Gradually getting better!

Hi, my job is high paying, also, I have kids that need tuition, plus my own sense of well-being vs distress, etc. plus if I keep working longer I like my job and so this is good for me, also I do a good job and people like my work etc., so I have to throw everything at it. 5 weeks ago, I had dental crown work done, and my chronic tinnitus turned catastrophic, and I showed up in ER after 5 days with no sleep, and huge screaming crazy tinnitus, like tinnitus from hell. I told my colleague that I was probably going to have to resign my job and go on early retirement. If this was my dog I would be having it put to sleep.


I logged on to tinnitus talk, and also did my own thinking, also consult with ATA, and audiologist etc. Just by chance, I was talking to oncologist, who deals with chronic pain due to cancer spread to bones etc., and he mentioned the drug Lyrica. I also found out how to do CR NM from tinnitustalk, my daughter made me an MP3 with DIY CR NM.

I treat my ear injury just like a broken bone: do not put any weight on it - so I go around EVERYWHERE with a noise cancelling headset - the Bose 15. This means that my ears get constant sound, but just at a much lower level, and if a Harley Davidson goes by, then there is no problem. In my case it is so bad, that if just one Harley goes by for a few seconds, my tinnitus gets ultra severe, same as a truck back-fire, etc., so I have to "baby" my hearing. Do not believe what they tell you that 80dB is fine for your hearing - the ear was developed in a time BEFORE machine age, at a time that your hearing had to be super acute to prevent you from being eaten by another animal, etc., and there were no huge sounds 10,000 years ago - only the past few hundred years with Industrial Age, etc., which the ear cannot deal with. In the day time, I work in a fairly quiet office, and I keep a white noise machine going, plus the NM MP3. If I go out of the office, I wear the Bose. Some parts of the lab are noisy with huge ventillation sounds or compressors running or centrifuge, or door slams etc. - the Bose takes care of this perfectly. Outdoors in the shopping centre, or in my car, I wear the Bose. My opinion is that it is better to do something than do nothing. I know many tinnitus patients use hearing aids, but in my opinion, a hearing aid amplifies sounds, and that is the complete opposite to what is necessary. My Lyrica medication puts me out to sleep pretty reliably, and if I get up too early I take slightly more med, to get an abnormally long sleep, and I find after extra sleep the tinnitus gets quieter - but is very "tender" in that just a slight abnormal noise "wakes it up". This is a very gradual process, where the results are not dramatic, and not overnight. At the beginning of this my hyperacusis was so bad that my own voice would make the ringing worse. But however after 5 weeks, I am a whole lot better - I have gone from where is my nembutal to please bring on more work, and looking forward to a long and productive career. Some of what I do is what is recommended - like TRT and NM and white noise, and constant sound, but other parts are not found anywhere on internet, but they seem logical to me, like wearing a Bose everywhere. I do this because I cannot risk being exposed to an accidental Harley noise or truck back-fire. I have white noise in my bedroom, AND pink noise (restful rain available on internet), AND a pillow speaker x 2. I am extremely determined individual, and I take things to the extreme, but the person I work with also says to wear the Bose everywhere, and your own health is at stake, then your health takes priority, and no one really cares if you have headset on or not (they get curious about it, but they just think you are some "cool" guy listening to your music) - with the Bose, there is an attached MP3 player, and it is constantly playing either Restful Rain, or "notched" white noise. My tinnitus has gone from 10+ to 6.5+, and my requirement for meds has slightly diminished. I can also compare the tinnitus to the level of my bedroom speakers and my MP3 volume control level, and my own subjective interpretation. Please make sure that if you do what I do, you will run the risk of getting hyperacusis really badly, and you MUST have some normal sound to keep your hearing in balance. But your brain does not like making this noise, and if you apply the correct "splint" or "bandage" to it, it will do what it can to "heal" itself, which it will do due to "plasticity" of neurons.

