Hello I'm New

Hi! I thought I would post since this all says introduce yourself. I'm Brittany and I live in Australia.
I started having ringing in my ears about a year ago but I only noticed it when it was quiet, and couldn't sleep without music but it wasn't a big deal. It has since gotten worse and in the last few weeks I haven't been able to tune it out in my right ear and it feels like I am now hearing everything through the ringing instead of over the top of it. It's so loud in the right ear I don't even know if it's in the left ear anymore!! I think the best I can describe it is like high pitched sand rubbing together.
Every since I started hearing it all the time I've become pretty stressed that it might get worse and what it means for my life since I'm only 21.
I am here because I want people to talk to about how it is affecting them and what they try to do about it. I feel like a lot of people in my personal life don't take me seriously when I say it's getting worse.

 

G'day Brittany. I'm from Sydney originally.

It's definitely difficult to get people to understand this condition. I had to explain my symptoms at length to my GP, who admitted he had no idea about tinnitus.

Your tinnitus sounds a lot like mine, in that I can hear mine over everything and often have to listen "through" it. Mine's also worse in one ear... although I've got it in both.

I'm not quite sure what your best bet is to avoid things getting worse, although avoiding really loud noise seems like a no-brainer. Try not to stress too much, if possible, and remember that there are others out there who feel like you, even if this seems like a condition no one understands.

 

Hi @nsw22
I have had T for about 18 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 shows how the brain will filter out and start to neither focus on it, nor see T as a threat. This 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 Best wishes Phil

 

Welcome to the forum. Sorry that your T has spiked recently. Do you have any idea what the possible cause is? Any major stress or new meds you took recently? There are many causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including drug reaction or side-effects, ear or Eustachian tube infection, ear drum injury, fluid build-up feeling pressured, TMJ, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma, neck muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's, barotrauma from flight, grief for the loss of love ones, untreated sleep apnea, elevated stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc If you can't find any reason for the spikes, then it is possible this is only temporary spike which T does it a lot to cause people to be anxious of the future, as you are going through now.

Try you best to stay calm and relax, as stress and anxiety can aggravate T. Do some relaxing things to unwind the body and nerves. The more positive and calm you are, the more likely the spike will settle back to base line. In the mean time, try to get some good sleep as sleep deprivation will also make T much worse. Keep masking your T even though it may be above most sounds. Mine is ultra high pitch dog whistle T. I can hear mine over the jet noise in my recent flights, and above the raging, roaring rapids of the salmon rivers I fish. Also I had severe H also initially soon after T started. So I had to do partial masking as any louder hurt my H. But any partial masking is better than none. Perhaps try the real high pitch masking sounds of heavy rain, crashing waves, waterfalls, cicadas, blue or violet noise. I even had to use shower and faucet sounds back then just to stay sane, lol. Take care. God bless.

 

Thanks so much everyone!! @Mike82 @Phil-O @billie48

I have been trying to avoid loud noises and have stopped using inner ear head phones since it started. It started not too long after I started taking Lamictal, an anti-depressant, and I am going to bring it up to my doctor both possibly seeing an ENT and trying to go off my medication.
And yeah, the partial covering of waterfall sounds helps me get to sleep but I can manage not to focus on it if I'm busy, I'm very glad that I don't have any ear pain or TMJ or anything to add on to it.
I think trying to accept the fact that I can't hear 'true' silence does not mean that I am missing out on anything will help me at least emotionally, and the more important thing is dealing with it day to day.