Three Months After Onset, My Tinnitus Has Become a Non-Issue

Hi Everyone,

Back when I got tinnitus, I remember feeling very down about the lack of success stories, so I thought I'd share mine in this section.

I started to hear my tinnitus in October, and it became completely permanent in November.

The first two months were atrocious: I couldn't sleep, I had to take Xanax, was completely depressed, and thought the worst. I sincerely thought I would not get better, that my life was over, and so on.

Now, 3 months after onset, it has become a non-issue. I sleep without masking and have almost no emotional reaction to the sound. Of course, my tinnitus was moderate at its worst (I could hear it over the TV but not outside), but still, it bothered me immensely. The nights were awful because the lying down position made it worst, I felt as if there was a siren in my bed. But I know I'm very lucky to have recovered so quickly.

What helped was AD medication: it treated my high anxiety and helped me sleep.

I hope this can help distressed newbies in the freaking out phase!

Sorry for my English, it's not my first language.

 

Haha! Love this! It's so true though. The first three months you think the world has truly ended. BUT it definitely becomes easier - well until you experience your first spike, then you freak out all over again. And then it settles or you become Habituated.

Ahh the joys of tinnitus.

Your English is absolutely fantastic.

Steph

 

Hi and well done to reach this stage in such short time. My tinnitus also started in October, today marks 3 months with actually. I'm still not great to be honest. Mine is on mild/moderate side, can hear it in quiet rooms but I can't get over it and it freaks me out when I hear it. I got it from stress no hearing loss.

I really would love to stop feeling this way and just move on and be happy again.

Any tips?

 

This is awesome. Please keep us posted if you further improve!

 

Can I ask what antidepressant you are taking?

I’ve tried so many over the years that had terrible side effects that I’m afraid to try another one. I’m weaning off of Xanax and will be taking Klonopin but benzodiazepines aren’t helping me enough. I’ve had tinnitus now for 14 months with a 30 year history of anxiety. I don’t feel that I am making much progress toward habituation.

 

Well, antidepressants were a game-changer for me, it was like all my anxiety had vanished. I also see a therapist for my anxiety, I think it's important to do both, as medication doesn't work as well alone. But I know it's pricey: where I live meds are free, but therapy is quite expensive.

Another "tip" would be to stop visiting this forum for a while. It's a great outlet for severe sufferers and it has a lot of information, but for me, it made me think about tinnitus constantly and it created catastrophic thinking. So I tried logging off for a few weeks and it really helped. Other than that, I constantly reminded myself that it was really likely to go away or to fade after a while, and I tried to have hope about the situation.

Thank you so much!

I take Deroxat, which is a French brand name for Paroxetine. Side effects were pretty harsh at first, but it faded after two weeks.

 

Thanks! I take an antidepressant, which helps in some ways. I definitely read too much on tinnitus so maybe I will try to do that less. The Success Stories of course are very helpful.

 

Thank you!!

 

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to make a quick update: almost four months after onset now, and my tinnitus is getting quieter: I even have periods of silence.

 

That's amazing! So happy for you! We have similar timelines, mine started end of September or early October.

 

This is probably the best tip for everyone that is having a difficult time. What I did in the first months was reading as much on this forum as I can, until I was convinced that I knew everything there is to know. Then I left the forum. Once I left I started seeing real progress.

The point is, tinnitus is only powerful if you give it attention. When you stop giving it attention, it may still demand your attention, but that will slowly fade. At some point you will become insensitive to the sounds so much that even when you think of tinnitus, you can't hold that thought longer than half a minute until you get distracted with something else.

 

Hi again,

Last update for me I think, but this forum has helped me get through the first few weeks so I wanted to give hope as well.

One year after onset, my tinnitus is still here. It has not changed since my last update (constant, high pitch, but masked by conversations and everyday sounds). I rarely think about it, it is definitely a non-issue. I now joke about it with my friends.
I stopped taking AD a few months ago, and I was worried that it might affect the sound or my psychological response to it, but it did not.

I hope everyone get to have a "success story"! I just wanted to say that tinnitus can become something meaningless, even when, at first, it seemed impossible (and believe me I was totally hopeless when I heard it could be permanent).

Today, I think my tinnitus is here to stay, maybe forever, but it does not matter to me at all.

 

@M1436, your tinnitus is there, but sometimes it's silent and other times mostly quiet, almost inaudible?

 

Thank you for sharing!