Suddenly There Was Ringing

[Susie Talbert]

Hi. I'm Susie.

I can't recall when I first noticed the ringing, maybe 10 years or so. All of a sudden the sound was just there. Up to about 3 years ago I actually realized that this was not a normal thing. I went to an ENT and basically was told I had to live with it and not focus on it. (Side note: I didn't keep my annual appts but plan to make an appt soon).

I just ordered Helichrysum from Doterra and should get it soon.

The ringing seems to have gotten louder and affecting me more negatively. I have become prone to anxiety attacks, since Sep 2015.

The most frequent way I've been falling asleep over the past year or more is by watching Korean dramas since I have to concentrate on the subtitles. Lately, though, I have had to fall asleep while watching in order to sleep. Meaning sometimes I don't fall asleep until almost dawn.

I didn't realize the social anxiety I've been experiencing could in any way be related to my tinnitus.

I pray that the Helichrysum works and the ENT visit is informative.

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum. If you want to fall asleep easier and if you don't want to take prescription drugs from the doctor, you can consider the natural alternatives, such as Camomile tea, Hops, Valerian tablets, Melatonin, St. John Wort etc. Check out this site on using natural herbs for sleep problem:

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/lib...alth/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia/

Yes, anxiety is bad for sleep and very bad for T. Stress and anxiety will aggravate T. So try your best to stay calm and positive. You may want to try masking to help cope with T. Have you tried that yet?

 

[Susie Talbert]

First, thank you for the welcome.

I occasionally do the chamomile tea.

I'm not familiar with "masking".

 

[billie48]

Masking the T is a way to help control the anxiety or fear for the ringing without using meds. People use nature sounds, white noises, pink noises, music etc., to help mask the ringing. By doing so, the brain is less aware of the ringing. If you set the volume of the masking sounds to slightly lower than T, then you have some other sounds to for the auditory system to focus on other than the dominant T sound.

I used to mask all day for my ultra high pitch dog whistle T. Here are some suggestions for masking:

1) Mask at bed time so you can sleep better. Find whatever sounds/music that are soothing to you. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for this, or a computer with speakers.

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipad with nature sounds or music using itune, or use smart phone.

3) If you have computer and speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or make your own rain sound: http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/rainNoiseGenerator.php

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

[Susie Talbert]

Thanks, Billie! Especially, for the links. I'll give them a try.