Newbie

I'm a 64-year old guy who just started getting symptoms of tinnitus on and off starting this January. By mid-February I mentioned it to my GP who referred me for a hearing test. Nothing but what was surmised as normal drop off for someone my age. Then the high pitched hissing became more a part of my day. I'm anxious by nature, so most of you understand that this has been setting me off numerous times a day. I have not yet seen a ENT specialist... that's 10 days away... and I realize I need to get more medical information before I jump to any conclusions. I also have what are probably exacerbating conditions like arthritis in my neck and extremely tense shoulders. I've viewed this whole thing as an opportunity to start taking much better care of myself... losing weight, managing intake of caffein, alcohol, aspartame. I'm also doing restorative yoga, acupuncture, and massage... as much nice stuff I can do for myself. But the biggest issue for me is managing my anxiety in the face of having to live with this for the rest of my life. I looked into this site as there seems to be a lot of hope here. I'm certainly not alone with this one!

 

Your deffinally not alone!! seems these days its normal for anyone at any age to experience T.. Were you exposed to any loud sounds or anything unusal before the T or did it just pop up randomly with no cause? The arthritis in your neck could possibly play a role in it.. Im no doctor but i guess they say that T can effect people 65 or older cause it seems your ears catch up to you and when they do, they will start tellin you that somethings not right resulting in T.. I wish i was your age before i knew or experienced T.. I too am a very anxious person in general so just the thought of T scares me.. But for now everything you mentioned about managing life style is a good thing just to keep an eye on.. Doesnt mean in the long run you can enjoy things like you use to but before you get a hold on the T ( anxiety) you will know what you can and cant do and hopefully it will improve! And ask your ent about some anxiety meds.. Klonopin is very good to get through the start of it!