New to Tinnitus

Hi, William,

Tinnitus can indeed seem to come on suddenly, for no reason. However, it is possible that the hearing loss in higher frequencies, plus the operation and accompanying drugs, may have had something to do with it. Also, Atenolol may cause, or exacerbate, tinnitus for some people. I used to take Toprol XL, but am totally off it now. My tinnitus didn't go away, but it's not as bad as it was.

I suspect you had some minor ear damage before the vein stripping operation, and your ears were already sensitive. Then, when you had the vein stripping surgery, that may have been enough to set it off. That's what I believe may have happened.

I'd be interested to know if cutting the Atenolol in half helps your tinnitus.

Also, if others have additional thoughts or experiences to share, please chime in!

Best wishes,
Karen

 

William,

You're right about the fact that, in time, you can learn to "tune out" your tinnitus. How much you can tune it out depends on many factors; your level of anxiety, getting enough sleep, the severity of the tinnitus, etc. But you can do a lot to work toward the goal of habituation by trying to live your life as normally as possible, and learning how to distract your mind. Background sounds in your environment can help, such as a fan, soft music, or other steady noise. You can purchase a sound machine, or an app, that has various types of sounds on it that may help to mask your T.

I don't know much about ear wax removal, so don't know if that might help, but others here have had that procedure done, with varying levels of success. Maybe they'll join in this conversation.

The main things for you right now are to try to remain calm (hard to do with this noise in your head 24/7!), get enough sleep, and try distraction techniques.

Good luck, and I hope things will begin to improve for you in the next few weeks or months. You might also try taking some natural supplements, such as magnesium (very calming) and NAC (helps protect your ears from further damage).

Those of us here really do understand what you're going through right now, and are here to help!

Karen