New Here Unfortunately, Very Anxious...

[IAmCalifornia]

Hello all. I am looking to introduce myself. I have been lurking through some of these posts, looking for hope. I developed tinnitus this year. It's been... horrendous..

I have this really high tone in my head. In fact, I think I have multiple tones. One is constant, and very distant sounding ones fluctuate. I get spikes occasionally, I guess what one calls "fleeting tinnitus' according to what I have found. It gets super loud, and very different, for like five seconds and thankfully goes back. Very random!! If I gently push certain parts of my head it gets even more squealingly higher! Does anybody know what this means?

This has been a most miserable-distressing experience. I was starting a family last year and I can hardly focus on that. Sleeping is like a chess game every night. i have not been taking care of myself either. Like I upped my vitamins and supplements but it's not doing anything. I'm very depressed and anxious about the future. Every second of every day, it's all I hear. I try to stay distracted, but to no avail. I saw a GP but he was clueless, even worse, i saw an ENT but wow, what a horrible experience that was! He told me my hearing was fine and then offered nothing else. He was at a loss about the ringing!

I have no loud moment that triggered this. I was however an avid headphone user in the past and have gone to a fair share of loud rock concerts. but no more so than the average person! So I don't understand!

Through my research here, it seems maybe there is a connection to the jaw and this phantom noise? Am I reaching? Any hope if I get a splint?

I have a million different thoughts in my head. The big S word, it's been lurking, but I have a wife to think about. But it's so hard....
i'm so scared of this becoming worse.

 

[Bill Bauer]

How many months have you had it, and have you seen any improvement compared to a month after it began?

 

[IAmCalifornia]

unfortunately no

 

[glynis]

I would see your dentist to rule out jaw problems like TMJ and impacted wisdom teath and they can say if a mouth splint would help.
It can take a few weeks to show any improvement so no fast fix.
Love glynis

 

[Cal18]

@IAmCalifornia Jaw is definitely something to look into but really only if you suspect it. When mine came on they said I have TMJ but so do a lot of people... They actually make me a bit worse from all the jaw stretching, tens machine zaps, etc. needed to fit the 4K splint they wanted me to purchase. If you're having fleeting tinnitus, sounds like it's more ear related to me (but I'm not a professional obviously). Also, don't let the ENTs get to you. They're usually clueless and are trained to say "there's nothing you can do, you have to live with it". They're wrong, there is lots you can do. They should have mentioned you can cut back on any caffeine, alcohol and salt, pay attention to your diet, more veggies, less carbs/gluten and exercise even if it's just walking. You may already be doing these things and if you are, that's good and you should continue.

You may want to look into medications if you're truly desperate. It's best to try and do without as you're in the first few months which are the worst. You will start to cope better as time goes on and you should not give up being able to heal at this point (I think fleeting tinnitus is a sign of the ear trying to reset itself so this may not necessarily be a bad sign - you should research it as there are different theories). The ATA lists commonly prescribed meds for tinnitus: https://www.ata.org/managing-your-tinnitus/treatment-options/drug-therapies

**Be careful with benzos and avoid them if you can as even a slow withdrawal might make T worse (but there is a small chance they can lower it - catch 22). In general they are not recommended. If you try an antidepressant, stay away from Lexapro and Celexa, both of these antidepressants have the worst history of causing T.

Important: The worst thing you can do is focus on the future and the dread of the possibility of having to live like this. I did this for 3 months and it got me nowhere. You have to just focus on the moment and anything that makes that moment even slightly better. Put together a regimen that focuses on anything positive you can do to heal yourself. Supplements can work but they don't overnight. You really don't know what the future holds, you might continue to heal, there might be a cure or it might not bother you as much after a while.

Have you recently quit taking any prescription medications such as benzos or an antidepressant? Are you taking blood pressure medication or any other meds? I know it seems harder when you can't pinpoint the reason. Best of luck to you, don't give up on the possibility of feeling better.

Forgot to mention that what are describing is called somatic tinnitus. If you have trigger spots, you might benefit from massage, craniosacral or a good osteopath that doesn't use too much manipulation.

 

[IAmCalifornia]

@Cal18 Wow that's very informatice. I had cut down on caffeine and alcohol. but i recently went back and yeah maybe I should have kept up the abstinence.

Benzos scare me, my doctor was eager to prescribe them though so maybe I'll try it.

What does an osteopath do! I'm goin to research that. Guess it won't hurt to try it out

 

[Cal18]

@Cal18 Wow that's very informatice. I had cut down on caffeine and alcohol. but i recently went back and yeah maybe I should have kept up the abstinence.

Benzos scare me, my doctor was eager to prescribe them though so maybe I'll try it.

What does an osteopath do! I'm goin to research that. Guess it won't hurt to try it out

Benzos should really be a last resort and you should research them more before committing - doctors are sometimes too liberal with handing those out. You'll see some users here who got their T from benzo withdrawal or tolerance, so please be careful. I would recommend all the natural stuff first, then MAYBE and antidepressant.

 

[Carlyi]

It seems like it's muscle related if the pitch changes when you touch your face.
Does it also change in volume when you open your mouth wide?

 

[DebInAustralia]

It seems like it's muscle related if the pitch changes when you touch your face.
Does it also change in volume when you open your mouth wide?

Somatic t. quite common.

 

[summ]

Sleeping is like a chess game every night.

Very well said.

I wouldn't be scared of fleeting tinnitus. I get it at least 20 times a day, almost always when I turn my head to left or right and it always calms down.