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Tinnitus is pretty common. It's stressful only until you get tired of dwelling on it. Then it becomes just another background noise. The more important matters of the day will take over, just like before. Your old self is still in there, and she'll come back to the surface.

Tinnitus can shift around a bit before settling into one sound. The low thrum might go away or morph into something else. Anyway, don't freak out just because some others freak out in these forums. Anything new is unsettling. When it's no longer new, it becomes just another background noise...

I developed it while taking amoxicillin, on day seven of my 10-day treatment. And I still have it, though it did change from a distinct musical tone to a fuzzier hiss. So, Madays, let's assume the worst -- that it sticks around. At first, you'll feel attacked, damaged, cursed, handicapped...

Quoting myself: "This site attracts the full spectrum for sure, but probably tends toward the Nervous Nellies." I think I'm right, and people new to T should keep this in mind before they bracket the T experience based on this narrow sample. There are legions of T "sufferers" who sidestepped...

I think most doctors dislike the subject. They tend to break eye contact when I mention the word. I can see why. There's no way to appease the patient. No prescription. No treatment. Not even a clear prognosis. What can they possibly say about it? A million things can cause it and nothing fixes...

Tinnitus is worldwide phenomenon and pre-dates smart meters for sure. If a newfangled machine installed in some parts of the country caused tinnitus, there would be a deluge of complainants and lawsuits by now. Also, removing yourself from the machine would stop the buzz, no? Or does one...

After I got an MRI two years ago, I swore up and down the T was louder, but in hindsight I was just anxious about the noise exposure. I don't think it really became louder. Two noises yes: If I say up late enough and I'm really tired, I start picking up the thrum of a distant helicopter that...

Jade, try to reserve your anxiety attacks for bad news. The doctor only told you what you already knew. That's actually good news. Nothing is amiss. And regarding your father, do you know of any connection between his tinnitus and suicide, besides speculation?

This site has a ratio of 99 percent commiseration to 1 percent inspiration. Do you agree?

You know that high-pitched tone emitted by computer monitors and TVs? Tinnitus sounds like that, at least to me. So it means my brain is switched on. Better than the altnernative.

For anyone who has overcome the anxiety and gone back to normal life despite tinnitus -- and there are many of us -- my statement will ring true, no pun intended. * "You control the volume knob": The intensity drops quite a bit when you no longer worry about it, so your attitude makes it...

Think of another physical flaw of yours. Now imagine being distracted and nagged by it for years. Doesn't happen. You adapt. Same will apply here. The long, difficult road you might be envisoning will likely turn out to be a little stubby road disappearing in the rear view mirror. You don't...

You control the volume knob, and even the power button. When you stop worrying, it stops nagging.

Scary at first. Becomes a non-factor after a while. Do whatever it takes to rein in the anxiety.

Word ...

This means our children are prone to T and will be affected by how we've handled it.

Plenty of websites purport to have the miracle cure, um, after you forward your credit card information. This guy Avi might be full O' crap, but at least he's free of charge. So Avi, please ID yourself. Where do you work?

My father has it from working a printing press. I'm getting a hint that this is hereditary, eh?

You drive a dump truck. Post a You Tube video! Gotta see it.

You work machinery in a mine? And Piper plays bagpipes. I can't think of two worse scenarios for tinnitus. Sheesh. Anyway, I got it during a sinus infection a couple of years ago. I wasn't that unnerved by it until I reserached it and found it has a name and supposedly claims lives. Given my...

Remember, folk like Karen and I are veterans who began equally shaken and lost. You feel handicapped, damaged, defective etc. All nonsense. There is no disease here. Just a new flaw and related short-term anxiety about it.

Actually, Jade, your original post shows how much T is affected by attitude. You were OK with your T until your mother gave you disturbing information -- then the T suddenly seemed more insidious. Well, the reverse applies too. Mitigating thoughts tend to mitigate the T. It's a paper tiger, I...

Piper and Jade, it seems you both have anxiety in your DNA, and the tinnitus is tapping into it. But if it weren't the tinnitus, it would be something else. The key is to treat the anxiety by any means possible. The more stable you are overall, the easier you can handle curve balls like tinnitus...

Here's a compilation of horror movie deaths. Notice a common strain through all of them? They all employ a high-pitched shrieking, scraping sound at the "money shot" to help raise our hackles. We associate such sounds with high tension, high suspense. Basically, high stress. It's no wonder we...

It seems everyone hits their nadir after one or two months of T, then slowly recovers back to their old selves again. The T might still be there, but it becomes just another idiosyncrasy instead of an assault. You simply sidestep it after a while. But at first it seems impossible to sidestep...

Getting mad at yourself is hard to avoid but is a step in the wrong direction. Life causes tinnitus, period. So many people have it, and learn to disregard it. Are you going through an anxious time in general, aside from the T?

