Hello, my name is Breeann and I am 21 years old. I have found and followed this forum since I first discovered what the ringing in my ears was called and I decided to make an account today to see if any of the things I have done could possibly help any of you.
First, I would like to say thank you so incredibly much to this forum and my heart goes out to every single person on here. I have prayed for everyone as a whole to find some comfort with this problem.
I have always been the type of person to sleep with a fan on and one day I decided to sleep in my living room on the couch which is quite quiet. I noticed as I laid down to sleep there was this terribly loud ringing sound in my ear that just would not go away. I never noticed it before until that night and it worried me so I searched it up and found out the term tinnitus.
After that it was in my head and I noticed it a lot more, especially when I was trying to sleep. I had read that it can be caused by impacted ear wax caused by q-tips which I use frequently so I looked up ways to get rid of ear wax. I tried hydrogen peroxide, warm baby oil. I even bought a water syringe at CVS which had many amazing reviews... I tried all of these things for days and no ear wax or anything came out... A few days of trying this I went to the hospital because I have tachycardia (high heart rate) and I told them about the ringing in my ear and he said everything looked clean, no ear wax.
I was lost for words, here I was losing sleep and literally going insane from this loud ringing in my ears and this doctor was telling me the only thing I thought could be the cause wasn't. He couldn't help me further and recommended me to an ENT. (Note: During this hospital visit I got a CT scan on my brain because of some symptoms I've been dealing with besides the ringing...everything came back okay.)
The ringing in my ear from the time I first noticed it progressed to get louder and it was mainly in my left ear. It got so loud I couldn't lay on my side and couldn't stand being in any place quiet. I was a loud prominent ring. It even woke me up in the middle of the night when I actually managed to get some sleep and was louder when I woke up.
My left ear felt really blocked and I tried really hard to pop my ears to unplug it. My right ear kept popping but my left ear wouldn't seem to pop. Until one day I actually got my left ear to pop and woke up for the ringing to have switched ears and become louder in the right! It was so strange!
I had not been to any loud places, I had not been really sick at all, nor had I had any ear wax problems as stated by the doctor. I searched up all of the possible causes and none of them stuck.
One of the things I did notice though was during this time I was stressed A LOT. I cried so many times because I couldn't handle the sound and I even thought about if this progressed I just couldn't be alive anymore.
This forum is what kept me sane, and searching people on you tube with this problem.
I decided I couldn't go on like that because I saw how my anxiety and frustrations were basically ruining my life and how I interacted with people. I decided to try my best to stay positive even though I did break down many times and try to read success stories and see if I could try to help it become even a tiny bit more quiet.
One of the most important things I did during this process was be honest with myself, I didn't hold anything in and I let out my frustrations with what I was going through and what I feared about the situation. I didn't want to lose myself because of this and I even kept in mind that it would probably NEVER go away. Even now as i'm writing this I'm telling myself it might come back.
I could not see an ENT because I spent so much money visiting a cardiologist for my heart and I have no insurance. So on February 3rd of this year (which was only 5 days ago) I decided to try a road to recovery because this problem I was having (tinnitus) made me realize a lot of things about my anxiety and the things I took for granted such as my health and such.
Here are the things I started doing: I tried getting a bit of cardio in and went on my treadmill for 30 minutes. I've been drinking a bunch of water and eating things such as Tuna and my greens. (Be in mind I haven't changed my diet a whole lot, I even drink soda) these are small things that could have contributed but possibly not.
And here is to the important parts that I honestly think helped the most: I accepted that this probably wouldn't go away, I accepted that tinnitus was going to be a part of me. And I know you're probably thinking really, I just read all of this for you to tell me to accept it... I'm not finished so please keep reading. I think anxiety has a lot to do with it, I really do. Because when you constantly fight and try to keep looking for it or pretend it's not there until you're sitting somewhere quiet and hear it only to get angry and upset (which you have every right to and I understand) but does that really help it? Accept it, don't fear it... but don't keep worrying about it. Don't let it keep you from doing the things you love or smiling and experiencing happiness.
