Worried for My Family

I was in a car accident about one month ago. Some kid rear-ended me while I was stopped at a stop sign. Ever since, I have been dealing with tinnitus. Tonight, it's a loud, high-frequency, persistent sound. It sounds like static in my head - like something from high voltage wires. It is 3:38am, and I still can not sleep.

I am the sole provider, and many people depend on me. I am a computer programmer, and this has made it difficult to concentrate. I feel like this is not sustainable, and I'm worried that it is permanent. I have two daughters that I need to put through college.

Feeling overwhelmed, and sorry for myself, and exhausted. Having trouble coping with this noise.

 

Hey Mike,

Have you been to a doctor or specialist concering hearing problems since you got this noise? If not I would surely do so. I also learned that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an option if the Tinnitus has only started recently. Don't know if it's still an option after a month but you can still ask about it.

Other then that I would advice you to ignore it, seems impossible I know but just try. Make sure you have some noise around you to mask the Tinnitus you are hearing, play some music, listen to the radio, play the tv, anything that helps really.

At night I would advice the same thing. Turn on the tv, have a clock in your room, turn your radio on or put it between channels to have "white noise" or activate a fan. The last one I would not do ofcourse since it is winter but still it's an option. You could also play some "Tinnitus Music", these are "songs" that can help mask the Tinnitus and make you sleep better. A fex examples here, you can download these or play them through your laptop/pc/tablet and more:

Fan:

The Virtual Fan - White Noise

Rain:

♥♥ 8 Hours of Relaxing Sounds of...

Wilderness:

Campfire and Camp Wilderness Sounds : 8 HOURS LONG

Wind:

Winter Wind : Relaxing Nature Sounds for Sleep...

White Noise:

Celestial White Noise 10 Hours. Sleep Better,...

 

Thank you. Just regular doctor, and had a CT scan. I just received approval to see an ENT doctor. I plan on scheduling an appointment on Monday.

 

I understand ur feeling. Be strong, try to get good sleep and relax ur mind.
Melatonin is a good pill to try for sleeping.
get urself check properly mri or ct scan ur brain esp auditory canals for fractures or deheince. This is jst to be on safe side.
And also ur check ur spin and neck for any disk compression or pinched nerve.
These things I say are not meant to scare u but simply eliminating any possible damage will bring u a peace of mind.

 

CT scan was normal. Hoping to get an MRI soon. Can a pinched nerve cause tinnitus?

 

Feelings like, "difficult to concentrate", "not sustainable", "overwhelmed" "exhausted" and "trouble coping" are indications that you might need the help of an antidepressant for a while.

I know from personal experience what you're feeling and going through! It took an antidepressant to pull me out of that downward spiral of anxiety and depression more than once over the many years that I've had T. If you're not already on one, please talk to your doctor about it and also you might additionally need a med to help you sleep. Sleep is so VERY important!

Anxiety and depression exacerbate a T condition. After going on an AD (more than once) my anxiety and depression were both reduced. The secondary effect was that the severity level of my Tinnitus also diminished.

AD's take time to work. Depending on the person, from days to weeks. So, if you need to be on one, the sooner you begin taking one the better.

Good Luck!

 

I agree with @nogood's suggestion to take Melatonin. Taking 3mg about an hour before I want to go to sleep has helped me a lot.

 

The beginning phase of tinnitus is always the toughest. The newness of the T sensation causes too much worry and distorted thinking, something they call cognitive distortions. We tend to project a catastrophic future. Many of us went through what you are now and worried too. But if you read enough success stories, you will know that people do get better after a while and after some strategies which work for them. Masking and meds are important at this initial stage to help cope with the T traunma. Staying positive and giving your body enough time to absorb in the new T condition is also very important. Don't get too anxious. Take it one day at a time. The less stressful you are, the less T suffering. Take care.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies and support. Truly appreciated.

 

I played relaxation music last night, and it helped me sleep through the night. Feeling well rested today, which has made it easier to deal with the tinnitus. Exhaustion and tinnitus don't mix well at all. I was in a bad way yesterday, but am doing much better today. Relaxation music throughout the day definitely helps.

 

Before moving onto the path of "habituation" (a word I do not understand myself), I would perhaps revisit the option of looking for one or two more specialists, if I were you.

Car accidents are definitely known to cause tinnitus either through whiplash or head trauma. In the case of whiplash, there are protocols on how to proceed and possibly reduce tinnitus. In my own case of possible somatic tinnitus, I went for a series of planned injections with Procaine to the back of the neck (one in each side).

Somatic tinnitus is a tricky situation to deal with. Imaging is the standard diagnostic tool in such cases, but I also recommend a perhaps more manual approach eg. visiting a chiropractor and/or a clinic that specializes in dealing with the aftermath of a car accident. In my own case, my chiropractor happened also to be a doctor specializing in physical rehabilitation medicine, and so, getting the injections was simple enough (for me).

