It's Been Almost a Year

About year ago it started. I got flu and my left ear was clogged about a month. I started hear whoosing sound with my heartbeat. Before that I had mild infection in that same ear. Doctor gave me eardrops then, but tinnitus started after second ear infection. When I was child I had many infections in my left ear. It's been hard to sleep, because whoosing/pulsing sound is so loud. I have fan at night. It's been a year now and I still can't believe this happend. There are better days, but it's still hard.

 

Hello Karen and all people in this forum. Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it. It's good to know that your tinnitus is now milder as time has passed. It's sad that it started so suddenly after taking a blood pressure drug. It's been five years, so it's great that you have found the way to live with it and get used to it. I think time heals. First it's so new and strange thing, you just want silence again. But you just have to accept that it's part of you. And when time passes, you can see things in a different way. And realise there are still good things in life.

When I found this forum I was reliefed, because in my country there's no forum where you can find support and information about tinnitus. People don't talk about it much here. Sometimes it feels like people who don't have it, don't really undestand what it feels like. I have visited many ear-nose-throat doctors. I had MRI/MRA. Nothing found. I don't know if eardrops were toxic, name was cetraxal comp. Because I had so many infections in my left ear when I was a child, I had also myringoplasty (operation to repair eardrum) ten years ago. I don't know how eardrops acts that kind of eardrum. But I don't think there was any holes in my eardrum, because surgery was made so long time ago. What ever the reason might be, it seems that I just have to live with this. This forum is a great help. All the information about what works and helps with tinnitus is so important. I'm looking for a good masker, a fan is a guite cold when it's blowing. With fan sound I can sleep with, but does anybody know another maskers that keeps same kind of sound? How long others tinnitus habituation lasted? I think the best way is to focus to do things that you like, and not to listen it all the time.

 

Hi @Rosalinda, fellow finn here too. I sleep with my laptop on my bedside table on the side of my bad ear, I use this page as a masker for sleep:

asoftmurmur.com

You can choose what sounds you prefer and mask your T best, ramp them up and down as you need. When my T is ramped up the cricket sounds are the only thing that mask, when its calmer I like rain and wave sounds. My husband first had a hard time sleeping in the same room as me when I started using this but now he's used to it. Still really new to my T, only been a couple of months for me, feel quite desperate at times but getting by day by day, trying not to think about the future just taking here and now (future with this shit as well as eventual increase scares the living hell out of me so I don't even bother to go there). One funny thing, I started singing much more since my T I used to sing a lot when I was younger but haven't in many years, now if I get bothered and panicky hearing my T in a silent place I just sing and it feels better. Calms me down as well.

 

Hello @shrimp, fellow finn and thanks for your information. There's many good sounds in that site. I will definitely try it. It's true that tinnitus sound varies and sometimes you need to mask it more. There's many different sounds you can use depending how loud your tinnitus is. It's good that your husband understands your situation. I have noticed same, it's better to live day by day. You never know what future brings. I'm scared too that if this gets worse, but you can't live with fear. Singing is a good way to relax and avoid panic and it's fun too Keep on singing, definitely. I've noticed that fresh air and jogging helps me to relax, mut sometimes when I exercise my tinnitus spikes.

Do you wake up during the night? When your tinnitus is the most loud? I wake up many times at night and my tinnitus is louder then. Usually I fall asleep again, but at night and in morning tinnitus is really loud. I sleep less than before. Maybe when time goes by you get used to it, but it's so strange still. I try to tell myself that it's nothing serious, but it's stressful. One good thing about this is that you no longer worry the little things. See a world in a different way and enjoy things in a different way. I really hope that someday somebody discover some kind of treatment to us. And it's wonderful that we found this forum, there's so many who is going through the same thing.

 

Hi @Karen. It's true that soft masking sounds are the best when sleeping. It takes time, but it's possible that brains get used to this sound. Staying active and living healthy life helps. Own attitude and the way of thinking is important too. Even this sound is always there, there's also good things in life we can concentrate. It's not always easy, when sound is loud. Maybe it's normal that tinnitus sound varies. It can be very loud someday and someday it's quieter. I don't really know why. Thank you so much for support and lots of hugs.