Tinnitus Since Birth, Became Disturbing A Couple of Months Ago — Give Me Hope

I have had incredibly mild tinnitus from, as far as I can tell, the day I was born. When I was young I thought the ringing was the sound of silence. I had many audiology appointments over the years to ensure my ears were healthy and I wasn't losing my hearing all went well.

About 4 months ago I was sitting on my couch and out of nowhere the ringing became so loud I could hear it over the fan, the TV, and the dishwasher. Absolute panic set in. I spent nearly a month not sleeping, not eating, and quite honestly considering killing myself if I was told there was nothing that could be done.

Well, after clearing up the fluid in my ears and a dose of Prednisone that is exactly what I was told and here I am... still alive. Miserable... but no longer wishing I was dead most of the time.

At this point my tinnitus is manageable. I moved out of a house that was filled with mold and it got significantly better. Most days I can ignore it. I mean I still hear it but it doesn't make me feel completely horrified.

Some days I spend every second of the day in a complete panic, waiting for it to be an appropriate time to take my sleeping meds and go to bed. I live in constant fear of it getting worse.

Every time it gets a little bit louder I feel sick to my stomach with anxiety.

I guess I just want to hear stories of people who have learned to live with this. I want to know that it's possible to have tinnitus and still be genuinely happy and honestly enjoy life.

I don't want to spend the rest of my life isolated by this sound only I can hear, fighting through every day and pretending to be happy. I'm only 24 years old... I can't do that. I can't be miserable for another 50+ years. At this point I'm not even considering that this might ever go away.

So I just want to hear from you guys. I want to hear success stories, something to help me keep going on the bad days. I really need some hope to hang on to.

 

HI @Molto7

Do you listen to music through headphones even at low volume? If you do then I advise that you stop using them as they can make tinnitus worse for some people. Please click on the links below and read my posts on tinnitus that you might find helpful.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

 

@Michael Leigh I do use headphones often when I run. Is it just earbuds or do over-the-ear headphones make it worse too? I've also tried bone conduction headphones, but because I have TMJ those bother my jaw a lot. I'll definitely read through your posts. Thank you so much for replying!

 

Hello @Molto7 .

My tinnitus spiked a year ago after contracting fluid in my left ear due to a eustachian tube dysfunction. I did not take care of my ears as I used to play loud music on my earphones.

Years before, I had very mild tinnitus. I only realized it just recently because I used to hear a faint sound of cicadas or sizzling when I was in silent room. I also thought that it was the sound of silence.

My tinnitus is usually between 1 and 3 out of 10 in terms of loudness, when I had some good sleep. At times, it spikes to 5 to 7 out of 10 on sleepless and stressful days and nights.

On the initial onset, my tinnitus was as loud as a siren when I lay my head on a pillow every night. But I thank God that I have had some improvement.

Here is to wishing you well. I hope you will eventually heal.

Warmest regards,
Albert

 

Hey Molto7.

I have had Tinnitus for about one year now. Got it from acoustic trauma and onset was sudden. My T is really loud and I can hear it above most everything. The first 4 - 5 months were torture. I had bad anxiety and panic attacks. Things that helped me overcome this were guided meditation. I downloaded a meditation app “Calm” on my phone to help address the panic and anxiety.

I also went to a very good psychiatrist who deals a lot with T. His advice was: 1. Don’t futurize your thoughts. Don’t worry about 50 years from now. What’s the point? Live for today. 2. Distractions. Whenever your T is bothering you distract yourself. Go for a drive, play a game, talk to a friend, anything to distract yourself. 3. Don’t catastrophe your thinking. Anxiety feeds off itself because you think in worst case scenarios. In reality the worst case very rarely plays out.

After about the 6 months things started to slowly get better. I am mostly back to a normal life at the one year mark. My T is still loud most of the time but I am mostly use to it. Things will get better.

 

@AlbertJ

How long did it take for your tinnitus to improve?

 

Hello @Striveon

The first three months were hell as I was beset by hypochondria on top of my already anxious personality. The loudness of my tinnitus was between 5 and 8 out of 10. Whenever I lay me head to sleep, the sound of siren would pierce my ears. I could not sleep well - piercing tinnitus would wake me up. It was as if the air was thick with an assortment of sounds - high-pitched tone, sizzling, and this electricity-like buzzing inside my head.

Things started to get better albeit very gradually when I used three smartphones to play background noise whenever I went to sleep. That pretty much drowned out the ringing.

On the fourth month, I started noticing small improvements. It is not linear though as I experienced a major spike last July that made me sleepless for straight 48 hours. I even went to an ER at a local hospital but was only prescribed an antihistamine for sleep.

