Recent content by Frayact

I've had tinnitus since 1996. It started as a high-pitched hissing, and the a few months later, a low-pitched hum was added to the mix. I habituated to the hissing, but the humming nearly drove me to suicide. I could feel it in my ears as well as hear it. I hear the hissing all the time, but it...

Different people have different reactions. I've had both vaccines and a booster. I had no ill side effects whatsoever, and my tinnitus wasn't affected in the least. A friend of mine said he had flu-like symptoms after the second shot. So everyone has an experience.

There may not be a cure, but there are definitely treatments. I know I sometimes sound as if I work for a pharmaceutical company (I actually don't), but I'm convinced that depression is a major cause of the buzzing and humming in my ears. My doctor recently changed my AD's to Desvenlafaxine...

I've never been officially diagnosed with OCD, but I definitely have some form of it. To be clear, I do NOT wash my hands repeatedly, count things, or feel the need to open a door several times before I enter a room. Mine is closer to anxiety and depression. In fact, I've been on antidepressants...

I have two sounds in my head and ears. One is a high-pitched hissing that I've had for over 25 years. It rarely bothers me as I habituated to it a long time ago. I've never actually felt this physically. The other sound is a low-frequency hum. I've also heard this for 25 years but have NOT...

Jerad, you've mentioned the zaps many times. This is a horrible side effect of having to endure the noise in the first place. I will sometimes feel my tinnitus even when I can't hear it! If I'm outdoors or in a noisy environment, I may not actually hear that awful humming, but I will feel a...

LiLCC, not to sound like a broken record, but if you've never tried an antidepressant, I would highly encourage you to talk to your doctor. Like you, I was physically destroyed when I first got this horrible affliction. There were days when I didn't even know who I was anymore. I would pace the...

I've posted this on many other threads, but I also have a loud low-frequency hum. It started from out of the blue in the Summer of 1996. I also have a high-pitched hissing that started a few months earlier, but that rarely bothers me. The humming has gotten so bad over the years that I've...

I've thought about suicide, but I could never go through with it. But I understand why people do it. Naomi Judd took that final step because of mental illness. She didn't have tinnitus (as far as I know), buy she did write a book about living with depression. And in the end, it was too much for...

No. My most recent tinnitus relapse happened on March 27. I didn't start the new AD until several weeks later. I switched because I had been on Lexapro for 15 years and had very good success with it. But my doctor said that ADs can lose their efficacy when taken for that many years. The relapse...

My high-pitched hissing is not reactive; it's consistent but ironically it doesn't bother me. I habituated to it 25 years ago. On the other hand, the low-pitched hum I also have IS reactive. Even something as simple as talking on the phone will set it off. Listening to music and even brushing...

Last night was one of the worst I can remember since the late 90s. The low-pitched hum in my ears was so loud, I didn't fall sleep until around 6AM. I had to take a Valium in order to get some semblance of sleep. But that barely did anything. I felt like a complete freak lying there with the...

Hi Jerad, I just read one of your more recent posts about dealing with the pain of tinnitus. Like you, the noise in my head is also a physical sensation. I have a high-pitched hissing that is NOT painful, but I also have a low-frequency hum that makes my ears and head vibrate. As I've mentioned...

The irony of the human body. Long before I acquired tinnitus in 1996, I was Mr. Health. In 1989, when I was 28, I started working out regularly and eating a healthier diet. I've never smoked, done drugs, or been a drinker. I've taken a multi-vitamin for years. Done all the "right" things. But...

From what I've experienced, earplugs don't help reduce lower frequency bass sounds. I've been a wedding DJ for 27 years, and when I put in my earplugs, they will block out the high frequency screeching of guests and music, but the bass sounds (especially from rap and hip-hop) still permeate my...