Suffering from Tinnitus for Almost 2 Years

Hi. Hoping I might find some help. It was July of 2017, and a normal Friday night. I went to sleep and woke up the next morning to the ringing. I also had minor nausea and felt kind of sea sick. The sea sick feeling went away after about a day. The ringing at various levels has stayed with me.

When it first started my ringing was very loud and annoying. Now, it is about a third of it, yet still annoying. I have had this almost 2 years. It stinks. I feel like I am constantly recovering from being knocked out.

I have tried all kinds of things figuring something had to have changed in my body to cause this. I stopped using all artificial sweeteners, lowered carb intake as much as possible, started regular vitamins and supplements, stopped drinking my well water and had water delivered, and stopped smoking (cigars)..........just started Apple Cider Vinegar yesterday, so that is too early to know if it will help. I am also going to be starting an herb concoction to promote a healthy microbial balance in my body.

I just deal with this, but I am getting very tired and frustrated with it at times. I want to believe I will beat it or at least find something to get to a level of tolerance.

 

If you are interested in some positive research updates:

• Neuromod, an Irish company, is planning to launch a device for tinnitus this year in certain European years and hopefully next year in the US
• the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota are working on similar devices which might be available in a couple of years

Some things you could try

• as you probably know: give your ears a break, protect them from loud noises
• some people recommend not to listen to anything through earplugs or headphones
• use a mouthguard if you grind your teeth at night
• see a physical/massage therapist if you have issues with your neck, jaw or cervical spine
• be aware of your posture
• listen to white noise or natural sounds during the day and at night so that your brain can focus on something else
• there are also people who've said that CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) has helped them to cope better

Supplements you could try

• Magnesium or Magnesium Citrate
• N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)
• Nicotinamide Riboside
• Vitamin D, Vitamin B12
• CBD oil

 

Do you have a history of loud noise at work, or loud music, headphones, loud cars?

Any medications before hand that may have triggered tinnitus?

Any head injury?

 

Thanks, I will look at your recommendations. To this day, I can't think of one thing I did to cause this. Just woke up one morning and there it was. I did go to an ENT right away and he had me take Prednisone, but that didn't do anything.

 

In the vast majority of cases tinnitus is caused by hearing loss, and ENT's don't even check for hearing loss correctly.

 

ENT said there was some, but minor. I think I hear pretty good.

 

What kind of hearing test did they give you, tonal audiogram?
there's higher frequencies then 8kHz, and hearing loss in complex noise (like deceiphering music) is not the same thing as hearing noises in quiet.

 

No loud noises at work, or headphones. I think I was taking Wellbutrin at the time, but I had taken that other times in the past without incident.

 

I guess tonal audiogram. The test where you are in a soundproof room with headphones on and they send various pitched frequencies and tones to your ears. You raise your hand on which side you hear from.

 

The damage is always worse than the hearing test shows.

Recent research indicates that hearing tests used at most audiology clinics and ENTs are not accurate, they only test for hearing loss within the human voice range, learn more here about hidden hearing loss and how hearing speech in noise and music processing is not tested on standard hearing test.

http://hyperacusisfocus.org/innerear/






https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595516302507

 

I already identified the probable cause of your tinnitus, the only thing to do now is protect your hearing. Enjoy your stay on the forum.

 

Which was what?

 

There are unfortunately several stories of people developing tinnitus while taking wellbutrin. It is most likely ototoxic meaning it can cause hearing loss. While no one can say for sure that hearing loss caused your tinnitus, it seems to usually be the cause.

 

I am taking it now. My ears are the same as they were a year ago. So what do I do besides what I already have done?

 

loss of hearing, even the tonal audiogram showed it.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4208401/

 

That's just wonderful. I get to go through the rest of my life buzzed, without the euphoria. I am going to keep trying different things. I am kinda stubborn and think there must be an answer, but I have grown used to my new friend, even though the manners are very bad.

 

Not, not at all. There's a scientific trial going on in Ireland to reduce the volume of tinnitus.

The device could be released next year.

https://twitter.com/neuromoddevices?lang=en
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/q-a-tinnitus-hub-meets-neuromod-lenire.32369/

it use technology called neuromodulation (music and sounds to influence tinnitus)

It also has stimulates the trigeminal nerve through the tongue to target the hyperactivity in the auditory brain.


Look forward to science bailing you out.

 

I got tinnitus from Wellbutrin after going from a 150mg dosage to a 300mg dosage.
I already had mild hearing loss prior to taking Wellbutrin. I think Wellbutrin just changed the way that brain interprets that mild hearing loss.

Not sure if my situation is comparable to yours, but here's the thread that I've been updating monthly that documents my journey with tinnitus so far.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-from-wellbutrin.25849/

It's gotten a little better since I got off of Wellbutrin.