It was a life changing event

One day I had a cold, lost my voice, it went into both ears. I had sudden severe hearing loss, I was almost completely deaf. Tinnitus hit 2 days before my surgeries, caused by the extreme pressure in my head. The surgery was suppose to relieve the pressure and I'd be all better. I woke from the surgery with the tinnitus still there and hyperacusis. It was a shock, my life changed forever! My calling before me...

 

Welcome to T-talk WendyS

Your story makes me really sad, I feel sorry for your situation, just not fair. On the bright side, this site is probably one of the first steps to make a progression, i'm confident that you will be able to learn tricks, tips and pure information about your condition.
I'm here talking out of my own experience, a lot of the things I have been reading here, has really helped to put my own T faaaaaar away from disturbing my life, and i'm sure it will help you to!
Feel free to ask all you want and don't be shy there is no stupid questions here and everyone will always do their best to give you the best !
I wish you the best for the future and hopefully it wall settle down soon !

Happy thoughts and hugs from RedThinker.

 

It was quite a shock for me, the 24/7 ringing, straining to hear, discomfort, pain, vertigo, disoriented feeling when so many people were around; it's like information overload. "I felt like my independence was ripped away from me."

I went from being a very strong, component woman to someone who had to have someone with her everywhere she went. I didn't like it at all.

If it wasn't for my strong will and determined, which was instilled in me even as a child. I would never have gotten this far. I demanded of myself to "take back my life". I don't consider myself a "victim" and I think "positive" and life my life on a very strict routine to heal myself.

Currently I work for examiner and yahoo writing articles on content marketing, advocacy issues and doing exclusive interviews. I was in a support group and one day thought, "So many people have this yet there are so few doctors." There is no cure and I myself have seen first hand the struggles of dealing with employers with such conditions. So I asked people, those who suffer from tinnitus or hyperacusis if they would share their story. I think they find is easier to share their story with me because I know what it's like.

So many people do, some use their names while others wish not too. I cover ALL angles, patients, studies, research funding and I'm looking into an interview with a doctor as well. I've interviewed a dietitian on how things we eat and drink affect T and H and patients are always will to give their point of view.

So while, yes my situation is sad, scary even to go from one minute fine to almost being completely deaf to now this diagnosed with T and H. It changed my life forever, it made me see the bigger picture of what happened to me. And I went back to my true calling "writing".

I'm a journalist, with credibility to back me, recognition for my newsworthy pieces and with that I can give those with tinnitus and hyperacusis a voice.

So that's me. A follow patient told me about the forum and said I should take a look...

wendy

 

Keep the faith WendyS.
You know your a very strong woman, your writing showed me that. Keep that strength and know that you don't exactly have to "take your life back", because I think it never left you. Its still there. Keep up all the things in your life that make it right, and your own. I hope the doctors can help and that you sleep good and I hope wrote the right words to try to help.

It's taken me a year on anti-depressants. I can TOLERATE it more now and things are better, yet the jury is still out. Don't quite understand all the medical issues you had. Welcome to this forum. It's people in here that really know Tinnitus. We all got it. Take care.

 

Thank you James, I had a very scary episode yesterday, I went to the store, just to get a few things, when a family with older kids came up behind me in line as I was checking out and started playing with all the wind chimes. I get what is called acoustic trauma, suddenly I was overwhelmed by all the sounds, got hit hard by my vertigo and almost blacked out! The store started spinning, I felt like I was falling, I became so disoriented. I grabbed a hold of the counter and told my daughter I had to get out of there. Three more seconds and an ambulance would have been picking me up off the floor.

With no doctor in the area who can treat my symptoms of T and H. going to my GP or even ENT would be useless, and to even think of hospital emergency room would have caused me further complications. My daughter got me home, where I could lay down and wait for it all to subside. it took 6 hours before I could finally even sit up without the room spinning.

I know now whatever nerve damage was caused, that has to be my focus. This morning even trying to work, writing, the vertigo is strong. I have tried very hard to learn how to cope with all this, but such onsets are out of my control and are getting more severe. I'm a week away from my specialist visit. I'm hoping they can determine what to do.

 

I do wish you well Wendy. I think I underestimated your condition. It sound terrible. I'd say get to the ENT asap, now, perhaps the steroid treatment the ENT doctor can help. It's my understanding the sooner the better.

 

The other problem for me is I have so many allergies to medication, a steroid treatment is not possible.

 

Plus, my ENT doctor here won't touch it, he has referred me to my next specialist.

 

I am so sorry that this has happened to you. I read about what happened when children were playing with wind chimes - that's terrible! I'm afraid I can't offer you much advice because it sounds like a very difficult problem, but I think it's obvious you need to see someone ASAP. I hope you are doing okay despite it all and I am glad you have stayed strong. I hope you find someone who can help you with your problems and hopefully in months to come this will be a bad memory. Let us know how you get on.

 

I've had my first visit with another specialist. Though the vertigo is the most important thing to get under control right now, I found I had to keep repeating myself that the onset is caused specifically from "sound exposure" and leaves me recovering for up to 8 days now. They kept going back to the mindset that the vertigo was just a balance issue with nothing else going on. It was frustrating having to repeat that I do not get the vertigo from bend or lifting it is directly associated with the hyperacusis, the sounds are overwhelming, which causes the vertigo to flare up and...

The tinnitus is still there 24/7, bothersome indeed. I had another hearing test after the wind chime incident, I have further hearing loss in the right ear, which now makes the vertigo even louder in the right ear.

I will being going for a more in-depth balance test at a specific hospital, because yes I do because therapy for the balance will help my vertigo, though I have a feeling I will be repeating myself there as well. we shall see.

For the most part I find I get tired more easily as it's quite hard to sleep even with something on.

I'm looking forward to spring, it can't get here soon enough for me. Staying busy with work and stay positive.