G'Day from Australia

[geoffrey m]

G'day all,
My name is Geoff and I have had tinnitus now for 8 months, cause unknown. I have a constant high pitch ringing in both ears, 24/7, about 9kHz . I find the hardest part of the day is sleeping, due to the quietness, but my doctor prescribed me Amitriptyline 25mg (also known as Endep). This drug is not a sleeping tablet, but a muscle relaxant, non addictive and is very low dose. I take 1 tablet about 2 hrs before bedtime and find this has really helped me to relax and sleep well at night. I try to keep a regular routine, and I think this helps also.
As I live in a tropical location, I usually have ceiling fans & floor fans on during the day, and the background noise seems to help a lot, plus I always have a radio or tv going in the background. Lately, I have been experiencing mild headaches, usually in the morning hours, and seem to get quite tired around mid afternoon, but I am not sure if this is tinnitus related or not.
I find the most frustrating aspect of tinnitus is explaining this condition to other people, most are not familiar with it, so often just dismiss it as an 'inconvenience', not knowing how much this affects people's lives.
Anyway, nice to meet you all!
Geoff

 

[slipware]

G'day all,
My name is Geoff and I have had tinnitus now for 8 months, cause unknown. I have a constant high pitch ringing in both ears, 24/7, about 9kHz . I find the hardest part of the day is sleeping, due to the quietness, but my doctor prescribed me Amitriptyline 25mg. Lately, I have been experiencing mild headaches, usually in the morning hours, and seem to get quite tired around mid afternoon, but I am not sure if this is tinnitus related or not.
I find the most frustrating aspect of tinnitus is explaining this condition to other people, most are not familiar with it, so often just dismiss it as an 'inconvenience', not knowing how much this affects people's lives.
Anyway, nice to meet you all!
Geoff

Amitriptyline is good for sleeping, non addictive. Beware if you happen to have arrhythmia though, it can make it worse. Headaches, yes, I get lots, tiredness part and parcel of tinnitus I find. Let's face it, it's tiring having to concentrate hard on everyday things with a buzzing head! I find a nanny nap in the afternoon helps, though then I awake with screechier ears!!

 

[Xenia]

@geoffrey m

Welcome to tinnitustalk! I am from Australia too and also take Endep. Endep has pretty much saved my life although right now I am going through a really bad 10 days currently with the tinnitus screeching soo high, can hear it way over the tv, radio, air con, fans etc. I am hoping it dies down in volume as this is unbearable. I am sorry to hear that you have it in both ears. Mine is in the left.

 

[LukeYoung]

@geoffrey m

Welcome to tinnitustalk! I am from Australia too and also take Endep. Endep has pretty much saved my life although right now I am going through a really bad 10 days currently with the tinnitus screeching soo high, can hear it way over the tv, radio, air con, fans etc. I am hoping it dies down in volume as this is unbearable. I am sorry to hear that you have it in both ears. Mine is in the left.

Also in the left and in Australia.

A fan is usually enough for me to sleep, unless I'm having a spike. Then I might use some masking sounds.

I haven't gotten to the point of using any medicines or natural remedies for sleep.
The first couple weeks were the hardest.

 

[Xenia]

@LukeYoung Hello fellow aussie!

I used to be able to cover it up with a fan but the past 10 days it has been soo ultra high pitch, feel I am going crazy from it. No peace at all. I am hoping its just a spike and does not get stuck at this pitch forever. its horrific. Do you ever get spikes that last for a long time?

I am so worried its going to stay at this pitch forever and then I dont know how I will cope.

 

[LukeYoung]

@LukeYoung Hello fellow aussie!

I used to be able to cover it up with a fan but the past 10 days it has been soo ultra high pitch, feel I am going crazy from it. No peace at all. I am hoping its just a spike and does not get stuck at this pitch forever. its horrific. Do you ever get spikes that last for a long time?

I am so worried its going to stay at this pitch forever and then I dont know how I will cope.

My last spike lasted about 4-5 days with a headcold, ear pain and headaches.

It did go back to baseline though. Some days I notice it more than others.
Have you had any other symptoms? Or just louder T?

