Hello & Help pls

Hello guys & girls,

I cannot remember the last time my head was silent and I didn't have this constant ringing in my head... however in the last few days (provoked by a conversation with my mother about my deceased father having Tinnitus and that drove him crazy eventually to take his own life) has put me into a full blown Panic Attack and non avoidance of this ringing in my ears. So I have now embarked on a search for self help and diagnosis (even though I am a text book case and when I return home from work will be getting it diagnosed once and for all) I can now hear it 24/7 louder as I am thinking about it and I don't know if the really loud spikes of it (that last momentarily) are getting worse or not. I work in the Mines so in a very loud industry, I do wear ear protection always but since this conversation with my mother the other day has me really considering a new career in case it can debilitate my current condition, I have two amazing young daughters and a very tolerant supportive partner. Pls if there is any of you out there that can calm my fears or help me with my new consciousness of Tinnitus I am all ears.... feeling very deflated and down.
Kind regards

Jade

 

Hi Jade;

First of all, know that MOST people are NOT driven to extreme actions as a consequence of their tinnitus. The majority will eventually either habituate or develop coping mechanisms such that they can lead perfectly normal lives. And I expect you will be among this majority.

To help you get through this rough patch, I recommend you have a chat with your doctor(s) about options. There are various routes that you can take to alleviate your anxiety.

Also, be sure to research your options. This site is great resource; feel free to contact me (in this thread or privately) to discuss. Take comfort in knowing you are not alone and that things will get better!

-Golly

 

Hi Jade, I too have ad this It nearly drove me to despair, antidepressants etc. I haven't worked since I had it start, but had tinnitus coucncelling a couple of weeks back and come to terms with it as much as possible, I am now stuck with panic attacks, my mum also had it for many years and tried suicide a few times, listen don't dwell on your father having it cos that's exactly what I done, it bought it all back and I started to think I couldn't live with it either but we can.I have tried every medication possible and stress makes it worse, I know exactly how you feel but be strong and fight it, easy to say but hard to do I know. stay strong

 

Piper and Jade, it seems you both have anxiety in your DNA, and the tinnitus is tapping into it. But if it weren't the tinnitus, it would be something else. The key is to treat the anxiety by any means possible. The more stable you are overall, the easier you can handle curve balls like tinnitus without getting knocked off balance. Our parents failed to keep their heads screwed on straight? That doesn't mean we're doomed to the same fate.

 

HI Jade - you sound like me a few weeks ago - I dont work in a noisy job but after a stressful year found I had a new attachment most evenings - like someone running their finger round a half full wine glass making that annoying high pitched 'tone' that then developed into a static buzz ! It sends you into a spiral of anxiety and worry - BUT - you have to get help and try try really hard to distract yourself - try to ignore it - dont test yourself - try not to listen for it ! That's so easier said than done ! But until you deal with the fear and worry and anxiety only then can you start to build on from this. Some people find strength in themselves - ~I needed anti D's and gosh it took 4 weeks but they have so helped me. Robbed from sleep it all adds to the loop you find yourself in - but PLEASE trust in all the people on this website - you can and will learn to deal with this - get help from a doctor if you need it take natural help things if your prefer - I know I needed medical help with meds and sleeping tablets BUT I got through 4 weeks of hell and now ........ Im on the way back up - a little wobbly at times but Im nearly back - sleeping better and learning new relaxing and self help skills ! I still have my annoying noise but Im in control and you can be too ! much love cher xx

 

Hello Golly,

And thank you for the offer I appreciate it very much Right now my head is quite quiet pleasantly enough, but I will most definitely be resourcing more information on T and try and not allow my anxiety to use this as its new "fear" as it just compounds the whole thing into a monster. Hope you have a good day

Jade

 

Hey Piper,

Thank you for your encouraging words & I will definitely be fighting this T along with the rest of you as for anyone on here is a fighter! Sorry to hear you haven't worked since the onset of T and I know all to well what you mean by the dreadful PA

Jade

 

Hello Robert,

I loved how you stated "Our parents failed to keep their heads screwed on straight? That doesn't mean we're doomed to the same fate." you could not have been closer to the truth, I have had anxiety for 8 years now and I don't use medication so I can deal with my new consciousness of T front on with out meds just good ol'support from ppl like yourself, thank you again for your encouraging words they have helped my day.

