Tinnitus Caused by Walking and Driving — Suicidal Thoughts

I have always had higher pitched tinnitus which was noise induced a long time ago and it never got better, always worse but still coping, up until this...


I had to quit a job which I enjoyed a few months ago due to a new loud lower pitched humming one of my ears, (the ear which was always the worse for tinnitus), caused by road noise/vibrations, although I did have a wisdom tooth removed from that side of my mouth and a drill forced into my jaw drilling away which may have messed up something in my ear more.

I have had to quit a job in the past, about 2 years ago because my tinnitus was worse from walking around all day (that humming sound I just mentioned), I have started a new job and I am walking on hard concrete all day and I am wearing trainers/sneakers so they are comfortable, the floor is obviously just too hard.

After doing some research myself online it seems that my walking and driving is causing the cochlear to vibrate continuously which is causing the liquid to move about constantly and perhaps constantly go through the hair cells in the ear, I think this is how noise induced tinnitus is caused, basically I am ****ed for life and am limited to local drives and a job where I will have to sit down all day which isn't physically healthy and I don't want to do that but I have no choice, people say to not let tinnitus ruin or control you but for me it is and the evidence is there.

I have only been in this job a few weeks and I find myself losing sleep and sometimes crying to myself, I am miserable and not enjoying life, I don't see any point to life when you can't enjoy it and you can't even do the simplest of things like walk/drive/work, I will have to get a boring crappy desk job, I don't even like the people in the office environment.

I have bills to pay and am buying presents for Christmas but I know that each day I go to work, I am making my tinnitus worse and worse.

Is there really nothing they can do for tinnitus caused by vibration in my ear, something is obviously loose in my ear somewhere for this to happen as it never used to be like this, I could drive for hours, now I can't drive on the motorway as it makes the humming worse.

There is not help for people with tinnitus as it is not recognised as disability where I live.

I would most likely of ended it by now if I didn't have a family.

 

Tinnitus is hard going and finding the low drone hard to adjust too.
Try not to let it make you low and try get help to sleep better as it helps.

I would see ENT to get your ears checked again in case you find your balance off a little and noticed when walking .
Give your job a little more time as could be stress related and Christmas on the way.
You are doing well getting out to work and try go at your own pace and take a break when needed .
You will I'm sure find the best job for you if do need to change your job.
May be hearing aids or maskers might help you cope better.
Stay positive life will get better and ask your doctor for help if needed and emotional support like counselling etc.

I find sleep hard at the moment and ears being naughty but it's got to get better again as time alows to adjust....
Chin up .....lots of love glynis

 

Thank you for your kind response, unfortunately it is getting worse every day, it is a shame that it is robbing me of my life so quickly and suddenly. I am trying my best to cope and stick with a job I enjoy, I'm afraid I may have to ask if I can be laid off for medical reasons, I have experienced this in the past but not severe up until my last job wh n it was either due to the wisdom tooth being drilled out or the constanr vibrations from my last job I had to quit. I think I won't be able to last much longer again. It's also a shame that this post has attracted over 100 views but nobody has any advice, it just proves that there is nothing to be done for me now.

 

If you believe working is making you worse id personally stop asap, easier said than done depending on your circumstances. Also maybe try and get medication for anxiety, it wont help with the tinnitus but might calm you down a bit.

Im at the same stage as you, mine just keeps on getting worse and i have no answers either, im 32 now and i very much doubt ill see 33. Tinnitus is so cruel. Luckily i have no family or friends to complicate things. People try to be helpful and tell you you will adjust, but for some of us its not possible as it either very variable or gets progressively worse.

