Tinnitus Buzzing Away, Mind Racing

Hi - I'm Tim, 38 years old living in the Bay Area of California. For the last 6 days, I have had nonstop Tinnitus. I cannot determine a cause - no loud noises of recent, no cold, no earwax. I went to bed on Sunday, and woke up to this ringing / buzzing sounds - similar to power lines or a fluorescent light bulb. I got in touch with my Dr's office, and saw the Physician's assistant. She asked some questions about medicines, caffeine intake, etc. Said let's give it a week, dial back the coffee amp up the water, rest, avoid loud noise, and if it's still a problem go to an ENT next week. Fair enough, for Day 1.

I don't drink alcohol anyway, and I cut back on the coffee immediately. My blood pressure is normal. My stress - well that's another story - that mainly revolves around my fairly high pressure job as an exec at a Tech company. Tuesday, I bought vitamin supplements, learning that B12 deficiency seemed to have a high correlation. Picked up Gingko, Magnesium, Zinc, and a multi-vitamin with Iron. I should note, I am a 22 year vegetarian that eats some egg and limited dairy. My diet is good, not perfect, kind of junkier as of the last 6 months or so. I have never taken vitamins or supplements in my life. And to be honest, the last 6-12 months or so, I have been completely exhausted, bruising easily, irritable, and aching both in muscles and in joints.

Meanwhile, the week progressed - daytime was manageable, a little distressing but I'm sure like many people new to this, I was obsessing over whether the sound was or was not there. As evening crept in, it seemed to get louder, which seems common as I read through the forums. I can cover it up with a fan or the dryer running in the other room. White noise will bury it pretty easily. It started clearly in both ears, but now I am experiencing it more in my left ear, most of the time. My right ear seems calmer. At first it was higher frequency, now it is more of a sizzle although it does seem to change and move.

I woke up on Friday and thought it may have been gone - really searched for it, and it wasn't there. The whole day felt like it was absent. I made an acupuncture appt for this issue anyway, and kept it. All seemed okay. I could tell it wasn't gone, but it was definitely different. Although by bedtime, it was back, and really getting the best of my emotional stability.

Of course, I have read just about everything I can about Tinnitus at this point - obsessive thoughts definitely creeping in, worry over the lack of treatment options and no cure. This is when the panic started. I spent today worrying about all of this, but tried my best to remain distracted. I put a moratorium on worrying about it this afternoon, went out and about, enjoyed the sun, and when I thought about it, I tried to remain logical (it hasn't been a long time, I have an ENT appt on Thursday, the way I feel about this in this exact moment will be different than other moments). But now that's it's later in the evening, and my left ear is blaring, I found myself feeling extremely sad and alone, really sort of scared, and not sure how I am going to deal with this all alone out here, far from my family.

Hence, I turned to this forum. I just needed to say this all out loud, somewhere, to people that will understand.

I wish you all peace and calmness, and am grateful to have a place to at least type out my feelings right now. Thanks to anyone who read my post.

 

Welcome to the forum! Don't be scared, we are here and we are dealing with your issue as well. Tinnitus can be nerve wrecking, at first it's just odd to think that noises can come out our heads. I hope your tinnitus fades and goes away, it's hard but try to not scan or listen for the sound.

You are stressed out from work, I get it. Reducing stress can be beneficial when dealing with tinnitus. Try to stay calm, the members here will support you. Tinnitus is a journey, all I can say is this:

Gain as much support as possible, talk it out with a person that cares about you. Time is the key to all of this, it will take time to actually understand what is going on. Protect your ears from loud noises/spots and just try to take it easy.

Good luck!

 

Fishbone - thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful reply. I believe they were words I needed to hear. Your advice is sage, I will heed it.

 

Sorry to hear your despair with tinnitus at present, I am glad you have an up coming appointment with an ENT, hopefully they can offer you some assistance with the tinnitus. Only just a thought, have you had your iron levels checked? My best friend's mother only gets tinnitus when her iron count gets low, she is also a vegetarian and bruises and tires easily and this all happens when her iron count plummets. She has been able to keep it somewhat under control with supplementation. This may have nothing to do with why you are experiencing tinnitus but it may be worth checking anyway. I hope all goes well with your appointment, take care

 

I think that stress can almost certainly bring on tinnitus - what then happens is a vicious circle of more stress, poor sleep and more tinnitus.

 

Thanks so much for your concern. I too suspect that vitamin and mineral deficiency has a lot to do with this. I've been supplementing B12 and Iron, as well as Magnesium and Zinc for a few days now. I had my Dr. order blood work to include B12 and Iron levels as well. Vegetarians have difficulty getting either of those two vitamins and minerals, so it makes sense that this could be a root cause issue.

The story of your friend's mother gives me hope and was encouraging; than you for sharing it.

Take care of yourself!

 

This is a very encouraging sign. Tinnitus usually fades even for the people who don't get periods of silence within of a week of getting T. It can take 3-24 months for it to fade.

Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Thanks so much Bill for the encouragement. The link was a great read - good practical info an a healthy dose of optimism. I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

Beginning to wonder if maybe a recent trip to the dentist aggravated this condition? Just a routine cleaning but still noisy. Maybe that’s a reach.

 

Hi all - went to my first ENT appt today after my first week of ear ringing. Said a lot of what I expected - hard to determine cause, will take time, treatments but no cures, etc. He was nice and smart and put together a plan of tests and ideas. It was all fine. I had no expectation of a magic potion or a solution.

I got home and broke down. This is all so much. I’m alone at home, dealing with this and I know it will be different in the future, will get better... but hard to see that right now.

I’m hungry sad lonely and tired - so in general just having a really tough night. Thought if I put it out there on this forum it may help.

 

Take it one day at a time.

Did your doctor have any idea what the cause of your T is? What did he suggest you do at this point?

 

Hi - thanks for your reply. We can’t really figure it out. There’s no noise event. We talked about all the other issues going on with me (extreme fatigue, hard healing, brain fog) and talked about b12 deficiency which apparently can cause a lot of issues including tinnitus. We are going to run a gamut of tests this week (heading, etc). I hadn’t bloodwork done today too, so we will see what that says.

I don’t take any meds, haven’t been sick, haven’t been exposed to any noise that is out of the ordinary. So we are in mystery mode.

Thanks for your reply - feels good to talk about it.

 

Use this: https://www.tinnitusresearch.net/index.php/for-clinicians/diagnostic-flowchart

 

Really cool chart! Not sure which path I’d go down though - I don’t have hearing loss (or at least no one thinks I do at this point).

I’m convinced the Tinnitus is part of a larger vitamin deficiency. I’m a multi-decade vegetarian who, in hindsight, was missing a lot of nutrients. Blood tests will tell me more.

 

This is completely normal. About three months after the onset of my tinnitus, I created the poll below:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...-make-you-wail-and-weep-uncontrollably.21797/

Chances are that you will feel a lot better. You need to be patient and ride it out. It doesn't make sense to assume that the sound that you are hearing now is the sound that you will end up being stuck with. If you knew that this sound is only temporary, you would not be That upset, right?

Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Thanks again Bill. I read your links and they were really helpful. My Dr did give me prednisone to try. I am not super optimistic as I don’t want to be disappointed, but he said because we can’t pinpoint a cause and that it was early, that it was worth it to try. He was very honest that he sees 30-40% usefulness with this. It helps to know there are things to try.

Today I am putting a full moratorium on searching for this noise. There’s zero point in that. I’m going to dive into work and my life and give myself a day off from this problem.

 

Maybe start thinking of getting back to meat proteins?

 

Thanks for your reply. Regardless of where this heads I will need to build an appropriate dietary strategy. I'll treat this as my wake-up call for all sorts of things (sound, diet, etc).

 

Hi - just wanted to post an update. I’m 21 days since onset. It’s been a real roller coaster. Emotionally I’m spent.

The tinnitus seems to change and move a lot. I get a lot more hiss and a lot less tone these days. It’s pretty manageable at work, I don’t hear it outside or with ambient noise. Evenings and bedtimes are of course, hard. Sleeping is a nightmare but I’ve been getting five hours - but it’s quiet and I hear it a lot more. The ringing tones come and go more than they were - they were a lot more static before. Much more crickets and hiss than rings these days. It moves and changes a lot. I also get a touch of fluttering or it kind of dissipating for fleeting moments. Like a candle flickering.

Still supplementing all the usual vitamins, acupunture, trying to rest, avoiding loud anything. Spoke with a therapist who really didn’t understand the situation. May consider mood meds - I have to function, one way or another.

Thanks for anyone who reads this. Open to any feedback on the situation.

 

Hi again - my tinnitus has really changed from my ears to my head. Feels much more like a high pitch air leak / hissing. It has left my right ear to the point that most days I can sleep on that side. This new sound feels harder to ignore. Is this normal?

 

Hi all - thought I would update and note that my bloodwork showed very low Vitamin D levels and low B12 levels. I've been supplementing Vitamin D pretty hard for the past three weeks, and getting injection B12. Tinnitus still all over the boards - good days and bad. I'm also taking Magnesium, B Complex, and Zinc. Will it change anything? Who knows, but still worth it to boost all these up and give myself the best shot at any version of a recovery.

Also started Nortryptiline - currently at a 20MG dose. It's not doing anything, but I'm building up the dosage over the next month or so. I have read that some found this drug to quiet some of their noise, mainly @glynis who said it did wonders for her. I'll give it a shot.

Meanwhile, trying to remain calm, and forcing myself to not totally avoid the sounds in my head. Trying to change my relationship with Tinnitus. If this is going to be the long haul, we better find amicable co-habitation terms.

