Tinnitus Got Worse and I Can't Sleep

Hello, fellow travelers,

My name is Daniel. Quick introduction: In February, 2014, I suddenly developed symptoms of what was diagnosed by my ENT as cochlear hydrops. The main symptom was, of course, tinnitus.

Although there were a few days early on where it was really troublesome, I mostly managed fine, and slept okay.

But about a month ago, it suddenly went up in volume by about two notches, and now I'm having a really hard time sleeping.

Long story short, I've tried many of the things my doctors and friends have suggested: exercise, warm milk before bed, cutting out caffeine (altogether), and so on. But the only thing that has worked reliably is ambien.

I know this is not good. I know I don't want to be dependent. But I'm a professional and I have to sleep.

But a few nights ago, I realized the ambien wasn't really working anymore. So now I'm facing a situation where I don't know that I can count on anything to sleep. I'm about to try trazidone, because one doctor recommended it. But I don't put a lot of faith in it.

My wife and I just (today) rearranged our house so our bedroom is no longer facing the street, which I hope will help in the mornings when traffic outside gets loud. That was a bit of a problem. I'm hoping that will help.

I'm here because I'm hoping people in this community have suggestions based on experience about how to sleep with this condition. I'm realizing that this is a large community (10-15% of people have tinnitus is the stat I've heard). And so it's comforting that I'm not alone.

I'd love any thoughts people have on how to return to a place where I can expect to sleep. I know the tinnitus may not go away, but there has to be a way to get rest. I really welcome your thoughts.

Thank you,
Daniel (greeterdan)

 

Try masking it at night with a loud fan or white noise. I also take melitonin to help me sleep.

 

I used celestial seasonings sleepy time tea or melatonin 3mg capsules. They both worked to help me fall asleep, but without fail I started waking up at like 1am. That got annoying but after a couple of weeks of that I started exercising at night just to tire myself out which helped me sleep through the night. Nowadays I don't take anything and I am able to fall asleep easily and sleep through the night. Hang in there it will get better.

 

Trazadon is not addictive, yet it is ototoxic. It can work but it too has side effects. I went two months without sleep trying to figure it out. You have to habituate as well as possible. Another non addictive med is Rozerem. Over the counter SOMNA PURE is ok a little expensive. Your doing the right things keep moving when you can and rest if you cant sleep. You may need something for your anxiety. No more alcohol and wild nights. Bless you.

 

I agree masking will help with sleep. If you have high pitch ringing like me, then sounds like rain, running water, waves, waterfalls, shower, even faucet will help. TT has a thread for newer members to get some nice masking sounds and it also has link to a sleep thread for some good idea of sleeping with T.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

If you don't want to use sleep meds, then try the natural alternatives, such as Camomile tea, Hops, Valerian tablets, Melatonin etc. Check out this site on using natural herbs for sleep problem:

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/lib...alth/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia/

 

Try these:

1) http://rain.simplynoise.com
2) L-Tryptofan (it's a precursor to melatonin)

 

5htp, L-theanine and time released melatonin works for me. I switch them around, so I don't get to used to, any one of them.

I use a Hometics, sound machine, on my bed. This of course, may not work well with your wife however?

God bless,

Sailboardman

 

Klonopin.

 

Ambien is actually ototoxic and similar to a benzo. So like you said, it lost its effect. The withdrawal can be similar to a benzo so stay away from it.
I am a big advocate of non pharma stuff but to transition to the less dangerous stuff, try Belsomra (assuming you are in the USA).
http://www.belsomra.com
I took it for a few weeks until I went back to my normal melatonin drops. Belsomra is very new and expensive but is less addictive than Ambien. It works on Orexin receptors and not GABA. But any medication for sleep will cause a dependency so use with care.

 

Hey Dan,
I'm sorry to hear you're not getting sufficient rest.

Have you tried white noise yet?
I've been plugging ear phones to white noise every night. Has been my saving grace as I have T in both ears.

I plan on purchasing a sound pillow (can be found on amazon) and switch to white noise in the room.

Take care,
Joe

 

Try xanax. It will not make you an addict. Why? Because a doctor will not let you abuse it. He won't refill a script sooner than he thinks you need it. Other things are a glass of wine or OTC ZZZ quil or Tylenol PM or a Bendryl He may even even give you an antidepressant too.
A lot of my friends are on Elavil (Amitriptyline)or Effexor. Why suffer?
No sleep ramps up the T sound you need a break from this noise hell
Someone posted this link:
http://www.drugs.com/answers/effective-amitriptyline-sleep-618122.html

 

Hi @greeterdan, I'm so sorry you're having a hard time sleeping, that is truly a terrible feeling.

First, I would caution against taking any medical advice/drug advice from anyone on the board who is not a doctor. I've seen a lot of people recommending or cautioning against certain drugs here of late, and you should really have a conversation with your doctor. Do your own research of course, but what you take to sleep and any concerns of addiction etc. should be managed by you and your physician as a team - that's why they're there.

I can say what I did to sleep that helped, but that really only showed me how individual-specific things are. Someone here mentioned klonipin, which I did try, but it did absolutely nothing for me (not to say it isn't extremely effective for others.) Ambien helped me, though I never felt rested after taking it, just knocked out. Even when I took that it didn't pull me through the entire night, so I had a cocktail of a few things my doctor and I tried. Eventually though, what really helped me was this sound soother (my T is high pitched so white noise only served to accentuate it - but little cricket noises were natural and soothing to me) and this yoga. This specific yoga sequence was developed by the teacher to help calm the nervous system - it's slow, easy and pretty short, focusing on specific breathing patterns. It wasn't an immediate cure, but it eventually got me off all of the meds. Again, that's just what worked for me, but do go talk to your doctor or psychiatrist - they'll work with you to find the right drug or mix of drugs as necessary to help you in the interim.

I humbly think sleep will come again sooner than later, your brain is just readjusting to the new sound, I hope you get some zzz's very soon, Daniel.

 

Melatonine can't hurt. It can even appear to light to hel, but together with masking sound and some time passed by that works just perfect for me and I sleep better than before T. ( And it must stay like this if I am to keep on living at all..) . There are normally also quite a few homeopathic products, which can help calm the brain down without side effects or risk of addiction. The strongest I would recommend is hydroxizine. Stay away from anything which is benzo-like cause it will do more harm than good in the long run. No matter what happens I will not take benzo or antidepressant which can themselves cause T. Any idea how come it got worse like this? Have you consulted any doctors since?

 

Amitriptyline is the best drug for sleep!

 

If i sleep for several hours and wake up my tinnitus is almost zero.If i try to nap it comes back louder.So now as soon as i wake up I get up and have a good day. I just hope i do not wake up 3 o clock in the morning.