Trying to cope with Tinnitus

Hi everybody,

I've had tinnitus for 5 weeks now. I think I'll remember the exact date my problems started for ever ... it was 1st June. I went clubbing for the first time for many years (a friend's 40th birthday so we were reliving the old days). The music was SO loud and I left the club with my ears ringing. I wasn't worried straight away because that was normal. But over the next couple of days the general ringing subsided and was replaced by a really high pitch tone that seems to come from the middle of my head. It's been there ever since and I can hear it over everything.
I feel really frustrated that I've done this to myself. Some days it's louder than others and on the loud days I am really struggling to cope. I've got some sleeping pills which I'm using but waking up in the morning is awful because it's the first thing I'm aware of before I even open my eyes.
I know from having a look round the forum that there's a lot of people who find ways to cope with this, but at the moment I feel like all the joy has been taken out of every aspect of live.

Carol

 

Welcome on board Carol,

First of all, tinnitus is usually considered permanent after 1 year.
There are lots of cases of people with tinnitus that lasts for months and dissapears.
Even though, research is very active today and maybe in a forseeable future, some new compounds or techniques will be available and highly effecient.

 

Carol, Ivan relate to how you feel. Tho I've lived with mild ringing for a few years the last 2 wks it has become worse and now pulsates. I too have anxiety and have been a wreck for 4 days with panic and anxiety. Today I had a friend take me to ER where they discovered high blood pressure and put me on a drug for that and anxiety. The ringing is still not gone, feel like I'm in a fog because of lack of sleep, but hopeful tomorrow will be better. Just know you're not alone.

 

Getting mad at yourself is hard to avoid but is a step in the wrong direction. Life causes tinnitus, period. So many people have it, and learn to disregard it. Are you going through an anxious time in general, aside from the T?

 

It seems everyone hits their nadir after one or two months of T, then slowly recovers back to their old selves again. The T might still be there, but it becomes just another idiosyncrasy instead of an assault. You simply sidestep it after a while. But at first it seems impossible to sidestep something so intrusive, even aggressive. That's where meds can help you as they helped me through the first year. Then I tapered off.

Karen and I differ on meds. Do whatever works, but do something besides stewing in your own broth. That never works.

 

hi everyone, i've had mild tinnitus since 2001 after coming back from holiday in spain,in which i swam a lot.it first felt like my ears needed clearing of water,but 12yrs later still have it.the last 5-6 months it seems to have trebled in volume and there seems to be a high pitched ringing and a low pitched hoover like sound,obviously this is massively affecting my life,cant stand to be in a silent room and cant go to sleep without tv on.im naturally anxious although have no serious worries,my doctor isn't a great help either,just says nothing can be done and thats it.dont really want to go down the meds route but a the same time know i cant go on much longer without some kind of help.thanks peeps ,great site.

 

Thank you to everyone for such supportive messages. I was feeling very down yesterday but a bit more positive today. I'm going to try some masking sounds to give me a break from listening to the ringing. I suppose it's early days so it might get better but I guess I'd better not pin my hopes on that. One thing I will try to do from now on is stop being angry with myself and wishing I could turn the clock back. Thanks for your support.