New Here, Tinnitus Since July 2017

Hello everyone. I'm a 57 y/o male, just moved to Houston. When this hit me, I was just siting, watching TV. I thought it was wax build up, but after cleaning my ears, the ringing didn't go away. Went to my GP and he told me I had an ear infection. He gave me some antibiotics, but after I finished, the ring didn't go away. I started getting scared because the ring would be really loud and I was having trouble sleeping. Now, I do have a heart condition and I take aspirin, along with several other heart meds. My GP suggested I stop taking aspirin for 2 weeks and see if the ringing stopped. He also gave me Ambien for sleep.

Two weeks go by and the ringing doesn't stop. Also, the Ambien didn't work unless I took a high dose, 20-30 mg. I would sleep for maybe 4-5 hrs, and would wake with this loud ringing in my ear. A month goes by and the Ambien stopped working all together. At the time, I was living in rural Pennsylvania and I made an appointment with a local ENT, but couldn't get in until October. So I found an ENT in New York who could see right away and I made the two hour drive into Manhattan.

The Dr. was very nice, but couldn't offer much. She had me get an MRI of the Brain, which was normal. Also I got a hearing test which found some high frequency hearing loss. I don't notice any hearing loss. She said to stop all supplements and to stop eating salt. She also recommended I see an audiologist in my area. I had already planned on moving to Houston in Nov. anyway, so I thanked her for her time and came away, empty handed.

Now I begin to go through some real anxiety. Lack of sleep, the loud ringing, so I consulted Dr. Google, reading about tinnitus and getting no relief. I saw an audiologist and all he offered was $5000 sound generators. My GP offered Belsoma for sleep, but they didn't work. I told my wife I couldn't live this way, that I rather be deaf or dead. I was also turning into an insomiac. I really scared my family. After 4 days of no sleep, my wife took me to the ER. I was doped up with 10 mg of Valium and 50 mg of Seroquel. I was able to sleep for 7 hrs. My GP then prescribed me with 25 mg of Seroquel at bedtime and Valium whenever the Seroquel didn't put me out.

So far, the Seroquel has worked for me and I continue to take it for sleep. I take Lipoflavonoid, but I don't know if it really helps. I also take Melatonin, Lavender, drink sleepy tea, whatever natural stuff to help me sleep. I find that I can handle the tinnitus better when I'm rested. I also use phone apps of white noise when the ringing gets very loud. I wear ear phones with red noise at low volume when I sleep.

I saw an ENT here in Houston, but he refereed me to an Audiologist, who recommended Neuromonics. It's $5000, and I said no thanks. She believes the tinnitus was bought on by stress. I laughed it off. I am retired FDNY/EMS. I've gone through a lot of stress in my life from the job. I also went through a cancer scare because I, along with all the responders, was exposed to asbestos on 9/11. I have some lung damage and went through an oncology screen for a whole year. So I don't by the stress explanation.

Right now, I'm on my own, in a city I know nothing about. Are there any support groups available here. Anyone here who can offer something. I like reading the forum here and I do believe the tinnitus can get better. But I sure would like some face time with people going through this.

Thanks for reading my story.