Because for the first weeks I was so grumpy and I let it consume me and I stayed home frustrated and angry and felt hopeless. Your tinnitus doesn't have to control you, if you don't give it the power to.
I was the type to let it consume me, I even sometimes actively searched for it when I noticed it wasn't there for a brief second. (don't do this!) I genuinely believe that stress and anxiety does make tinnitus harder to live with.
Now here's onto the major things that I believe helped me and it's the reason i'm writing this to you now. I decided to buy a Vicks humidifier because I realized being sick or having mucus could play a big part of causing ear infections which could potentially make it worse. I wanted my sinusitis to be clear and healthy.
I've been drinking green tea daily (all of these 3 major things I've been mentioning help with blood circulation)
And now to the thing which I really really believe made me to where I am today.. Apple Cider Vinegar. Yes, you probably have heard of this because of a forum posted by member .bill (https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/apple-cider-vinegar-works.26113/)
I took a chance with this one, and I have been drinking 2 tsps of this every single day since February 3rd. I noticed as time progressed the ringing got quieter and quieter to the point where it didn't bother me in my sleep anymore. Today it is February 8th and the ringing has gotten barely noticeable. Yes it's still there when I search for it or plug my ears but it really has gotten SO much better.
I was skeptical of this but I really decided to give it a try because of all the benefits it had besides helping with mucus and to basically keep your system clean.
I don't know how tomorrow will be, I don't know if the tinnitus will go away fully. I don't know if it does, it might possibly come back. I don't know. But I take it day by day and try my best to let it fuel me to not take a single day for granted. I don't know if this post will help you, but I really felt the need to write it if it could possibly just help ONE person. I believe in all of you, and I wish you all the best. I really do.
You're stronger than you know and thank you for taking the time to read this.
First, I would like to say thank you so incredibly much to this forum and my heart goes out to every single person on here. I have prayed for everyone as a whole to find some comfort with this problem.
I have always been the type of person to sleep with a fan on and one day I decided to sleep in my living room on the couch which is quite quiet. I noticed as I laid down to sleep there was this terribly loud ringing sound in my ear that just would not go away. I never noticed it before until that night and it worried me so I searched it up and found out the term tinnitus.
After that it was in my head and I noticed it a lot more, especially when I was trying to sleep. I had read that it can be caused by impacted ear wax caused by q-tips which I use frequently so I looked up ways to get rid of ear wax. I tried hydrogen peroxide, warm baby oil. I even bought a water syringe at CVS which had many amazing reviews... I tried all of these things for days and no ear wax or anything came out... A few days of trying this I went to the hospital because I have tachycardia (high heart rate) and I told them about the ringing in my ear and he said everything looked clean, no ear wax.
I was lost for words, here I was losing sleep and literally going insane from this loud ringing in my ears and this doctor was telling me the only thing I thought could be the cause wasn't. He couldn't help me further and recommended me to an ENT. (Note: During this hospital visit I got a CT scan on my brain because of some symptoms I've been dealing with besides the ringing...everything came back okay.)
The ringing in my ear from the time I first noticed it progressed to get louder and it was mainly in my left ear. It got so loud I couldn't lay on my side and couldn't stand being in any place quiet. I was a loud prominent ring. It even woke me up in the middle of the night when I actually managed to get some sleep and was louder when I woke up.
My left ear felt really blocked and I tried really hard to pop my ears to unplug it. My right ear kept popping but my left ear wouldn't seem to pop. Until one day I actually got my left ear to pop and woke up for the ringing to have switched ears and become louder in the right! It was so strange!
I had not been to any loud places, I had not been really sick at all, nor had I had any ear wax problems as stated by the doctor. I searched up all of the possible causes and none of them stuck.
One of the things I did notice though was during this time I was stressed A LOT. I cried so many times because I couldn't handle the sound and I even thought about if this progressed I just couldn't be alive anymore.
This forum is what kept me sane, and searching people on you tube with this problem.