They say that you should not be obsessed by it the way that I am obsessed, and that you should just regard it as a "harmless sound" - but to me the sound is clearly NOT harmless - it made me show up in ER, it was making me think about ending it all etc., so I don't buy into that part about "don't worry about it, it won't cause you any harm, etc."

That is my theory anyway, obviously I am getting better so something is being done right. have a nice day.

 

Object 16,
Thank you for your input. I used to think I was crazy and I guess others did to. But I remember the desperation of going to the ER in the middle of the nite just begging for something to sleep or just escape. No one but no one will ever understand until they go thur this.

As one doctor who has tinnitus said " Do not expect you family or your friends to understand you. No one except those who have this will understand." He was and still is correct.

 

I have wondered about noise cancelling headphones. They may seem to reduce noise, but they actually add sound waves to do so. Do they actually reduce sound levels to the ears? Really hope your tinnitus continues to reduce over time. I also find being busy at work is a great help; chatting with your kids as well - my son is so lively he raises my spirits.

 

hi, the headset uses a microphone to see what sound is coming, then electronic circuit to create the opposite sound the sends the opposite sound through the tiny speakers, and the sound waves cancel out to create silence. they only cancel around 10 - 15 dB, so you still hear everything, but it is much quieter.

 

also, last night i slept through from 10 p.m. till 7 a.m. - yay! - without waking up. in the morning the tinnitus was clearly not very intrusive at all. more evidence that it is getting better. the hearing is still very "tender" so I plan to very gradually re-introduce more and more sound to get the hearing system used to slightly more sound.

 

That's great object, happy for you, do keep us updated, thanks !

 

Hi, I made a post before, about slowly getting better. Last night I slept right through without getting up in middle of night. Before falling asleep, I could see that already the tinnitus was slightly more easy to tolerate, not that bad actually, especially compared to 6 weeks ago. So I slept right through and when I got up I felt pretty well rested, and my tinnitus was clearly less, so that I don't really notice it very much, it is kind of not so loud, and it is at the "habituable" level that I'm used to.

Basically I've had tinnitus for 25 yrs, but last year it flared up probably due to music too loud, and then kept flaring up again, especially when I had dental work that made it go beserk.

It looks like no one has really succeeded in any good reliable cure, and so thousands of things that don't work have been discovered. So I used something that no one recommends, and that is to constantly use the Bose noise cancelling headset, and completely STAY AWAY! from any loud noise at all. I constantly play the MP3 of restful rain, which is pink noise, and I have also been doing the CR NM, set at very low levels in my office along with white noise.

Bit by bit, the tinnitus is gradually subsiding, to a tolerable level. I plan to constantly keep this up, and we will see what happens with time.

I am also not afraid of taking reasonable sedatives, like lyrica, seroquel, mirtazapine, imovane, as required. My observation is that with good sleep the tinnitus subsides. It is very important to not get carried away with meds, because they will gradually work less and less, as you get habituated to the med effect, so you have to use a combines approach: NO NOISE plus meds, plus constant pink/white noise, plus CR NM. The plan is that as the tinnitus gets less, and more easy to habituate to, then slowly take less and less meds, to taper off, so eventually you need only minimal med. So far it has been working for me, except I am not yet at the point of minimal meds - my meds right now are pretty heavy, all though they are not maxed out - and I don't want to have to max out on them either!!! You have to get used to the idea that you wear a headset always if there is any noise. You cannot go into any theatre, live music, gunfire, etc - my belief is the ear was designed to hear very quiet sounds, even in my car I use the headset, and keep the window closed, and if I see a Harley down the street, quickly go for cover in a nearly store, or something - the Bose is actually pretty good to protect you from Harleys at a distance, but not close up - so that you can tell if there is a nearby animal about to get its next meal. that is my theory anyway. so far i am so relieved and happy that i am actually getting better - this disease is insanely bad, just about as worse a thing you could get.