Jade

 

Hello Cher,

Its amazing at how some ppl are so similar with their "issues" and what triggers them and what not, I can completely relate to your comments, thank you just know that there is someone out there, that we are not alone in our journey back to normality is such a empowering feeling, have a great day and hope to talk soon

Jade

 

Actually, Jade, your original post shows how much T is affected by attitude. You were OK with your T until your mother gave you disturbing information -- then the T suddenly seemed more insidious. Well, the reverse applies too. Mitigating thoughts tend to mitigate the T. It's a paper tiger, I tell ya.

Also, are you SURE your father killed himself because of T, or did he use the T as a scapegoat for life's stressors in general? I guess we'll never know, and I wouldn't anyone speculating about my father's mindset on the internet, so you can tell me to buzz off if you want.

How did you get T, by the way?

 

Hey Rob,

You are right about the whole attitude/ mindset towards T, today for the first time in my life I have had to turn the TV up to block it out a little, hopefully its only because I'm focussing on it. I get a little panicky when I think that it will never go away that's what scares me and the thought that it might gradually get louder to the point of the ringing is all I will hear frightens me to my core

I my dad had a lot going on...... I have no hesitation that his T helped make his choice but as the crux of his decision I don't think so, well I hope not, however my mother (god love her) is very how shall I put this neurotic and a hypochondriac so I am hoping that as most of the time she is wrong lol.

About my T... yeah I don't know I know I haven't looked after my ears in the realm of night clubbing parties etc but I have been out of that scene for many many ears I honestly think its been since working in the mining industry on heavy machinery with all the external noise from the massive growling engines, 2 way & stereo oh and my Beats by Dre definitely would have contributes when I fly in and out to work (2 x every 5 days) I have my Beats in on the plane and @ the gym blaring so that has most definitely contributed.

How about yourself Rob can you tell me a little about your T experience, like when you first noticed it, why you believe you got it, what your best coping mechanism is?

Kind regards

Jade

 

You work machinery in a mine? And Piper plays bagpipes. I can't think of two worse scenarios for tinnitus. Sheesh. Anyway, I got it during a sinus infection a couple of years ago. I wasn't that unnerved by it until I reserached it and found it has a name and supposedly claims lives. Given my overall anxiety level at the time, I had trouble putting this knowledge aside. Fell into depression for the first time in my life, a bizarre experience. Got out of it via meds. My ears sound like falling crystals right now as I type this to you, but oh well. It could be worse. I could have ... um ... NO EARS AT ALL. Yeah, that's it. No place for my glasses to hang.

 

Yeah I drive the worlds largest dump trucks...... it's great however very noisy..

Like you I myself didn't think much of the ringing until my mum bought up about my dad then I googled it and then the whole panick set it... "will I really have this forever? will it get worse & then I'll go crazy?" Do you have it all the time? If I put my fingers in my ears I can hear it 24/7 & mine sounds like crickets.

 

just a noise, can"t hurt you.....just a noise, can"t hurt you.....just a noise, can't hurt you

 

Lol @ Danny.....

 

Jade,

I am sorry to hear about your tinnitus and sorry to hear about your father. Everyone has problems that they deal with, so I wouldn't rush to any judgement on those lines. But that is my own opinion.

It sounds like you were definitely OK with your tinnitus until your mother said some of that stuff. If you are a person that is prone to anxiety and worry, it is not uncommon for something like that to set it off. Even if it is about something you were unconcerned about or unaware of before. If you stay busy, and keep a positive attitude it is very likely that you will return to that mindset about your tinnitus.

I think you are a trooper for working in the mines. I worked as a core driller(well, the driller's helper on a diamond drilling rig in a mine in northeast Washington when I was 18. Between the sound and how dangerous it was in general it served as a motivation for me to get back into school and get a degree (this is me admitting that I chickened out more or less, because I was worried what the sound could do to my tinnitus). Most of the guys I knew there had tinnitus (and if they were older, some form of hearing loss) and shrugged it off like it was nothing. Although, I remember them telling me that their hearing problems originated from not using protection during work in the first place. One man I talked to one day when I was particularly worried about it told me that once he started using hearing protection his hearing had not deteriorated in 20 years. If the mining work has not made your tinnitus worse up until now, I wouldn't expect that it would going forward, assuming you wear adequate protection of course. That can be tricky around a mine work site, I know. Those places are loud as hell. Do what you can to stay busy now, and protect your hearing with every tool you have available.

 

You drive a dump truck. Post a You Tube video! Gotta see it.