Anxiety/depression mimic other things and fool you. I suspect you've got a touch of both. You need to treat them and get your head screwed back on ASAP. Don't fear meds if a counselor suggests them. They can nudge your T to the back burner just enough.

MRI showed nothing amiss? Could anxiety/depression be compromising your abilities lately?

Treat the depression ASAP, and the tinnitus will move to the back burner where it belongs.

Glad your old self is rising from the tar pit. Knew she was still under there, alive and breathing.

Meds work. You'll be able to taper off eventually. Use a pill cutter (pharmacies sell for cheap), so you can taper in very small amounts.

When the plane starts the descent, hold your jaw wide open for the entire duration (about 25 mins is typical for a descent) until you're on the ground, even if it means using your hand to keep your jaw open. You'll look silly but it prevents the ear pressure. I've done it multiple times and it...

You've treated the anxiety. Well done.

In other words, life itself.

Hugo1041, why were you using that drug in the first place?

You have the ammunition (meds) to fight this nonsense. Aim and fire.

Pain usually means something detectable and treatable. I'm confused.

Depression can cause very early awakenings, T or no T.

Emailed you back, but check spam folder.

If you want to move this dialogue over to rfahey@wobfm.com, I can respond faster. I'm keen on seeing you through this.

And you're talking a half-dose, but you are indeed sleeping through the night per normal? And you're able to nap sometimes during the day if you want?

Sounds like an acute depression, a fast-moving thunderstorm. I had the same, a few months after developing T. I wretched at the thought of leaving the house, going to work etc. Human contact was instant overload, as if I were at the absolute limit of stress. I hid in my basement for hours...

Piper, at this point how are these things going for you? 1. Getting a good night's sleep. 2. Eating normally. 3. Leaving the house regularly. 4. Engaging in activities you consider productive. I'm keen on following your progress.

You can't beat T by confronting it. You must sidestep it.

The fan acted as white noise. Stopping it brought T to the fore. Plus, you were finished working and listened for T.

Naps amplify it temporarily. Keep treating the anxiety. Eventually you will look back and shake your head at your overreaction.

I respect my ENT and neurologist for telling be bluntly that there's a million possible causes for T but no cure, and that there's no point in throwing prescriptions at it. Both suggested I treat the short-term anxiety instead, until I could adapt. I did so and never looked back. Not giving a...

Piper, antidepressants take weeks to have an effect. In the meantime, assuming you don't have an addictive personality and don't drink, you could ask for Lorazepam as a fast-acting, sanity-restoring solution while you wait for the antidepressants to take effect. That combo worked for me...

Tyson, have you been to an ENT (ear/nose/throat) specialist yet? It might be something as simple as wax in your ears.

No doubt it's louder after a daytime nap or middle of the night, then returns to baseline. Oh well. When we exercise we hear our blood pumping through our heads whether we have T or not, and nobody is spooked. We also hear our loud respiration, again without fear. When we eat, that's pretty loud...

Wait -- a tumor? Sounds like it could be removed and the problem resolved, yes?

Treat your anxiety with therapy and even meds. You need some short-term help.

That's my point. Ultimately you control the volume knob.

If you're not sure whether your T has intensified, it probably hasn't.

The culprits are so many that theorizing about the cause of yours is futile. And repeat exposure to whatever caused it might have no effect a second time. In short, my advice is to sidestep it mentally and be grateful it's not a disease.

At the nadir of my T experience, when it disrupted my sleep, I had three episodes of T-related dreams: 1. Bicyclist crushed by car, yelping like a dog in perfect time with my pulsating T as I awoke. 2. Pac-Man dying in the hallway outside my room. "Wer wer wer wer wer blot blot." 3. A ringing...

When something rubs your flesh, you develop a callous. Well, T requires a callous on your brain, and you'll get one with time. Meanwhile, continue treating the anxiety. It's your primary obstacle, more important than the T itself, because it slows the formation of that callous.

Yes, tinnitus is so subjective that it's hard to rate its volume level. Your reaction seems to have an effect on the volume knob for sure. Your attitude toward life in general (confident or downtrodden) is worth another few clicks on the volume knob in either direction!

Here's what got me out of your funk and back to the old "me" despite an acute bout with anxiety/depression, worse than yours I think, related to T: 1. Long-term solution was Zoloft, though it took about three weeks to do anything beneficial and it was a bumpy ride on the way to that plateau...

Breathing/snoring Swallowing Chewing Bloodflow These are all audible bodily rhythms. In the worst case, if the pulsation stays with you, it will just join the soundtrack and you won't give it another thought. Karen and I can attest. Meanwhile, treat the anxiety if it's disrupting your sleep.