New to This "T" Thing :-(

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy..........speaking Therapy with ear aids that help with hearing and or giving white noise to get your brain to stop listening to the T.....@Dr. Nagler who is no longer on this forum used to discuss this a lot....so maybe an idea to read his posts on here.

 

You are doing good,, stay away from Clonazepam ..its a benzo drug and it caused my T.

 

Got my T too because of too loud music (festival). didnt have my earplugs in for 1h and it was already too late. That was 14 months ago. The first 6 months were hell too, but i got used to it and in the last 4 months it got more quieter.

The MOST important thing is to not think about it. sounds impossible, but you can do it. It helps alot. As soon as i try to listen to my T it gets louder.

My wisdom teeth are also coming out, i think there is a relation since i got a new T tone few months ago in one side where one teeth came to surface.

 

Thanks Weaveslash. Good to know.

Yes, seems impossible to ignore most of the time for me. -- I just try to stay busy and make noise or mask as much as possible..

I was at a restaurant with my wife last evening and this entertainer started playing guitar and singing. -- I put plugs in and got the heck out of there!

 

Hi John,

I too first noticed my T in the first week after seeing ACDC in Foxboro, Mass just a few weeks before you. It was an outdoor venue( Foxboro Stadium) but realized that there was a speaker a few rows down above us. Fortunately my son and husband are fine. My hearing tested fine but I have been reminded by many on this site that there could be loss at a higher frequency that audiologist do not typically test for. So maybe I have hearing loss or maybe I don't. My ringing is more like a head noise that sounds like a light saber from Star Wars ( thank you @Moe for that description) But for me, coinciding with all this was fluid in my ears, ETD from chronic untreated allergies and some TMJ. I have Invisalign and tend to grind them together during the day and probably at night too. Anyway, accompanying my T was ear fullness and popping and clicking , all of which my ENT believed is from ETD and TMJ. That said, there are a whole host of things that could have caused my T.
Mine is easily masked but sleeping is really hard. My anxiety makes me look for any sound possible. And my anxiety keeps me up. I do tale sleep meds and when really needed an anti anxiety. I bought a sound pillow and am going to try it.

So here is what I have learned. I saw a an audiologist who does TRT. I was not a candidate for TRT, as my T is too low to hear over the partial maskers but she gave me some good information that was all later confirmed by my ENT at a follow-up appt.

1. Protect your ears but don't. Overprotection can actually make things so much worse. I was afraid to blow dry my hair or go to my son's hockey games. She said to still do those things and not with ear plugs. She said the last thing you want to do is make your ears too sensitive. She said the rule of thumb is that if you have to raise your voice to have a conversation you should be protecting your ears. For me that is any place -restaurant/ bar that plays live music for sure. I also brought them with me to the one movie I have seen since this all started. I was able to pull them in and out as the noise level fluctuated. I was also at a fair recently and the rides were super loud so I put them in. She said you won't damage your ears blow drying your hair in the morning. She said if I was a hairdresser exposed to a hairdryer all day for years, then I should be worried. Also, when using earphones, keep volume to 50% or below. I got the noise canceling ones that help you keep your volume low by canceling out all the outside noise you typically crank the volume up to avoid.

2. She recommended masking devices and a sound pillow to decrease anxiety and help me not search for my T. Easier said than done but it has helped a lot and kept me functional.

3 Be educated about too toxic meds. Many meds can cause T but you need to research it and put the prevalence rates into perspective. When you google meds that can cause T the list goes on for days and includes good old Ibuprofen.

Lastly, make sure you read the posts under "success stories " and the "doctor's corner". They will give you hope, and I think you will find Dr Nagler's posts in particular very informative. I was pleased to read that your MD thought your T would improve or resolve in some months. My ENT said the same thing and I have improved but it is not gone. Sometimes I think it is gone and then find it again. I do know people who had T from acoustic trauma who had it resolve many months later so there is hope.

Wow long post huh?

Best wishes,

Danielle

 

Thanks Danielle, I like your tip of not being too protective since that is what I started doing.

I took myself off coffee and caffeine and today was the first day that I really noticed an improvement. -- I'm usually at a 6 but have been at a 7 for the last two days. Today, more like a 3 or 4 which I will gladly take!

I wish you the best. Sounds like you know a lot. Thanks again for the tips!

 

Hi. You are welcome but let me tell you what happened to me tonight. I went to an ice show with my son. I brought my ear plugs and Followed the ENT and audiologist 's advice, which was that I was strongly advised to use them only if the noise level was such that I had to raise my voice to be heard. As a matter of fact, the audiologist originally didn't think I needed them. Anyway we did not have to raise our voices to be heard and even my friend thought it wasn't loud. She thought a movie thearter was much worse. Anyway, half way through the show, my normally quiet T let me know it was there. I would never have heard it in that environment before. I immediately put the earplugs in. They were in the whole time but only partially in the ears in case it got loud. So I inserted them all the way for the rest of the show. Well it seems I caused a dreaded spike. Not too bad but T is way more noticeable now. I should have had them in the whole time. I am so angry at myself. I hope this spike is temporary and will settle back back to baseline soon. Many on this site it does but it is my first one so I have no experience. But I am praying. So I would say say, in any show type situation, ignore what my treaters said and use your plugs.

