Just a brief hello. I have had tinnitus for many decades; i'm not sure when or why it started but guess i've been troubled by it since the early 1990s. I've habituated and coped OK - part of my strategy was to give it as little 'acknowledgement' as possible so i didn't seek treatment or really discuss it with anyone. But it has become much more intrusive in the last 2-3 years and i have been using the in-ear masking therapy offered by the NHS for several months. So far it has been unsuccessful. The development over the last year is the most disconcerting. The constant albeit ever-louder ringing has been tolerable, but now i get quite violent and loud noise 'spasms' occasionally accompanied by a flash of light. They only seem to happen when i'm on the edge of consciousness and are becoming louder, more frequent and interfering with getting to sleep. It feels as if it is not tinnitus as such; more the tinnitus is a marker for something else. My audiologist has referred me to my GP and he's referred me back to him, so it's very much ongoing and frustrating as well as distressing. OK - not that brief! Apologies, but if anyone has any experience of what i'm talking about or has any comments - or indeed questions - i'd be happy to hear them. I shall take some time to explore the forum which seems to have a lot of information and optimism which i hope to exploit. Thanks for taking the time to read.
Dude hang in there. There are incredible people on this board,,,just give them a chance to jump on and read your post and help you. Believe me you will get more help here than those doctors that played ping pong with you and then charged you...they are the only winners there. I don't have much to offer other than when i wake up i get incredible loud tinnitus. Yes, load on the edge of conciousness...its like damn i wish is was still asleep. Others on the board get this as well. If you vision is okay i can't imagine what the flash of light has to be. Check with your eye doctor maybe...i know that when their is a retina detachment their may be flashes...but im not sure your talking about this area...just something to consider. It sounds like you have great advice to offer in suggesting that you habituated by not giving this T any attention...so your actually providing advice for us others as well. continue going down that route and lets see what some of the others on this board have to say. V
@autolycus Just to let you know that I have been getting the same occasionally...........spoke to someone else and he said this is normal just as you are drifting off..........I have no idea what it is but feels like some sort of electrical surge going on........anyone have any ideas or experiences or perhaps one of the doctors like @Dr. Nagler or @Dr. Charlie or anyone have any idea? input appreciated........(ps also from the UK) By the way, does yours go up and down from day to day or week to week or is it constant...without change?
Thanks for the responses. Perhaps i should have posted these details in a different part of the forum. An electrical surge or short-circuit is exactly how it feels amandine, and I don't know who would judge these as 'normal'; someone who doesn't get them and has no concept of what is being described perhaps? A couple of years ago they were just an occasional early morning annoyance after waking and then trying to fall back asleep. Now they happen many times every night, before i get to sleep as well, and are becoming ever more violent and more frequent. I wonder what they are, what is causing them and just how much worse they are going to get, but so far i've no idea. At least i'm not the only one: apart from your post i've had a pm from someone else who seems to get them too.
you must get out and about to a mall or other crowd of people place fora few hours a day and you will begin to focus away from all your tinnitus issues for that time..... sometimes you can walk by the shore with ear buds and a radio or music and it helps take your thinking away from your T or bad T issues.
