Tin-a-tus, Tin-i-tus

[devonlee]

I don't even know where to begin. I'm a nurse. I feel that automatically means that I should have all the answers to this tinnitus problem. Truth is, I wasn't even pronouncing it correctly until recently.

My tinnitus started as an occasional thing, maybe up to a few months ago - I kind of guessed when the forum asked me for a timeline. I associated it watching too much TV or listening to music on my drive home, neither particularly loud though. As of a week ago, the tinnitus became constant. It doesn't keep me awake but I have noticed it is extremely difficult to focus. There has been no loud noise exposure, no head trauma, no whiplash ect. I was actually off work for 6 days when the constant tinnitus started.

I have a referral from my family physician for a hearing assessment. Step One. I'm terrified.
I've been told the hearing impairment is "worse in the right ear" but she didn't say how bad it was.
I have noticed over the past year or so, an increase in the amount of times I have to ask someone to repeat something. It drives my boyfriend nuts and has actually caused arguments. Since the constant tinnitus has started, it's so much worse.
I'm actually terrified that this will never go away. That I will never hear complete silence ever again.
I'm terrified that I'm slowly going deaf at only 27 years old. I'm scared I won't be able to work if I lose too much of my hearing. I'm scared of raising my theoretical children with a hearing impairment.

Even worse, when I reached out to Facebook for general advice (stupid idea, I know this now), my aunt mentioned that her husband (my biological uncle) had tinnitus prior to being diagnosed with and subsequently died of, a brain tumor.

So I think it's amazing that this support group exists. I hope it helps me as I learn more about my tinnitus, hearing impairment and hopefully - my diagnosis.

 

[GregCA]

Before you go too far into catastrophic thinking, get your hearing test done and whatever other tests required to get more clarity about what could be happening to you.
Good luck!

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum @devonlee. I am from Canada too on the west coast.

I agree with Greg that too much catastrophic thinking about the future can add so much stress and anxiety which are bad for tinnitus. T feeds on negative emotions as that can turn on the limbic system and you function in fight or flight mode, and the Amygdala takes over processing the T ringing stimulus. Saying that, it is easier said than done as I fell prey into this type of thinking too initially and I suffered needlessly. I have ultra high pitch T and severe hyperacusis and was in a mess hysically and mentally. I thought the future would be filled with suffering but lo and behold today I live a normal, productive and absolutely enjoyable life. What bleak future? The body is hardened to the T sensation and most of the time the brain just fade T out of consciousness. This is called habituation and many members achieve that and write their success story. I wrote mine too and list all the strategies that have helped me turnaround. I invite you to read the success stories so you can learn some insights from others how to get better. Here is mine:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

You seem to be uncertain about the causes of your T. There are many causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug reaction or side-effects, ear or Eustachian tube infection, ear wax build up, ear drum injury, ear fluid build-up feeling pressured, TMJ, TTTS, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma, neck muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's, barotrauma from flight, grief for the loss of love ones, untreated sleep apnea, elevated stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc., etc. Sometimes we can be sure of a definite cause or a combination of them, but often the cause is unknown, like in my own case. The best approach is to stay positive so your limbic system won't take over, and to seek advice from ENT or doctor to rule out medical reason, and to pursue some proven effective strategies that are often shared in the forum especially the success stories. In the mean time, if you need some masking of the T, here are some suggestions. Take care. God bless.

1) Mask at bed time if you have trouble sleeping. 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 ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds.

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

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

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: http://mynoise.net/

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

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Devonlee,

Welcome to the site!

The first step in the process is to get a professional evaluation and that is what you will be doing. Perhaps you have excessive wax build up? Until the ENT takes a look, you are simply guessing. Once you get a hearing evaluation, you will have a clearer picture of the situation. Good luck!

 

[devonlee]

Thanks guys! I have my hearing test booked for my Valentine's Day gift to myself HA! My doctor says that I need to do the hearing test before she can refer me to an ENT which is fine. I'm a nurse working in a hospital so I should be able to see someone here.

I find my tinnitus is so bad on my night shifts (which is usually when I end up rambling away on here). I'm not sure what I can do at work because I need to be able to hear things such as bed alarms, IV's beeping, patients calling out ect.

I'm excited and optimistic about my tests though. Each test will give me new answers, even if that answer is "we don't know" each person will be able to elimate a cause I hope.

 

[racerfish]

Both pronunciations are considered correct.

 

[Alue]

I find my tinnitus is so bad on my night shifts (which is usually when I end up rambling away on here). I'm not sure what I can do at work because I need to be able to hear things such as bed alarms, IV's beeping, patients calling out ect.

Sleep deprivation could be making it worse too.

 

[devonlee]

Sleep deprivation could be making it worse too.

I don't doubt it. Driving home after a night shift is the worst! Maybe I can get a doctors note that says I need to be on permanent day shifts. HA!

 

[devonlee]

Both pronunciations are considered correct.

really?! That's exciting because I like tin-a-tus much better than tin-I-tis.
itis generally means inflammation and therefore I don't like that because I feel like the majority of us don't have inflammation. Do we?

 

[Dominic1955]

Thanks guys! I have my hearing test booked for my Valentine's Day gift to myself HA! My doctor says that I need to do the hearing test before she can refer me to an ENT which is fine. I'm a nurse working in a hospital so I should be able to see someone here.

I find my tinnitus is so bad on my night shifts (which is usually when I end up rambling away on here). I'm not sure what I can do at work because I need to be able to hear things such as bed alarms, IV's beeping, patients calling out ect.

I'm excited and optimistic about my tests though. Each test will give me new answers, even if that answer is "we don't know" each person will be able to elimate a cause I hope.

Did u get your hearing test?

 

[devonlee]

@Dominic1955 Yes I did. It showed mild hearing loss and I trialled hearing aids for a week. The hearing aids made the tinnitus astronomically worse and I decided I was better off without them. I'm waiting for my ENT appointment which is on May 10th. I'm not too optimistic that they'll find anything worth while, but if I can at least get an MRI referal to rule out anything catastrophic I'll be happy. I'm currently trying to get pregnant though and in Canada you can wait 3-6 months for a non-urgent MRI. I'm not willing to put off trying to get pregnant for that long so I'm hoping it can somehow either be expedited or will have to just wait until after.