You Can Survive Tinnitus

I posted my story in another thread. But maybe this can help others.

My name is Craig. I have had mild T for years. From power tools and loud concerts. I got used to it. Even used ear plugs to harness the T when I needed to sleep. Used it to drown out other sounds at night.

Recently developed SSHL or Ménière's disease. Not sure which one. ENT wasn't sure either. Got the whole gambit. Full feeling in ear, muffled hearing, LOUD T. All except vertigo. Thank God. ( or at least not yet )

Worst for me is the loss of hearing. About 30 db. High frequency.

It seems I have lived with T for so long that this much louder version is annoying, but not debilitating. And have no idea how to get back to normal.
I am a mechanic, so I work in an environment that masks my T most of the day. And I can use my loss of hearing and louder T to mask out noises at night. It's annoying, but it won't stop me.

For those of you that have a mild case and can recover from it, I envy you. For the rest, don't get sucked in to that place. The more you think about it, the more it will consume every second of your life. And that alone would drive anyone nuts. JUST IGNORE IT. It will still be there, but, more and more, you won't notice it. Accept it. But don't stop hoping that one day it will just be gone.

And one thing is for sure, people who don't have T or hearing loss don't understand.

I hope my story can help some of you realize that you can learn to live with it and not let it destroy you.

 

Wise words, Userhx35543 ...

I utterly agree when you say that 'the more that you think about it, the more it will consume every second of your life'...

Some years ago, my wife and I lived next door to some very noisy neighbours. At first when they moved in our lives became a misery. If ever I went round to tackle the heads of the family about their noise, I would end up even more stressed-out and as a result the family would make even more noise.

As strange as it sounds, the best way we found of dealing with it, was to let the noise happen without consciously 'listening' to it ... Of course, it took a while to master, but we certainly felt that we had chosen the right path to go down. Our neighbours weren't nasty people ... they were just dysfunctional.

How was I to know that many years later, our 'noisy neighbour' experience would turn out to be the most prized foundation stone for my having to come to terms with my sudden onset of T.

So, for me, I choose not to listen to it and just get on with my life ... and as it turns out, a huge part of the day can go by without ever realising that I have it. Of course, I try to steer away from loud noises, as that will sometimes hurt, but the bottom-line is that there is life out there and with time and the right outlook, we can still live life to the full!

My thoughts and prayers go out to you, Userhx35543 ... and all who should read this!

 

How many frequencies is your 30db loss at?

 

Three according to my ENT. Basically up to 65 to 75 db to hear properly.

If your hearing is good and you put your fingers in your ears in a conversation, that muffled sound is what I hear in my right ear.

 

And the really crappy thing is, ever since I got T, I have been wearing plugs or muffs around loud noises. Even cutting grass with my lawn mower. And this hits me out of the blue.

 

You have dips of 65 and 75? Damn thats alot. I have 2 dips of 30 in my right ear and i can feel the difference compared to the left.

 

I dont know how much longer I can go. All the meds are ototoxic. Imagine that. 50,000.000 acute 25,000.000 chronic sufferers and theres no real meds for them. Way to go FDA and the USA Gov. The best missles in the world and no cure or relief for 75,000.000 ill Americans.

 

I've always wondered how people get SSHL or menieres. Especially when using protection

 

@Userhx35543 if you don't have vertigo u probably don't have Ménière's disease, that's good.
I developed SSHL on 4/2/16 my hearing fluctuate but it's bad loss of 50dl with high frequency in the 70dl , since April I had 2 episodes of vertigo and in the last 4 days my hearing is almost non existent and T has increased, I feel dizzy but not vertiginous. I hope that I don't have Ménière's
Good luck there is no treatment for it, do u have aural fullness?
Dom

 

I just hope vertigo doesn't rear its ugly head. Especially if I'm driving or working out.

The fullness in the ear is pretty much gone. Still got the damn ringing though.

 

I've had an extremely high pitch sound that stays the same. I tried paxel for a week. I can't get out of bed intel noon. My new Doctor wants me to try Pamelor. OK , trying it tonight.
Anybody had success with Pamelor.
These last three days are have been a killer. Bless all of you with silence.