Hi, Just Joined

[LetyO]

Hi, my name is Letty and am the mother of 2 young girls. I am 51 years old. I have had really bad tinnitus since 12/2014. I was in treatment for depression in Los Angeles when it started. I think I have had a mild form for a while but really didn't notice it. I was diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears at the House Clinic in Los Angeles. The doctors in LA changed my medications while there. After one week I remember hearing the noise. It seemed to be on the right side of my head and very loud. I asked the doctors to take me off the medications but they refused. I believe it was the seroquel. I needed it desperately to sleep and was not given any alternatives. I finally talked my psychiatrist at home into changing it to trazadone. I cannot sleep without it. I have had a problem with insomnia for the past 5 years. I have been going to acupuncture and herbal remedies. I sometimes have better days but lately it seems to have worsened. Right now it is screaming in my head. I joined this forum with the hopes of finding about new research or remedies. I am considering rTMS but the cost is an issue. I found a doctor closer to where I live who uses rTMS to treat depression and is considering trying it to treat my T. I am sometimes so desperate that I think of suicide but I realize it is not an option. I could not do that to my family. I am just looking to get some relief. Thank you.

 

[preslys]

Hi, my name is Letty and am the mother of 2 young girls. I am 51 years old. I have had really bad tinnitus since 12/2014. I was in treatment for depression in Los Angeles when it started. I think I have had a mild form for a while but really didn't notice it. I was diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears at the House Clinic in Los Angeles. The doctors in LA changed my medications while there. After one week I remember hearing the noise. It seemed to be on the right side of my head and very loud. I asked the doctors to take me off the medications but they refused. I believe it was the seroquel. I needed it desperately to sleep and was not given any alternatives. I finally talked my psychiatrist at home into changing it to trazadone. I cannot sleep without it. I have had a problem with insomnia for the past 5 years. I have been going to acupuncture and herbal remedies. I sometimes have better days but lately it seems to have worsened. Right now it is screaming in my head. I joined this forum with the hopes of finding about new research or remedies. I am considering rTMS but the cost is an issue. I found a doctor closer to where I live who uses rTMS to treat depression and is considering trying it to treat my T. I am sometimes so desperate that I think of suicide but I realize it is not an option. I could not do that to my family. I am just looking to get some relief. Thank you.

try trobalt for short period may be you will find relief

 

[LetyO]

I have read about Trobalt but from what I have read response is achieved at higher doses (400mg TID). I am worried about the side effects. What is the current recommended dosing schedule? I am really scared of trying new meds since I think that it is what induced my T (or made it worse). I sometimes take hydroxizine when it gets really bad for anxiety.

 

[LetyO]

I forgot to mention that I had been placed on seroquel during a severe depressive episode several years ago. I developed severe T after just two days. I discontinued the med and it took about one week for it to go away (not completely though). I didn't remember this while in LA for treatment but felt that this had to be the cause. I am better today but sometimes lapse into depression when it gets worse or I start to lose hope. My children have been wonderful and understand when mom is having a bad day. Any input would be appreciated. Has anyone had experience with rTMS? Do repeated MRI's have the same effect? I am looking into Trobalt but would like to hear about recent experience with this med. Has anyone used hydroxizine to treat T? Sometimes it will decrease in volume several hours after I take it.

 

[billie48]

Sorry to hear your suffering. But Trobalt is not intended for tinnitus. It is a drug for epileptic and may have serious side effect. Only use it as a last resort. There are members who have used it and some find relief. @Danny Boy is probably someone who can advice you more on that. Autifony and AM101 are being tested now for T. We have a success story of Autifony here on TT by a member who has her T reduced by 75% after 4 weeks of trial. So there is hope on the horizon. Here is the story:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/i-was-a-guinea-pig-in-the-autifony-quiet-1-study-great-results.9743/

Besides the medical side of T treatment, there is also the mental side of the suffering. You have our empathy as most of us have been where you are. We understand the tough struggle when tinnitus is new, the mad ringing, the stress, the ups and downs, the fear for the uncertain future, anxiety, panic, depression, sleeplessness etc. etc. What you are going through is quite normal for new or relatively new sufferers. So don't stress out. You are not alone.

A few years back I went through 'hell' with my ultra high pitch dog whistle T which was soon followed by severe hyperacusis. H turned all normal sounds glassy and piercingly hurtful to the ears. It was a super tough time but I manage to survive and overcome T & H. Like many others, I wrote my success story and mention some important points and strategies. For brevity, if you are interested to read how I turn around my life, here is the link:

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

I am not alone in getting better over time. Read as many success stories as you can and you will be comforted that people do get better over time. TIME is a very important factor of success and if you couple it with some successful strategies, the recovery to habituation will even be faster. So be patient and be informed about T as much as possible by reading up on people's experiences and insights. Don't panic and don't despair. Good life can still be back and you can look forward to all the good times with your girls. Believe it and have hope in a bright future ahead. Take good care & God bless you recovery. If you need masking, you can use the masking sounds on this TT thread. It also comes with great tips for new sufferers.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

 

[here2help]

@LetyO, tinnitus is an infrequent side effect of Seroquel. By infrequent, I mean that only between 1/100 to 1/1000 patients report tinnitus as a side effect of taking the drug. I wouldn't rule it out as the cause of your tinnitus, but in my opinion it is unlikely.

