Tinnitus as Long as I Can Remember

I am 60 and have had tinnitus for as long as I can remember. As a child I had at least annual ear infections and in late teens was diagnosed with Shingles in my ear canal.

I do not know what caused my tinnitus. I did not listen to loud music more than a few times.

My tinnitus varies in volume but is a steady high pitched almost cicada like sound. With ambient noise I can manage.

When it’s quiet it is maddening! Consequently I always have the TV or music on to distract my brain, when it’s bad I am blessed with the ability to fall asleep fairly quickly so I do not have to hear it for long

 

Welcome to the forum. It seems you are doing quite well managing your reaction to your tinnitus. You are also masking it when it is very loud in quiet settings. If you are bored and want more sound sources for masking instead of just your TV and music, you can try the followings:

1) Mask at bed time by using options such as a sound machine, sound pillow, headband etc. There are good sound machine & pillow therapy systems like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-...d-Oasis-Therapy-System-Speakers/dp/B00MH5HKTA

2) If you need masking on the go, try some free APPs on your smart phone, or load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. Use wisdom in the use of headphones or earbuds as extended use or excessive volume may hurt your ears. Try set the volume slightly below that of your tinnitus. Alternatively, you can use a blue tooth speaker for your phone to play masking sounds from the apps or from youtube videos of masking sounds.

3) For masking sound sources, you can try these excellent masking sounds to see which one masks best:

TT's excellent audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/
or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net
or download free sound generator ‘aire freshener’: http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html
or click play to mix these sounds with this simple sound generator: http://asoftmurmur.com/
or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' or whatever sounds you want to hear.

As for the causes of T, besides loud noise/music or acoustic trauma, there are many other causes, single or combined, which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug side-effects from ototoxic drugs, ear wax build-up, ear-wax removal suction, inner ear infection, Eustachian tube disorder or ETD, ear drum injury, fluid build-up in ears feeling pressured or fullness, sinus infection & congestion especially with a bad cold, TMJ, TTTS, autoimmune disorders such as Lyme Disease & Fibromyalgia, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, anemia, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma/shock, acoustic neuroma tumor, head injury or TBI, neck injury or muscle problems, hearing loss from aging or other causes, Meniere's Decease, barotrauma from rapid pressure changes in flights or diving, especially with congested nose or sinus causing failure to balance the pressure changes, slapping of the ears, deep grief, untreated sleep apnea, extreme/extended stress, anxiety & panic disorder, depression, sleep deprivation, etc. T can also be caused or made worse by unhealthy diet such as too much salt, sugar, caffeine, MSG, alcohol etc. or by lacking some mineral or vitamin supplements, such as Magnesium, Zinc, B12, D3 etc.

Hope things will work out well for you and thanks for your post. Take good care. God bless.