My Story

Hi All,

First time poster, long time lurker.

I just wanted to share my story, not success, but definitely a happy ending.

So, I am Sebastian, and have Tinnitus since November 2016. Now, it has only been 5 months, but I do believe I now have an understanding of this peculiar companion we have in life.

I got permanent T in Nov. 2016 (30 yo) , caused (I believe), by a combination of loud music (I used to be a DJ), and a very bad sinus infection I had at the time of onset.

My T is very high frequency, (around 14000 Hz, if I remember correctly), fairly constant, non-pulsating. It has not varied in tone, it has varied in intensity.

I had not led a particularly healthy life up to that point, I Used to be a cigarette smoker, am still a Marijuana User, used to have very bad diet, and very bad sleeping habits (4h a day or so was enough for me).

I have seen various doctors/specialists (I am lucky enough to have private healthcare aswel as public, and have consulted specialists in the two). TBH, they were all very honest, as opposed to some things I hear here. They literally told me: We (doctors) are still uncertain of the exact causality for this condition, (Yet we have loads of correlation), and that the odds of it going away were very low. I agree with them, and I am happy they did not give me false hope.

We tried a lot, we tried steroid, Hyperbaric chambers, and heaps of supplements, my doctors were willing to try things out, I was happy to comply. The hyperbaric oxygen chamber is the only thing that made it a little better (only slightly, might be placebo).

On onset, I had a very bad 2 months, I went to a very dark place, and had very unhealthy thoughts... I actually made a decision one day that luckily I did not follow through with. It was the next morning after taking this decision that the depression and anxiety disappeared. INSTANTLY, IN ONE NIGHT, I WAS HAPPY AGAIN.

Anyway, once over this initial trauma that lastest two very long dark months (Nothing compared to some, I know, but for me it was terrible, I had never suffered anything like this). I went back to a more stable place, mentally speaking. I had no more dark thoughts, though the T was a real pain in the ***, excuse my french. I was finding it very difficult to cope with it.

I could mask it quite comfortably, but having white noise/crickets all the time was not an option. I went on to the Second approach, an advice that was given to me and I though nothing of it, turns out it helped a lot. I was told to ignore it, I said It was not possible, it is louder than my motorbike on the motorway. Anyway, I tried. Every Time I heard it would really bother me I would think "Yes, I have ringing in my ears, and what?". I started giving it no importance (Well, i would say out loud that I gave it no importance, in my head, It was the most important thing). And go figure, it worked. I managed to convince myself that yeah, I have a loud ringing in the ears, but what is the problem? I still hear every sound, so it is just like a soundtrack, a boring one, but a soundtrack no less.

Let's advance to now, 5 month after inception, I am very habituated, I rarely pay attention to it, which in turn means I am not hearing it. It is still there, don't believe it is not, As I type about it, it is blasting in my ears, as I am now listening to it, it is as loud as always, but: I rarely listen to it anymore, My brain has become accustomed to it, and ignores it (Like someone that moves to a very smelly place, you stop smelling the bad smell after a few days..., except this took a few months.).

So, apart from sharing my story, I wanted to share the following thoughts (Do correct me, Oh long time sufferers, or anyone that is not in agreement);

- I hate to be harsh, but the first thing to know is: It will, in most of the cases, never go away.
- Habituation is key here. It might take longer, (I believe I am one of the lucky ones to have half habituated in 5 months). I think I am advancing very well in this aspect.
- Eating healthy (mens sana in corpore sano). No need to say more, helped me A LOT!
- The depression/anxiety will go. Don't let it kill you please, I swear it goes. Nothing is wrong with us, we just hear a little (well, little... LOL), sound in our ears. We do not have cancer, we do not have a broken leg.
- In my case, (sorry, but has to be said), marihuana does not help at all, it is a massive aggravator for me. My T spikes massively when I smoke, but as I said, it does not bother me anymore, so I am smoking again (I quit for 2/3 months as it was awful with the anxiety...). Same goes for alcohol (I nearly never drink though...). I do smoke on a daily basis.
- Regarding sound therapy; I am not one to judge, but I believe it hinders habituation. I think a full on debate with ourselves is the most important key, convince yourself it doesn't bother you).
- Regarding Drugs; As my doctors told me, we could give neurological drugs a try. Some drugs work. Some blockers work. Most of these drugs have side effects, and to be honest, tinnitus is enough side effects I want, and it is a minor one at that compared to the stuff these drugs can cause.

I hope I have not said anything stupid, I am fresh with T, and all you people must know so much more, but this is my current state of mind regarding this curious companion.

I would love any input, If you disagree with anything, please let me know. If you have any advice (though I am very happy with what I have achieved habituation wise, it literally DOES NOT BOTHER ME anymore, I hardly hear it.) please voice it (your advice).

Anyway, I am possibly the least experimented here with T, but if anyone has questions with regards to how I habituated, or dealt with the initial HELL, i will be happy to answer.

Very happy to meet you all, looking forward to hear your remarks.

regards,

Seb

 

Hi Seb_Dust,

Welcome aboard!

Here is the key: once your mind and nervous system understand that tinnitus is not lethal, your anxiety and stress levels will not be affected. It is a gradual process where your nervous system retrains itself to live with the ringing. Once that happens, you still hear the ringing of course, but your mind could care less. In clinical terms, this process is called "habituation".