Tinnitus Week 2018 / Day 7: What Advice Would You Give to Someone Else Who Has Tinnitus?

It depends
a) on the origin of tinnitus
b) on the kind of tinnitus

E.g. : My advice for pulsatile tinnitus would be very different from non-pulsatile tinnitus.
My advice for tinnitus caused by noise-trauma would be rather different for tinnitus caused by "stress"...

 

I am still shocked that the medical community is not doing anything about this. Tinnitus/hyperacusis is seriously a debilitating disease, yes this is a disease, a brain disease which there is no cure for. I equate this to some major maladies.

 

I would advise them to be very careful about what they read, or learn, as there's a lot of misinformation out there, especially online.

 

Pray

 

my dad has my same hearing loss, maybe a bit worse but no tinnitus.
hearing loss and tinnitus are not always connected.

 

So many great replies. I think the most important thing I would tell them is that over time it will get easier. When I first got T I thought my life was over, I genuinely believed I would never get used to it, it was the worst period of my life. These days it's still really annoying but I no longer feel the complete despair I used to, I even have quite long periods of not noticing it at all.

 

100% this. We need to keep our eyes on the prize!

 

My advice for fresh tinnitus is to do pulse corticosteroids treatment. Don't wait, do it immediately.

Avoid moderate and loud noises.

Also avoid all benzos / antidepressants / antipsychotics and all ototoxic drugs.

Do extensive medical check up to find the cause of tinnitus only treating the cause will resolve the problem.

The T will cured on its own over time.

 

My advice

1. Avoid Loud Sounds, do not go to a movie theather without earplugs, or use blender.
2. Do not do any EAR TEST that the stupid ENTs want to do. They dont know anything honestly. I dont know how they managed to become ENTs. Scary
3) NO ototoxic drugs you will cause trouble
4) Dont do anything, the best thing is to leave it alone, IT WILL GET BETTER if you leave it alone, if you keep touching it YOU WILL WORSEN IT, trust me I made it so much worse.
5) This forum can mess you up, dont read horror stories to much it will get in your head and mess you up.

I wish I can go back in time when I had Mild T

 

Work on reducing your anxiety with deep relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, or self-hypnosis etc...

Do not allaow yourself to be deterred by those whose advice proves that they are personally quite incapable of practicing it.
Jazzer
Dave
xxx

 

Do not panic...

If it is noise induced... take cortisteroids asap under medical supervision. Try to get in hbot within 3-4 weeks. And try to relax as much as possible... don’t force yourself to go to work if you have a hard time sleeping / coping.

Tell your manager... I received a lot of support at work and am now working fulltime again. It relieves you temporarily of guilt and work pressure. They even proposed to pay for CBT sessions instead of regular trainings!

Do not do anything with moderate noise for the first four months. No lawnmowers or high pressure cleaners... not even with the best hearing protection. As long as you are scared of sound and focused on your T the anxiety alone can cause a spike...

Do not take ototoxic drugs (check the list)...

Order custom earplugs and carry them with you everwhere you go.

 

Reviewing my response on the 11th February, I would change just one item.
I mentioned the use of low dose melatonin, (1mg), which I did use for some time.
I have since discovered that it can leave me with a morning headache - so I discontinued it forthwith.
I am able to self hypnotise in less than one minute, so I really don’t need to use any supplements or drugs.

 

Hi everyone. Thanks for all your ideas and support. Knowing it is not just you yourself, and having ideas about how to improve your T, and that it can be improved is great to hear. I know I will be back on, as I learn more about it. Once again thanks, for your time and energy.
I am off from work for another month (I am a teacher and we have the summer off to mentally recuperate), and I am already working on quiet music, ear plugs and finding quiet places outside. I live alone, and while in the past I have found the walls at home very confortable, they can now close in so I know I need to find a balance, and I will just have to get used to ear plugs outside.
I am fortunate in that I am able to sleep, though for some reason the right ear tends to get 'active' at night, while during the day it is generally quieter. I am wondering if it is because I am horizontal, any thoughts?
Once again, thanks for taking the time to send out your thoughts and ideas.

 

thanks for the advice, guys.

what is hbot?

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy/about/pac-20394380

 

A busy street can get loud, but many parks ought to be pretty quiet...

 

If I have Eustachian Tube issues and I have to use a nasal spray, is the Valsalva still recommended?

Also, is Prednisone still viable if I did a hearing test in December and was found to have ~30 dB hearing loss at 4kHz?

 

Unfortunately - no. You have to take it very soon after your acoustic trauma.

 

The thing is, my current MEM started randomly, and before this I didn't even recall any hearing issues(at least not to the point where there is a noticeable difference in hearing between my ears). I think you may remember reading some of my recent threads about this. Is there reason to believe that MEM or conductive hearing loss can affect my air conduction hearing?

 

What does MEM stand for?

 

Middle Ear Myoclonus. TTTS (which I believe you've said you had/have) falls under this category as well, if I'm not wrong

 

I don't know much about it.

I've never heard of Prednisone being used to treat TTTS...

 

Yeah, my issue seems to be middle ear related, but I am not hearing well in my affected ear, hence the question about prednisone

 

I'm going to bump this thread so newcomers can see it, with this quoted so it's fresh, too.