New to the Group, Glad to Be Here: Tinnitus Since 1998 from Noise and Ear Infections

Hi everyone, I'm Jen, from Australia, aged 53. I've had tinnitus for a long time now, since around 1998. I'm fairly sure mine has been cause by and exacerbated by noise but also a lengthy bout of severe ear infections in the early 2000's.

I have a low hum that sounds like someone is idling a sports motorcycle in an enclosed garage about three houses away, overlaid by a high pitched whine.

It mostly bothers me when I'm trying to get to sleep and varies from around a 4/10 to a 7/10. I've started researching the condition recently since it's louder in the past few months.

Today I signed up to watch a webinar tomorrow by Liam Boehm but having found this group and read the thread concerning him, I might give it a miss and save myself an hour. I'm curious about only one thing he says in his preliminary hype, which is that melatonin is really bad - anyone have any idea why?

 

We are around the same age.

I have kept to this routine: take a shower at night, take 2 Tylenol PM, use a eye mask, turn on a sound machine, mine is an Ocean sound, and a fan. I sleep well.

 

It's a miracle that I'm able to sleep at all since my tinnitus is loud. I play pink noise on my sound pillow and focus on it trying to sleep, and try to have pleasant thoughts. I keep the fan on and keep the room dark. I also take Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and an AREDS2 eye pill (which has a lot of zinc) before sleep; my sleep seems a bit better taking these pills at night.

 

Welcome to the forum. Most drugs carry side effects and it can vary among different users. Melatonin is more natural than prescribed sleeping drug. Generally short termed use is quite safe. Side effects can be headache. But that doesn't happen to every user. So if it helps your sleep, why not?