Poll: Does Tinnitus Keep You from Having a Job?

[Telis]

Hey, I was just curious. How did this all start? Also, is it possible they could do a CT scan on your brain?

Barotrauma, and then a bunch of ototoxic meds. I also smacked my head and had concussion days after the ear thing. I had a scan done about a year later, they pinpointed the head trauma and said the injury was still there, and not healing. I don't know, a combo of these things I guess. Why things are progressing still, not sure. I hadn't been to a doctor in about a year until the other day, I kind of gave up. He seems to want to get to the bottom of all of this so we will see.

 

[Foncky]

A middle ear issue might actually be pretty good news. If it's fixable you will get some relief.

Anyway, stay strong. There are different causes to your problems. Different causes = different solutions, hopefully.

Can you find relief sometimes when you're at home ? While playing video games maybe ? I'm thinking about doing that. It might be a good way to momentarily escape from T. And it should bring back good memories

Back to the poll : T does not keep me from having a job. But the fear of making it worse and H force me to find another profession.

 

[Telis]

@Telis , I feel for you. I wish there was something we could do to make it better. What you describe definitely sounds well beyond what is typical tinnitus. I can only imagine how bad that must be.

I wonder if a cochlear implant could be an option for you? I don't remember offhand how bad your hearing loss is, but I'm thinking it doesn't meet typical CI criteria. But I do know it is sometimes implanted for people with severe tinnitus. Maybe you could get some kind of exception?

I'm actually interested in learning if a CI could benefit me. Not for T, but for hearing loss in my deaf ear. I have a consultation this Friday to go through some tests to see if there could be any benefit.

-Mike

Thanks Mike. I will look into this but you are right, my hearing loss in the speach range would be considered only moderate but seems to be worsening. I think I will be trying a hearing aid here pretty quick, I have a couple of dips in the speech range that might be able to be corrected, hopefully this helps the T situation a bit. I think most of my sudden loss was beyond about 7khz, I dip into almost nothing after 8khz. I know I had really prime full spectrum hearing prior to the injury. I feel like I'm listening through a tunnel with a ton of distortion these days. It's like I hit a wall now with the loss. I can feel my hearing clipping. Maybe this is what causes pain.

Hope your consult goes well. Thx again.

 

[JasonP]

Thanks Mike. I will look into this but you are right, my hearing loss in the speach range would be considered only moderate but seems to be worsening. I think I will be trying a hearing aid here pretty quick, I have a couple of dips in the speech range that might be able to be corrected, hopefully this helps the T situation a bit. I think most of my sudden loss was beyond about 7khz, I dip into almost nothing after 8khz. I know I had really prime full spectrum hearing prior to the injury. I feel like I'm listening through a tunnel with a ton of distortion these days. It's like I hit a wall now with the loss. I can feel my hearing clipping. Maybe this is what causes pain.

Hope your consult goes well. Thx again.

Most hearing aids have a frequency range to about 8 khz. There are a few that go beyond. For example the Siemens Binax 7bx and the Primax replacement for it goes to 12 khz. I would suggest asking the audiologist if the extended frequency range of a hearing aid could help with the T some.

 

[Telis]

Most hearing aids have a frequency range to about 8 khz. There are a few that go beyond. For example the Siemens Binax 7bx and the Primax replacement for it goes to 12 khz. I would suggest asking the audiologist if the extended frequency range of a hearing aid could help with the T some.

Yeah I've heard that before. I thought that this might be a good fit for me. The audiologist almost laughed at me when I talked about hearing aids that amplify beyond 8khz. She was convinced that they would not work beyond 8khz for some reason, she didn't really say. I will defiantly be trying these with amplification in the ultra high ranges. Thanks again

 

[Martin69]

@Telis
I feel your pain. I can only hope and pray it will get better for you.

Yes, I still do have a job. But I only work from home. Being 9 hours in the office with severe T, anxiety and depression is not really possible. I need my breaks and sound around me. Staying in traffic jam, being around colleagues all the time etc. would take too much energy. Sometimes I take a Trobalt to get some relief for 2-3 hours and drive into the office to meet my boss, pick up stuff and then I drive home again.

 

[Telis]

@Telis
I feel your pain. I can only hope and pray it will get better for you.

