Went to Bed Tinnitus-Free, Woke Up with Tinnitus: It's Now Been 5 Days and I Need Help

[Mayhem]

Hello all.

I'm very new to tinnitus. I've only had it 5 days. I've hardly slept because the ringing is excruciatingly loud. Even with masking sounds I've tried to listen to off of YouTube. My Melatonin does nothing. I have my window AC and fan on too :/

My PC prescribed me Baclofen and Tetracycline. Reading through the forum I see conflicting answers so I am scared to start taking them. I'm going to an ENT next Wednesday to have this tinnitus looked at as well as back to my PC Thursday.

I'd really like some info on what meds and care you all use for pain relief, such as for sore muscles, headaches etc... as well as any info I could provide to my doctors. Trying to do my homework before I go.

Short on how I got the tinnitus... I went to bed last Thursday. Woke up (Friday September 11th) with loud crickets and ringing in my ears. It is worse in my left ear. All I know is god bless everyone here that have had this for so long.

For the short time I've had it, it has turned my wold upside down.

Is there a light to the end of this tunnel or should I say silence!?!?

 

[Mayhem]

Anyone please?

 

[weab00]

Well I don't know about your causes dude, but it could be from cumulative sound exposure/cochlear damage. Some ototoxic drugs can also cause it. Many people experience significant fading within the first year of getting tinnitus. The first 3-4 months are always the worst.

There's a light at the end in a few different ways:

1. Like I said, many newtimers experience fading.
2. Even if it doesn't go away completely, your brain will habituate and completely tune out the signal. You will be less emotionally attached to it.
3. I implore you to check out the Research News section of Tinnitus Talk, there are a lot of promising treatments in the works for hearing loss and tinnitus (assuming that's your cause). Particularly Frequency Therapeutics's FX-322 hair cell regeneration and Otonomy's OTO-313 synapse regeneration.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that it's not a life sentence and there is hope. Buy some high-fidelity earplugs and keep away from crazy loud environments for now. Hopefully an ENT or audiologist can give you more insight into your specific case, but in my experience doctor's are very apathetic about this sort of thing, especially when they can't detect a physical cause. Try getting an advanced audiogram, which will show your hearing range beyond 8kHz.

Also some people here have had success with playing white or pink noise at night to help it fade, so look into that as well.

Good luck bro.