Hi All
I've had a continual sound in my left ear for 4 years that sounds exactly like a tuning fork which a doctor uses. God its loud – day and night.
I've struggled to get off to sleep most nights and some nights I just don't get any sleep which eventually takes a toll on me physically.
I've had all the testing done and my hearing and MRI were normal. I was told to just ignore it, use masking, take sleeping pills or try TRT, CBT and/or relaxation strategies.
I've done all that and none of it has really helped, so I often sit and think to myself well what am I meant to do or what the hell am I doing wrong then.
I thought that time would have helped, or that over time the noise would have become less intrusive and bothersome. However, that has happened which is frustrating because I can't even get the noise to change at all (for better or worse).
I lie in bed most nights thinking how the hell can I not notice or ignore this sound (like the doctor and audiologist suggest) when it is so loud – and even when I don't think about it it's there and prevents me from falling asleep. I remember the first month I got it, I spent each night walking around my neighbourhood because I was trying to figure out which neighbour or what machine was making the awful noise - that's how loud it is.
I'm also shocked that sleeping pills don't always knock me out– I always thought that if you took sleeping pills you were guaranteed to knock out.
I was just curious:
1) Does anyone else have a tuning fork sound?
Because most people I seem to speak with say that they hear static, hissing, fluttering, cicadas, their heartbeat or ringing like when you walk out of a nightclub, and they say that they can get off to sleep and that it doesn't wake them up. I've experienced ringing from a nightclub but the tuning fork sound is nothing like that. I'm yet to speak to someone who pretty much says they hear a tuning fork or horn to see how they cope. I even noticed that most people have described their tinnitus as a 'ssssss' or 'eeeeee' which made me start to wonder if all types of tinnitus eventually start to sound like a 'sssss' or an 'eeee' to the individual, which I think makes it hard then to understand but also convey what one is hearing and whether it is different to what someone else is hearing. Because I myself would have described static, hissing, cicadas and ringing all differently.
2) Does anyone else get woken up by their tinnitus?
If I do manage to fall asleep I will eventually be woken up by the tinnitus – it's like an alarm clock buzzing which I find can be a rather traumatic experience when it constantly happens. Some people have told me that this is just my body becoming conditioned to waking up and I get annoyed by that because I am literally woken up by the ringing tuning fork.
3) How do others with severe tinnitus get sleep and function/work?
Appreciate your help
Brett
I've had a continual sound in my left ear for 4 years that sounds exactly like a tuning fork which a doctor uses. God its loud – day and night.
I've struggled to get off to sleep most nights and some nights I just don't get any sleep which eventually takes a toll on me physically.
I've had all the testing done and my hearing and MRI were normal. I was told to just ignore it, use masking, take sleeping pills or try TRT, CBT and/or relaxation strategies.
I've done all that and none of it has really helped, so I often sit and think to myself well what am I meant to do or what the hell am I doing wrong then.
I thought that time would have helped, or that over time the noise would have become less intrusive and bothersome. However, that has happened which is frustrating because I can't even get the noise to change at all (for better or worse).
I lie in bed most nights thinking how the hell can I not notice or ignore this sound (like the doctor and audiologist suggest) when it is so loud – and even when I don't think about it it's there and prevents me from falling asleep. I remember the first month I got it, I spent each night walking around my neighbourhood because I was trying to figure out which neighbour or what machine was making the awful noise - that's how loud it is.
I'm also shocked that sleeping pills don't always knock me out– I always thought that if you took sleeping pills you were guaranteed to knock out.
I was just curious:
1) Does anyone else have a tuning fork sound?
Because most people I seem to speak with say that they hear static, hissing, fluttering, cicadas, their heartbeat or ringing like when you walk out of a nightclub, and they say that they can get off to sleep and that it doesn't wake them up. I've experienced ringing from a nightclub but the tuning fork sound is nothing like that. I'm yet to speak to someone who pretty much says they hear a tuning fork or horn to see how they cope. I even noticed that most people have described their tinnitus as a 'ssssss' or 'eeeeee' which made me start to wonder if all types of tinnitus eventually start to sound like a 'sssss' or an 'eeee' to the individual, which I think makes it hard then to understand but also convey what one is hearing and whether it is different to what someone else is hearing. Because I myself would have described static, hissing, cicadas and ringing all differently.
2) Does anyone else get woken up by their tinnitus?
If I do manage to fall asleep I will eventually be woken up by the tinnitus – it's like an alarm clock buzzing which I find can be a rather traumatic experience when it constantly happens. Some people have told me that this is just my body becoming conditioned to waking up and I get annoyed by that because I am literally woken up by the ringing tuning fork.
3) How do others with severe tinnitus get sleep and function/work?
Appreciate your help
Brett
Member
