New to Site and Looking for Friendly Advice! :)

[JonnyL]

Hello everyone, I'm brand new to the site and have had tinnitus for just 2 weeks. It first started after coming off a 15 hour flight, while around the same time I picked up a nasty cold/flu. I have a high pitched constant sound in my left ear, but I do not have any pain or loss of hearing. I'm still getting over the cold/flu but the ringing in my ear hasn't changed. Doctor perscribed me a nasal spray to help unblock sinuses as he thought that might be causing the problem, but have used it for over a week and I still have a cold and the ringinf hasn't changed. Really not sure if this will be permanent or temporary or how I would be able to find out! Does anyone have any advice as if this is perm tinnitus it has only been 2 weeks, so maybe there is hope for early treatment.. steroids or something? Please help, and thanks in advance!

 

[billie48]

Hang in there. It may settle down. Your T is very new and it is caused by a cold which is still going on. Perhaps when the cold is over, your T will taper towards silence or hopefully subside. Don't panic. Steroid treatment is often recommended by TT members for acoustic trauma. Not sure if yours is caused by that. But it doesn't hurt to try the steroid treatment.

T is known to be unpredictable. So no one knows if T will subside in your case. It will be nice if that happen. But even if T goes on, it is not the end of the world either. Many members here, even those who have written their success stories, have T that doesn't go away. Instead they habituate to the ringing and live a normal life. I am one of those who had a tough time at the beginning. But now I din't give a dime to T, high or low.

 

[JonnyL]

Thanks man. That really helps! It sounds strange, but I have a feeling that this isn't just going to dissapear even when the cold wears off. The sound has been constant and the same pitch and volume for the last two weeks. It has taken a bit of getting used too to live with this and it's hardest to deal with at night when trying to sleep or when working at home. I almost feel as if listening to any other noise (even the fans on my computer) is better than concentrating on the T. Do you have any tips on how to make ignoring T that little bit easier at first? Many thanks

 

[Karen]

Hi, JonnyL,

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk! I agree with everything billie48 said. If your tinnitus is still bothering you after the cold is over, you might want to go back to your doctor to ask for a prescription for prednisone. It does help some people whose tinnitus is new.

However, it's very possible that your tinnitus will subside as your cold goes away. Please give it some time to see what happens. Even if it doesn't, most of us who have had tinnitus for awhile have found that we habituate to it, and are able to live our lives normally in spite of the tinnitus. We don't listen for it any more, and it doesn't bother us.

Please be sure to read the "Don't Panic" section on the upper right hand side of the home page on this forum. There are a lot of tips for new tinnitus sufferers and a link to sounds you can download to use as background sound.

Take care, and please do keep us posted on how you're doing!!!

Best wishes and hugs,
Karen

 

[JonnyL]

Hi Karen. Thank you so much for your helpful advice! Knowing that I'm not alone with this has really helped me in dealing with T. Whether it is temp or perm it's good to know that there is always help and advice out there. Thank you!!!

 

[billie48]

I agree with you @JonnyL. It helps to know that tinnitus is very common. Millions have it and the majority are able to continue with life normally. My wife just told me one of her dance friends has a spouse who has T for many years and his T is reportedly loud enough to bother him at times but life goes on with him and together they raise a family. My colleague's wife has had T for over 20 years. She needs masking music all over the house including the bedroom. So he has to sleep in another room for many years. LOL. But she manages to cope with T in this mode for years and she raised her 3 kids to adults. One of my doctors told me he had T since 12, but he got used to it and even went on medical school. If fact if you check around the social circle, you will be surprised that T is quite common and many who have it didn't talk much about it until we ask them. In fact, Jade wrote her success story after realizing that many of her colleagues also have T but go on with life normally. Jade is a lady driver of heavy mining trucks and she said her T is above the noise of a 800 tons truck. Yet, by changing the way she thinks about T after realizing so many colleagues having T too, she began to turn around.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/6-months-tinnitus-still-going-strong-but-so-am-i.3226/

I also realize that many celebrities have T too. Google celebrities with T and you will see a long list. Here are two gentlemen you will recognize, David Letterman, a famous comedian, and William Shatner, the captain of Star Trek. They both have T. Shatner was reported to suffer quite bad initially. But he got better and in this 1996 shows, they brought their T to the open audience, so people know that T actually exists and can be hurtful. Being a comedian show, they talked about T with a sense of humor. I had a big laugh when watching it and it surely helps me to feel better after realizing that T is quite common and there is still life even after T. Take good care & God bless your recovery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCdx8aueK9I