 

I've always adjusted to my original high pitched tinnitus, it has only gotten worse over the years and I found it last time to be very difficult to adjust to, I did but this new ringing that started in my last job which I quit, it did go away for just over a day until I drove a whole 4 miles in my car. Big wow right?! I since habituated to it, getting the train instead of driving on the motorway and started this new job but within the first two days of work it got worse again, the week after it got bad and into my fourth week now and it is unbearable, it's the sounded that noise the emergency broadcast makes and I just cried after getting into bed not only is the new ringing tone so loud but there are one or two other tones I've never had, there's something seriously wrong and I think I may have to quit before Christmas, I have only two and a half months worth of cash unless my employee lays me off on medical grounds but I doubts gets be happy about any of it. I'm contemplating attempted suicide so people realise how bad I have it and for help whilst I'm off work as I can't afford to not work but if I continue I think ill end up doing something stupid.

 

Hi Meeb,

I think having a daily routine (like a job) is very beneficial because it (a) gives you something to do and have a purpose; (b) you get paid for it; (c) it distracts you from the ringing.

I too had suicidal thoughts back in March when I first got tinnitus, but then took control of myself. Did you know that around 30 million people in America alone have tinnitus? They are living their lives by going to work, raising families, and just enjoying life. You can do the same!

 

I personally refuse to give in to tinnitus.

That means, inspite of how annoyed and frustrated i feel at times, i refuse to stop doing things that i love. That includes my job.

I would advise you to press on with life and your job, have a look at the bts thread, and rest assured that your brain will eventually grow bored with listening to your t.

 

I don't think that going back to work will help things at all, I just woke up and it is as loud as ever, worse idea ever at the moment. Hence, what I said in my last post. It seems that danieluk understands and is listening to what I'm saying.

 

Wise words! There is so much more to life than tinnitus!

 

@meeb we all understand what you are going through and we don't want you to give in and let tinnitus control your life.

 

But it's exactly the same in telling me to continue going to a nightclub, my body is telling me not to. I will have to talk to my manager as this can't continue .

 

For some time I have suspected certain exercises can make tinnitus worse particularly running on a treadmill or on hard ground. I walk regularly but haven't noticed it has made my tinnitus worse or driving. However, that is not to say that it can't happen.

When tinnitus was caused by "exposure to loud noise" a person has to be careful as the cochlear is more sensitive to sound. If the tinnitus is getting worse over a period of time, the usual cause is: attending places where loud music is played without using ear protection. This is likely to be: nightclubs, concerts, cinema. Listening to music through headphones can make the tinnitus worse "for some people" even at low volume.

Michael

 

Your positivity and drive is an inspiration to many that have a difficult time coping with tinnitus @DebInAustralia and because of this, I like reading your posts. Unfortunately, there is a serious side to tinnitus that isn't often talked about. Therefore, I hope you and others on this thread don't mind if I give my opinion on this, as I have personal experience of where @meeb is coming from.

Tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people experience it the same. It can be: mild, moderate, severe or extremely severe. It can fluctuate in intensity daily or remain constant. When tinnitus is severe and this level of intensity is sustained, it can become very debilitating making it extremely difficult for a person to function properly. I was medically retired from my job many years ago because of my severe tinnitus. Whilst I advocate being positive with tinnitus; many of my posts are based on "having a positive out-look on life" and tinnitus. I want to stress, there is a limit to how far positivity can stretch - if tinnitus is loud and intrusive enough, it can affect a person in such a way they are unable to work.

Michael

 

After a few months of being unemployed after being fired from my job for taking some time off with anxiety (with a doctors note) due to my tinnitus, I finally landed a job, a lot better pay, unfortunately, the lower ringing has come back too, I think it is due to starting to walk more again and the slightly longer trip into work, I need to stick this out now though as I can't go through life unemployed or only working 2 minutes from home in a crappy paid job as I am still younger and I want my own place and not to pay rent for ever, I hope that the returned lower ringing will not get as bad as it did last time, techioncally it shouldn't as I don't drive all day or walk around all day like I did in some of my other jobs. My plan is to get a mortgage next year and pay it off or save up in under ten years to pay the rest of the installments so then I don't have to work full time and can at least have a bit more of a relaxing life.

 

@meeb just try stay positive, congrats on the new job and hope you enjoy this one more than your last one, but yeah can you not use anything to try mask the noise out for abit?

