New Here and I Need Help!

[bianca81]

Hello everyone, im so glad i found this forum. I started having tinnitus about 2 weeks ago after a cold that left fluid stuck in my right ear...i saw my family doc and an ent they said the fluid was gone ears looked clear and hearing test was perfect BUT the ringing stayed and its NOT leaving and its driving me insane!no one i talk to seem to understand how it feels to have a loud hiss in your head 24/7.i can manage ok during the day but i Can't sleep!!!im a mother to 2 young kids i cant live like this! !im trying everyhting i read on the internet white noise;relaxation etc but i just cant get my mind off of it..i have anxieyy and panick attacks..im panicking in the middle of the night...i read that people evenrually7get used to it..is there hope??im gonna try hipnosys...i need to turn the volume down and i dont know how...please help! Thank you!
Bianca

I forgot to mention im taking lipoflavanoid that my ent recommended..i had to take an ativan last night so I could sleep (which i hadnt done in a year) im desperate...

 

[billie48]

Welcome to TT, Bianca. Sorry that you are suffering. You have our empathy as most of us have been where you are. We understand the tough struggle when tinnitus (T) is new, the mad ringing, the stress, the ups and downs, the fear for the uncertain future, anxiety, panic, depression, sleeplessness etc. etc. What you are going through is quite normal for new sufferers. So don't worry and don't despair. You are not alone. Things will improve and good life can be back. If the doctors can't find anything wrong medically, you have a good chance to become better over time.

A few years back I went through 'hell' with my ultra high pitch dog whistle T. It seems much worse than a dentist drill. It cuts through everything. I could hear it above the jet noise inside during flights and even above the sound of the raging & roaring rapids in the salmon rivers I fish. Worst, as if my sufferings weren't enough, T was soon followed by severe hyperacusis. H turned all normal sounds glassy and piercingly hurtful to the ears and all sounds seem too loud to bear. I had to wear ear plugs but the plugs blocked off all outside masking sounds, making the T scream so much more unbearable. There is no lesser choice among them and there is no escape. Worst still, being someone suffering with prior history of anxiety & panic disorder, T & H literally triggered and opened the flood gate of hell of relentless anxiety & panic attacks with their own set of horrible symptoms. These attacks combined with the suffering of T & H were so unlivable that I doubted if I could survive them for life. I was turned into a physical and mental wreck for months. It was a super tough time, but I manage to survive and overcome T & H with the help of forum support & learning some insights & strategies. Like many others, I wrote my success story and mention some important points and strategies. For brevity, if you are interested to read how I turn around my life, here is the link:

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

I am not alone in getting better over time. Many others get well too and we wrote our success stories. Read as many success stories as you can and you will be comforted that people do get better over time. TIME is a very important factor of success and if you couple it with some successful strategies, the recovery to habituation will even be faster. These stories are full of useful insights and strategies. Just copy success from those who have walked their talk.

There are also newer drugs being tested with good result, such as Autifony & AM-101. Some members have tested the the drugs and have had good result. Good things are on the horizon. So be patient and be positive as much as possible. Don't panic and don't despair. Stress is bad for T. Don't supply it with its fuel to continue its tyranny on you. Get back to living as soon as you can. You are a busy mom. Tell T to take a ticket and wait in line (like I did) and get busy with life. Good life can still be back. Believe it and have hope in a bright future ahead.

If you need masking, you can use the masking sounds on this TT thread with its audio player. It also comes with great tips for new sufferers with a step by step guideline. It also has links to a sleep thread as well as useful sites like ATA & BTA. Take good care & God bless you recovery.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

 

[bianca81]

Billie48 thank you SO much for your quick reply. I read your link aboutbyour own experience and i do relate tp EVERY word you wrote. I dont feel depressed but my anxiety and panic came back big time and T is consuming my life right now...im trying to have positive thoughts throughout the day but sometimes its hard and when evening comes around my level of anxiety increases cause i know im gonna have to sleep...i feel like I'm stuck in a vicious cycle T and anxiety feeding each other....im getring irritable and find myself yelling at my kids for nonreason (and i am a loving happy mom so my kids 5 and 2 yr are like whats going on??).

I believe I havea some mild H too ive been sensitive to high pitch sounds (like when my kids scream just playing with each other irritates me or like a whistle or the bell ringing at my sons school..) but im not letting THAT consume my life too what really botherd me is T and my obsession over it...

Anxiety runs in my family ive always had it and after being on zoloft for a year after i had my daughter (weaned off back in march )been doing good managing my anxiety until now..fear,panic came back in full force. I dont want to rely on meds... i really want to retrain my brain and I know incan do it im just trying to figure it out. I (self) learned hypnobirthing when pregnant with my daughter and it really worked so I totally believe in the power of our minds and how WE can redirect our brains...im just having a real hard time right now trying to stay positive with all the anxiety and negative thoughts on T.

