The pitch keeps getting higher and louder :(

One of my pitches, the one in my left ear, seems like it keeps getting higher pitched and louder. Like a dog whistle combined with a tea-kettle. It's so distressing I can even hear it in the shower cause it's not a low enough frequency to mask. How on earth can I habituate to all of this if I can't even ignore this one stupid tone?! I've even started taking melatonin to knock me out at night so i can go to sleep. I miss being able to sleep under my own power. And I miss being able to do things like go for a walk, listen to music, watch tv, play music, or even just browse the internet, without being distracted by this thing. After a few months the longest I can ignore it is a minute. I wanted to be habituated to this by the 6 month mark so when it becomes diagnosed as chronic, I wont even care that much. I don't want to take years to habituate but I'm so stuck right now. I've accepted that I will have it for the rest of my life, doesn't mean I like it or am okay with it.

I was happy for only one hour today. That's it.

 

I recently watched the DVD "The 4 Keys to Successful Tinnitus Management". I found it the most encouraging resource that I have come across. It cost me $32 from http://www.tinnitus.org.au/Shop/4-Keys-to-Successful-Tinnitus-Management-DVD
I am not connected to this association in any way.
The DVD was made by a man with chronic tinnitus who gave up his job as a school principal because of his tinnitus but now is managing his life very well. I have watched the DVD several times, especially when I get a bit depressed about the condition, and it helps me become more optimistic about things.
Good luck!

 

I hear the same high pitched sound

 

I know what you feel. Mine too increased recently. Hight pitched noise in my right hear :/
But stress increase T. Protect your Ears, and one day you will less notice it, and after less again...

I think we have to accept it to maybe see T decrease.

 

@Quentino accepting it is so hard i dont know how other people here do it!
do they just wake up one day and accept it or is it a process. because im doing everything that people are telling me and i feel like i get no where with it.

 

I know how you feel. A high-pitched tone that cuts through everything. I am facing the same.
The only thing that covers or interferes with it is an app called Cricket Sounds I found on Google Play Store.
There is a soundtrack called Cicadas High Pitch. When I listen to this, I cannot hear my T.
Nevertheless, it is very difficult to cope and not freaking out.
People with very loud T have habituated. But it takes time. For example Dr. Nagler was bed-ridden for one year with an unmaskable T.
Try to live day by day and eventually we will reach habituation.
You are very early after T onset. Be patient.

 

It's definitely a process - that 1 minute you ignored your tinnitus is supposed to turn into 5 mintues, then 30 minutes then an hour, and so on. That's the theory.

 

Do you have other examples of people with loud t who have habituated, except Dr.Nagler?
@Martin69

 

It sounds to me that your T still occupies your thoughts almost all the time. You also express negative thinking patterns that are NOT helping you at all, like this: "I miss being able to do things like go for a walk, listen to music, watch tv, play music, or even just browse the internet"

I know it's hard, but try to exactly these things that give you pleasure. Go for walks, listen to music, watch (good) tv and films etc. Or how about starting new hobbies? Try running, sign up for DIY classes etc. Trying out new things is a great way to get your mind focused on to new things -> distract it from T -> helping you to habituate.

When my T started and I was more or less in the same state of mind you are now, I began to look for new things into my life. Actually quite many people do the same when a crisis hits them and eventually they change into a happier person than they originally were. We could try to treat T the same way - a cross road in our life's path.

 

Hi Dan.
Just read about member Austin Powers from the yuku board.
Could hear T above the shower and now no longer notices it 99.9% of the time. Sounds like a miracle.
Contacted him via PM and he said himself: "Its difficult to explain how something that was such a problem dissipated".
Another one is here where he hear T in the shower, but no longer notices:
http://www.reddit.com/r/tinnitus/comments/trn2m/tinnitus_16_years_later_tinnitus_oh_yea_i_forgot/

 

Yes, it was hard to take that ultra high pitch scream of mine at the beginning. It used to drive me to relentless panic attacks on auto mode when I woke up most morning with that scream. I had to instantly reach for the meds, Ativan, Prozac, just to calm the nerves. I never thought I could accept and coexist with this sound. But given no choice, complete acceptance or facing nothing but misery, I decided to accept it no matter what. To do so you have to learn to minimize T and maximize your life force.

