotherapy provided by an LCSW I was already seeing.
  
  
• Continue to live your life. Whatever you love to do, get back to it, even if it involves sound. In the beginning, I stopped listening to music in my car, stopped using cannabis, and even avoided the gym because I thought these things could make my tinnitus worse.

I don't think any of us who have "recovered" are ever really fully recovered. I still have moments where I am overly aware of my tinnitus, but it doesn't crush and devastate me like it used to. I have found coping mechanisms, accepted it as benign, and know that if I get overly frustrated by it, I will get beyond it.

Good luck everyone, you got this.

 

This is a really well-written success story. I'm glad you're in a better place with it.

Just a question: After reading this, it seems like you still "have" tinnitus but don't "suffer" from it.

For me personally, reactive tinnitus had me housebound and pretty much incapacitated, whereas now my tinnitus is probably louder, but I am able to live a mostly normal life. I'd say I suffered from it originally but now I don't despite still having it, if that makes sense?

 

Congrats, I am glad you are doing better, but you are repeating bad advice that can prevent people from getting better or making them worse.

There is no cure for noise-induced tinnitus. However, tinnitus can have PHYSICAL co-factors that were not an issue before the onset of tinnitus, making it worse. These are TMJ/muscular issues as well as blood circulation issues. Tinnitus is not about psychological and psychiatric issues. It is a simplification, if not an outright insult to tinnitus sufferers. This is NOT a mental issue in the majority of people. Treating it so contentious does a grave disservice to people with tinnitus and unfairly labels them as "mental".

This is extremely dangerous advice, and many regret taking these questionable and dangerous drugs. SSRIs can worsen tinnitus during uptake, and particularly during withdrawal. This is not "Internet hearsay" but an experience of many tinnitus sufferers. A clinician and tinnitus researcher flat-out told me he does not recommend taking antidepressants.

 

It is extremely dangerous to offer advice that is not based on published and peer-reviewed human randomized controlled studies. Anecdotal reports from some tinnitus sufferers or the opinion of a single clinician are not substitutes for the gold standard of the scientific method.

Peer-reviewed randomized controlled studies, including meta-analyses, have shown that SSRIs are effective in treating anxiety and depression. This means that if you are experiencing anxiety and depression due to tinnitus distress, SSRIs can provide proven therapeutic benefits.

Regarding withdrawal symptoms, there should be minimal to no withdrawal effects from SSRI therapy if a proper tapering process is followed.

 

So which SSRI worked for you? I think it would be nice to hear more SSRI success stories. I always look for them, but there aren't a lot.

I can see how Lorazepam would help since that's a benzo.

I'm glad you are doing better! You were definitely miserable for a while judging by your old posts.

 

Sadly, there are no comprehensive studies of SSRI in tinnitus patients, not to mention patients who developed tinnitus from SSRI use. Good luck to you.

 

Two 25 mg pills of Amitriptyline gave me severe tinnitus.

If you can, stay away from ototoxic medications.

 

I agree with you. I have read dozens of cases where SSRIs have damaged people severely. The best advice I have received has to do with learning to be at peace with myself, the world, and God and not allow myself to spiral into anger or severe depression.

 

I'm very glad to hear that you're feeling much better and able to reflect on your progress. It's important to recognize and appreciate how far you've come.

Regarding SSRIs, it's true that they can sometimes cause tinnitus or ear damage, though this is rare. If you're struggling with sleep and anxiety, it's essential to weigh the facts carefully before making any decisions about your treatment.

My own experience with tinnitus began over two years ago, and since then, my condition has steadily worsened. Unfortunately, nothing I tried—except Ginkgo Biloba, which had adverse effects—made a difference. About a year ago, my tinnitus became severe, and I've been taking Hydroxyzine and Benadryl since then. These medications have helped me relax and sleep, though they haven't improved the tinnitus itself.

Interestingly, I first experienced tinnitus from Zoloft 20 years ago. At the time, I had no idea what it was, and my psychiatrist was equally perplexed. He suggested stopping the Zoloft, and once I did, the symptoms—hearing an airplane-like sound in my head, not my ears, and constant ear cracking with noise—completely resolved.

This time around, the tinnitus is different. It’s localized to my ears and produces different sounds, but the ear cracking persists. Despite this, I can't advise anyone to avoid medication, as each case is unique. For me, these sleep aids and anti-anxiety medications have been helpful without worsening my condition, even after Zoloft had previously caused temporary tinnitus.

 

100%, but Amitriptyline is not ototoxic as far as I know. Antidepressants do affect the brain, and that's where the tinnitus can originate. Damaged hearing is just one of the triggers for tinnitus, but it is not necessary to have it to have tinnitus.

Tinnitus can be viewed as the result of disrupted homeostasis in our brains. There are a variety of ways to disrupt it.

 

I've read about a couple of people in the last couple of years who reported SSRIs helped with anxiety and/or depression, but the effect was so quick I wondered if the placebo effect was a factor. I took them for two months, and they didn't help my anxiety at all. I was left with stomach pains from the first dose that continues now eight months after weaning off. So, they really set me back overall because stomach pains are bad enough, but they also add to the anxiety.

I remember reading a study that antidepressants weren't much more effective than a placebo, especially in people with mild to moderate depression.

Indeed. I take 0.5 mg of Lorazepam once or twice per week, and it does help. It's pretty mild and half the potency per mg compared to Clonazepam and Xanax, and with a half-life in between those two medications.

Being at peace with the world, fear of tinnitus, and acceptance are not factors for me. It's some automatic brain response that triggers the sympathetic nervous system, causing high anxiety, even if I'm focused on other things. Even an hour of continuous cardio exercise doesn't seem to help as much as it used to because it actually increases my tinnitus for hours.

Hopefully, @gameover's needling and massages actually help him over time.