The following thread is more about head trauma and is perhaps worth a read (also) before visiting your ENT.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-will-gradually-improve.5686/#post-64023

Whatever you do, it is important to reach some sort of conclusion (in terms of a diagnosis). It is also important to commence some kind of treatment as soon as possible (to the extent that a treatment can be identified, that is).

 

Did the airbag go off??

 

Does exercise make tinnitus worse? Whenever I go to the gym, or walk the dogs, my tinnitus is raging. I could not sleep again last night after exercise. I tried to remain calm, listen to music, but no luck.

 

Hi Mike,

Firstly, I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through. I am about 6 weeks into spontaneous Tinnitus myself, and the cause hasn't yet been determined, but I can say that this community is extremely helpful and supportive. Keep thinking positively.

Secondly, yes. Exercise and exertion are known to often (but not always) increase the severity of Tinnitus (especially volumes, sometimes pitches and amplifications). This is connected with the inflammation of the neuromuscular tissues that are usually impacted by Tinnitus, even when Tinnitus isn't caused by injury or an accident. In your case, it's clear that you suffered some sort of neurovascular conflict stemming from your car accident -- though it could be just about anything: from a blood vessel, like a vein, that is pressing up against one of your auditory nerves, to something as simple as muscular compression around your neck or head muscles. The good news is because your Tinnitus can be traced to an incident, there's a well-understood process to diagnose what is going on. Were I you, I would insist on getting detailed imagery - MRIs and MRAs of the head, ears, neck and upper chest, with and without contrast.

One thing I have found helps is taking anti-inflammatory drugs (like Advil) and drinking plenty of fluids - at least 2 to 3 liters of water a day. This helps reduce the inflammation and, over time, quiets the T just a bit.

Good luck! Please keep us posted on how it goes.

 

@MikeS

T is not always affected by exercise, but since you were in a car accident, just moving around might not be the best idea if you had a neck injury (whiplash) T, or no.

I would go check in with specialists and see what they say like ATEOS suggested.

I am so sorry for what you are dealing with and the fears you are having. Just know that so many here have had similar thoughts, wondering how on earth we will live, cope, provide for our loved ones or find a partner when we're tinnitus basket cases. Just worry about today, today, and go see a doctor/psychiatrist for medical help if you cannot sleep at all - there's no shame in that and you wont need it forever. You need rest to heal and it's not bad to have someone to talk to about your fears as well. I only slept 3hrs a night in the beginning, now I'm back to a slightly overboard 11hrs on a really good weekend

Anyway, one way or the other, I think you will be okay. You will not feel this bad forever. Everyone goes through bad patches in life in general. You are allowed to have one, and you will get back on your feet and your family will be okay. Just take one day at a time, don't keep fearing for all the time years from now, things will be better by then. The mostl likely outcome is that your T will either fade away, or you will habituate. Just tell yourself that and, as once was said, "when you're going through hell, keep going." There's better stuff on the other side, and we're all here to help you.

 

@awbw8 is spot on.

Another piece to consider, something my cardiologist told me when back in October I started developing a number of extremely alarming gastric and palpitation symptoms (just before my tinnitus kicked in), and was feeling a sense of impending doom and dread:

You are not in danger. Truly life threatening emergencies do not unfold over weeks and months; while they may signal conditions that require treatment, they are unlikely catastrophic events unfolding before our very eyes. There are rare exceptions to this rule, but as a general principle, if you were truly about to be taken out by some serious life threatening condition, it would be swift and cause immediate, diagnosable symptoms, rather than delayed and chronic conditions, which is what most of us with Tinnitus are dealing with.

This is all to say, @MikeS, that the body, which is an incredibly resilient instrument, will learn to adapt and overcome the new conditions that are afflicting it, and you will conquer Tinnitus in time. That's a refrain that I am constantly seeing among all of the Tinnitus sufferers here on Tinnitus Talk, and it is incredibly encouraging for me, and I hope you take good solace in it.

 

Thanks again for the support.

I am sleeping better now with the music. I've been going to bed earlier, but that's not an easy task. After my Cali commute, helping the kids with homework, dinner, walking the dogs, and working out, it's a race to get to bed on time. By then, my tinnutis has really picked up speed.

I'm listening to much more music, and that has helped me interpret the sound differently. I'm trying to recognize the ring (or chime) in it instead of the static, which has taken some of the edge off.

I'm doing whatever I can to ignore it, and replace the sound with music or conversation. I even started whistling while walking the dogs at night, anything to distract from the noise in my head.

Because of the holidays and the painful process of getting approvals through the insurance companies, an ENT specialist is not able to see me until the second week of January. Unitl then, I'm just winging it. Trying to accept the sound, and not allowing it to bring me down.

Thanks again for your perspectives.

 

One interesting thing about my tinnitus. Often, the sound seems to encompass my entire head. Like it's not coming from my ears, but from the top of my skull. Then every so often, it just sounds like a persistent high frequency whine in my left ear.