If you read my success story here and on Yuku, I talked about some of the things I did which work for me. It may not be for others. Even when you can't seems to accept the ringing now, just tell yourself that you accept that you are having trouble accept that dog whistle at this stage, but that you have faith that you can eventually accept the sound and its alien sensation. If a panic prone person like me can accept this dog whistle over time, have faith that you can too. I have this dog whistle in my ears most mornings, but I keep myself occupied with things to do and my brain just fades it out most of the time. As I am typing now on the subject of T, ya, it is screaming off the chart in pitch and condensed energy like a stronger laser beam against the night sky. It is so awful and alien a sound, but yet it can't generate any more negative reaction from the same brain which used to cave into panic attacks on auto mode.

It is incredible that brain can do that over time, as I continually suggest positive message to my brain including telling it that T is harmless and needs time to get used to. And so it does. This mad screaming is now considered a neutral stimulus. Don't ask me how. It is just time and persistent effort of living my life that is not tinnitus as enjoyably and abundantly as I can. Eventually, the brain caught up and now it doesn't give a dime about the dog whistle. So don't lose heart. It may take a year or two to turn around for some of us. As strong as Dr. Nagler, it still took more than a year to turn around. So don't get over anxious about habituation. Be patient.

 

If the only thing you want is to habituate, it surely will not happen. For me exercise was the key, just fore yourself into it even if anxiety have you. It´s the best anti depressive med there is and with no side effects. I know it´s hard to do other things than just Reading about T and worrying about the future. Try to stay away from the T forums, there is a lot of support here but a lot of misery and anxiety as well. My biggest setback 2 months into T was after Reading one tread that i shouldn´t have read.

 

I'm using the old "fake it till you make it" approach.
The busier I am the less I notice it ... especially when doing something for/with somebody else.

 

Im really sorry to hear that your t seems to be getting louder. I support you and i think a few of us (me included) have the same experience

 

Its the relentless nature of T that gets to you , so in my opinion doing stuff that I used to do before T has heldped me the most. A break is a break is a break . If you get enough breaks from T by doing other stuff you start to remember your former self and realize that in fact it is not completely relentless. Does not really matter if its there or not if you dont notice it and its in fact quite hard to notice it if you keep yourself busy doing fun stuff.

 

Its an interesting experiment to dedicate just ONE day to doing what you used to and act as T is not there.
Might as well , right ?

 

I agree with RaZaH...
Try to keep up your routine and play music. Find some music around the the same pitch as your t or try this site which uses Acoustic cr neuromodulation
Generalfuzz.net/acrn
Also look into HBOT and lipoflavanoid, nac, magnesium, b vitamins...
Find your frequency and experience some residual inhibition ...

 

I'm feeling a tad bit better today and I'm playing some music on my computer (without headphones of course). Kinda sucks cause my mother had gotten my these really nice headphones for Christmas this past year and now I can't use 'em, darnit! But now my high pitch seems to have moved from my ears to my head... Wish it would make up it's mind already instead of changing everyday. I had one day last week where my tones were all pretty quiet throughout the day until night time. I want a whole week of those days!

 

@derpytia someone on here must have told you that when your T changes like that, it is a good sign!! Your T is still recent... Since my spike in May 2014, I've had MANY changes in my new louder T, new sounds for example, that...they come and go... even the sound I've had for 7 years in my righ ear went away completely this week for an entire day (in the right ear I have a shhhhhhhhhhh quite high-pitched, bells and morse code...On Sunday, I had the bells and the morse code, the shhhhhhhhhhhhh which was my baseline since 2007 was completely gone).

How do you explain THAT? After 7 years... I was freaking out of course wondering where the hell did the shhhhhhhhhh go!!! It was back the following morning but I find it "comforting" that some of the noises I have can come and go!

 

Sure you can use your headphones @derpytia! Just keep the volume to moderate levels.

