How to Cope? — Loud Tinnitus & Not Sure How Much More I Can Take

ENTs I have seen here are pretty useless when it comes to tinnitus. They all told me you got tinnitus, so just live with it. There is no cure. Come back 6 months later and we will do follow up. And the follow up came, we just talk for 5 mins and I was told to leave.

Many doctors here probably have seen hundreds of tinnitus patients with tinnitus. Many of them could be suffering from just mild tinnitus so probably their standard response is to live with it, which is true for mild sufferers...But they don't seem to be able to distinguish between those who suffer from mild tinnitus and those who suffer from loud, debilitating, suicidal tinnitus. Once we complained about it, they don't seem to care because they assume that everyone's tinnitus is mild...

A little bit of compassion or empathy should be at least attempted by these medical professional. My tinnitus has gone down quite a bit since my onset a year and a half ago. And I am not talking about habituation, I am talking about real volume reduction that I can certainly feel. So instead of telling me there is no cure, live with it, how come they can't say that some sufferers could potentially see their tinnitus fade? That would have been so much better of an answer than "there is no cure", IMO.

 

Pete
I can tell you that a vast majority of acoustic trauma tinnitus & hyperacusis sorts itself out within 24 months. 13 years ago I had the worst acoustic trauma tinnitus imaginable. It was screaming piercing loud with pain and fullness. It faded to ZERO in just under 24 months.

I went to an outdoor concert 2 1/2 years ago and got another BAD case of tinnitus & hyperacusis. It has been about 32 months now and it has faded 90-95%.

IMO you need to give it lots of time, ears DO heal, but very slowly. I suspect you will see a lot of improvement in the next 6-12 months. I would not be at all surprised if it fades completely in about 2 years.

Protect your ears from now on.
You can do this.

 

That would be a dream or miracle right now.

Do you have hearing loss? Is there any difference between people who have fading if there is any hearing loss?

 

I have no hearing loss from these traumas.

 

I got steroids from an ENT when I asked when I first got tinnitus.

 

Just a quick update for you @PeteJ, since we're both at a similar number of weeks. I have been making efforts to reduce my reaction to tinnitus stress with meditation, sound therapy, diet, supplements and sleep. The volume of the tinnitus has not decreased but my reaction to it has much improved. Helpful (I hope):

Sam Harris's Waking Up meditation app (Note: Sam also suffers from tinnitus.)
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/waking-up-guided-meditation/id1307736395?mt=8

White noise. A sound machine at night, keep the lights out, put on music.
https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Relaxing-Soothing-Charging-Auto-Off/dp/B00A2JBMRE

My smoothie recipe for the mornings: Banana, blueberries, strawberries, Vit D, Vit E, Fish Oil, Lipo Flavonoid, and Venpocetine. This isn't a magic elixir but does make me feel better physiologically. Bananas are cheap and very healthy (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/foods/bananas#bottom-line). I snack with these and follow a low calorie, cave man diet, avoid eating big meals after 8 PM and get to bed early.

For what it's worth last night instead of the usual popcorn I had a banana snack, went to bed at 10 and had a very quiet wake up. Hope this helps you and good luck. You are not alone!!

 

I have some of those. I eat bananas, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries sometimes, applesauce, mackerel, sardines and salads here and there.

Vitamins include C, E, Zinc, B12, Magnesium and NAC. I also have St. John's Wart but I don't know whether to take that regularly.

Some of the vitamins I try to get from food.

The tinnitus is loud but it's the high pitch especially that's bad. Unless it reduces in volume, I don't think I can cope with it for long.

 

I don't know how, though. I wish someone could help me commit suicide.

I went for a walk. I wanted to get out as I was in for most of the day except for brief walks with the dog.

It wasn't that windy but a bit breezy. Can that do damage?

My tinnitus is so high pitched and loud that I don't want to go on anymore. I don't know if there is a building tall enough near me that I would trust.

I can't take this volume. I am ready to die. I just don't know how. . I am scared but I can't live like this. I will miss my dog. . I wish I could force my brother to look after her like I was - I am not giving her the care I used to before tinnitus, anyway.

I need to end this torture.

 

@PeteJ You need to be institutionalized. Have you tried that?

There are anti-anxiety drugs (Xanax) that will help along with an anti-depression (Prozac), and Ambien to sleep.

