Getting Used to Tinnitus and Coping

My tinnitus started in Nov 2016. I woke up in the middle of the night and heard a chirping noise. I thought that there was a bird trapped in the room and when finding there was nothing there, realized the sound was coming from within my head!

The noise in my left ear didn't go away over the next few days so panic set in. My stress levels went through the roof and weeks later when it was still there, well, I felt my life was over. I had gone to concerts since I was very young and listened to loud music for years so this had to be the cause, right? I visited my doctor and was prescribed sleeping tablets. At least this way I could escape the sound for a few short hours at night. Months passed and the sound changed to a high pitched frequency.

People kept telling me to try and de-stress as the stress wasn't helping but I was in a vicious circle and there was no escape. Eventually my mind started to adjust and in Feb 2017 I decided to go back to my favorite past time - mountain climbing. I climbed the mountain with a friend whom I had briefly told about the T but we didn't discuss it much as by talking about it made me dwell on it more. At this point I was verging on complete depression but this day was a test and I had to achieve this. On the way up the mountain we walked by a stream and the sound took my mind off the ringing in my ear.

We climbed the mountain, even with my limited energy, and on the way down we got some great shots of the sunlight shining through thick clouds. This day was the first day of my recovery. I accepted that I had a sound in my ear that no one else could hear but I had to accept that it was there and going nowhere.

I gradually took hold and after about 8 months I realized that the sound was starting to be more in the background. Now I still have T and it cranks up in different situations, such as when I have a cold or if there's a fan heater in the background and on those occasions it is a bit loud but never overpowering.

From that first noise until now has not been easy but I got through it.

My life wasn't over.

 

Yet another example of what the brain is capable of doing in time.

Thanks for writing this positive post.

I can relate very much to your initial sadness when realising the possible permanency of tinnitus.

I never thought I'd ever 'get used' to tinnitus but I have (mostly). Like you, it is a background noise now that can fluctuate in certain circumstances ie fatigue and stress. Having h alongside t has made habituation more difficult, but definitely not impossible!

Did you ever get to the bottom of why you ended up with tinnitus?

I'd love to see your photos of your mountain climb.

deb

 

Hey Debs,

No, I never did get to the bottom of it. I went through the usual route of doctor, audiology, ENT specialist and had a MRI scan. My hearing is almost perfect so there was a relief I wasn't going deaf.

What was my savior was that I heard of CBT. I clung on to this, thinking that I could have my brain re-tuned, so there was some hope. I never did go for CBT because in the back of my mind I thought it might not work and then I had no escape route, but the thought of it being there was a massive help.

Now that I am over the worst of it I don't think much of CBT now but it's always there for me.

So glad you're coping to some degree. I think the stress definitely makes it much worse.

I will try and attach the pic I mentioned on our way back down from that mountain. My friend was in front of me and I just took the snap as the cloud had came down and the sun was so bright. The picture hasn't been edited.

John

 

Like positive story. Thanks for sharing.