2 Weeks with Tinnitus, Help!

[ceauses97]

First of all, I am a 18 year old guy from Norway, so my English is not that well. And I'm very desperate for help, these 2 weeks have been the worst weeks in my life.

I don't know if this is relevant, but I had cancer when I was 14, and got treated and lived pretty happy and well till 2 weeks from now. And to be honest, I rather go
through the cancer again, and get treated, rather than live with tinnitus my whole life. Thats how much I hate it!!!

It all started on 6 December 2015. My life changed from heaven to hell. I havent been sleeping properly for 2 weeks now, and these pasy days, I have been taking very strong sleeping pills so I can get my sleep. My Tinnitus is very, very quit at day time, and it only
frustrates when I'm trying to sleep. At night, the ringing in my head is very annoying and somethimes it feels like I'm standing next to a ... uhm.. an airplane. I have tried everything. Nature sound, radio, even had my television on. It doesnt help. I need silence to sleep. Thats how I always had it, and want it..

I don't know the cause of my tinnitus, but I went to a ear specialist and and she told me that caffeine was proably the reason for my Tinnitus, so last week I have cut down the caffaine and sugar, and tried to eat a lot healthier. It should be noted that my Tinnitus started very randomely at night 2 weeks ago, and I had been listening to very loud music before the ringing started. Last week I been viseting several doctors, who have told me my hearing was perfectly good and there was nothing wrong with my ears, and that my tinnitus would proably fade away soon, but could not tell me when. It could take days, weeks or even months.

However, I am still very depressed knowing that I could been dealing with this my whole life, and I'm only 18 years old. I feel like my life is ruined, and I want a new chance in life. Every night I question my self: when is this going to stop?

And the strange part is... my Tinnitus is very "odd". For example, there are times when I cant hear the ringing at all, and its completly gone. Even in a silent room. But as soon as I'm trying to sleep, the sounds comes back. It look like it only haunts me at night, or when I am trying to sleep. But my ringing is getting better, and Its not as worse as it was when it all started.

So here is my quieston: What are my chance that it will fade away?? Should I be worried? Please do not tell me that I will get used to it, and so and so. Cause I won't. I want silence and my life back again. Is it normal that the ringing can last up to 2 weeks before it
disappears? I really need to sleep natural again, because I cant take sleeping pills my whole life. Help me!!

When, and If I get better, I will dedicate my whole to find a cure against this disorder!! I swear, my dream was to become a doctor anyway...

 

[Michael Leigh]

@ceauses97
Your tinnitus has nothing to do with caffeine in my opinion and hopefully nothing to do with your previous medical condition. I am pretty sure its got everything to do with listening to loud music as you've mentioned in your post. Exposure to loud noise and music is the most common cause of tinnitus. Your auditory system is suffering from Noise Trauma. Now, you need to keep away from loud music and I strongly advise you not to listen to any audio through headphones, even at low volume. At night, use some low level non intrusive music such as classical, played by your bedside. Try to keep the sound level just below your tinnitus and make it play thoughout the night until morning.

This provides sound enrichment. You would do better buying a dedicated sound machine, that plays nature sounds. If you keep away from loud music and Don't listen to audio through headphones, there is a good chance, the tinntius will reduce to a level where you can comfortably habituate or, it can completely go away.

You are in the early stages so that's good. Don't try to fix things by spending loads of money going to see private Drs as that will do no help. The best thing is to leave it "Alone" If you have additional medical problems such as: Pain in the ears, deafness, dizziness or balance problems that have come on the same time as the tinnitus, then that's a different matter and should be investigated.
Please click on the link below as you may find the posts helpful.

Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/search/member?user_id=3134&content=thread

 

[Natalie Roberts]

I'm also new to this site (been here about 4 weeks) had tinnitus for about 8 weeks now. From everything I've read it is very, very likely your tinnitus will go away on its own. You still have new onset tinnitus (as do I). I know its very scary. Trust me. I've been there and still go there now but I'm doing much better. My tinnitus also waxes and wanes (comes and goes) throughout the day with somedays being constant and some being silent. This just started happening over the last few weeks. I think cutting back on caffiene and sugar are a great start anyway (for anyone, even if they don't have tinnitus). Also watch sodium as my ENT said certain foods can trigger a spike or make Tinnitus worse, although I haven't noticed a correlation. Try not to panic (easier said then done, I know) but when my anxiety is lower I feel better overall.

As far as sleeping, I prefer to sleep in a quiet room also but was recommended by other members to purchase a sound machine and use it at a level below my tinnitus. You can find many different sounds which may be pleasing or masking of your T. I like the nature/rain sounds and I keep the volume pretty low. I would avoid listening to loud music or being in loud situations because it can cause further damage to your ears.. Just try to hang in there. I'm learning time/acceptance are our biggest allies in this battle and the more we accept the tinnitus the more it is pushed to the back of our minds. Also, I have read even if the T doesn't go away, most people habituate to it within 12-18 months and go on to live perfectly normal and happy lives. I've read if your T is caused by noise exposure you can request sterroids which can sometimes help if taken early enough.

 

[ceauses97]

I appreciate your answers, and I'm still trying to be optimistic and wait for it to go away. I told my doctors that I had been listening to loud music trough headphones, but they were very skeptical about it, since "every" young teen does it nowdays. I haven't really listened to any kind of loud music after my tinnitus started, and I proably wont even if my tinnitus goes away. And I also have been noticing that my Tinnitus just sounds like the sound TV makes when its on no channel, while somethimes with ringing in my head, and not my ears.

