Tinnitus from... I Don't Know!

Hello,

I have been reading stories on this forum for quite a while and it gives me comfort to know I am not alone with these wonderful sounds that only I can hear. Not that I would wish tinnitus on anyone for my comfort but you know what I mean.

I am 45 years old and this month will be one year with this constant ringing in my right ear. Sometimes I think it swaps to the left ear and then back to the right but I could be wrong. I refer to it as my dentist drill because that is what it sounds like most of the day. It changes pitch from high to low to high and never really stays at a constant level until at night when I lay down to go to sleep. It's at this point the screaming starts. I don't know how or why I was one of the lucky ones to be blessed with this constant little noisy companion and I have racked my brain trying to figure it out. I just remember laying on the couch one night and I asked my wife, "do you hear that?" I immediately Googled ringing in the ears and started reading about tinnitus. I had hope that I would be the one where it would decide to leave in a few days but it did not. I had hope that after the steroids and nose spray the ENT doc prescribed me were gone that I would no longer hear it but I did. I had hope that after the audiologist told me I had perfect hearing and the T would go away eventually...blah..blah...blah...it didn't!

Now I don't know how my tinnitus compares to yours. From the stories I read on hear I would say that my tinnitus isn't even close to some of the levels y'all describe but it is just enough to be annoying. I do feel for everyone on this forum though. I am not going to list everything I have tried to make this noise go away because it will be everything that y'all have tried. I have really never let my tinnitus bother me to the point of being stressed out over it. I figure I have it and I have to deal with it the best way I can. Sometimes when it gets loud I will stop, throw my hands up in the air, and scream whyyyyyy meeeeee??? Nah...just kidding! I will try my best to tune it out and go on about my business. I'm still alive and kickin so this ringing ain't gonna bring me down. During the day it's good due to the noise of regular day stuff and at night I tell Alexa to play white noise and take some Trazodone to go into a very peaceful sleep.

I will mention what I am trying now just to see if this is working or has worked for anyone. I just got in a tiny 120 dollar hearing aid today and popped it in. It has a masker on it that works just fine. I may try it at night as apposed to Alexa. Now I don't need the hearing aid to hear but I have to say I put it on normal at low volume and I like the amplified sounds. Maybe the doc missed something during the test. Anyway, I have noticed with the aid in on normal setting and volume as low as it can go my dentist drill isn't as loud. I have read articles that sometimes the brain will adjust to the amplification and reduce the tinnitus. So hears hoping! get it...HEARS hoping...pun intended.

I pray to JC everyday for a cure because this thing sucks, for some more than others. I do believe one day all of us strangers that have this thing in common will be free from the chains of whatever noise you may be hearing. Crickets, swooshing, etc. I have even read that some hear a song over and over!! Crazy how the brain works.

Nice to meet everyone and I hope everyone is having a nice quiet day.

 

Seems like you have a great outlook on it. I hope you continue to take it in stride. I imagine not knowing the cause can be difficult. My mothers side of the family had it and claimed they didn't do anything to cause it, so I wonder if there is some hereditary influence.