Half a Year and I Think I May Go Mad

Hi. I started having Tinnitus 7 months ago & I have melted down so many times, screamed in the embryo position, smacked myself silly in hopes to rattle something in there, had Menieres tests, balance tests, an mri, chiroprictic, and even tried steroids, which put me in another dimension of insanty. I am so filled wth anxiety & have zero hope. After reading may stories here, I wonder if it is because I have been on Citalopram for several years. I do not handle the ringing well at all...to the point where my poor husband is holding me down so I don't tear the house apart from the rage of it. Has anyone been prescribed a hearing aide? If so, does it work? Thank you for allowing my rant, noone I know gets what I am experiencing. I fear for my sanity at this point. My heart goes out to you whom have had this for so long. I don't think I would have been strong enough to deal. I will take ANY advice!

 

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear your deep suffering from T. We have true empathy for you as many of us here have been where you are. You are not alone, and you can rant and ask questions any time you want. We are here to lend a listening ears. Many of us have done the battle with T (and H in my case). Some with their T faded, some with lower ringing, and most just habituate to T. The success stories are full of such example and you will notice that almost everyone struggled with anxiety, panic, depression, sleeplessness and mental as well as physical exhaustion due to the traumatic reaction to T.

Don't panic and despair. T is not an end game. It is a lot more common than we think. Millions and millions have T, many quite intrusive. Even celebrities and household names have T. Google 'celebrities with tinnitus' and you will see a long list of familiar names, like Barbara Striesand, Ronald Reagan, Peter Townsend, Eric Clapton, Bill Clinton, David Letterman, William Shatner (Star Trek Captain Kirk) etc. Here is a video clip of Letterman & Shatner talking about their T in a 1996 show. After watching it and got a big laugh from it, I also came away so surprised. Here I was almost going crazy with my T. Why? They seem ok with their version of T and live a normal life. How? I knew then I don't need to kill myself for T, knowing that people with bad T can still live a normal life. That was such a huge relief for me. Here is the video:

David Letterman with William Shatner - March,...

Here is the success story of a lady truck driver who drives 800-tonne mining trucks. She said her T is so loud it can be heard over the noisy huge trucks. She suffered terribly at first, thinking she was the only one with T, until she found out that 70% of her fellow driver colleagues also have T and yet none of them suffered like she did. She realized that her reaction to T is the problem. With that she said screw it T and she changed her reaction to T, and she got better since then. How we react to T can really dictate how intrusive T can be.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/6-months-tinnitus-still-going-strong-but-so-am-i.3226/

A few years back I was in immense suffering with ultra high pitch T and severe hyperacusis. I was in a mess with relentless anxiety and panic attack, because I had suffered from anxiety and panic disorder for decades prior to T & H. So I had no chance against T & H and it was pure hell of a nightmare for the first year. I never thought I could recover nor good life will ever return. But never say never. Today I am back to live a normal and absolutely enjoyable life. I wrote my success story where I list many helpful points and strategies. Check it out if you have the time. Perhaps it can help you too. Take good care of yourself. God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

@billie48

What is the cause of your T ? Do you have hearing loss as well ?

 

Yes, I have hearing loss in the high frequency. But since not everybody who has hearing loss develops T, I am unsure what caused my T tbh.

 

Hi @Liztintin
I have had T for about 12 months, so can't advise you too much, but know exactly how you feel.
There are many wise experienced people on here who will definitely support you through this journey.
Their advice how the brain will filter out and start to neither focus on it, nor see T as a threat has helped me lots.
In the meantime check out the success and positivity stories, they certainly show how there's light at the end of the tunnel, and helped to start me on the path to recovery. Although it takes time, try https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172 . Also try behind ear white noise generators, they are like hearing aids and have helped during the worst times. Best wishes Phil

 

Hang in there. I know exactly how you feel. During one fit of madness I considered shoving a pencil in my ear! Hopefully we both feel better soon.

 

Within time you just give in to it. You really have no other choice. Dwelling on it will only make it worse. You can do this.