Hi My Name Is Myles — Tinnitus Started After a Night Out in a Very Loud Bar

I have been reading the posts on here for a few weeks now. Some of the stories have made my heart sink, I am struggling to believe that some of these conditions can exist to a level where I am sure it would get the better of me. I was advised to stay away from these forums and it's clear why someone would give this advice, however I find myself drawn to your stories and I must admit some things I have found some things helpful.

Some of the stories have sent me have sent me into a very dark place, my hands are trembling as I write this and it is clear that it is a personal and unique journey for everyone.

I am a month in now and I have hit a point beyond desperation and I know that my sob story is not as bad as some, I just need some advice and maybe some sense made of this horrifying experience. I also feel these stories can help others relate.

My tinnitus started one morning I woke up from a night out in a very loud bar. Just in the left ear, it felt blocked and had a faint ring. I didn't think much of it and went to work for the next few days thinking it would go away.

After a few days I started to panic and went online and discovered that it might be tinnitus.
I went and saw an ENT the next day. After examination he noticed I had a lot of wax in both ears and inflammation in my left. He manually removed the wax and gave me some drops for the inflammation (Sofradex). I took the drops for a week and monitored the ringing it seemed to change from a ringing to a brown noise.

After around a week I noticed a very faint morse code ringing coming from the right ear. I saw the ENT the following week after the first and he removed more wax and did a sound test to which he discovered I had small high frequency loss in my right ear. He also said my right ear was very inflamed and told me to use the drops for the right ear as well. He told it would probably go away and it seems from what I have read that's what they tell most people.
The following day the ringing in my left ear seemed to have disappeared but the right ear morse code started getting louder. Two weeks later the right ear has developed a few sounds, the morse code is still there while each day a second tone changed from a hiss to ring, both sounds firing at once.

I also get sharp pains in each ear sometimes. The left ear has been all good for almost two weeks I can sometimes hear a faint ring when i press my thumb to it.

Over the course of the month I started out hopeful and almost convinced that it would go away. I took time off work, I worked in a very busy, very stressful restaurant in the city as chef. I spent a few days walking around the streets I found the busy traffic masked the noise. Also eating well and taking anti-inflammatory supplement.

I'm a very anxious person by nature and as time went on I started getting worse and losing hope especially with the introduction to new sounds. I won't bore you with anymore of the emotions that led me to where I am now. I'm a 30 year old man, I have quit my job and am moving in with my dad.

I'm an anxious guy but have never considered myself to be a coward. I cried the other night for the first time since I was a small child. I am at a complete mental block and feel very scared for my future. What is my future? Am I left with nothing but to walk aimlessly around the street all day. I since discovered this in not the best idea because of the loud traffic. I cant work as a chef anymore, most workplaces are very loud. I'm terrified this condition will get worse to the point I simply couldn't go on.

I found some relief in valium but I have since learnt they can worsen the condition. Does anyone know a safe alternative to valium?

The brass tax questions I want to ask is how do I pull myself out of this very dark hole which I am sure many of you have done in the past? And what precautions can i take to prevent it getting worse?

Thanks for your time, Myles.

 

Hey man, I'm also quite new here so maybe my advice is not as impactful as someone with longer experience. But I think that if you are new to it, and you have already spent some weeks reading over the stories here then I would suggest to maybe avoid some aspects of this website.

Some of the posts here are extremely depressing and will only make you feel worse, it made me feel terrible during my first week. I would try and avoid some of these forums, or instead just focus on some of the success stories until you can get your head around it.

If you are worried about loud noises, then like everyone else I would suggest getting a good pair of custom earplugs made. For around $200-$300 you can get really discrete plugs that just turn all the noise down without having that muffled effect you get when you use foam earplugs.

Take it one day at a time and try and stay busy.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah its tough, its so confusing mostly. Id never heard of tinnitus before it happened to me so i find myself drawn in to these stories like a moth to a flame.
Sounds like your coping well thats good to hear. I guess your lucky enough to take it as warning of sorts.
What things have you done to help cope so far?

cheers man

 

Hi Myles,

I'm also very anxious (have OCD), and i have gone through all the emotions you have mentioned. I, too, have a complete mental block. People have given me lots of advice on this site, but I just don't know how to start to put it into action. My new reality is very hard to accept. Admittedly, I have thought often about whether it is worth carrying on.

I wouldn't keep pressing your good ear with your thumb. Leave well alone.

I'm new to the forum, too, and it makes for depressing reading (including my own posts). It's difficult to not want to hear how other people have dealt with things though.

