Need Someone to Talk to...

been pretty anxious/ depressed lately because I've had a tinnitus spike. it's pretty loud and distracting, and I have trouble falling asleep. I'm curious what others do when they have trouble falling asleep and do any of you take any meds or anything for anxiety

 

Sorry to hear that you have a bit of struggle with spike. Don't worry too much Kaitlyn. Most spikes will settle back to base line. Yes, sometimes the lack of sleep or interrupted sleep can cause T to spike. I had a spike on top of my already loud T every time I had a jet lag after a trip. But I don' want to give T any fire nor time. I just decide to not react negatively to it and go about living my life. Sometimes my T was so loud I could hear it above the jet noise in the plane. Then jet lag added on top of that loud volume. T surely tries to scream out of the top of its lung. But I have learned to not give it a dime regardless of its volume. It can distract or annoy a bit but it cannot threaten me any more. A few years back I didn't think I could ever do that. But today I realize it is doable. As I am typing now it is screaming and resonating in my head and I can hear it above my TV which is pretty loud. But tbh the poor T is wasting its time. No more negative reaction forth coming. Its tyranny over me is over. Hope you will be patient. Get some masking to help you sleep. Take a hot shower, drink a hot drink, some drink melatonin to help them sleep. I sometimes just counted number of sheep mentally to bore my brain. If you still can't sleep, then do see your doctor to get some meds to help you. Take care and God bless your recovery.

 

Hey mate
I have had my t coming up
Three months now and this is what I have done about the anxiety side of things try to turn your thinking around and be like that sound is the sound of me living. Non of us want this little bully but focus your energy on friends family activities love don't be afraid of it . Mine sounds like high pitched
Crickets but guess what I'm alive I'm
Kicking and in time it will just be a noise we are all here to help and this guy Billie is the man . Live girl live !!!!!

 

Do you know what caused the spike? In the beginning I used many things melatonin zzquil and xanax. Today I don't need to use any of those things. Sorry to hear about it but your not alone.

 

You could always ask your doc for an
Anti anixety med for a week to calm your nerves while your going through your spike.. It should settle down tho dont lose hope! T is too unpredictable.. What keeps my spirits up is i think to myself well my T just changed, or got alot louder.. And then another day ill be like omg did my T go away? Its too crazy to predict what will happen but the way my mindset is right now is that i tell myself, this is NOT forever.. Just temporary and it really helps. at any given point in all of our lives T could vanish completely.. But theres also good treatments and research ongoing and i remind myself about that and it gets me through the anxiety and worries a bit.. And eventually you wont react to spikes cause you wont care and youl just go along with your life as it flys by.. Then before you know it T is curable!

 

Hi Kaitlyn,

I take Xanax .50 3 times a day--I've taken them for about five months now. I'm doing much better. It helps me get a good night's sleep so I can get on with my life. I haven't had to increase the dose after the doc increased it --it took two weeks to get used to it so I only took .25--and it still works as well as it did when I started. I also see a therapist for CBT.

I'm having a spike today--really loud. I can hear it over the tv. It doesn't upset me anymore--maybe it's the meds, maybe the therapy, maybe time or a combination of all three plus the support I found here but I don't react to it like I once did.

I hope you feel better. Please let me know if I can help you.

 

Last night - I was awake the whole night. Could of been blood pressure, T spike from alcohol?
I starting writing emails to my doctors, saying I need something stronger, like a sedative.

Now I feel I'm not too excited about taking more drugs, some are not all that, plus side effects.
Normally, I fall asleep with a low dose of anti-depressant. Not sleeping at all is really an issue with Tinnitus.

 

thank you everyone for your replies! they were really helpful and you all made me feel better. I will try some tips.

 

I usually put some masking noises on if it's really bad. Crickets and cicadas are a one way ticket to knockout central for me. Or, I try to turn the noise into something else. Like, I'll let it become background noise as a steaming kettle of tea or a river, then I try to put myself into that situation where the noise would fit. It helps a lot.
Try some chamomile tea before bed. It's a relaxer, and it has been known to help a few people's tinnitus calm down a bit. Either way, it may help your nerves.
Hope you get a good night's rest!

 

thank you @MaccyDee . I will try those tips. really appreciate the help.