old hearing loss/new tinnitus/going a bit nuts

Glad to have found this forum and have been lurking for a while. I have moderate to severe hearing loss and have had hearing aids for 8 years. Over the last 2 months I developed constant tinnitus. I have always had just very brief ringing - 15 seconds and it would go away. But this was a memorable onset one evening when my right ear starting with a high pitch teakettle-type noise and it didn't stop.

The noise shifts between - fax machine/tea kettle noise and plain high tones.

Not much to add here - trying to just exist with this development (listen to music, be outside, noise generators on my iphone). And do what everyone says and TRY to not stress about it.

BUT today it's making me crazy which is why I guess I'm driven to post here. It's the first day where I really wanted to tear my hair out.

Well - thanks for reading to whoever does and I look forward to learning more about things that help, don't help etc . . .

Rachel

 

Dont worry, everythings gonna be fine.
it take a little big time to accept the condition and get habituate to it.

 

Agree with this. It sucks, it totally sucks, but the best advice as hard as it sounds, is to embrace it and ignore it.

Be strong, and try to not care, at least over time. Let yourself care less and less over time.

 

Agree - be strong. Mine revved up this year. I panicked at first but your brain learns to cope with it and filter it out. Takes a while.

 

Thanks for the comments. I know fighting it mentally will make it worse -- add stress etc . . .

I did make an appointment with the audiologist and ENT - seems that is recommended for new onset. Do people often report physical sensation in the ear? Yesterday when it was so loud, I swear it felt like sort of like pressure in my ear - a sensation that is hard to describe.

 

Hi - it does feel like pressure, a bit sharp at times but it's not terribly intense.

Karen, you said like someone turning a grinder inside your ear. I was trying to describe the sensation I had yesterday by saying that the inside of my ear felt "coarse." Not that I could physically feel it - but the sensation of the noise was coarse. Grinding. It's hard to describe things no one can hear or feel, it's so subjective.

This will all normalize I'm sure and this site seems to have a lot to offer. People seem very nice on the forums.

 

I did read on hear that some people are getting benefit from magnesium supplements. Can't remember which thread / suggest do a search. I only just started- might be my hopeful imagination but am sure I'm feeling a slight improvement.

 

People who use hearing aids need to be mindful of how often and how many hours per day they use it. Hearing aids (obviously) produce noise to help people hear better. But that noise is not good for the ears. Especially since it is often noise that created the hearing loss in the first place. "Pressure in the ear" is - when other symptoms are absent - usually a sign of inner ear overstrain. In this case "resting the ears" is important and the only real solution.

 

Hi - I wondered about my hearing aids. I need to take more data, but I think the amplification of background noise from the hearing aids helps the tinnitus seem quieter if that makes sense. I "nearly" always have them out at home though - like taking off shoes at the end of the day - I need a rest.

I have near 60 percent hearing loss so I really need to have them in as much as I can manage. I can get along without but I miss a lot. Like the phone ringing which isn't so bad.

Not sure if it matters -- my hearing loss is hereditary - all my sibs wear hearing aids as did my dad at a young age. I got mine in my 30s.

 

Indeed a certain percentage of tinnitus sufferers get relief from their condition when using a hearing aid. Which is why it is all the more tempting for that group of people to leave their hearing aids on (even when they don't really need it).

Agreed, there is no "magic solution" when it comes to hearing loss and tinnitus. Sadly.

 

both of my ears rings, big time but i still can manage it and im playing with my band so. i always protect my ear from further damage.

 

I would like to add this thing about resting the ears from the hearing aids could be wrong.The head audiogist I saw at the tinnitus clinic said to me wearing the aids actually gives your ears a REST from all the straining they have to do and the also dont make your hearing worse over time..

.just sayin'

 

I do think I have a reduction in symptoms when I wear my hearing aids and wear them a bit more than before. But I still take them off for a large portion of the day, and many days just put them in for meetings or dinner out.

The intensity of my tinnitus varies a lot. It's always present, but I have pretty easy days and days where it cycles from really loud to mellow.

Thanks for sharing info you learned from your audiologist.