And I also noticed something today when I went out for a walk. It was very cold, and I did not use any clothing to protect my ears from the cold. After a while, I noticed a sudden pain inside the both ears, which has never happened to me before. Usally the pain should be outside the ears, and not "inside" it, and has always been that in my case. So the question is, even if the doctor have told me that there is nothing wrong inside my ears, and my ears looked fine, should I still be worried? Does that come with the tinnitus, or was that just a "mental" problem, because I have been thinking there may be something wrong in my ears the past week?

 

[Michael Leigh]

@ceauses97
My tinnitus was caused by headphones 20 years ago and I've never worn them since. They are dangerous...Period! I can't advise on your ear pain.If you want to get yourself better never use headphones again even at low volume in my opinion. Others will certainly disagree with me but remember, it is you that will be feeling the suffering if things go badly for you and you continue to listen to music through headphones.
Michael

 

[ceauses97]

Did you just suddently wake up one day with tinnius, or did you get a lot of episodes with tinnitus first? I have heard that before it becomes permanent, you get a lot of ringing in ears as a warning. Thats whats my doctor told me.

What do you think my chance of getting rid of my tinnitus is?

 

[Michael Leigh]

@ceauses97
The cause of my tinnitus was listening to music through headphones at high levels over a long period of time. However, I didn't realise the sound was too loud and that is the danger. If you stay away from headphones, I mean never use them again. There is a good chance that your tinnitus will improve. I can't say if it will go away completely. However, most people habituate to tinnitus and go on to lead perfectly fulling lives. If you go out to venues where loud music is played, make sure you use Noise reducing ear plugs. Read the posts in the link that I sent you, they are based on my experience and something that I wish I had before I had tinnitus.
Michael

I used to hear ringing in the night but didn't realize it was tinnitus and by the morning I never heard it again. One day I was listening to music through headphone, took them off then suddenly heard the tinnitus very loud, It frightened the life out of me.....That was a long time ago...

 

[ceauses97]

Scary how that works. My tinnitus didnt came right after I listened to loud music, but hours later. Thats why Im unsure what the real reason behond my ringing in ears is.

But when you first heard your tinnitus, how loud was it? Could you hear it everywhere, or only in silent room? And did you keep listening to loud music after the loud tinnitus?

 

[Michael Leigh]

@ceauses97 When I noticed my T the noise was everywhere. Listen ceauses97, you can try and convince yourself that your tinnitus wasn't caused by loud music that's fine. But if you continue to listen to loud music then you only have yourself to blame if you Blow it!
Take care and bye for now
Michael

 

[JennyS]

@ceauses97 I can tell you mine has escalated to a 24 hour a day sound and I wish I would have taken better precautions because what is now a major sound used to be a ring I could tune out a lot easier. Just be careful with your ears, no need to panic but take care of yourself and you will adjust to it.

 

[ceauses97]

Yeah yeah... All i want to know if my Tinnitus is going to fade away, and how much chance I have?

Because think about it...living with tinnitus all day long? No thank you. If that's the cause, then I want to write a book. Guess the title!

"Jumping without parachute". How does that sound?

 

[Zorro!]

Hang in there.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@ceauses97 Jenny 's is 100% right, look after your ears.

 

[STi]

Well....It might go away but there's a good chance it won't....Throw the ear buds in the garbage...most get it from loud noises...not out of the blue...U may have not noticed it at 1st.

 

[ceauses97]

I have to be honest here. I have been getting some warning for the last couple of months. But it wasnt ringing, it was like the sound the TV makes. By "some" warnings, I mean 1-2 times. And it occured at night, but I didnt take that serious enough. I just kept sleeping, and when I wake up it was gone.

So I didnt payed much more attention to it till 2 weeks ago, when the sound was freaking loud. Since then, my tinnitus have been much lower. I have been having ups and downs, but most likely, I think my Tinnitus will be gone soon. Sometimes I barely hear it, and there have been moments when the tinnitus is actually gone. I am just going to give it some week, or months, and I'm back to normal. Even the doctor told it was normal to have ringing for months before it fades away. So in my cause, I think I'm going to be okay. Or atleast, I hope so... unless you guys want to see a man jumping without parachute, hehe...

 

[STi]

Just stay away from loud noises as they will irritate it and make things worst.

 

[Nucleo]

I would say that the cause is most definitely the loud music through headphones.

I have to be honest here. I have been getting some warning for the last couple of months. But it wasnt ringing, it was like the sound the TV makes. By "some" warnings, I mean 1-2 times. And it occured at night, but I didnt take that serious enough. I just kept sleeping, and when I wake up it was gone.

That most certainly was tinnitus as well. High frequency hissing are quite common. The nature of the sound also changes a lot for some people.

Consider enrolling in the AM-101 trial (www.tinnitus-study.info). It is the most medically relevant thing you can do right now.

 

[ceauses97]

I am sure it is, but since I'm young I belive I have high chance of getting rid of the tinnitus. I can't really hear my tinnitus, even in alone in a "silent" room. I only hear it if I stay there long enough or if I focus on it. Last night my Tinnitus was actually gone for several hours, but I still couldn't sleep because I was too happy, haha. It did came back, but the sound was a lot lower than usual. So overall, I think my body is recovering, and hopefully, I will soon enjoy silence again. And please don't try destroy my hope, that is the only thing keeping me alive.