Quick Introduction: New to Tinnitus Talk — Glad to Be Here

Like most everyone here, I came here to get some help and advice from those with some experience with tinnitus. I have had it for the past few days and quite frankly it scares me that I might have to live with it. I really hope that is not the case but I will give my story in the appropriate part of the forum and then maybe I won't feel so much anxiety about it anymore. I just want to feel some hope. I am confident you good people can steer me in the right direction.

 

Hello and welcome! The success stories category of this forum was a real help to me.

The early days of tinnitus can be pretty scary, but one of the important things to remember is that it will get better as long as you protect your ears. Ear healing can take a lot longer than wounds/illnesses you're used to, so try not to count the days as it can take a while. The tinnitus I was hearing when I first got the condition was waaay worse than what I hear right now, and it was far more prominent when it came to competing with my surroundings for volume. So don't get yourself stuck worrying that what you're hearing right now is going to be permanent - most instances of tinnitus fade or go away completely with time. I can guarantee if your future self would be able to go back in time and talk to you, they would reassure you.

I know the idea of having to 'live with it' can be scary, but there's some good news there too. There have been some promising new developments in tinnitus treatments and the field in general is picking up some real steam, so the likelihood that there's going to be a way to treat it in the short-to-medium -term future is great. But yours could also heal completely or fade to the point where it doesn't bother you any more.

What is the cause of your tinnitus? If you get a chance to see an ENT to rule out some things like fluid in the ear/ear wax buildup it can help to ease your state of mind, but otherwise the key for right now is (as hard as it sounds) is to try not to panic and to distract yourself from it. I was convinced at first that I had an awful case of tinnitus (piercing, high-pitched screeching sounds that competed with everything for volume) but with time my brain learned to put it in the background when I'm not thinking about it just like the floaters that are always drifting about my vision. Sometimes I will go multiple days in a row not even remembering that I have the condition, despite the fact that at any moment I can remind myself and it will come back into my attention. It's like feeling the clothes on your skin - with a lot of tinnitus cases, at some point you stop worrying about it and your brain stops taking it seriously as a threat. At that point it can just dissappear from your perception.

Sorry for the long post, but these are all things I wish I could have told myself when I first got the condition. It takes time to get better, most cases fade or resolve with time, and the human brain is capable of putting it in the background once you've had it for a little while. Stay strong, take good care of yourself, talk to your family members/loved ones about it if you need to vent, and know that it's going to be alright.

 

Thank you for your response. I already feel better. Here is the post I made about my situation if you want to read it.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...ions-a-bit-complicated-hoping-for-help.41278/