 

I'm so pleased to hear that you are planning positively for the future! It really upsets me, the reality of this condition and how it can drive us to the brink of despair. I too, am in a job I love but my ears don't. If I were to give it up, I think my mental health would suffer. We have to hope that this somehow gets better. Hang in there x

 

Thank you! It isnt a noise issue, for some reason, something in my right ear vibrates a lot like something is more loose in there so walking and driving causes this and in turn I get the low pitched ringing on top of my usual horrible noise.

 

@meeb Least you are staying positive and still looking for a job, which is great some people don't manage it, if you keep up with it maybe within time of your new job you'll forget about it, in case you wondering I have a ringing noise in my left ear

 

Well I just need to knuckle down and get my own place so in time I can please myself with how much I want to work without having to worry about rent for ever. That's my theory/plan anyway.

 

Good plan! Go for it!

 

So the low pitched ringing noises which gets louder from vibrations in my body when walking is back again already, getting louder already, thanks to being put on a job that is different to the one I'm supposed to do I have to walk around all the time. I don't know why I not he trying, I'm wondering if life is worth living at all, it took me a while to get here and back into work and my family we're relieved to know I found work and here I an again struggling already after my second week.

 

Have you tried Meclizine?

 

No, I will look it up, feeling a bit better today now I am doign the job I was employed to do and the rininging has subsided a bit, I panicked, sorry.

 

I don't think this job will last too long, it just seems that walking or driving seems to cause new tinnitus noises to start on top of my already pre existing horrific tinnitus noise that seem to appear after a week of walking around in a job or driving (vibrations) I just want a normal and simple life and I just feel my life is wasting away with little enjoyment thanks to tinnitus, for me, tinnitus has not got better and it is inhabitable, what is the point of living now? I can't even work to earn money without my tinnitus getting worse. I could find another job but I enjoy my new job and its good money, I am running out of options and hope.

 

I too wonder sometimes what the point is to life and living with these things. I have milder tinnitus but also sound sensitivity and already had anxiety and now panic attacks, adrenaline rushed and my hope seems gone. Even thought T is loud for you, you have to find ways to cope and destress. If you're at that point where you wonder what the point of living is, it's time to take action. TRT and cognitive behavioral therapy are a few options that come to mind. I have yet to try these but they're my next steps. I don't know if disability would pay for intrusive T to the point where you're so bad off you can't work, but it should.

Whatever happens, know there's people out there who are in a similar or worse predicament, try to take solace in that. There are people with chronic pain wondering what's the point every day. And if nothing else works, acceptance seems the only thing you can do. I find that my friends and family, or at least some of them, are good distractions and sometimes supportive.

 

@meeb?
When your tinnitus goes up walking does your vision change..bit like bouncy vision ?
Love glynis

 

My vision is fine touch woood, funny how I seem to be one of about a hand full of cases, if that, on reported on the interenet who gets tinnitus from such trivial external attributes. My main tinnitus noise is ringing a lot more than usual today too, I might just attempt for disability as what will happen is, I will start to phone in sick or come into work in a really bad mood and end up getting sacked, it happened before with my last job, I took two weeks off with anxiety and got the sack. I can't talk to my parents about it as they were just so happy I found a new job so I am just stuck trying to live a life and trying to keep my parents happy.

 

Your welcome pm me anytime !
I understand and your trying work and keep your folks happy.
I only work part time as would not cope with both problems .
Love glynis x

 

I could have written this myself I have been up since 0200hrs again and when I read your post I thought I had written it myself. I went for a long walk today and my TINNITUS has once again increased ten fold. I am a truck driver and have been out of work now since October last year I can't stand the noise of the tyres on the tarmac the fans of the cooling system. I have always walked our holidays were always in the mountains. I gave up cycling because of the wind noise. I can't even stand the thought of driving my own car even sitting.as a passenger is not an option. I hope you are coping does your neck affect your TINNITUS I ask because my neck movements act like a volume control. Like you I have been on the edge if it wasn't for my wife and children I'd go mad. Take care stay strong and keep talking