Hell

[RobertS]

Hi everyone,
I have tinnitus for 6 days now. And it has been the worst days of my life.

I'm completely deaf in my right ear from birth but my left ear was just fine until a few weeks ago.
At first I started hearing distorted and muffled sounds so I figured this is just some ear wax building up and I booked an appointment to the doctor to get that fixed.
However, after the doctor cleared up both my ears, I felt like something is still not right and sound is still distorted.
The doctor sent me to a hearing test and that's when I discovered I have lost my hearing in the upper frequencies. I really have no idea how that could happen... I'm still in my 30s and I always tried to protect my left ear when I went to loud places.

Now it makes me feel sad when I listen to the same music I used to love because it sounds distorted or out of tune. Maybe it will just take some time for my brain to adjust to the missing frequencies ... I don't know.
But that was not the worst part as you can probably guess.
6 days ago I woke up at 4:30 AM with very load and high pitched tinnitus that was driving me mad.
I was unable to go back to sleep and every minute of sleep is a struggle ever since.
I've had very little sleep in the days since and even if I'm completely exhausted and start to doze off, I get re-awakened by that awful T.

It is a constant distraction and it makes it difficult to concentrate at work or when I try to study.
The only time I get a relief is in the shower. And I've started taking longer and longer showers to try to escape.
I started to obsessively search every bit of information on tinnitus and found that I'm not alone in this fight.
But I was still feeling completely gutted and horrified by the thought of never getting rid of the this.

Reading through the forum here gave me some hope and today I decided to follow some of the advices I found and start exercising. I went out for jog and when I returned I did feel somewhat better.

I'm completely drained by this struggle and I really hope that I could get some sleep tonight.

 

[Sebastians]

Hey Robert, it's gonna take some time, but the spikes at night will subside. I had these insane awakening responses at night in the beginning because my brain was on constant high alert. You should really try to keep busy and avoid all stress triggers as much as possible, as hard as it is at the moment.
There's not much medical options to explore i'm afraid so you should work with what you have: diet, exercise, stress management, sleep hygene etc.
Some people find that melatonine helps them sleep. Maybe try and explore that for the early stages.

 

[ofaisalo]

sorry to hear that
well you should know first what cause the tinnitus
did you have cold or flu lately ?
do a normal swallow or yawn ... do you hear a a sound in your ear when you do that or not ?
sorry for my bad English

 

[Marlino]

Sorry to hear you are suffering.
In the beginning its really like hell. I had the nightly spikes as well and also the T was very reactive and unmaskable. But somehow recently it got better.
My advice: begin with all treatment options immediately no matter how unlikely the benefit is. If you don't do it, maybe later you will regret it and wonder of you missed an opportunity. This thought alone is poisonous. If you can get infusion, get it. Check TMJ, get supplements (e.g. vinpocetine) and eat it...If you are sleep deprived you can ask for remeron, even if it makes you drowsy. This are most probably worst days of your life. So everything is allowed. Better days will come!

 

[RobertS]

Thanks guys.
It means a lot to have a place to talk about this with people who understand what I'm going through right now.

I don't know what caused it exactly. I didn't have the flu or a cold lately.
I do hear it in my ear when I swallow or yawn but I think I heard the same sounds even before the T.

I already booked appointments with different doctors to see what they have to say. Maybe I need a hearing aid though I'm not sure if the loss of hearing in the upper frequencies can be corrected with hearing aid.

I realize that it's going to be a long struggle and I'm willing to try whatever it takes to survive this.

 

[RobertS]

The first doctor I went to said there is nothing to do but I went to see a specialist today.
He said that because the hearing loss is very recent then there is a chace that steroids treatment might help recover some of the hearing and might even reduce the tinnitus symptoms.

I'm starting the treatment today.
I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing but even the slightest of improvements will be a huge relief..

 

[william adams]

We have all been there with the anxiety not being able to get a good nights sleep and the constant listening for the Noise in your head or ears. What helped me most in the beggining was ambien to get some sleep and a low dose of xanax morning afternoon and evening. I went to the healthclub almost dailey and kept sound on in the background all of the time. At night I played nature sounds birds chirping that helped immensely. Maybe try some 5 mg time release melatonin which is natural. In the early stages of this condition just take anything to get some relief. Also youtube Julian Graham Hill and Kevin Hogan to get some positive information.

 

[RobertS]

I woke up at 4:45 tonight after i was finally able to fall asleep somewhere around 1 AM.
I listened to crickets on my phone which seemed to have helped.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll check them out.
I'll try anything for a good night's sleep.

 

[RobertS]

Hi guys,
Here's a quick update on my status:
The steroids treatment seems to be having a positive effect!!
The latest hearing test I took this morning showed an improvement (hearing loss now starts at above 8000 instead of above 4000 when I started the treatment).

The tinnitus is still there but the doctors are giving me whatever is needed to help me sleep.
I'm hoping the tinnitus will decrease its volume eventually while my hearing recovers.

 

[NativeTexan]

That's great news! I wasn't given that option and I visited two audiologists. I have noticed that if I watch my diet, cut down on the caffeine, salt, get plenty of sleep and try and not think about it too much - that all helps. But there are days that it is HELL! I do use my noise app at night if needed. But I have learned to calm myself down at night to get back to sleep. Sometimes just getting up and moving around - getting a drink of water helps. I have noticed that if I'm upset or my stress level starts to climb - there goes the tinnitus! So I try to stay calm and think happy thoughts. Good luck Robert!!!!

 

[RobertS]

update #2
I'm almost done with the steroids treatment.
My hearing has not made a complete recovery but it is enough that I can enjoy music again without it being muffled or distorted!

As for my tinnitus - it's still there but it has diminished a little to level which I can tolerate during the day and it's a huge improvement when I compare my state to when it all started.

The nights are still tough but I am to get enough sleep on most nights and I use masking to fall asleep.

Maybe with time I will habituate and it will get easier...

 

[glynis]

Great to hear you are doing better Roberts....long may it continue and great to hear your hearing is improving...lots of love glynis

 

[LadyDi]

Hang in there, @RobertS, you are doing all the right things. And am glad you received prompt and sympathetic medical attention. You are gonna be OK!