Have you tried some sound therapy for relief?

 

[Xenia]

I had a mild head cold but nothing serious. Dont have any ear pain or fullness etc. Its just soo high pitch at the moment. I can deal with it when its like a hissing sound or a low buzz but this high pitch screeching is driving me to insanity!
I have been listening to neuromonics app that I have on my iphone but so far not much luck.
I also listen to crickets and rainforest sounds on youtube.
Its just I hear this scrreching above nearly everything, tv, car, air con, cant escape it. I am praying that it is just a long spike I would be devastated if this high pitch lasted forever.

 

[PaulBe]

Also from Australia, just North of you on the Atherton Tablelands.

 

[LukeYoung]

I had a mild head cold but nothing serious. Dont have any ear pain or fullness etc. Its just soo high pitch at the moment. I can deal with it when its like a hissing sound or a low buzz but this high pitch screeching is driving me to insanity!
I have been listening to neuromonics app that I have on my iphone but so far not much luck.
I also listen to crickets and rainforest sounds on youtube.
Its just I hear this scrreching above nearly everything, tv, car, air con, cant escape it. I am praying that it is just a long spike I would be devastated if this high pitch lasted forever.

It sounds like a spike to me. Head colds are the worst :/.

I'm sure it will go back to baseline soon. Hope you feel better in the coming days!

 

[Xenia]

Thank you. I really hope it goes down in volume soon! its been a long 10 days without any reprieve at all. Has not even had changes throughout the day, all day the exact same pitch for 10 days. Like its stuck on this ultra high pitch screech. I wish it would go back to the low pitched hissing noise that I used to get. It was not pleasant but a 100 times better than this screeching.

thanks so much for your responses. Really appreciate it.

 

[devonlee]

It's funny because a lot of people don't like when their tinnitus sound changes. When I was trying to figure out the Hz of mine, I found the lower levels to be more annoying. I have very high pitched t, somewhere around 14kHz and I find so many people say they hate the high pitched sounds more than their previous sounds. I've only ever known high pitched so maybe that's why I don't think it's so bad.

 

[Samir]

Welcome!



I know how it's like having to explain tinnitus to others, and I know that many of them react as if it's nothing. I don't blame them. It's impossible to know exactly what it's like unless you have experienced it first-hand, and I don't mean like those short-term ringing sensations that I think most people have had at some point. I mean long-term, debilitating ringing as in chronic tinnitus.

Also, I don't think you need high volume ringing to feel like it's debilitating. For a beginner, it's enough to hear a mild ringing and become highly anxious, feel doomed, lose sleep, concentration, and so on. This I think settles down after some time, as part of habituation process. You are less bothered by it, but you are still left hearing it and it may affect your sleep and concentration even without you noting it much. Just how much it affects sleep and concentration depends on the severity of tinnitus I guess.

I have had mine for about 3 months now. At least that's when I became aware of it. I may have had like a long-term spike or something. Because I suspect I have had this for a longer time, at least 2 years back, but it was not severe enough, i.e. not loud enough for me to pick it up in my consciousnesses. I had been feeling down for some time before this, and I was exposed to a series of events around that time that must have all culminated in tinnitus. Not to mention my music listening habits throughout the years. Mine is it around 6 kHz and I would say it's mild.

I think headaches may be linked to tinnitus. I know I had a large number of headaches for the past 2 years or so before I got or became aware of my tinnitus as I say. I think my brain was trying to adapt to the loss of hearing I had acquired. This was accompanied by feeling tired and drowsy sometimes. I was sleeping but was not getting the deep sleep and rest I needed.

Tinnitus can really give you a new perspective on life. You just need to get past the initial phase. It's not too different from people who have been involved in an accident and are given a second chance. You start to re-evaluate things in life. You pick yourself up and you keep on living.

It sounds to me like you have already taken the right action. Try to keep a healthy daily routine, use maskers if it helps. I haven't tried any medications yet, but sleeping pills are okay I guess. I would advise against taking the heavy drugs unless it's really called for. Most importantly keep stress out of your life, eat healthy and enjoy life whenever you can. I know I have my good and bad days. I only celebrate the good ones!