I have been sleeping a bit better, and my mornings have been generally quieter these days. Ups and downs for sure every day, and moments of frustration and anger of course. Some mourning in there of my silence, too.

 

Just a cautionary note: Nortryptiline falls in the category of being an anticholinergic drug. I got my tinnitus from a single dose of an anticholinergic drug called Promethazine, also known as Phenergen. In my research, I've discovered that any anticholinergic drug can cause or exacerbate tinnitus. One man took a single dose of Benadryl, and still had tinnitus four years later.

I do believe that some of these anticholinergic drugs can be helpful for depression, sleep, and therefore tinnitus. But it's not the case for everybody. Other drugs, such as benzodiazapines can also help tinnitus, but this is often only temporary, after which tinnitus can actually become much worse. -- Please proceed cautiously.

 

@LostOutWest Hello, I too have just found out I have low ferritin & low b12! Have you found any significant improvement with supplementing?

 

Hi there - to date, I’ve not experienced any improvement with supplementing. It has been about 7 weeks since onset of tinnitus - that’s not a long time in the world of nerves. We’ll see where we are in another month or so. Hope you improve rapidly!

 

I remember someone saying: Thoughts lead to emotions. Most thoughts about tinnitus are negative and thus cause negative emotions (fear, sadness, depression). You can't not think about tinnitus of course, that's not how the brain works. If someone says: Don't think of the apple, you think of an apple. Instead you should think about an orange. So with tinnitus, focus your thoughts on other things. It will eventually become normal. I was able to overcome my obsession with tinnitus with that and am habituated by now (99%).
Of course, as long as there are reasonable options to consider, some thought about tinnitus is useful. But then try to put it aside. If a fan can mask yours (if that hasn't changed), yours is about as loud as mine, or even less.

 

Your symptoms sound like my what my brother went through and after being told there's nothing we can find. The muscle joint pain he went through with no sleep and a buzz in the ear.
Finally a nerve specialist done some more tests. And what did he discover my brother has fibromyalgia go figure. So now he takes all sorts of meds and supplement. No cure for the pain but but it's not as it was. The buzz stopped after acupuncture. Damned if I know I have tinnitus but not as bad as most folks on here.
Just a thought for consideration
Tinnitus takes time

 

Hi all - I am going to take a break from this board for a while. It's given me a wealth of ideas and information, and I appreciate the support and advice especially in my early days. That said, at ~3.5 months into tinnitus, I feel like I'm starting to get a grip on my emotions, certainly a lot better that I was in the beginning. I'm sleeping well, I have a management strategy, and I am going to focus on taking care of myself, get immersed in my job, work on some personal projects, stay up on the tinnitus science and research, and generally try my best to let time do its thing. It is a great time for me to take a step back from the internet and all of the research and searching. I know how I feel about my situation, my options, and what I need to do to manage this at least in the near-term.

Just wanted to put this out there instead of floating off into the ether like a lot of people do. Hoping to come back in a few months with a positive progress update.

Wishing you all the best, and again many thanks.

 

Hi all - just wanted to come back and post an update. I know it was always hard when people disappeared, especially whose stories I was following in those early days.

I still have tinnitus. It feels like it has improved a bit (maybe 25-30%). Is it habituation? I don’t know. I manage it all much better, and tinnitus does not dominate my every waking thought, as it had in the beginning. I wouldn’t say I’ve habituated, but I accept that right now, this is part of my anatomy, and most of the time have no emotional reaction to the sounds. I am not a severe case but it’s bothersome and I went through a long period of grieving and loss to get to where I am.

I shifted my goals to quality of life aspects, which helped my mindset. For example, I can get through work meetings and rarely notice tinnitus. I can watch TV most of the evening and manage away the tinnitus. I don’t notice it in the car very often anymore. I stopped charting and gauging the good and bad days - it wasn’t helpful for me mentally.

I only talk about tinnitus with people that have it. That action helped me push away the obsession, which ultimately lessened its grip on me. It was hard to do. I’ve met fascinating people with tinnitus, and it always helps to know that I am not alone, and people are dealing with this one way or another.

I’m still not awesome everyday, and I get sad about tinnitus, but there are no pills in me, or major breakdowns anymore. I stay up on tinnitus research, donate, and fully believe that the science will catch up to this disease sooner or later. I love what Dr. Thanos is doing, I’m hopeful FX-322 could help (not sure if I’m the right candidate as I don’t have measurable hearing loss, but it’s exciting nonetheless and there is a lot we have yet to learn). The Hough team is intriguing, and the other companies looking at pills and injections give me optimism. I do believe that a true pharmacological intervention is the only real future therapy / cure, but I’m thankful for all of the bimodal research and for anyone trying different approaches to a solution.

In summary, I’m doing okay, life is mostly lovely and I’m managing.

Wishing you all are doing the best.

 

How do you feel now regarding bimodal stimulation? I’m hoping it’ll drastically reduce this condition for most of us.