New to This Forum

[Tera Mackenzie]

Hi everyone,

I've had tinnitus for about 2 years. It has just lately increased in volume and I am working to habituate to this level. Today I am having a bad day as the TV doesn't seem to be helping as usual. I've been taking lipo-flavinoids but only for a week. If I could only have a reduction in volume I would be happy. I've been praying about it too. (I believe in the power of prayer.) Thanks to all of you who participate in this forum as it helps me to not feel alone.

Teri

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Tera,

Welcome to the site! This site is literally a one-stop-shop and serves as an invaluable resource for this of us afflicted with this nuisance known as tinnitus.

Have you seen an ENT lately for a check on ear wax as well as a hearing test? Have you been in any situation that could lend itself to augmenting your T, ie. loud environment, airplane flight, swimming, stress, or anything of the sort that could cause a spike?

 

[billie48]

With the increase in T level, the first thing is as Mike suggests, try to go see an ENT to see if there is medical issue with the ears.

There are many causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including drug reaction or side-effects, ear or Eustachian tube infection, ear wax build up, ear drum injury, fluid build-up feeling pressured, TMJ, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma, neck muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's, barotrauma from flight, grief for the loss of love ones, untreated sleep apnea, elevated stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc. If you can trace the cause of T, particularly somatic T, then it is easier to plan your strategies to deal with that.

I believe in the power of prayer too and I wish you well. Try masking your T if you find the new level bothering you too much. If you don't know where to find masking sounds, here are some suggestions:
1) Mask at bed time so you can sleep better. Find whatever sounds/music that are soothing to you. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for this, or a computer with speakers.

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds.

3) If you have computer and speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds too:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: http://mynoise.net/

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.