You need to be institutionalized now. You need help getting through this. It doesn't happen overnight.

Seek help. Ask a family member to take you to a hospital. Tell them exactly what is going on the same way as you write your posts. Hopefully, like I, you get an understanding doctor.

 

I need the tinnitus volume to reduce! That's what I need!!!! Else, I just need a method.

 

That is how these meds work. They will help get you through. Have you tried medication? I was reluctant at first but I was where you are!

 

You have only had tinnitus since February 2019. It may get better over time as many members on Tinnitus Talk have reported improvement within 2 years, just make sure not to over-expose yourself to noise again. I am going through the same thing as you with miserable piercing tinnitus except I had mine for longer (since December 2018). There is no supplement that works, I tried 2 supplements designed for tinnitus relief: Lipoflavonoid and Ring Relief by TRP. Neither of these supplements help at all. My best advice which is the same advice I am clinging to is to wait for Lenire by Neuromod since this is the most proven treatment that will soon be released. You only have 1 life so as bad as the suffering is it is worth it to wait for this treatment which is proven to work based on extensive clinical trials.

 

I am alone here. No way to reduce the volume. I hate that I can't off myself. So useless. Can't even end my suffering.

 

Many members here gave you great advice and you have much reason to be hopeful that your tinnitus will improve within 2 years time. Try getting sleeping pills from a psychiatrist to knock you out so you can sleep in the meantime. There are other people on this forum that have suffered for over 20 years with tinnitus and they are hopeful in getting treatment when Neuromod comes out with their device soon.

Consider yourself fortunate that you got tinnitus at the right time because there was no treatment for tinnitus years ago but soon there will be.

 

In the treatments thread, many say antidepressants are not very helpful and may even be harmful.

I suspected as much already before I read the most recent parts of that thread. I am also worried about getting worse. No one will believe me but I think I would finally act on my feelings. It's so bad now and I wasn't considering drugs because of depression but in the hope that the volume would lower for whatever reason.

I am not depressed or stressed for any other reason but because of the tinnitus which is loud and really high pitched now. Is that clear? I know I could tolerate anything else. No money? Ok. No job? Ok. But, this tinnitus noise at this volume, no.

If it doesn't lower or worsens, I am done. I will just pick some suicide method and hope it works.

 

PeteJ, I know what you're going through as I went through it myself. And I'm sure a lot of others on this board can relate as well. I had days and nights when I had to look in the mirror and convince myself that life was still worth living. I felt completely disconnected from the rest of the human race.

My tinnitus nightmare began in April 1996 with a high-pitched hissing noise. After having every conceivable medical test performed (including a hearing exam), everything came back "normal." Three MRI's over ten years found nothing in my brain or inner ear.

In July 1996 I began hearing a loud, low-pitched hum. This was where my life became unlivable. I couldn't sleep, eat, or enjoy anything. All I cared about was making the noise go away. The humming was like having a loud propeller plane inside my head. (I had since habituated to the high-pitched hiss from a few months earlier). I was at the library every day doing research. Since I didn't have a computer at that time, I used the library's internet constantly. Looking for answers. I became an expert in pharmaceuticals. I read stories from people, famous and not-so-famous, who also had tinnitus, to get some perspective on how I could cope.

Like you, I was convinced that I didn't need to be on antidepressants. I thought, "If the humming would go away, I wouldn't be depressed!" I then started reading testimonials from people who suffered from weird pains in their backs, stomach, and other areas of the body. None of these folks had any physical causes. They were prescribed antidepressants, and in many cases, their pain went away. After trying everything else, I caved in and tried one called Effexor XR. After about 6 weeks on it, the humming gradually faded away. This near-silence lasted for about a year. I was ecstatic and able to live again. But in September 2000, it mysteriously returned. I tried others (Paxil, Zoloft), but they didn't work. Finally, I got on a drug called Lexapro, and it slowly lifted me out of my darkness. I've now been on it for 15 years. The noise in my head still comes and goes, but I'm convinced that getting on an AP saved me from putting a gun to my head.

Please try to go see a mental health professional for a diagnosis. Just because a certain drug helped me doesn't mean it's one size fits all. I also take a Valium on days where I feel like things might be getting out of control. I suffered from panic attacks long before I got tinnitus, and there is some correlation there.

Keep us posted, and as Freddie Mercury sang, "Don't Try Suicide"!