It seems that for anxious people like us find it very hard to accept things; It certainly is for me. Maybe some for of counselling would be good? I'm saying this to you, but I haven't even got some for myself yet. I just keep wanting to go back in time, but that isn't going to happen unfortunately.

 

All to gain.

Like I said I had never heard of tinnitus until it turned my life upside down a few weeks ago.
I just finished up reading a report about a lot of veterans rated it as the number two disability.
Could you have ever imagined such a nightmare could exist?
Can I ask, have you found relief from any safe drugs?
Are you still working? How have you managed to cope being so prone to anxiety as you said?

 

Yeah, the US pay out more on disability for those with tinnitus than any other form of disability among the military.

For me this is nightmare number one, because it simply does not go away and there is no cure.

Medication is what brought on my tinnitus, which makes me very wary of drugs.

Nope, I haven't worked in about 5 months, except for one day.

I'm not coping really, and i'm definitely not functioning. People say in need to learn to be positive, but for me that is hard. Everything was going great before this. Now life has completely changed. Amazing how quickly such a thing can happen. Life was fun, but now it isn't.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but i'm just being honest.

I had heard of tinnitus before I got it and thought it sounded awful. It's much worse in reality, I feel. I suppose it depends on how bad you have it (or how bad you feel you have it).

Do you have children? I do. This makes things much harder I think.

We need to find a way to live with this, we have no choice really.

 

I not too sure what that way is yet. As for the crippling anxiety and depression, I've been here before. I know that it takes a fair amount of human spirit. Healthy eating and exercise is your first base. I used to really on music from my headphones to help give me a push with these things haha.
I know what you mean, a few weeks ago I was very happy. I think thats probably the hardest thing to swallow. Things may never be the same and we have to adapt.Im sure your kids will be a driving force for that will to adapt.
Can I ask what you did for work? Im definitely going to have to do something different not sure what that will be just yet.

 

I worked for myself at home.

But being at home all day with tinnitus may prove difficult and may make me even more isolated from society.

 

Time tends to do that on its own. It may be useful to do a hearing test and follow the diagnosis flowchart at https://www.tinnitusresearch.net/index.php/for-clinicians/diagnostic-flowchart even though there seems to be a strong causality between your loud noise exposure and onset.

Avoid loud noises.

No drug is completely safe, unfortunately, even "natural remedies". What does Valium do to help you?

 

Hey. So at the beginning, I played around with masking sounds like waterfalls or crickets/cicada youtube videos and they were a good distraction for a few days but I kind of got sick of them.

But for the last 4-5 weeks I've completely ignored it just by staying extremely busy. I currently teach at a school so from the time I leave in the morning until the time I get home I don't even notice the ringing and I think that has helped me the most because I often go hours without even thinking about it or hearing it. But this only works for me because mine is quite faint.

I don't know how bad your tinnitus is or to what level it affects you, but if you can't hear it outdoors, then start by going for walks or just getting out of the house. The more time you spend indoors obsessing over it then the worse it will get.

 

This is a great strategy indeed for faint tinnitus.

 

Man, I am sorry for you. That's not a good job to do with hearing issues, as some of the loudest sounds around come from the kitchen, dishes clanking, pots and pans, frying stuff.

For me it is hard to cook. I stopped frying stuff in a pan for years, and resorting to the oven to cook fish for instance. When I do fry, I just leave a steak in a pan and leave the room, and come back to turn it around, using earplugs plus earmuffs, the sound of frying on oil is just loud, let alone putting food ítems that are not totally dry to fry on oil.

I would try to get a total rest for a few months and this could pay off in the future if you improve or your T disappears. Since it is recent, there is a good chance for you. Do not try to keep going if you are feeling so bad, it can only be for the worst. Take a good amount of time, maybe a year off, go somewhere relaxing, spend the money to be quiet in a place you also find relaxing and that is quiet, far from traffic and city noises. You will feel better!

 

Pay attention to the remarks from people that have had this for years. They live normal lives.

Best quote I read was that your happiness may have been a 9 before, and feels like a 0 now, but it will be a 6-7 again, even with tinnitus.

I’m 6 months into this nightmare now, and I’m finally feeling some happiness again. I have ear plugs on my key chain for bars and airplanes. But I feel like I don’t need them as much anymore.

The key to me was controlling my depression and daily stress in life. Addressing how my life was screwed up and making changes.

 

Has the ringing subsided at all?

 

Prednisone immediately