The months following it were a rollercoaster. Spikes from time to time but there were good days and more good days in between.

I am hoping and praying that my symptoms would further improve.


Warmest regards,
Albert

 

HI @Molto7

As I was reading your post (and I have read a lot, in this forum and at other tinnitus forums) I had a feeling that something has caused your tinnitus to increase, which is usually the case even though you have had it since birth like my Hearing Therapist, who manages quite well as you have. If there is no underlying medical problem causing the increase including stress and your TMJ, the usual reason is sound. This was the reason I asked do you listen to music through headphones.

I have written many posts in this forum about the dangers of headphone use for some people with noise induced tinnitus. Even when the tinnitus is not noise induced as in your case, I advise people not to use them even at low volume. Now the choice is yours whatever you decide to do. Since you have asked for my opinion I will give it and this is based on many years of personal experience living tinnitus. I have been corresponding and counselling people with noise induced tinnitus for quite some time now. I am not an expert in tinnitus and never claimed to be.

Headphones use today is at the top of the list for causing the onset of tinnitus and for making the condition worse, for those that already have it. Whether you use Earbuds or over-the-ear headphones they are both bad even when used at low volume. I will say as I have always said not everyone with tinnitus is affected by headphone use but many people are. Therefore, it is a risk using them and you have to decide whether that risk is worth it? I believe the increase in your tinnitus is a signal that your ears and auditory system are not pleased with what you are doing. If you persist, I think it's likely the tinnitus will get worse and may not reduce to its previously low level once you stop, so please be careful.

Some people in this forum will be quick to tell you to ignore what I'm saying. Their advice will be to live your life and do whatever you want to do. Remember, you are the one that will be enduring the suffering and disharmony in your life not them. You are here and expressing how you feel because your tinnitus has increased and is causing you some distress. You are not a newbie to tinnitus having had it since birth and have managed quite well. However, it has started to become a little too intrusive and you're trying to find a solution to in order for it to return to it's previous manageable level. Well, I am advising you to stop listing to audio/music through any type of headphones even at low volume.

Some people believe ENT doctors, Hearing Therapists and Audiologists are tinnitus experts and know all about the condition because they are medically qualified and work in ENT. Nothing more could be further from the truth. ENT doctors are physicians that know about the anatomy of the Ear, Nose and Throat. They are able to treat these organs medically or surgically. When there is an underlying medical problem associated with the auditory system which is causing the tinnitus, they will try to treat it. This I believe most try to do well and I give then due respect for their expertise in this field. However, this does not mean they are tinnitus specialists. Many of them have never experienced tinnitus and therefore, no nothing about it.

You might ask your Doctor's opinion on headphone and if there is any risk or danger in using it. Be prepared to be told what you want to hear: "Using headphones is fine as long as the volume is kept low". That is what you are likely to be told and it is the wrong advice. Hearing Therapists and Audiologists that practice tinnitus and hyperaucusis management with tinnitus patients, have more in depth knowledge about tinnitus than most ENT doctors when there is no underlying medical condition causing it and a patient is referred to Audiology to see these health professionals. A lot of them (not all) have tinnitus, they were either born with it as you were and my hearing therapist or acquired it at sometime in their life. Again, they are not tinnitus experts and will be quick to tell you what you want to hear: Using headphones is fine as long as the volume is kept low. Believe me they do not know.

Peruse many of the posts in this forum written by people that returned to headphone use and regretted it because the tinnitus has got worse. People have sent me emails and telephoned telling me the same. Headphones in my opinion are dangerous for people with tinnitus.

Another thing you might want to consider is running. Again, this is based on my experience corresponding with people that have tinnitus and run. Many have told me their tinnitus has got worse overtime due to running on hard ground or on a treadmill. Some people are not affected by running. I believe it is due to impact underfoot that travels up through the legs into the upper body, head and auditory system. For this reason I use an Elliptical/Crosstrainer at home. My feet don't make contact with the floor, so there's no impact underfoot.

I wish you well whatever you decide to do.
Michael

 

I think it is all a matter of adjusting to this condition and on focusing on the things you can do and enjoy and not on the things you did before and cannot do now, or you would like to do but will mean pain on your hearing. Sometimes one has to do major adjustments to deal with this.

 

That's exactly what I said to myself when this first happened... still here unfortunately.

 

Yeah...I’m still here...getting used to it though. At this point it makes me angry and annoys on my worst days. Good days I hear it but it doesn’t bother me much. It’s a huge improvement from thinking if it didn’t stop I’d kill myself. It really does get easier with time.

 

@F-u-T

What kind of acoustic trama did you have to bring on your tinnitus?