I believe that the brain can heal itself, but just like any other injury, you need to use the correct "splint" or bandage, to give it the idea what it is supposed to do. Just like a broken bone, you have to line up the parts, so the body knows how to re-join the broken pieces back together.

 

Yes same here, gradually getting better to tolerable levels, doing all the above you've mentioned,and also a very strict diet.

 

I never took any medications.... Just vitamin supplements and herbal stuff.

 

I contacted Dhyan Cassie of the ATA in that she is an expert in tinnitus and gives lectures etc. I told her about what I was doing, and she is in agreement. Also, now that I am getting better, I have hyperacusis, so my plan is to gradually turn up the volume on my MP3 player. Dhyan tells me to be very gradual, turn it up one notch every two weeks, to gradually "harden" the hearing system to get it used to "normal" sounds.

I am continuing to do the CR NM, and I also notice that my hearing acuity seems slightly improved - this might be due to the tinnitus being less loud.

 

Hi, just a progress update, i seem to be getting better very distinctly better - even though i spent a long day working outside, and got to bed late, i actually slept a total of 12 hours! and i noticed in the middle of the night thinking to myself: my tinnitus is actually quite a lot better - just kind of faint, and not very intrusive, so it allowed me to get a really long restorative healing kind of sleep.

 

Object16, I see that you said even your own voice increased the volume? Would moving around and then lying back down do the same? As in create a very loud buzzing, as if you had just come out a very loud environment but then subsides slowly to its usual loud mode?

 

Another update! - 2 weeks ago my tinnitus got worse again - i made a loud clang!!! with a mixing bowl by accident, and my tinnitus got worse, then followed by more dental work - tinnitus from hell again. I just stuck with it, I did take too much sedation, but finally yesterday morning ... slightly better! and then this morning ... the tinnitus is much much quieter for me.

Just to recap: I have my OWN theory about how this should be treated - I am an MD and I am at the receiving end of "just go somewhere else" - so I fend for myself. I have been CONSTANTLY using the Bose headset to keep out all loud noises, and PLUS MP3 or restful rain pink white sound etc... finally this morning: results: i'm for sure getting better - i feel so happy like you would not believe.

 

Also, for sleep, for those people who want a "natural" method of sleeping and don't want drugs etc. - last night I used my wife's progesterone - it comes in 300 mg capsules, and look it up on the internet - progesterone is actually good for sleep. I just throw everything at it, and the progesterone is a "non - sedating" sedative, where it makes your brain just naturally want to sleep because "it thinks it's pregnant, and it needs to sleep so baby can grow" - that is my theory anyway. did i mention i'm and MD (lol) - pm

 

I'm on on progesterone, it is helpful for sleep. I've been on it for quite some time before the T. I have found passionflower extract to be very good for restful sleep. It is like valium but I don't get the drugged feeling. I also take something called Rhodiola Recharge which is awesome. I take it at night with the passionflower extract. I Sleep well and if I wake up I can easily fall back to sleep. It has been so helpful through this crazy crap called T. The Rhodiola helps for stress too. Thanks for your tips, keep them coming.

 

Hi, this is another 15 days of "what I do" - I have persisted with this "unorthodox" and not approved by anyone method: complete rest for the hearing plus liberal use of meds to induce lots of sleep, at the same time constant white/pink noise. So 15 days after my last post: yesterday I woke up, and the tinnitus was clearly much less. The character of the tinnitus is much easier to deal with, just a cicada like sound, not the screaming in your ear from hell that I was having to endure. Last night I actually slept for 8 hours - my imovane is down to 1/4 tablet - so that tells me definitely I'm getting better. Even though I had a good sleep, I still took more meds to sleep for another 5 hours. I wasn't sure if I would get to sleep with no imovane, but I did. Also, the character of the tinnitus again has changed, so it is more faint and cicada like in both ears, and I notice that I was able to turn down the volume slightly on my pink/noise-rain/sound speakers.