 

If headphones must be used, I suggest looking into some of the so-called safe listening devices out there - here is one example:

www.etymotic.com/ephp/hd5.html

The reason these are a good choice is because they force the sound output to be within a safe range (or at least what the medical community currently believes to be a safe range). At least they are better than headphones which don't block sound output. Listening with headphones on a PC can be a tricky fish to deal with. Users may think they are listening at a safe volume, because - as an example - the output is at "only" at 15% of total output. But this is misleading. Volume output depends on the voltage of the sound card; 15% output volume can therefore be different from PC to PC. And the difference can be quite significant. Usually the difference is most noticeable between a laptop and a stationary PC.

 

I bought some Bose Noise Cancelling headphones for on the plane. Are you guys saying this is a bad decision? I plan to listen to very low level audio books, just barely audible.

@attheedgeofscience , im interested in the clinic you went to in bangkok. Would you mind pm-ing me? I dont know how else to reach you.

 

The source could be a lot louder than the previous source you were listening to so even if you keep the volume at a moderate level, you're still at risk. This is what happened to me and and i suspect brought on my tinnitus.

Ears are highly sensitive organs just like your eyes and are not designed for artificial or man-made sounds to be pumped directly into them.

Headphones are a thing of the past for me.

Edit: Actually, I had a think about it and i reckon i'm wrong. God designed our ears and rock music and iPods were always a part of his plan, so of course your ears can handle it. Large corporations said so as well. Forget that story about organs evolving over millions of years, it's pure fantasy.

 

I am in the 4th month since onset. Even mine had moved from ears to head after about 2.5 months. I don't know what to make out of it. My guess is that after about 2 months, our ears kinda heal and open up a bit and become balanced. So the sound seems to be coming from head now because the ears are no more clogged and the hearing impairment has resolved itself

 

yeah, i got the same t-shirt.
it's like everything's affected.
a good mate on this forum has encouraged me to watch tv, walk, etc, wont tell you how long i was housebound.
tell me, does the frequency kind of hurt, do you feel it's quality,
as i type mine is searing, sort of sharp, and that sensation is as punishing as the loudness aspect.
let's hope autifony works out.

hope you get better quick.

 

Could not say it any better @Sound Wave !!!

 

I don't have noise cancelling headphones but I've been listening to audiobooks on my iPod for six months. I keep the volume limit locked at about 50%. It actually helps quiet my T a bit. I don't have noise induced T --so maybe that's why it doesn't bother me.

 

I also would like to know about the Bose noise cancelling headphones. I use mine as well. Do they aggravate T?

 

If you are considering a stem cell treatment, I would suggest you read through these posts of mine first:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-7#post-47995
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-7#post-48004
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-8#post-48089
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-8#post-48131
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-8#post-48135
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-8#post-48513
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-9#post-49742
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-9#post-49936
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-9#post-50074
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-9#post-50081
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...maybe-we-can-know-more.3131/page-9#post-50084

I realize that this may seem a bit unhelpful to some, but there is much valuable information in the above posts. And know this: when I around this time last year set out on my own stem cell journey, there wasn't any information about stem cells and tinnitus on the entire Internet (there still isn't - except for my own posts). I had to spend an entire month reading about stem cells from a theoretical perspective and tracking down what precious little information I could find about hearing loss and stem cells. So even though you will have a bit of reading to do, it is a huge improvement as compared to the situation I was in.

I'd rather you read about stem cells first instead of just handing you the name of the clinic I was treated at. The reason is that the treatment I received in Bangkok isn't necessarily the best option (something I discuss in some of my posts). I'd rather you go through your own evaluation and ultimately find your own treatment clinic. This way you will feel that you have yourself been part of the decision making process - which is quite important because, using stem cells for something like treating tinnitus is very experimental, and there is a chance that you will not see the improvements you had hoped for (and I don't want to be the one to get the blame, in that case; USD 25.000,- is a lot of money after all...).

Take care.

 

Was looking for my sound on the internet. When Billie mentioned dog whistle, I found some examples on youtube. I don't want to paste it here that no one damages his ears. Bit it is unbearable.
This is exactly what I am hearing. If you read comments, people could stand this noise only for some seconds.
I have it now in my head for 9 months.
Shall I live with this for the rest of my life?
How should someone habituate to a relentless dog whistle sound in his head?