Spreading Some Hope and Positivity — Tinnitus So Quiet and Non-Invasive, I Barely Notice It

Hi. I just wanted to post my story because I spent so many months feeling desperate and hopeless, and read so many things about tinnitus which scared me to bits. I hope my sorry will bring some reassurance to some of you and help you to avoid the terrible place I ended up in mentally last year.

I was left with vertigo and tinnitus after an ear syringing procedure with my GP. During it I experienced a lot of pain and dizziness and was referred as an emergency patient to ENT. They were not particularly helpful, only to tell me I had a perforated right ear drum and needed antibiotic ear drops. They could not say if the vertigo and tinnitus would heal. I left feeling shocked, worried and panicky.

Weeks later the vertigo eventually went away, after causing much stress and anxiety as well as me being unable to focus at work. I revisited ENT who did a hearing test, supplied me with hearing aids and arranged an MRI scan to rule out anything sinister... The usual story! I was sent away with no support or advice regarding tinnitus. I felt devastated. I was then diagnosed with iron deficient anaemia and became very ill, physically at first. I was prescribed ferrous sulphate which initially helped to ease the tinnitus.

But it came back with a vengeance. It stayed for months. I broke down at work and was persuaded to take some time off. After several visits to my GP who did nothing to help I paid for a private iron infusion in Surrey... I travelled from Newcastle for this procedure and paid a lot of money in the hope it would help. It did. But I still had tinnitus.

Around October 2019, 5 months after the syringing, I had what I can only describe as a mental breakdown. I was suicidal. I had crippling anxiety and couldn't get out of bed, I cried constantly, and I felt like I had lost my whole world. I wondered how I was ever going to get my life back with this noise in my head.

Out of desperation at not being able to locate any other professional help my partner contacted the crisis team. They spent 2 hours assessing me and decided I needed intervention and medication. I was visited by a psychiatric doctor who prescribed me sertraline, diazepam and clonazepam. The latter two being very short term and low dose and reviewed weekly. I was visited by counsellors daily, then every other day, then every three days. It was the darkest time of my life. My two children suffered mentally too and the guilt I felt was second to none. I was almost discharged but had a relapse and it was decided I would stay under the watch of the crisis team a bit longer.

I cannot say enough about this service. It is amazingly supportive and I do not believe I would still be here without them. They saved my life. And thank goodness they did because since January I have made enormous progress. I'm back at work and doing well, I'm back training at the gym 4 times a week, and I have my social life back. Most importantly I love life again and am excited about the future.

I feel normal again. I still have tinnitus but it is really so quiet and non invasive that I barely notice it. It doesn't really get triggered by anything other than constant loud noise sometimes aggravate it. But it soon settles again. I do all the things I did before but am just more mindful of noisy environments and protect if necessary. I don't over protect though as advised by a private tinnitus consultant I was forced to pay for in the attempt to get some advice. He was great and well worth the money. With support from people at work, family and friends, I made it through. I believe I am a better person for this experience although I would not wish it upon anyone. I know prioritise self care and rest, spending quality time with people I love, and not worrying so much about the small stuff. I'm more focused at work and have praise from my manager no end since returning to work. I was told that once my anxiety settled my tinnitus probably would too. I didn't believe it but it was true. The more I have focused on the things that make me happy the better my tinnitus got and continues to get.

There's always hope. Stay strong and please don't let this awful condition rob you off your lives. Do whatever you can to focus on the things you enjoy. I wish you all well and happiness.

 

I’m happy for you. This isn’t true for everyone but it’s very true for me and some others. I had a lot of physical and other health problems in my life when I got tinnitus and the more unhappy/stressed I am the worse the tinnitus gets. It can be a huge vicious circle, or as you have found, a virtuous circle. In many cases the best shot people have at this thing getting much quieter is just to live their life and be as happy as possible.

 

That's wonderful! So glad you are feeling better. How long did it take before you felt better? Was it 7 months? Many blessings for continued healing.

 

Congrats! When did you begin to notice the volume decrease?