A Life with Tinnitus — How to Live?

[just1morething]

My final hope is that the change in my T is because of fatigue after a long periode of stress and anxiety. If someone else with multiple sounds are reading this, please let me know what coping strategies you have and what tools you use.

I talked to an ATA reference person in the past and he told me to get on a antidepressant. He said he had been talking to tinnitus sufferers for over 20 years. The noise messes with your limbic system and AD's may be the only way to break the loop. I have many of the same traits you have including many weird sounds. I will probably try a AD even though I hate side effects. I tried them in the past pre-tinnitus for some anxiety/stress issues and didn't particularly like them.

I am holding onto a glimmer of hope it could be my TMD/ETD too. But it seems brain related.

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/2011/tinnitus-what-happens-when-brains-gatekeeper-breaks-down

 

[Makrohn]

@just1morething

Yeah, I have been considering AD's on many occasions during this periode, but I have every time decided I do not want to go down that road. I am pretty much free from the anxiety and stuff now, but something happened to my T during all the stress and panic attacks. I just dont get how my T could end up being so extremely loud and fluctuating as it is now.. for over 20 years I've coped fine and lived a normal and productive life. All that ended last summer.

If you do decide to try AD, please let me know how it goes and if there is some relief.

 

[just1morething]

If you do decide to try AD, please let me know how it goes and if there is some relief.

Okay, typically I don't last very long on AD's. They seem to affect my nervous system in a bad way. But I'm not sure how to attack the noise other than maybe Gabapentin plus Klonopin again. I have some Lyrica too that I use for spinal pain. Who knows if there will ever be a mainstream treatment that works?

I will continue to use my TMJ appliance hoping TMD could be a cause. (TMJ Dr. thinks so)

 

[BobK544]

For tonal tinnitus i think the notched file therapy helped move my tonal sounds to more of a higher pitched hissing sound, which for me is a lot more tolerable than those tonal screeching tea pot sounds, so have you tried the notched file therapy yet? so at least i now a have more of a consistent higher pitched hissing, but not painfully high pitched

 

[Makrohn]

For tonal tinnitus i think the notched file therapy helped move my tonal sounds to more of a higher pitched hissing sound, which for me is a lot more tolerable than those tonal screeching tea pot sounds, so have you tried the notched file therapy yet? so at least i now a have more of a consistent higher pitched hissing, but not painfully high pitched

No, I have yet to try the notched therapy. Do you recommend any service or do you create the files yourself?
Any relief would be a blessing in my case... At the end of the day I am just so exhausted bc of the different sounds. If I just had one sound I believe I would be able to cope better.