Depressed, Scared, Want It Gone... Is There Hope?

[Joe J]

Hey all. I'm Joe. I got tinnitus back in November from what I'm assuming was a weekend of loud noise.

I've been a bartender for a few years but never had any problems until this particular weekend.

I went to work at a semi loud restaurant then went out. At the end of the night we went to a super loud nightclub and I was there for an hour.

No ringing no ear pain. Chilled the next day no issues.

The following day I worked and my ears were hurting toward the end of my shift.

Went home relaxed and slept. Woke up with the ringing.

At this point soon after I basically lost my mind. Had a nervous breakdown which lead to me quiting my job and eventually my girlfriend of 6 years leaving me.

I really don't want to live with this and I want some hope. Sometimes I think it's getting better...other times I'm like nope this is it forever.

Can it still go away completely???

Thanks for any help. Love you all.

 

[fishbone]

Hey all. I'm Joe. I got tinnitus back in November from what I'm assuming was a weekend of loud noise.

I've been a bartender for a few years but never had any problems until this particular weekend.

I went to work at a semi loud restaurant then went out. At the end of the night we went to a super loud nightclub and I was there for an hour.

No ringing no ear pain. Chilled the next day no issues.

The following day I worked and my ears were hurting toward the end of my shift.

Went home relaxed and slept. Woke up with the ringing.

At this point soon after I basically lost my mind. Had a nervous breakdown which lead to me quiting my job and eventually my girlfriend of 6 years leaving me.

I really don't want to live with this and I want some hope. Sometimes I think it's getting better...other times I'm like nope this is it forever.

Can it still go away completely???

Thanks for any help. Love you all.

Welcome to the forum,

you ears have been exposed to loud noises and that is one of the causes for tinnitus. I highly suggest that you protect your ears and just avoid loud places. Stress and anxiety can also cause and ramp up tinnitus, just take care of yourself.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Can it still go away completely???

Check out the studies on both pages of
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
Only after about two years will it become very likely that T will never go away, see
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/reactive-tinnitus.21573/#post-248016

Personally, I believe that in order to promote healing, it makes sense to protect one's ears from moderately loud sounds that people with healthy ears don't even notice (e.g., vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, blender, etc.) - if you have to be around loud noises, wear ear protection (ear plugs, Peltor ear muffs). Our ears have been compromised.

 

[Rosemerry]

Hey all. I'm Joe. I got tinnitus back in November from what I'm assuming was a weekend of loud noise.
At this point soon after I basically lost my mind. Had a nervous breakdown which lead to me quiting my job and eventually my girlfriend of 6 years leaving me.

I really don't want to live with this and I want some hope. Sometimes I think it's getting better...other times I'm like nope this is it forever.

Can it still go away completely???

Thanks for any help. Love you all.

Welcome Joe! You're in the right place, with plenty of company. I think that yes, for sure there is hope and if the T doesn't go away, you can learn to live with it where it doesn't bother you and you don't notice it. Take a breath, try to relax, and when you're chill, peruse over the site looking especially at the success stories and positivity thread. We're all in this together! Love, Rosemary

 

[Starlord]

One thing is don't believe all of the "time limits" you hear on the web...like "after a year or two it's permanent"...The real honesty is that nobody really knows and it also varies from person to person. Everybody has a different reason for tinnitus, amount of damage, as well as age and ear health and health in general differ. So the best thing is not to try to compare yourself much to others. I've read success stories of it disappearing for some after 6 months, for some after 2 years, for some after 5 and for some after 8 years. And for others it hasn't backed off, but things definitely became easier for them. But the thing is we have no way of knowing, so don't set a time limit for yourself because it will only increase stress for you. Also try to live as normally as you can. Get back to your normal activities minus the loud ones. Slowly but surely you'll feel better, think about it less, and get back to being you. Don't rush things. Our impatience is what gets the best of us. Honestly I cried for my first 7 months every day for hours (babies don't even cry that much!!)....but after I have not shed a tear since, and I'm at 18 months now. It'll get better.

 

[Joe J]

Thanks for tbe love. It's a tough road. I appreciate all of you. There needs to be more tinnitus awareness.

Everyone champions hearing loss awareness but I'm sure we'd all take hearing loss over non stop tinnitus.

 

[jer]

The good news is, is that for the vast majority of people their tinnitus willl get better or at the very least decrease to a manageable level over time. The only thing that you have to really watch out for, is that you won't get any more shocks to your audiotory system. With the risk of sounding a bit like a broken record as I say it every time.

1: unfortunately from now on you will have to stay away from any and all inner-ear headphones (such as apple earbuds). Over ears are slightly better, bug only at VERY LOW volume (if you can tolerate it).
2: beware of clubs and concerts. They are a big cause of tinnitus, so be careful if you ever dare to go back (I personally have not). If you go, Never go without proper ear protection and stand as far away from the speakers as possible. Outside concerts are a little better as the sound can escape. Loud bars and airplanes can also reach up to 110db. So use some ear protection in those places too. Be careful with dentist ultrasonic cleanings (very high pitched).
3: be carful of ototoxic medicines. These is a certain range of medicines that cause inner-ear damage and could increase your tinnitus. Ask the doctor, but also do your own research. If you feel your tinnitus is getting worse over a few days of using a medication, it probably is causing a reaction and you should contact your doctor.

 

[Bill Bauer]

be carful of ototoxic medicines

http://hlaa-sbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ototoxic_Brochure.pdf

 

[Bobbie7]

http://hlaa-sbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ototoxic_Brochure.pdf

Good grief !! It appears nearly ALL medications which are listed can contribute to one getting tinnitus. It is unfortunate that many rely on these meds and I am now wondering what specific studies were conducted in relation to these.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I am now wondering what specific studies were conducted in relation to these.

Check out
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/XXX/YYY/
where XXX = drug
YYY = side effect

For example,
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/prednisone/ototoxicity/
http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/prednisone/tinnitus/

You can learn information like what fraction of everyone who reported a side effect to the FDA, had that particular side effect.

Unfortunately what you actually need to know is the fraction with this side effect out of everyone who took the drug, and that information is not available. But it gives you an idea of how likely or unlikely that side effect is.

 

[Bobbie7]

@Bill Bauer .... Thanks... I'm going to check this out. Have a good day!

 

[Joe J]

@Starlord did it lower in volume? Have you noticed improvement in that time?

 

[Amber]

The good news is, is that for the vast majority of people their tinnitus willl get better or at the very least decrease to a manageable level over time.

How do you know?

 

[jer]

There is at least one study that was posted on here recently that proved that. I am not sure where it is, but if you search the site you should be able to find it. Also, I am speaking of my own experience. That is, before I did things myself to cause me having more spikes where it went up again, of course!