Kinda Going Crazy

Hi there, I've had mild Tinnitus for years but I was able to ignore it. For some reason it has gotten much worse in the last few months. I feel like my life has changed so much because of the constant buzz in my ears. I'm thinking it might be due to taking a 6 week course of Diclofenac (Cataflam) for inflammation in the summer of 2016 or my blood pressure rising a little as I get older? I hope I can find relief or at least some comfort knowing I'm not alone in this. I just downloaded some Pink Noise to play on my earbuds. Seems to help somewhat, but still hear it. Trying not to hear it.
The website has been great so far, lots of great information and support.

 

Many people here advise against any use of earbuds and even headphones. Search this site, to see more details.

Also, check out the thread below where I summarize everything (24 tips spread over three posts) I learned about managing tinnitus after reading the posts on this forum for the past 11 months
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...itus-recently-this-info-will-be-useful.25741/
you might find several of those tips to be useful to you.

 

i'd avoid ear buds/headphones. Even at low volumes, it can possibly annoy your tinnitus. Change can be scary at times, try to remain calm and know that YOU are going to be ok. You are not alone in this, this site is full of dedicated people, that want to make others feel comfortable. Medication and stress can possibly raise the tinnitus volume.

No matter what the volume is, people can still cope and habituate to it. It takes lots of willpower and courage...but it can be done. Never give up and keep seeking support....

 

Thank you Bill for the info. I've protected my ears for years, ie...wearing earplugs when drying my hair and being in loud places. I'm hoping if I wear one ear bud at a low level it won't cause any more harm. It really helps with the buzz which is driving me crazy.

 

Can you wear over-the-ear headphones? There is theoretically a smaller chance of ear problems with them.

 

Thank you for the suggestion of over the ear headphones, back to the good old days! (before they became popular again)

 

There are special hearing aids that people use for that. I believe @glynis might know more. You could also just play nature sounds in your room...

@Michael Leigh argues passionately against the use of headphones.

 

I wouldn't recommend headphones... If your T is noise induced you're playing with fire. Pumping sound directly into your ears at any volume just seems too risky, and who knows, you might accidentally play it too loud, have a notification go off and blast your ears, a connection problem that drills you with feedback, etc. I play my pink noise on a Bluetooth speaker, and have a mechanical white noise machine that I use as well.

 

Thank you AZeurotuner. I'm going to try the Bluetooth speakers. The pink noise is working great just playing on my computer.