Obviously I am not cured by any means, but the tinnitus is much less, and my imovane dose requirement is less. Imovane is a dangerous drug because you get hooked on it, and need to take more, but in my case I'm taking less.
I do this, because when you go to the doctor, they tell you "we do not treat this" "go somewhere else" - but there is nowhere to go to so I have to think for myself, also I have an MD so that gives me more insight into disease process, and rehabilitation of the nervous system, etc.

So what I do, I ALWAYS wear the Bose QC15 in ANY noisy environment. Only do not wear if I am in a controlled quiet environment, like my office. When I go into the hallway, there can sometimes be noisy door slamming sound, overhead paging, etc., which IS noisy, so out of the office I wear the Bose, just as a safety measure. Always when driving, I use the Bose, and always in the supermarket I use the Bose. Working outside in my garden: no need to use Bose, but if truck with bad muffler is around, just use my fingers to block my ear canal. If someone is in my office, I ask them to speak quietly, because people are used to talking loud because of all the noise pollution we have in the environment.

You cannot believe how happy this makes my mood go to. When I had my spike 10 weeks ago due to dental work I really thought I was going to be in a pine box real soon. Now I am looking forward to continuing a long productive and prosperous career. - pm.

 

Dr. object16 -

There is a woman who visits this site who got tinnitus after receiving an epidural during child birth. The epidural needle seemed to have damaged her vagus nerve, causing her tinnitus. What's interesting is, her tinnitus temporarily disappeared when she went to the dentist for a filing. So, the nerves in the mouth can sometimes interface with auditory nerves.

Could it be a nerve in your mouth that is causing this? Did the dentist touch a nerve that is the culprit causing your tinnitus? Seems that the Lyrica is calming the problematic nerve, decreasing this flair-up.

 

No, it was nowhere near a nerve - they basically grind your tooth down to form a peg, and then glue a crown on top with glue, and that is your new tooth. The grinding process went on for about 30 minutes and it sounded really loud to me. What followed was tinnitus from hell. The lyrica is basically a very nice med that is good for: anti-convulsant, anti-chronic pain, and sedation which promotes a good sleep. I have been using lyrica liberally because my back is against the wall, I have no choice, and no doctor will treat me, so I have to figure it out on my own. My progress is quite slow, nothing over-night here, just tiny improvements, sometimes it seems like no improvement, but week by week it is getting more and more manageable. Also, at night, I notice that my pillow speaker is doing a good job of supplying white noise for me, and I can keep the dehumidifier running in the next room, which gives a little bit of background noise - at first I used to turn it off, but now I keep it running. So I think the dentist damaged the cochlea - probably not a severe amount of damage, but enough to make the tinnitus just screaming crazy loud and I have to go to emergency room of hospital looking for relief.

 

I think Lyrica is "pregabapentin". It's the "gaba" that calms the nerves, inhibiting nerve activity. Lyrica seems to be better than benzos. A benzo like clonazepam works good at first, but then its benefit tapers off.

You're doing a great job monitoring your improvement.

Reading your story, I remembered that my tinnitus started 2 years ago, about the same time that I had a crown put in. At the time, I wondered if having the crown was a causal factor. However, there is no doubt in my mind I got it from a ototoxic medication.

 

@object16, I'm glad you're improving! I'm having periodontal treatment done, so I told them I have hyperacusis to get them to use the ultrasound cleaner with plenty of rest time, like 20-30 secs on, rest, and so on, and I used earplugs to block some of it. I also made them research for ototoxicity from anesthesia. If I had told them that I had T, they would have dismiss my concern for sure. And, knowing that an ultrasound is still less than a drill, I think that I'd prefer losing one or two teeth rather than risk such level of t.

I find very interesting your approach to self treatment, as I'm coming to some conclusions myself, but based on my experience I still have my doubts about white noise... If you want, I'd be happy if you look at my post and tell me your thoughts, as I'm not a doctor myself.