Young People with Tinnitus

Hi everyone,
I haven’t visited this forum for years because everything has been fine with the ears.
Bit of a back story. I got tinnitus 6 years ago when I was 22, it came on after a stressful period of time, don’t know if the two were related.
I suffered pretty bad hyperacusis, I had to listen to the tv really really quietly, I struggled to be in a room with more than two other people talking, I barely left my house for 6 months.

Anyway fast forward 6 years and the tinnitus is really no longer an issue. I do still hear it, if I listen for it, but only if I'm in a quiet area, I used to be so focused on it, I could hear it all the time no matter where I was.

I’ve come back to this board because I am now suffering with another health issue and have been visiting similar forums related to that. I would come to these forums looking for success stories hoping to give myself a bit of hope, but never came across many. I think it's because people who get better leave these forums and don’t really want to look back and I get that 100%. I’ve just read my old posts here and can safely say I am no longer in that place. I can only hope in another 6 years I’ll be able to say the same thing about my current issue!

Anyway if your feeling down and struggling, I really do get it, I’ve been there and come out the other side. Just take things a day at a time and one day you will notice its not an issue anymore.

I started going back out clubbing, I do still wear ear plugs if its really loud. If you're like me and worried about people seeing them, I got some custom made ones a good few years back and they're great, and really not noticeable at all. I have also gone travelling around Asia, something I never thought I would be able to do, with all the plane journeys and loud clubs, but I honestly had the best time of my life.
Don’t let this stop you from doing things, you might read a lot about don’t do this or that. But honestly don’t give it too much attention.

I also found (and am currently finding) that sites like these, although they are great for when you're really down and needing support from people who understand, they can also sometimes not be what you need. It can sometimes seem like things never get better, again it's probably because like me, the people who have got better don’t want to hang around and revisit old bad feelings and have left the forum.

Anyway I’m rambling, I wish you all the best, know that things do get better, I am proof of that. Like Ive said I don’t come on here anymore, but feel free to message me and I can always give you my personal email if you ever need to just message someone who “gets it”

-Shelley

 

Hi .I was Just wondering if your hyperacusis went away.
Best

 

You dont mention if Hyperacusis went off as well did it?

 

Hi, yes my hyperacusis went away. It took time, but I do not struggle at all with day to day noise anymore.
I used to struggle with the tv, music the noise from roads, the washing machine etc etc. But now that’s all fine.
I pushed myself more as time went on, I can now happily be in a noisy pub/ bar or anywhere and be ok.
The only time I feel uncomfortable is when it’s obviously way too loud (some clubs are guilty of this) however if I feel uncomfortable I’ll just put my ear plugs in. I rarely feel the need to this now.

 

I am very happy for you. Did you take any vitamins or anything to else to ease the pain?

 

In the beginning yes, I took a vitamin b supplement among a whole lot of other things, that I had read about on this forum or similar.
But I can’t say that any of them made much of a noticeable difference. I was desperate to find something that helped and would have tried pretty much anything.
Theres no harm in taking vitamins, but I personally didn’t have much luck with them.
I found as well it can mean you are focusing more on the tinnitus to see if it is changing - the opposite of what you want to be doing.

I know it’s a cliche but really time was the best healer. That and making a conscious effort to get out and do things I enjoyed again.

 

@Shelley You said you still hear it if you listen for it. Is it still as loud? or has it come down enough that makes it much eaiser to ignore?

 

I fully agree with you on this. Thank you for coming back and posting your positive story.

 

I don’t think it’s as loud anymore no, I had a few different sounds going on when it first started.
I do think it has calmed down now and I mostly only hear the one noise, sometimes I notice an old sound has come back, but I know it will disappear again. So I don’t worry about it.

 

Also regarding hypercausis I would at first over wear ear plugs or I would use my over the ear head phones as protection. But this only increases your sensitivity to noise.
Being around everyday level noise I think is important in recovery. And the knowledge that this level of noise is not going to damage your ears further.

 

Did your T lower in volume?

 

I think so yes, i guess it’s hard to tell if it’s lower or you perceive it as lower when it doesn’t bother you as much. I guess it doesn’t really matter though as long as it is better!