 

Hey Hudson,

Hahaha no you got smart, you didn't chicken out lol!
You know I cant remember this ringing in my ears as bad as it is now... over the last 4 days I have woken up with it and gone to sleep with it...so I think this is the worst its been in my life although I have had bouts of it on and off I haven't had it like this before Do you have T Hudson (as you mentioned you got out of the industry quickly) if so how do you think you got yours and is it constant or just intermittent?

What did you study @ Uni? or College as I think you guys call it over there?

@ Robert, I don't have a youtube account but if I get time I might upload one for you , tis pretty cool though

 

How you feeling Jade, you will have up days and down days like all of us,I had a bad day yesterday as it would have been my mums birthday and I kept thinking how she suffered with this too, but I didnt really understand it till I got it,the stress yesterday sent the tinnitus sky high, we must try and fight this bloody thing, Avril

 

My father has it from working a printing press. I'm getting a hint that this is hereditary, eh?

 

Funny you mention that Rob as Piper's mum had it and both my and your fathers had it, so there is definitely a link there!

Sorry to hear you had a rotten day yesterday Piper mine is at the worst when I wake up for the first few hours and then when I "try" to go to sleep, hopoe today is better for us both xox

 

This means our children are prone to T and will be affected by how we've handled it.

 

Jade,

I got my tinnitus when I was 17. It has been constant since then, and I'm 27 now. I had it when I worked in the mine. My dilemma was this at the time: work is some crappy place as an unskilled worker where I won't make money and probably be exposed to some loud sounds of sorts anyway, or work in a slightly crappier place where I'll make a lot more. I chose to work in the mine. I don't think it affected my tinnitus, but I was really worried it would.

 

Dear Jade: I can completely relate to how you feel so panicked and overwhelmed. I have had no history of anxiety disorders. But within two weeks of my T starting, I developed panick attacks that were so severe, I became terrified to leave the house and wondered how I was going to live from minute to minute. Like you, I also work a very stressful job. I still have some issues before but nothing like before.

What helped me: I am coupling medication, obtained through a good psychiatrist and with his ongoing guidance, with cognitive behavioral therapy. I know a lot of people here shun benzos... but I am on very, very low (less than 1 mg daily) of generic Xanax for about two weeks. That has calmed to down so I am able to concentrate on learning to live with my T.

Also, as others said here: It is not true that "lots and lots" of people commit suicide because of their tinnitus and its not helpful for newbies to hear these scary messages. You are not your dad. And there could have been all kinds of other factors that drove him to take his own life (so very sorry and sad for you).

And: Do practice alternative ways to shed stress, like mindful breathing, journaling and yoga. They have helped me.

I would be interested in hearing from others who had their tinnitus trigger panic or severe anxiety.

 

@Hudson
Wow you were 17 that's crazy young to this T, sorry to hear that and to have already had it for 10 years! However your living proof that I can do this, thanks for your chat it has definitely helped me to relax a bit about my sitcho & its good to hear from someone else in my industry, just a Q though..... I am so petrified that it will get louder has yours??

Thanks mate

Jade

 

@LadyDi,

Thank you for your words of support, it is an amazing feeling knowing your not alone and there has been ppl gone before you with the same fears and problems to come out on top or ok, it really is a light at the end of the (T) tunnel. I am so pathetic when it comes to taking even a simple harmless headache medication (paracetamol) so I don't see my anxiety allowing to take a med to help me, I will try my very hardest to do it all naturally as that is my only option at this point, hope you have a great day,

Kind regards

Jade

 

I can definitely relate to how you feel, but it's a good thing that you've been pretty unaffected by it until only recently, I'm sure as your anxiety begins to pass you'll find that you won't stress as much about it. And just keep in mind that the only reason that it has become an issue now is because you are actively listening for it, it's sort of like how our nose is always in our field of vision but you never notice it until you actually think and look for it!

Out of all the things I've tried, I find that exercise and staying busy are definitely the best things for me. There is a tremendous difference in my tinnitus when I'm being healthy and active compared to when I get lazy, and I completely forget about it when I'm working or out and about with friends.

Since your working in the mines, definitely get some proper hearing protection if you don't already have some, and also make sure whatever you have or get is quality! It's also a good thing to have a pair of musician grade custom earplugs handy, they come in handy when it comes to clubs/live bands/super loud pubs/etc.

Anyways, don't stress (easier said than done I know, but still) and I hope things start to get better for you!

 

I have beenm told its genetic, that worries me that one of my kids will get it, lets all hope for a cure.