Improvements After One Year!

Hi all,

This is not a complete success story (tinnitus is still there) but I really want to share how much better I am after the onset a year ago. As for all of us, the first weeks were the worst. The denial, the trying everything, including not-so-reliable methods found online, the medical tests to exclude the worst... we've all been there.

Amongst the many things I did, I went to a dentist and to a physio, started meditating and looking after myself a bit more. I downloaded a white noise play list that I would liste to every night before sleeping or every time I had to write a paper and sit in silence.

I don't know what worked and what didn't, but right now I am typing from a very quite study room on campus, and since I forgot my headphones I can't have any background noise on. And I am fine. I even put my hands on my ears to test the volume of my tinnitus, and I can hardly hear it, if at all. Three weeks ago I was watching Netflix and noticed my tinnitus was very low. I covered my ears and noticed it was gone! It came back the next day, but I had a whole evening off!! The same thing tends to happen after remedial massage, it seems to really make things better for me.

For the whole year, I had camomile tea with cinnamon before going to bed. It doesn't taste good, but makes me sleep like a baby and I suspect it had some long-term effect on the volume of my tinnitus. I still get it super loud of I am stressed, or if I go to a club (which I now avoid as much as possible) but in the last year things have really improved for me, and I don't think about it as much. I have a normal life, the only thing I avoid is loud bars and clubs, and not even all the time.

Please have hope and don't stop trying. It does get better, it will get better. Good luck

Below is a list of things I did that may have had an effect, but I can't say for sure.

Dentist - extracted wisdom tooth, treated gum disease
Physio - treated jaw, gave exercises to reinforce neck and jaw muscles, helped correcting posture.
Remedial massage - only had it a couple of times, but tinnitus stopped for half a day both times
Chamomile tea + cinnamon before bed - every night. Helps me sleep, which reduces stress.
Yoga - did for a month and want to go back. I had almost no tinnitus during yoga classes, however some poses would make it worst (if I twist my neck to either side and stretch)
Ginkgo Biloba - took it for 6 months, I doubt it did anything for me, but may be different for different people
Started meditating - nothing hardcore, just using the Headspace app. Helps controlling stress/anxiety which keeps tinnitus under control (I think)
Acupuncture - did it once, hated it!
White noise - all day at the beginning, then just at night, now just when tinnitus is bothering me - so most days but not every day.
Avoided noisy places - stopped going to clubs and noisy bars, not sure of it had any impact.

 

What is the brand of camomile tea that you used?

What cinnamon did you use - the true cinnamon from a health store, or just cinnamon from the grocery store?

 

Hi Bill, I really didn't go out of my way to find stuff. I used whatever brand of camomile I found (sometimes bags from the shops, sometimes I bought organic flowers online) and the cinnamon is just from the supermarket, as I wouldn't know how to source it differently.

 

Do you go to the movies?

 

@Core2Duo hello, yes I do go to the movies at times, not very often. I am actually going tonight to see Deadpool 2 Being in the theatre gives me all sorts of problems that have to do with anxiety, so I try to force myself to go. I am often scared of the loud volume, but I have noticed that it doesn't change my T dramatically, if at all. I see your T is noise induced, so it might be different for you... have you stopped going to the movies?

 

Tinnitus is usually caused by 1-2 things hearing loss and or neck jaw and face muscle and skeletal misalignment

These two things which you did most likely may have been what reduced the volume.

Congratulations

 

Did you wear a mouth guard for your tinnitus?