Looking for Answers!

I am new and I am suffering . I have had T for 2 1/2 years I think it all started when I had a cold and ear infection. Today I'm having a horrible day I am usually a happy energetic person but all I can hear is the hissing today . I have been to the ENT and I've had all the tests I have lost hearing in my left ear. I am also going to a dentist to see if it could be TMJ . I am trying so hard to find answers I can't imagine living the rest of my life with this . I am thinking of trying a hearing aid do you know if this might help ? I am 43 years old I am a teacher and I have two kids. I teach phys ed and always wonder if the noise in the gym could be making things worse ?

 

Welcome to the forum. Most members here have been where you are. You are not alone. I understand your feeling there. I have suffered from anxiety and panic disorders for decades prior to T & H. So when T & H first hit me, my anxiety just went through the roof and panic attacks greeted me every time when waking up with loud, screaming T. No amount of will power could stop the panic attacks and I had to use meds to survive each day. So yes, I understand how tough it is.

Saying that, try not to buy in what the anxious mind is suggesting to you at this tough stage of T suffering. At this stage, the mind will dwell in distorted thoughts, which are called cognitive distortions in CBT, such as thinking in catastrophic way about the future. Don't project the doom and gloom of a future based on the worst time of T suffering. I made that mistake myself and paid dearly with immense mental sufferings.

The truth of the matter is that the future is never as projected. I am now living a normal and absolutely enjoyable life. All the sufferings about the future didn’t help a thing but prolong the suffering. If I have any comforting words for you, it is that people do survive T & H, anxiety and panic attacks and all, and write their success stories after some time. Just read up as many success stories to learn insights how to win over T. You need to give yourself time and learn some strategies to guide your T journey. Explore the success stories to give yourself hope for the future. I wrote my success story too like many other members and mention some helpful strategies.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

Here is a simple strategy 'Back to Silence' by IWLM:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

You can get better and do believe that. If you haven’t yet, get masking going asap to help reduce the anxiety of T. Once the brain feel that you have some sense of control over T, it will be less anxious and stressed, and that will help calm the ringing for most people. Take good care & God bless.

Some masking suggestions:
TT’s own excellent masking sounds:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

If you need more masking sounds, here is free ‘aire freshener’:
http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

You can mix your own rain sounds with this rain generator:
http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/rainNoiseGenerator.php