Danielle

 

I went to a loud restaurant with my wife and had the same thing happen. However, the few beers I had probably contributed.

It will calm down. Mine did the next day. -- Moving forward, I would wear the earplugs 100% of the time to movies, ice skating rinks, etc. Walgreen's has over the ones that are flesh toned and not as noticeable.

Hang in there Danielle!

 

Hi john, good to hear the improvements! Do youhear multiple sounds or a single one?

 

Hello Joe. It's the same consistent medium-to-high pitch ring and seems to be mostly in my right inner ear.

I have been getting little pings of pain in my left inner ear every couple of hours so maybe that side is fixing itself. -- Who knows..

I'm back up to about a 6 ring level today but just going on with life and trying to ignore it.

 

Hi John,

Talked to my ENT today, who by the way, has T herself. We discussed it and she still maintains that she would not encourage ear plugs in moderately loud environments due to the inevitable development of overly sensitive ears and H. My ears are also blocked due to my ETD and and I am getting a slight cold so I think that has contributed to it as well. It is still increased but seems to be getting better.

I am glad your spike did not last. Do you find that alcohol increases your T? Many folks find it decreases it. I am not sure yet for me.

By the way, I invested in some very expensive musicians ear plugs. I had them fitted for my ears and pick them up Friday. They will be my new best friends.
Danielle

 

Hello Danielle,

Correct, no need for plugs with moderately loud. When they turn up the music and everyone starts talking louder is when I insert the plugs (happens a lot at the Chicago restaurants that I attend).

Also, my kids' movies get very loud in parts so I think that 90 minutes on occasion is a good idea. Just my opinion..

Alcohol definitely increases my T (and too much of it is what caused me to be stupid and get it in the first place!). -- Even a slight hangover throws my T through the roof.

I am at about a level 5 as I type this, down from 6 earlier. -- I a lot less stressed now since it seems like something is going on in my inner ears (in a good way). Time will tell.

Where did you get the musician earplugs and how much did they cost?

 

I see. I beleive your T will subside in less than 6 months.

 

Thanks Joe. I hope you're right.

How are you doing? -- Still experiencing a slow but steady decline of "Mr. T"?

 

Yes, getting now periods of 2/10.

Upgraded my nutrition and now boosted DHA to 1g daily, B12 to 300% per day and getting into nutritional ketosis in 6 weeks(the time to adapt).

The thing about ketones is that they increase Gaba production in the brain and that is key to reduce neuron exitability. Need like 6 weeks for my brain to start using ketones.

plus eating tons of green leafy vegetables.

Mr.T is going to get knocked out!

 

Ha ha. Thanks Joe. I will look into Ketosis too.

 

Great. Let me know if u need any help in food selection if u plan to do it which I recommend. It is critical to minimize it in the first year or even get rid of it.

 

Sure. I would love a food recommendation.

If it is easier, you can just point me to a website that you refer to. -- I've already started with the greens. Thanks!

 

http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/ketogenic-diet-plan.html

Let me know if u have any questions.

 

Same here @John Meyers and @joseph Ghass .....I stopped Coca cola (dran about 1l / day) now just water and tea. Supps B12 Zinc Magnesium and Vit D. Also some of moringa (dry) nice supply too.

How did your T start?

 

Mine can be directly tied to me cupping my ears to hear guitar solos better at only ONE concert. -- Stupid drunk'n thing I did. -- I never listen to loud music and wasn't even supposed to go to this concert since I am sort of done with concerts..

 

I would cut tea even if it is decaf as it contains caffeine.

 

Will do. Thanks Joe!

 

U get Spikes with caffeine? I am drinking one Coffee a day... guess nothing special

 

The idea is to relax your nerves and prevent unwanted stimulation.

 

After eating sweets and salty snacks during the Cubs game, my T spiked right back up to a 6 and they didn't even win!

Back on the "greens diet" today with no sugar, caffeine, salt, etc. -- I guess I need to stay goodbye to that stuff for a while..

 

Yeah, once your T fades for good, you can introduce them back with moderatiion.

 

Hi John, all is good?

 

Hello Joe. All is just OK.

I am able to sleep now without major masking but I'm still at a 5 or 6.

I find that just staying busy really helps. I'm taking the Omega-3s, Ginko, etc and eating a lot of greens, no salt, no sugar and only a few beers on the weekend.

I am very hopeful that in month 6 I will be in a much better place.

I'm at 7 weeks and 1 day now. Never counted the days so precisely since I was a kid counting down to Christmas!

How are you doing?

 

Hehe, yeah it will fade slowly with time.

Mine is improving as well. On the ketogenic diet since 3 weeks.