Tinnitus and Insomnia for Months — CURED!

Hey, just want to say that I understand what you’re going through if you’re dealing with this. I had horrible tinnitus at night that impacted my sleep for a months on end and I never thought it would end.

Please understand you will end up beating this. Your brain will adapt to it and it’ll either fade away or become background noise that you don’t even notice.

I thought my life was over. I was in a living hell. I came back stronger than ever. More successful than ever. With an amazing outlook on life.

Embrace the pain, anguish, anxiety, and depression you’re feeling right now. I PROMISE you, you will overcome this and become MUCH stronger because of it.

 

How long did it take you?

 

So you only had tinnitus at night since 2016? Did you hear it during the day at all? What was your recovery timeline like? Do you hear it anymore at all?

 

This is NOT cured if you just finally habituated to mild to modest tinnitus. If you are, thank your lucky stars you CAN... until it gets worse of course.

 

Michelle - It took my about 3 months to eventually move on. What helped me is forcing myself to stick with my daily routine and staying busy. Once you stop giving a fuck about it, it stops being a thing. Trust me.

Matchbox - you’re wrong. I go to clubs, concerts. Live a normal life. It’s gone completely. I sleep like a baby every night.

LostinTX - nope, I don’t hear anything anymore. I beat this and all of you can too. NEVER GIVE IN. THERE IS HOPE.

 

Some specifics would be nice. I did assume this was a habituation post, as in "you don't hear it", when you actually do, it just doesn't cross your mind, vs. it's absolutely quiet and you hear someone ask about tinnitus and you aren't suddenly aware, it's nowhere to be heard.

How long did it take to fade and was there anything you specifically did for treatment, meds, or disorders that you figured out? For how long have you been going to clubs giving no shits?

 

Matchbox - I worked out regularly and I find that intense cardio exercise really helped slowly tame the tinnitus over time until it faded away. Zero meds.

 

Thank you. Can you give more details please? How loud and intrusive was your tinnitus? Could you hear it only at night or was it present in day since 2016? It wasn't clear from your original post. Just to understand, you also hear nothing on your pillow at night now? Is that correct? I am 17 months in and the tinnitus has decreased a lot in the past 4 to 5 months, but I am trying to remain hopeful I can be back to myself.

Thank you so much for coming back here and telling your story. It gives me hope when I see these posts.

 

Let’s hope it doesn’t get worse. That doesn’t happen to everybody.

 

I could hear it both day and night. It was always louder at night when trying to sleep. I was in a very dark place. But it made me so much stronger once I snapped out of it. You will too. I’m happy it happened to me, it made me so much more successful in every aspect of my life. When you think you’re life is over, taking big risks don’t matter anymore.

Has your sleep been impacted by your tinnitus?

 

Yes, I have to take a lot to sleep. Melatonin, CBN and Gabapentin. It's been life altering. Going on 17 months and I can hear it 24/7. It has changed from so many noises to now just high pitch hissing that feels in my left ear or head. I'm trying hard to remain positive since I'm seeing changes. I'd be better to deal with it if I couldn't hear it in the day and could watch TV or work without hearing it. For sleep, it kind of sounds like a white noise to me so that helps. I wish I was a "mild" tinnitus case.

 

How long was it from your onset to full recovery?

 

LostinTX - I’m so sorry to hear this. You will get better, never lose hope. Have you tried exercise? Running/cardio is really good for the blood flow and made a huge difference for me. Try some kind of exercise routine. Even if it’s just something minor. Wish you the best of luck. You will recover.

 

AfroSnowman - It took me about 3-6 months to completely shake it off. First couple months really sucked. Never lose hope. Ever.

 

I'm still very confused since your info says you had tinnitus since 2016, but "took 3-6 months to get rid of?"

What happened between 2016 and 2021?

 

Was yours noise-induced or how did it start?

Also, if you are going to gigs and concerts, does the tinnitus come back or is silence your new reality?

 

My GOD, the replies on this post are upsetting. This is an amazing story of positivity and hope, and OP is being bombarded by a million pessimistic and triggering questions, questioning the validity of OP's claim. He got better. That's amazing and worth celebrating.

 

Most people that got over their tinnitus don't really use the forum. No wonder lots of people here are so pessimistic.

 

@IAmCalifornia -- Unfortunately, I fully understand some of the replies. The story is fairly familiar to a number of others that have shown up on this forum. A fairly vague story, accompanied by all kinds of guarantees that things will get better for everybody. If only that were true! There are no guarantees in life, and I find it a bit disconcerting to have somebody tell me there is, especially about something as complex as tinnitus.

I'm truly delighted @John Roberts has (apparently) gotten rid of his tinnitus, and this is not a habituation story. But I have to say, testimonials of complete cessation of tinnitus on this forum are extremely rare, and is just not going to be the case for most of us. Will most of us have our tinnitus improve, or our ability to cope with it improve? I'd say yes. And I agree with John that the journey out of catastrophic tinnitus can make us stronger.

But are there any guarantees about any of the innumerable probabilities that may play out? I'd say no. As they say, the only guarantees in life are death and taxes.

 

I really don’t know what the point of that reply was.

 

Sounds like the typical story of someone with mild/stable tinnitus.

 

While mainly true there are objectively severe folks living and loving life, @MindOverMatter @fishbone @billie48 to name a few. I’m trying to be the next one to “make it through” but I’m still struggling. Some may also call my tinnitus mild, who knows lol. I’m sorry you’re suffering so much but it’s not over for you. Glad you’re still fighting the fight.

 

I really appreciate the kind words ❤️

In my opinion, stability is key. Having tinnitus that spikes/changes daily from mundane noises (or no reason at all) puts us through hell and high water.

I have recently been having bouts of stability (whereas before I was spiking from *everything*) and it is much, much easier to cope if it stays the same, even while on full blast.

 

I agree. Mine is unstable as well and it’s frustrating... and yours is more severe so I get you. So based on what I’ve read from past members who were similar to yours, it seems lots of time it will stabilize. Remember you will have mini relapses, don’t fret, it’s part of the process that I’ve seen. With stability and time your brain can eventually adapt and your quality of life should improve. <3

 

How have you achieved this stability and how long since your last permanent increase did it stabilize?

 

I don't know. I honestly wish I had an answer, but this bullshit condition doesn't have any rhyme or reason. Time, I guess. I changed apartment to a quieter one, too.

I had a permanent increase after my idiot neighbor used an angle grinder and hammered on his balcony. I also have an increase if I talk for longer than 20-30 minutes or have long conversations without letting my ears rest.

 

Thanks for the positive words!

My QoL is royally f*cked anyways because of my catastrophic hyperacusis. It's getting a bit better maybe but nowhere fast enough. Gonna be stuck with this shit for years.

 

Maybe, maybe not. It’s going to be a battle for sure but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. Something to look forward to even if it takes a long time.

 

@Matchbox, you are always a ray of sunshine!

 

Gabapentin is highly ototoxic. I bet your high pitched tinnitus is between 3600-4000 Hz. Most people who get tinnitus from Gabapentin have it in that range. I took Gabapentin for one month, and I've had tinnitus since April 19th. CBN is also ototoxic.