I strongly suggest you never take trobalt given your challenges with depression. Not only are confusion and anxiety included in the list of side effects for this medicine, which is intended to treat epilepsy not tinnitus, but far more serious side effects of trobalt can include retinal abnormalities, vision loss, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior.

Hydroxyzine may help with tinnitus-related anxiety, but there are more effective treatment approaches that don't involve taking medication.

One powerful approach that some tinnitus sufferers find very effective is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a type of psychotherapy that when applied to managing tinnitus can be very helpful.

As @billie48 wrote, he is far from alone in getting better over time. In fact, most people with tinnitus get much better over time and there is no reason to think you won't be one of them.

here2help

 

[LetyO]

Thank you here2help. When the T is loud I become desperate and am willing to try anything. Unfortunately I am always that 0.01% that suffers the rare side effects of almost all medications I have been placed on. I have been diagnosed as being Bipolar II. The only manic episode I've had has been while on Pristique to manage my depression. I have suffered from depression since I was 14 but not placed on medication until I was in my mid-forties. I have always been able to manage it (so I thought) on my own. I have recently weaned myself off almost all medications. Only taking trazadone 50 mg to sleep but planning on reducing that further. I Still go to therapy and have also taken DBT. I have problems concentrating/focusing especially when it is loud. It is a combination of a high pitched tone and hissing/buzzing. Days it is so loud that nothing can mask it. I pray that it gets better but scared that mentally I am not strong enough if this continues as it has been. I am afraid I will reach my breaking point. I am still not at that place of acceptance. I don't know if I ever will be.

 

[Mad maggot]

I'm forty eight this month and homeschool my two girls. I had them late and was told I'd never have kids. I often wonder if many of my symptoms are hormone related.
It sounds like many of yours could be menopause type problems. I hope you find some help to sleep better soon and I'm sure that would help everything. Some people find magnesium helps.

 

[Joel Machado]

Hi , my name is Joel and I know exactly how you feel ,some years back I was vaccinated with a flu jab and 2 weeks later my life was changed forever ,I had a bad reaction to the vaccine a couple of days after I had a mild form of flu that strait after turned in to a ear infection , 2 weeks later the infection got better but left me with tinnitus ,the most high pitch you can imagine on my left ear 24/7 ,my life has never been the same again,my earring was very good and I used it to the best of my ability ,I love to sit on a river bed and enjoy the melody of nature ,the sounds of the oceans the birds sing ,now my earring warps my censes and this loud beep engolfs my reality with a terrible distortion . I learned to surpress it and distract my mind from this overwhelming presence that haunt my life, I know is there I can ear it ,even in my dreams but life goes on we are a species that adapts to any inviroment and circumstances ,I send my heart to you for in this misfortune we find relif with those who anderstand and know the thorns way by experience . I wish you well and you may find a way ,with faith and science and Love above all ...My best wishes . To: lety0

 

[billie48]

. I pray that it gets better but scared that mentally I am not strong enough if this continues as it has been. I am afraid I will reach my breaking point. I am still not at that place of acceptance. I don't know if I ever will be.

I have true empathy for how you feel. It was like a mirror image of my feeling and probably for most people who have very loud T too. It is quite normal for people who have gone through so much trauma with their loud T. If you read enough success stories, you will see that this is quite common reaction.

With your T still relatively new the brain is still traumatized by T and its alien sensation. The fear and anxiety keep the limbic nerve hyperactive, and things look much worse than they are. Don't panic. At the early stage of T a new sufferer will usually be very scared and worry about the future. In CBT they call this 'Catastrophic Thinking', a cognitive distortion. Google it and you will know how it can affect a sufferer of such thinking. I made the same mistake to project a catastrophic future at the worst suffering. I paid dearly in suffering. In reality, T is undesirable but livable, even long termed. But at the new stage, a sufferer usually falls trap into thinking life with T is not acceptable nor livable, therefore giving rise to so much anxiety and stress. This is quite normal reaction for new sufferers. But that will change gradually over time and you will be less stressed about T. You are now functioning with the limbic nervous system which functions in fight or flight mode, and everything about T feels so much worse than it is. Over time when you are more positive and relax, you normal parasympathetic nervous system will return and things will be easier to handle.

If you read the success stories, you will find most people take some time to get better. If they have a good positive attitude as well as some effective strategies or treatments, they will recover even faster. So don't panic. Give it time. Learn from others what work for them and apply what you learn. Things will definitely get better. Yes, definitely we can have a good life again even after T. It may not be reversible but T is definitely livable. Your perception about T will likely change over time like most of the recovered member do. I find this true with my own experience. A few years back I suffered and feared my ultra high pitch T (and severe hyperacusis too) and I was in a mess. I thought no way in hell I can deal with this ringing for life. But now I live a normal, productive and absolutely enjoyable life. I don't give a dime about T, the same sound used to floor me. No longer!!!. My body is hardened to this ringing and its tyranny over me is truly over. So don't despair and don't lose hope. Stay positive, patient and hopeful. Try to apply the good insights you read about and slowly you will find improvement. Give it time. Take care & God bless.

 

[Joel Machado]