After reading your post and positive stories its comforting to know that theres hope! According to the docs everything looks ok so im not worried about it being "serious " and when i think back i thin it was caused by a combination of things:fluid in my ear, my grandpa dying at the hospital which gave me great feelings of sadness and a dental cleaning appointment (you know how they use that ultrasound tool that whistle in your head? ) all this hapoened at once. ..

Anyways. .been up since 4 am gonna trybto get some more sleep before the kids wake up...btw i like your adviceon "being extra nice to people" im gonna try to do that and i also have a book on hold at the library on the subject..i want to get as much information as i possibly can (like real cientific info not all the crap we read on the Internet that makes us even more scared )

I keep reminding myself that life is beautiful and theres so much to live and see and i cant let T rule my life like this.

Thank you so much!nice to know im not alone. ...I want to be able to smile again get my energy and positivity back and hopefully one day I will be the one posting my "success story" here



Bianca

 

[billie48]

You will be smiling again soon. Remember, the first phase of T suffering is the hardest. You are going through it now. Everything looks much worse right now because you are under the control of the limbic nervous system and you function in 'fight and flight' mode. Given some time and keeping calm and being positive, the tide will turn and your normal parasympathetic nerves will return in control, and you will not be as nervous and anxious. Your brain takes time to process these new alien sensations. Give your body time and accept whatever symptoms you have right now, including the sleeping problem. It is all part of the package. Whenever your brain is reacting badly to a situation of T, just tell yourself this, "hey brain, I read the success stories and many people with worse cases of T (and even H) have gotten better over time, perhaps months, a year or two. If I know I am going to be just fine sooner or later, why the heck I need to worry so much about the little bumps (the fear, the worry, the sleep issue) along the way? I may not be able to keep calm right now, but I will get better over time and time is on my side if my attitude is right". Hope positive self talks like this can help you calm down when setbacks come.

To help reduce T, members here often recommend some good supplements, such as NAC, Magnesium, Zinc, B12, D3, etc., and reduce intake of salt, sugar, MSG, caffeine, alcohol etc. You may also want to help yourself to get more sleep. Get some bed time masking such as a sound machine or a sound pillow etc., so you can fall asleep better.

Instead of sleep meds from the doctor, you can try natural alternatives such as Camomile tea, Hops, Valerian tablets, Melatonin etc. Check out this site on using natural herbs for sleep problem:

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/library/articles-on-herbs-and-health/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia/

 

[bianca81]

Thank you for the advice on positive thoughts i will keep trying to "convince " my brain that this is temporary and it will pass...i have some melatonin here im gonna try it tonight (instead of ativan) and last night i took a warm bath and did some streching and yoga too before bed it helped until 4 when my son woke me up (he has a cold /cough which is not helping me at night but thats ok). I also tried a white noise machine last night (i keep one in my daughters room cause shes a light sleeper) and it helped some too i could still hear T seems like my brain goes back and forth between T and white noise and i find that a little exausting. ..anyways just venting!! My husbands been outbof the country for work for 10 days and thats not helping me emotionally either. .but I will try to stay positive !

Has anyone tried hypnotherapy?

Thanks again for your support!!

B

 

[billie48]

Kevin Hogan is known to promote hypnotherapy. Not sure if it is very effective as he also advised the use of Xanax for T. I find Mindfulness Meditation very helpful. In fact Dr. Gans in the Doctor's Corner is a specialist on using mindfulness technique for T. You can read up on her writings in that section. I am not sure mindfulness is considered a form or self hypnosis but it sure helps to calm the nerve and to accept unpleasant sensation such as T ringing. Dr. Hubbard's success story also touch on some form of mindfulness when he tried to bring awareness to the T sound as a subject of the awareness.

 

[bianca81]

Ok i will check them out thanks!

 

[bianca81]

I just want to say that i had a better /more optimistic day today thanks to this forum. I kept my positive thoughts during the day and was able to tune it out a little more and not "search"fornit so often...i found that music (at a normal volume no earphones) and singing is helping me every time i enter a wuiet room in my house i start singing (I'm a terrible singer believe me) but it does take my mind off T and cheers me up a bit..BUT its bedtime now and there it is.............just took some melatonin and will listen to my crickets /cicadasounds they work best for my T

Tonorrow is another day and i keep my positive attitude and wont let this T rule my life and change the person i am. Thank younall for the positive posts too they they are really gelping me right now. .im trying to stay sway from my phone and not read so much about it anymore ...

 

[bianca81]

Quick question...is it worth i going back to my psichytrist to get back on ativan and zoloft to helo me thru this now (anxiety /panick attacks) or should i just be patient?