Tinnitus for 1 Month and 5 Days, Is This Forever?

[tnewbie]

I have had tinnitus for 1 month and 5 days. It started one morning when I woke up and it was very loud, my mother believed it was caused by a migraine since she gets ringing in her ears with hers and we have chronic ones in my family.

The migraine went away and the tinnitus too, for a very short time.

Then it came back and we thought it was migraines again. Finally I went to the doctor and they told me I had earwax/blockage, few days later I came back, no earwax, but an infection. They sent me on a round of antibiotics for 10 days. The ringing continued. I came back and they told me they'd call me with an ENT appointment. They called a while ago and told me my appointment wouldn't be until September 14th. The ringing got louder and I ended up taking ginko biloba and it got quieter again to the point where it was almost unhearable even in the quiet. I didn't notice it unless I remembered to notice it.

I am very concerned because today my ears were actually *hurting* and the ringing is back though it does sound kind of different maybe?

I am currently taking ginko bilboa every day, though I miss a few hours and I just now started taking magnesium. I am concerned that this is a crucial time for my ears and that I may be able to stop it from becoming permanent but only if I do everything righ and I'm scared I may have already made too many mistakes. Any suggestions are greatly welcome, I am trying not to get worked up over it but every time the noise doesn't go away I get upset and scared. I haven't been sleeping too well either. Is this going to be permanent? Is there anything I can do? How do I find a sooner appointment with an ENT? I am on medicaid and Blue Cross from my father but that insurance runs out in 6 more days.

 

[billie48]

Welcome to TT. Your T is very new. Have you tried to get a prednisone steroid treatment from your doctor? Sorry about your suffering. Being so new, your T will often behave quite unpredictably, morphing as it goes, like ear pain, ear pressure, switching ears, new tones etc. Your mind is always playing game with you. How?

Remember when T is new, it usually traumatizes its victims to the point that the normal parasympathetic nervous system is taken over by the limbic system which functions in 'fight or flight' mode, and things will appear a lot worse than they are. You will be easily scared and the brain will zoom in on any bad or threatening sensation and magnify its significance. You will be flooded with distorted thoughts at this stage, especially 'catastrophic thinking' about the future (like my future is doomed or there is no future, or will this last forever?), as well as 'all or nothing thinking' (like my life is not worth it with T ringing).

Beware of these thoughts. They are called cognitive distortions, a term used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and they can create havoc in people mental suffering if not challenged. Our reaction to T can determine the degree of suffering or its intrusiveness. So we need to understand where these thoughts come from, defuse and counter them as much as possible. By doing so, we gradually remove the fear or phobia of T and then meaningful habituation will begin to happen over time. You can read Dr. Nagler's writing 'Letter to A Tinnitus Sufferer' and hopefully you will learn to counter/challenge your distorted thought:

http://www.tinn.com/Letter.pdf

 

[Raghav Lavania]

pls see a psychiatrist also. check your vitamin B12 level , add zinc supplement about 40mg daily as same advised by my doctor. After following this I have now started having some relief in my T which started 2 months back. Divert your attention keep yourself busy in doing whatever you enjoy the most and embrace your T for some time , Tinnitus is a psychiatric & attention disorder if you don't have any hearing loss. It very common in patient with pre existing depression so don't worry be positive . Its not a serious disease. Since western medicine does not have any quick fix so doctors tells you to learn to with it. In fact when I visited a renowned mental health & research institute doctors told me its very common with anxiety and depression patients and it is very easily curable unfortunately who are cured they don't go on website and post their success stories. But those struggling with it they always feared of having it for life long. My friend who even did not take any medicine consulted any doctor cured 100 % a severe tinnitus by only doing yoga and meditation. I am practicing yoga& mindfulness everyday and I can see though very small improvement but significant relief from distress I had in the past few weeks.
Don't trust doctors very much they have least interest in your problems. They can't help you much this your own battle what I have realized so far.

raghav

 

[tnewbie]

Thank you both for your words, I am still hoping mine will go away. My uncle had tinnitus for a year before he managed to get rid of it, and my mother has it with migraines occasionally. My ears have begun to hurt so I am hoping to get treated for a possible continued infection. I called my doctor and asked for another referral (something I should have done weeks ago.) Perhaps it is not too late.