Yes, I still do have a job. But I only work from home. Being 9 hours in the office with severe T, anxiety and depression is not really possible. I need my breaks and sound around me. Staying in traffic jam, being around colleagues all the time etc. would take too much energy. Sometimes I take a Trobalt to get some relief for 2-3 hours and drive into the office to meet my boss, pick up stuff and then I drive home again.

Thanks Martin. Glad to hear that you are still keeping it going man.

 

[Martin69]

Thanks Martin. Glad to hear that you are still keeping it going man.

Yes man, I am still alive somehow.
Mine is definitely bad, but not like yours.
I have sometimes a milder day, which helps to breathe.
Also Trobalt once a week helps me for some hours.

Nevertheless I hate this thing that takes silence from me.
I have always a buzzing, hissing head. And if it is loud most days, it is survival mode.
Will see if one day my brain can filter it away. 2 1/2 years now and still counting.

You have so much strength that you go through this BS. I hope you will wake up one day with lower T or silence.

I read a lot of health books, about supplements, the junk food we eat, what it does to our body etc. Reading helps me taking my mind of T (which is impossible honestly). But looking after myself to get more energy fighting through this helps me. It gives me something to work on.

Stay strong. Is your GF still with you?

 

[JasonP]

Yes man, I am still alive somehow.
Mine is definitely bad, but not like yours.
I have sometimes a milder day, which helps to breathe.
Also Trobalt once a week helps me for some hours.

Nevertheless I hate this thing that takes silence from me.
I have always a buzzing, hissing head. And if it is loud most days, it is survival mode.
Will see if one day my brain can filter it away. 2 1/2 years now and still counting.

You have so much strength that you go through this BS. I hope you will wake up one day with lower T or silence.

I read a lot of health books, about supplements, the junk food we eat, what it does to our body etc. Reading helps me taking my mind of T (which is impossible honestly). But looking after myself to get more energy fighting through this helps me. It gives me something to work on.

Stay strong. Is your GF still with you?

Hey, have you tried hearing aids with maskers? They helped get rid of some of my T. Are you taking anything for the depression and anxiety? The other question I wanted to ask if you is what does Trobalt do for you in those 2 and half hours and how much do you take?

 

[JasonP]

Thanks Martin. Glad to hear that you are still keeping it going man.

Yeah I know what you mean. About 3 years ago I went to a hearing aid guy and he acted like there was no such thing as 12khz hearing aids. I had to go to the car to get the pamphlet. Siemens is the only national brand that I have heard of that goes to 12 khz. Unitron makes one that goes to 10khz. You also have to go the a place that does extended audiograms so you will probably have to call around to ENT places or some other place that can do it. A company called SeboTek has a hearing aid called the HD2 that goes up to 14khz but I don't know much about it and I do not know any local places that sell those hearing aids.

 

[William Oliveira]

No, I do just fine. Since I got T I do more work than I ever did before.

I'm a software engineer, and working with code and algorithms really distracts me from T.

 

[Telis]

Yeah I know what you mean. About 3 years ago I went to a hearing aid guy and he acted like there was no such thing as 12khz hearing aids. I had to go to the car to get the pamphlet. Siemens is the only national brand that I have heard of that goes to 12 khz. Unitron makes one that goes to 10khz. You also have to go the a place that does extended audiograms so you will probably have to call around to ENT places or some other place that can do it. A company called SeboTek has a hearing aid called the HD2 that goes up to 14khz but I don't know much about it and I do not know any local places that sell those hearing aids.

Yeah I do get extended hearing tests I'm about 60db loss by 10khz. I try to mask in that range with no luck so not sure aids will help it either but I will try.

 

[Paul D]

Please don't compare me to a junky...

I am not comparing you to a junky, nor do I pretend to have the answer(s). This has absolutely nothing to do with your or my egos; I was trying to communicate my opinion on what might possibly work and what, in my opinion, will certainly not. That's what exchange of information on forums is about; we all have this one thing in common, though symptoms and severity certainly varies from person to person. Sorry if I offended; it was not my intention.

 

[Andunwoody]

I used to teach kindergarten, hearing loss made me decide to take early retirement. About six months after a failed stapodectomy operation the T began in earnest and after another six months or so I went back to work as a part time nanny to some older children simply to take my mind off the T.

 

[Martin69]

Hey, have you tried hearing aids with maskers? They helped get rid of some of my T. Are you taking anything for the depression and anxiety? The other question I wanted to ask if you is what does Trobalt do for you in those 2 and half hours and how much do you take?

