Electrical Stimulation of the Cochlea for Treatment of Chronic Disabling Tinnitus

[Joeseph Stope]

Please do not tell me to relax. Even if the intent is positive, my tinnitus has progressively worsened week by week.

It has now become reactive to any noise, no matter how quiet, and to almost any type of body movement. This includes things like sniffling, talking, and sometimes even just moving.

Sorry to hear that your situation is so difficult. I hope you can find an ENT who can help, or perhaps some fellow sufferers can recommend a good one near you.

From your avatar, I see you joined in December 2024, so I presume your tinnitus began around that time. That was only about a month ago, which means there is more hope for you than for someone like me. Hang in there.

One piece of advice I remember is to avoid loud noise and also avoid complete silence. At night, I use a noise machine that plays sounds like water, wind, or nature, along with the radio. Sometimes I leave it on all night.

It seems like Nature takes the minimum of what it needs, so I usually get about five hours of sleep a night, sometimes a little more.

Later Edit:

Just to follow up on this:

1. The way forward is to gradually accustom yourself to sounds. ENTs typically recommend sound therapy for this, which involves listening to sounds you find somewhat pleasant—such as white noise from a machine or similar devices. Some people compare it to using earplugs but with sound. This approach has a reputation for being relatively straightforward. Your local tinnitus specialist or ENT would be the best place to start.

2. I personally use a radio, and sometimes I leave it on all night if I fall asleep and forget to turn it off. It has a lovely, soft sound and is an old-fashioned model from the 1960s or 1970s.

A word of caution: be mindful of loud noises like chainsaws, 750cc motorbikes, ambulance sirens, and similar sounds, as they can be harmful.

I hope this helps.