I'm a 57 year old guy who's never really "beat on" my ears, although I never paid close attention to my hearing either. I ride a motorcycle, and I know the dangers that can present, so for some years now, I usually wore foam ear plugs on long trips, especially on the highway. They made a big difference. It's never been the engine noise that bothered me, it was always the wind going by my ears that was the loudest part of riding. I occasionally wore headphones with loud music at the beach but that was never for really long times.
Anyway, I guess it was long enough.
A little over a month ago I noticed a "slight buzz" in the background with my right ear only, and was seen by a reputable ENT. When she had my hearing tested, she determined that I had some slight hearing loss at the very highest frequencies, well above conversation. She's attributed that to age, and told me that my tinnitus is more age related, than it is to any trauma or abuse. Apparently, hearing loss from trauma has a different profile than my hearing loss. For the record, I don't notice any loss in hearing.
I'm pretty freaked out. I do OK during the day, where I can deal with the slight background noise. At night, and especially when I lie down, sometimes it sounds like a siren is going off next to me. I find I can take an antihistamine at bed time and I don't hear a thing, (my antihistamines aren't the drowsy kind). I'm just starting experimenting with some background noise while I sleep. I'll try my Bluetooth headphones with some white noise running and see how that goes.
I understand that sometimes this goes away, but if it doesn't, I need to adapt to this "new normal". I get a lot of comfort from reading your posts, and I try to remind myself that while this "just plain sucks", I'd trade a host of other diseases and conditions for tinnitus in a second. It's also a big help to know I'm not the only one.
I realize it takes time to get used to this, so I'm trying to be patient. From your posts, you folks sound like you've become accustomed to it, and sound a lot better about it than I must sound.
What I really need right now, what I'm coming up short on, is HOPE.
Anyway, I guess it was long enough.
A little over a month ago I noticed a "slight buzz" in the background with my right ear only, and was seen by a reputable ENT. When she had my hearing tested, she determined that I had some slight hearing loss at the very highest frequencies, well above conversation. She's attributed that to age, and told me that my tinnitus is more age related, than it is to any trauma or abuse. Apparently, hearing loss from trauma has a different profile than my hearing loss. For the record, I don't notice any loss in hearing.
I'm pretty freaked out. I do OK during the day, where I can deal with the slight background noise. At night, and especially when I lie down, sometimes it sounds like a siren is going off next to me. I find I can take an antihistamine at bed time and I don't hear a thing, (my antihistamines aren't the drowsy kind). I'm just starting experimenting with some background noise while I sleep. I'll try my Bluetooth headphones with some white noise running and see how that goes.
I understand that sometimes this goes away, but if it doesn't, I need to adapt to this "new normal". I get a lot of comfort from reading your posts, and I try to remind myself that while this "just plain sucks", I'd trade a host of other diseases and conditions for tinnitus in a second. It's also a big help to know I'm not the only one.
I realize it takes time to get used to this, so I'm trying to be patient. From your posts, you folks sound like you've become accustomed to it, and sound a lot better about it than I must sound.
What I really need right now, what I'm coming up short on, is HOPE.
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