Yes, I tried maskers, hearing aids and combination. But if you have T above 15 khz, neither maskers (with white, pink or brown noise) nor hearing aids help.

I take 200 mg. It lowers T 4-6 levels (from 10/10 to 4/10 for example) for 2-3 hours. For me best effect is: Taking a Trobalt on empty stomach, wait 20 minutes and taking a shower. Once the effect kicks in, I feel dizzyness. The shower gives additional residiual inhibition and I do not hear T that much. So it goes down and has an anti-anxiety effect. It acts like a benzo, but T also goes down. But I need to say that with lorazepam or valium, my T also goes down. So I don't know if Trobalt is really much different from a benzo. Therefore I only take one every some days. I see it as a little tool in worst moments. As we know, it is no cure.

 

[Michael2013]

Beware of CIs! Their main side effect is causing T. But no one selling CIs will tell you! It's the dirty secret of the CI manufacturers and physicians.
Moreover, CI is not comparable with normal hearing everything sounds robotic!

I wouldn't call it a dirty secret, but you are right. Tinnitus is a possible side effect of a CI since the implantation usually results in damage of any residual hearing that is left. Generally, from what I have read about others' experiences, the CI often reduces tinnitus while it is being worn. When I asked about tinnitus as a side effect, the audiologist was very upfront about the possibility.

What I'm also learning which is interesting is that even though the sounds are not normal from a CI, even people with normal hearing in one ear and a CI in the other ear can find benefit overall. So yeah, it's not normal hearing, but it's better than no hearing.

-Mike

 

[Michael2013]

Thanks Mike. I will look into this but you are right, my hearing loss in the speach range would be considered only moderate but seems to be worsening. I think I will be trying a hearing aid here pretty quick, I have a couple of dips in the speech range that might be able to be corrected, hopefully this helps the T situation a bit. I think most of my sudden loss was beyond about 7khz, I dip into almost nothing after 8khz. I know I had really prime full spectrum hearing prior to the injury. I feel like I'm listening through a tunnel with a ton of distortion these days. It's like I hit a wall now with the loss. I can feel my hearing clipping. Maybe this is what causes pain.

Hope your consult goes well. Thx again.

Well the consult went OK for me. I was hoping to leave feeling more confident in one direction or the other. But the audiologist was very careful to make sure expectations were set low. It does seem there is a potential that I could have some benefit. With my long term loss, it's something they would never know until we try it.

But since the appt, I have been reading about experiences and I asked on a facebook group about tinnitus. In general it seems for most people their tinnitus lessened after getting implanted. Of course that's still not a great solution for people who still have tinnitus and near-normal hearing levels.

 

[IreneO]

Virtual hugs for everybody who's having a bad time with this thing. Hang in there.

Re. the poll: T does not keep me from having a job. Having a job to go to, and feeling I can still function normally-ish, has been hugely important for me. My focusing abilities are definitely crap and it is a struggle when I get spikes, but I know I'd be much worse off if I didn't have to show up and put my best side out 5 days a week. I realise that everyone's mileage varies on such things, though.

 

[Julien87]

Personally, no. I currently work from home, and I also worked several years as a project coordinator in a translation company and my tinnitus have never been a problem in my professional life. I have not a severe case of T though.

But there are some jobs that I could not do, because I became kind of afraid of loud noises and would not stand working in an industrial environment or around crying children all day. It would make me incredibly anxious everytime.

 

[JasonP]

Yes, I tried maskers, hearing aids and combination. But if you have T above 15 khz, neither maskers (with white, pink or brown noise) nor hearing aids help.

I take 200 mg. It lowers T 4-6 levels (from 10/10 to 4/10 for example) for 2-3 hours. For me best effect is: Taking a Trobalt on empty stomach, wait 20 minutes and taking a shower. Once the effect kicks in, I feel dizzyness. The shower gives additional residiual inhibition and I do not hear T that much. So it goes down and has an anti-anxiety effect. It acts like a benzo, but T also goes down. But I need to say that with lorazepam or valium, my T also goes down. So I don't know if Trobalt is really much different from a benzo. Therefore I only take one every some days. I see it as a little tool in worst moments. As we know, it is no cure.

Have you ever tried Lyrica for tinnitus? Don't know if that would help or not I sympathize with you

 

[Mathew Gould]

I have a work at home job or I would have had to quit. Also with my neck and jaw issues I wouldn't be able to work in a normal environment.