 

[tnewbie]

I just thought I'd update, I haven't gotten a call back from a specalist yet, still hoping to be seen soon, but I have been doing sound therapy (I listen to Summer Night sounds all night long) as well as taking ginko, magnesium, eating high zinc foods, lowering my salt, and making absolutely sure my ears are popping + staying elevated, even at night.

This morning I woke up and I couldn't hear my tinnitus. I walked around my house for a brief window of time getting ready and I didn't hear it once. I got home and turned on my summer night sounds again and I am going to continue this until I can see a specialist. I have high hopes that this will get rid of it since it's still in the early stages. Sleeping has gone better, but is still really tough. I'm hoping I will be able to lay down again soon with my head in a pillow and not constantly checking for noise.

 

[Raghav Lavania]

Today I have completed two months , there is definitively some improvement in terms of distress I had from T in the beginning. Intensity is more or less same but now I can focus on my work with even a noise in my head & ears. I am taking B12 injection one per week and oral supplement of B12 ( 1500mcg with vit D 3) and zinc 40 mg daily. I am also taking Gingko 80 mg daily . One day in the morning I had same experience when I did not notice any noise in my ears I was too happy but unfortunately it came back in couple of hours. sometimes our brain does not filter the noise and we do not notice this what told by my ENT when I explained him all about my experience.
I come from hong kong, similarly here getting appointment with specialist takes a quite long time. I am going strong as my T and not allowing it to control my life and doing meditation ( sudarshan kriya a special meditation with varying breathing rhythm which helps in lifting depression and cure tinnitus) and yoga everyday. I know someday T won't be there or loose its grip on me but not sure when it will happen I am keep going and hoping for the best.

 

[tnewbie]

I messaged my doctor today asking about being seen sooner. Still not much luck on that front.

On the bright side I'm sitting in a quiet room and I can just barely make out my tinnitus. It's so quiet I'm not even sure it's there actually. I sincerely hope one day it's gone completely but if not I think I can learn to cope with it maybe. The hardest part is trying not to listen for it.

 

[Raghav Lavania]

you can try appointment with another doctor. well good to hear that you are recovering well. You might get fully cured by the time you receive any call from the specialist . I have one family friend who is a psychiatrist and retired from a mental hospital as hospital director who had told me once that 90% of the mental/psychiatric diseases are self limiting sometimes people get cured by themselves and medicines have no role to play and just act like placebo . So even if don't get medical attention don't worry it wont make your condition better it is yourself who can make difference medicines are just useful to help you recover fast but there is no gold rule to determine how effective are medicines than placebo. So rely on yourself for healing & don't chase doctors. I think you are almost recovered and hope you will be enjoying your life to the fullest soon. I wish that my day may come soon too.
Good Luck

 

[tnewbie]

I do not know if it will come back, but I have been hours in silence and it is very strange!! I almost can't get used to it not being there, although I am very grateful. After 1 month + 1-2 weeks, it seems like it might actually be gone?? I have been sleeping with my head elevated at night, on my back which isn't very comfortable but I figured it might help and it seems to maybe have done the trick. Here's hoping it stays gone.

 

[Tim87]

@tnewbie how is your T right now?

 

[JohnK]

bump

 

[joseph Ghass]

Guys, he said it is gone.

If T gone he is gone too.

 

[BobDigi]

I am very concerned because today my ears were actually *hurting* and the ringing is back though it does sound kind of different maybe?

After a month, it could well be staying. When mine started 2 years ago my ear didn't hurt, but it felt odd for a couple of days. The tinnitus came and went for a little while. Then it stayed.