I decided I couldn't go on like that because I saw how my anxiety and frustrations were basically ruining my life and how I interacted with people. I decided to try my best to stay positive even though I did break down many times and try to read success stories and see if I could try to help it become even a tiny bit more quiet.
One of the most important things I did during this process was be honest with myself, I didn't hold anything in and I let out my frustrations with what I was going through and what I feared about the situation. I didn't want to lose myself because of this and I even kept in mind that it would probably NEVER go away. Even now as i'm writing this I'm telling myself it might come back.
I could not see an ENT because I spent so much money visiting a cardiologist for my heart and I have no insurance. So on February 3rd of this year (which was only 5 days ago) I decided to try a road to recovery because this problem I was having (tinnitus) made me realize a lot of things about my anxiety and the things I took for granted such as my health and such.
Here are the things I started doing: I tried getting a bit of cardio in and went on my treadmill for 30 minutes. I've been drinking a bunch of water and eating things such as Tuna and my greens. (Be in mind I haven't changed my diet a whole lot, I even drink soda) these are small things that could have contributed but possibly not.
And here is to the important parts that I honestly think helped the most: I accepted that this probably wouldn't go away, I accepted that tinnitus was going to be a part of me. And I know you're probably thinking really, I just read all of this for you to tell me to accept it... I'm not finished so please keep reading. I think anxiety has a lot to do with it, I really do. Because when you constantly fight and try to keep looking for it or pretend it's not there until you're sitting somewhere quiet and hear it only to get angry and upset (which you have every right to and I understand) but does that really help it? Accept it, don't fear it... but don't keep worrying about it. Don't let it keep you from doing the things you love or smiling and experiencing happiness.
Because for the first weeks I was so grumpy and I let it consume me and I stayed home frustrated and angry and felt hopeless. Your tinnitus doesn't have to control you, if you don't give it the power to.
I was the type to let it consume me, I even sometimes actively searched for it when I noticed it wasn't there for a brief second. (don't do this!) I genuinely believe that stress and anxiety does make tinnitus harder to live with.
Now here's onto the major things that I believe helped me and it's the reason i'm writing this to you now. I decided to buy a Vicks humidifier because I realized being sick or having mucus could play a big part of causing ear infections which could potentially make it worse. I wanted my sinusitis to be clear and healthy.
I've been drinking green tea daily (all of these 3 major things I've been mentioning help with blood circulation)
And now to the thing which I really really believe made me to where I am today.. Apple Cider Vinegar. Yes, you probably have heard of this because of a forum posted by member .bill (https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/apple-cider-vinegar-works.26113/)
I took a chance with this one, and I have been drinking 2 tsps of this every single day since February 3rd. I noticed as time progressed the ringing got quieter and quieter to the point where it didn't bother me in my sleep anymore. Today it is February 8th and the ringing has gotten barely noticeable. Yes it's still there when I search for it or plug my ears but it really has gotten SO much better.
I was skeptical of this but I really decided to give it a try because of all the benefits it had besides helping with mucus and to basically keep your system clean.
I don't know how tomorrow will be, I don't know if the tinnitus will go away fully. I don't know if it does, it might possibly come back. I don't know. But I take it day by day and try my best to let it fuel me to not take a single day for granted. I don't know if this post will help you, but I really felt the need to write it if it could possibly just help ONE person. I believe in all of you, and I wish you all the best. I really do.
You're stronger than you know and thank you for taking the time to read this.
Member
without paying another $40 for an appt. for me to tell her I'm coughing all night). I have been wondering (fantasizing) that this unending congestion is contributing to the T. My ears click when I swallow, sometimes when I lay down at night there is clicking, pinging, downright banging deep in my ears and brain.. what the heck.... so I think I'm going to get one of those Vicks humidifiers -- it can't hurt what with winter coming on. Because my ears definitely feel "full" and sometimes ache a teeny bit.. when T is raging - and when it isn't they feel fine, no pressure.. I feel this has gotta be related... thanks for your post and good luck!
