Self-Intro and What I Have Done to Deal With Tinnitus

Hello all,
I am 24, working in Amsterdam as an IT consultant.

When I walked out from a heavy night at the bar, my ears ring, I d go to sleep and knowing in the morning it would go away. But it did'nt happen in that way since early February, 2015. I started my job, moved place, threw myself in projects. I never had a problem dealing with stress prior to 2015. I had school, thesis, graduation, networking...etc nothing would stop me. But that was when I'd bike 10km a day to school, going kickboxing 3 times a week and had a lot of social interaction. It all changed when I had my first job in December 2014. I've got so busy and let myself slip away. No sports! I'd eat whatever they have in the store, no more biking and being outside. Everyday I would stick myself in the buses and trains, commuting to work. I realized this sudden downspiral change would screw my immune system over anytime soon. And yes it did!

I remember falling asleep on a bus one evening after work, with my earphones in the ears. I woke up with this ringing in my ears. I d go to sleep but it wouldn't go away in the morning. By the time, I definitely contracted ENT bacterias (doctor found fluid in my ears and nose and my teeth gums were swollen for days)

So figured myself (and form the doctor) the ringing is Tinnitus. The T didnt bother me that much, but i also got hyperacusis and I found it very difficult to concentrate to work. Also my short term memory gotten really bad after having T&H. Fortunately, my hearing was not affected. Two hearing test and everything seems on normal threshold. There s nothing the doctors in Amsterdam could do about it. I took matters into my own hand.

I contacted my family in Vietnam and decided to go home and meet my home doctor. The ENT was cleared away by antibiotics and just good old salted water. But the T remains. I was advised to try acupuncture. This treatment is valued and very widely available in Vietnam. We have high reputation hospitals dedicated for tradition Chinese and Vietnamese treatments. So for 15 days, I received an intensive course of Electroacupuncture(1 hr/day), 500ml shots of Nootropyl and Ginko straight to the pressure points that believed connected to the brain functions and therapy massage(20m/day). In the East, this kind of treatment course is really cheap. It only costs me about 300Euro (~350USD) for 15 days. And best, it did improve my T&H plus the memory problem. Around day 12th, I'd wake up in the morning and notice if I turned my head to certain position, T on one ear would disappear completely. My H would only kick in when i hear very loud car honks and such. T was never completely gone during the 15 days but I did notice it became very calm, unoticable and it stopped bothering me.

But my holiday in Vietnam ended after about 20 days. I had to go back to Amsterdam for work and now without any treatment T&H are back. I was advised by the doctors that continuing acupuncture for 2-3 months would set my nerve to a better state to cope with T. And then I would need the treatment whenever T comes back but for a shorter term.

Im grateful to find your forum and I really hope to get good information about Tinnitus here. Is there any advise on how to keep T&H remain on the same level and not get worsen. This is my biggest concern. And if you want to ask me any question, dont hesitate

 

Thank you Karen. How did tinnitus initially affected your emotion state ? I strongly believe that acupuncture helps with tinnitus habituation but does not cure T.

My T is probably not too bad. I can sleep just fine at night and I cant even hear it during days while doing work and activities. I also return to my sports routine. I do a lot of fight sports (boxing, kickboxing..) They make me sleep better and strengthen my mental state. So T is really not a concern for me.

What bothers me is H. I hate doing dishes now since they make the worse noise that kicks in H and induces pain in my ear. I also had a mild, come-and-go pain around (not inside) my left ear and left lower neck. I don't really know what is going on and Im trying Tiger palm is relief the pain. It works for a few hours until the pain comes back. Should I probably get a MRI to asset the overall condition?

 

Welcome S. Le. I had H soon after T. My H turned all normal sounds glassy in quality, and they were piercingly hurtful to my ears. The ears felt like being drilled all day by every sound, including TV, driving, washing dishes, restaurant noises, social conversations etc. Even the soft voice of my wife hurt when spoken too close. I had to withdraw from all social contacts. No eat outs, no movies, no concerts., no parties. I had to wear ear plugs to block noises, but the plugs also made my ultra high pitch dog whistle T so unbearably dominant. T & H were like two mutually exclusive tyrants. H forced me to like quietness, but T would kill me with quietness. T forced me to like other sounds to mix in but H would also kill me with these sounds. There is no lesser evil among the two beasts. So I know your challenge, especially H. T was bad, but H is very limiting. You can't stand most places you go and all sounds scare you.

One good news is that my H is the type that fades over time, which seem to be the case for many people who develop H after T. So hopefully your H is that type. You need to protect against loud noise but don't over-protect against normal sounds. That was what other forum members told me during my darkest struggle with H. I took off my ear plugs reluctantly and slowly. Then H just faded over time. If your H doesn't fade over time, you may want to read up this thread on other alternative/treatment but leave drug use as a last resort and with doctor's approval.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/keppra-worked-for-my-hyperacusis.8946/