Hi... Need Support

Hello, I'm new to the site and really need some support. This horrible disease has robbed me of another day. I have not been able to relax in years. I have chronic anxiety. I can't sleep or even enjoy the holiday. Ive been ringing for 5 years and have tried all I know to do. Seems no one cares or understands. I'm at my whits end! I don't want to keep going.

 

What happened to you? What tests did you do and what were the outcomes? What did you try?

 

I'm sorry Lisa 1706, I do understand the frustration. I've only had this for a month now. However, mine is only in one ear, my right ear. It feels like it robbed me of my peace of mind, and feeling stable emotionally. But there are days when it's not there..
Some things that have helped me--
Turning on my small fan at night, to help drown out the noise. I just started taking Gingko Biloba. Surprisingly, it stopped the ringing the other day, for 2 whole days!! Yaaay.
There is hope. Never give up! The power of prayer will get you thru. Keep believing... Feel better.

 

Thank you Sandy63. I'm sorry you are dealing with this too. Im glad the ginko helped you! I tried it years ago and it didnt work for me. I dont know how long I took it. Maybe I'll try again. I have two white noise machines on right now. Thanks for your kind words.

 

Hi Lisa,

Welcome aboard!

Sorry to learn that you have not yet habituated as that is the key to living with the ringing. Based on what you wrote, it seems you are still trying to fight tinnitus head-on and that is a big mistake. You just need to unclench your fists and let it win. By letting it win, your body is telling it "eh, so what" and gradually, the threat perceived by your nervous system from the ringing will abate. Good luck!

 

Thanks MikeL1972. Some days I can ignore but other days its just an intruder in my head and I want to scream. I think you are right though. Its better to accept the ringing or it will drive you insane. Hope you have a quiet night.

 

Hi Lisa.

Hang in there hun. I also have this nasty business in both ears that rings 24/7/365. Two high pitched steam whistles and a slight different frequency in each ear. This all started for me after an emergency kidney surgery. You see I only have 1 kidney (L) and it was totally blocked with stones. I was slowly getting very sick and none of my doctor or hospital visits found this issue until I was really blocked up. Finally one day I had to be rushed into the hospital and they did a ton of tests and found my kidney issue. What happened during surgery and the drugs they gave me ultimately robbed me of my hearing and gave me this lovely Tinnitus in both ears. I was just sent home to recover after spending 1 night in hospital, and when I woke up the next morning it felt like I had a serious ear wax problem. I tried cleaning my ears and got nothing. Then I freaked. Saw my doctor the next morning and he confirmed my ears were clean. So this began my struggles with hearing loss and Tinnitus. Talk about a total flip in my life. Been a hell of a battle for the last 4 plus years but I have finally just accepted all of this and am now beginning to enjoy my life once again. I tried everything, had all the tests etc and found no relief. I can't even mask being deaf! Was on many various meds in the beginning but got tired of the merry-go-round with medications and treatments. Sooner or later you just have to make friends with this nonsense and start over a new and different lifestyle.

So please keep trying to hold up and be strong Lisa. We all know what you are going thru. We are also always here for you anytime you need a shoulder. Anyone who has never experienced this will never fully comprehend what it does to us. So we have to stick together and help one another from time to time to get back on track.

Stay well, sleep well, and try never to stress much. Stress is the killer with tinnitus.

Much Love,

Mike

 

GregCA, this started after a very stressful time in my life. Loss of a loved one and a job within a month. That was in 2011. I have tried gingko biloba, lipoflavanoids, prescription strength steroid nasal spray, discontinuing my blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds for a time, cut back on caffeine, alcohol, been to two ENTs and two primary care doctors. They just looked in my ears and basically said they "didn't see anything." Tried a tnnitis masker which helped some but it was cost prohibitive and after a week trial the noise of the masker started to bother me. It's basically trading one noise for another. Ive had hearing tests and they found only minimal hearing loss. Seems the doctors just dont know what to do and show little interest finding the cause. So I sleep with two white noise machines. One in bed with me! Sometimes I'll use headphones. I bought some noise cancelling headphones due to a noisy neighbor. I also have sensitivity to noise. People crunching on chips drives me up a wall! Some days I can ignore it but some days seems like the volume has been turned is waay up. I feel like if I can't learn to live with this, the anxiety will get the better of me. I was taking klonipin for anxiety due to T for about a year and recently stopped. It just made me sleep. I can barely focus at work. Thank you everyone for listening and for your support.

 

Mike , thank you for the kind words. It means a lot that people would take the time to respond. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I am glad to hear you are beginning to enjoy your life again. That gives me hope. I guess I'll try and get on with it today.

 

The key is letting go. I was like you for a while and then at some point i stopped being so obsessed with it and it become much less prominent in my mind.

 

Lisa, I'm going on 7 years. Started in 1 ear then went to both. Loud and high. Some days I hardly notice it, and others it's pretty much all I notice. Habitation is important, but, without white noise to sleep and white noise ear buds during tough days I wouldn't have made it. Alternatively, music you like. Gratefully, though sadly, over time it just becomes part of you. Rather than panicking I just become annoyed by it.

 

Hope your tinnitus settles down Lisa.
Keep the white noise set below your tinnitus or at mixing point and not louder than your tinnitus.
Your brain will work hard to pick up the quieter white noise and push your tinnitus to the back ground over time.
Stay strong and keep posting for support
....lots of love glynis

 

5 years fight with this. Woow. I fight until now, and so tired. I understand you but I think the key is accept it. I know it's hard accept it for life. but I accept it at least for now. I hope you will be better soon and can habituate to it.

 

My doctor suggested an MRI but I'm thinking that will just result in another bill with no help for the T. Its back to work tomorrow so I'm hoping that will be a distraction. I'm trying to just ignore it but it seems impossible! I just want to relax. I wish I knew makes it seem worse on some days.

 

The MRI is often used to rule out cancerous causes (such as acoustic neuroma aka vestibular schwannoma). If you don't have a root cause that is plausible, it seems like a reasonable test to conduct, even if there is a high chance that it will be negative.

 

The whole key to managing this condition optimally is to distract yourself from it. Back in March 2016 when I went to the ENT, he said some of his patients completely forget about it, until he asks them how loud their tinnitus is!

 

...to which they answer "not very loud", because you know, they can completely forget about it.