Have Tinnitus, but No Longer SUFFER with It.

[Fungus]

I had a VERY trivial viral infection in October 2014. After a few days I noticed very mild high-pitched hissing tinnitus in both ears....initially infrequent and quiet. I went on to develop symptoms of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction....ears very difficult to pop, pressure pains in my ears and muffled sounds (like hearing sounds through fluid). Also post nasal drip and thick nasal discharge. GP diagnosed sinusitis and ear infection.....antibiotics did nothing. The tinnitus gradually worsened and became continuous and the ETD symptoms worsened, too......unable to pop ears at times.

ENT referral....mild high tone hearing loss.....pat on the back (essentially 'Go away and deal with it, it's not that bad).

Tinnitus worsened, developed severe panic attacks.....then suicidal depression (never had any mental health issues before). Multiple visits to GP, hospital, emergency services etc. and felt myself to be in the darkest and most desperate place I have ever been.

Grommets for the ETD Feb 2015....pressure symptoms eased, but tinnitus worsening and deafness increasing. Pulsatile tinnitus also, now, both ears. Not sleeping, even with sleeping pills, not eating, not coping, no confidence, wouldn't go out or drive,i.e going downhill fast. Eventually (late Feb 2015) admitted to hospital for my depression. First antidepressant caused anaphylaxis and nearly killed me. Eventually stabilised on venlafaxine. By end of April depression lifting and panic attacks abolished totally. Grommets dropped out and replaced by T-tubes for persisting ETD. Tinnitus (both types) unchanged.

I was given sound generating hearing aids for my (by now) significant hearing loss in September, and learnt about mindful meditation, maskers etc.

So by the end of the summer of 2015 (about a year since the tinnitus started) I began to rediscover the old me.

Now I have high-pitched tinnitus 24/7, as loud as it has ever been, and pulsatile tinnitus, mainly when I first go to bed. I sleep fine without sedation, have regained my lost weight and confidence, and do everything that I did before (apart from swimming....T-tubes). I have not modified my diet nor do I take supplements(didn't find that they made much difference anyway during the time that I would have lived on kale and swallow eye of newt if it was supposed to help tinnitus). I drink alcohol in the same amounts as I did prior to the Big T.

Probably all that has happened is that I have 'habituated', but, whatever, I am a transformed individual. I am happy to go to places with loud music, cinemas, theatres etc and no longer dwell on the noises my brain generates. My life is back to normal.

What I would say is, that if I can return from That Place, anyone can with time. It's not an easy or quick road for many of us, but it can be done.

So I have tinnitus, I no longer SUFFER with it. Tinnitus can be tamed if not cured.

Fungus.

 

[Bertman]

That's really great news! It's nice to see comments like these every now and again.

 

[angela bonass]

Hi I have had T since 2010 very loud I try my best to get on with things but can get very depressed, how ever a friend
mentioned about sugar levels may have effect on the big T just read about hyperinsulinemia so going to find out more
hope a change in my diet will help.

 

[Fungus]

Angela, I haven't found any change of diet to help.

Depression (and anxiety) make T a whole lot worse. Seek some help for the depression and things should improve.

Fungus.

 

[MilaS]

I'm so happy for you

 

[Raggs]

Thanks for sharing..I've had a bit of a turning point lately, and now your post has helped me keep the realization going. First when I finally understood that even if this doesn't go, there was something called habituation that would be as good as. But I'm having a hard time believing ppl when they say they are ok...(a lot of ppl who have said they are habituated, still said it annoyed them, but didn't bother them, (huh?), and they wouldn't say no to a cure ~ so this sounds like they are still suffering to me) and then there are posts like yours that sound AWESOME, but then I think y'all must be lying...lol...it was sooo hard to believe that someone could really get to the point of really, truly not caring. Before your post, I read another post that was my turning point, he said, even if there was a cure, he would be too lazy and too busy to go to the doctor, b/c he is just fine! NOW that's the kind of habituation I want! And now your post just keeps the hope alive! But even the ppl who said they wouldn't say no to a cure, they STILL said it didn't bother them. I told myself, read that again, " i.t. d.o.e.s.n.'t. b.o.t.h.e.r. t.h.e.m.", it doesn't bother them.! They actually said that, so I'll take that kind of habituation too! AND I might have had a few teeny tiny moments of listening to the noise, and having a less then a panic attack reaction! So maybe habituation is real. I've asked this on another thread, but if possible, anyone reading this who has been habituated, did you just KNOW, or did you have to convince yourself, hem and haw if you were or not?

 

[InfiniteLoop]

@Raggs One can find many practical definitions of what habituation means: I go on with my day no matter what, I don't hear it anymore, it is not a problem to me anymore, it is just a noise and I do not care, etc..... The common denominator is that the habituated person is back to a normal state of mind that is not dominated by the multiple ugly heads of T.
I will never reach the complete habituation you are talking about because I still miss listening to beautiful quiet music so much. Before T, I considered myself an audiophile and I was happy just listening to music, perfect music. All that is gone now. I have had a very hard time going back to other quiet activities that were very important to me like yoga and meditation, even if I know that they can help managing the T distress. Fortunately, I have been making progress with the last two in recent months. It takes time, it is just amazing how different the timelines are for different people.

 

[Raggs]

Yes, the timelines are all soo different! What DOES make me scared, is that some ppl have had it for YEARS, and they say they are still suffering! I am going to research habituation until I'm blue in the face! I just gotta have it! And yes, I guess not ever having silence again will alter my interests as well .nothing too quiet..
Thanks so much for responding, and letting me vent..it really helps to know ppl are in the same boat!
And I'm re-reading your sentence that says, "not a problem to me anymore, it is just a noise and I do not care, etc" and letting it sink in..I hope I can get there too one day!

 

[Bobby B]

The key is to force yourself to ignore T sound as early as possible because in the first few months the brain hasn't yet engraved it but if you wait too much it's going to be harder - that's maybe the difference between people results . Timing is a factor in this fight

 

[Fungus]

Raggs, when the noise is no longer your foremost thought, you probably have reached the state of habitation. It appears to take varying amounts of time in different people (No great surprise when there are so many different reasons for, and probably types of, tinnitus). I guess also that habituation means different things for different people.

If I were offered a tinnitus cure would I take it? Probably, but it wound depends on what adverse and side effects there were. It would be nice to know what silence was, but, I think I could always hear something in a very silent room.

I can hear my tinnitus at any time, but it isn't relevant or threatening any more. It doesn't stop me doing anything, or even drain out the enjoyment from anything anymore.

When I initially developed Eustachian Tube Dysfunction the tinnitus was the symptom which caused me the grief. The pain, pressure, muffling etc. didn't really worry me (strange when I think about it now). Since having T-tubes only the tinnitus and some deafness remain. I would liken it to a scar after an operation. There is a residual sign that there was a condition, but that sign no longer is of any relevance.

I agree entirely with Bobby B.....ignore it as much as you can. Try not to think of it negatively, or as a life sentence, try not to think of it at all. The more that you allow it conscious space, the bigger the space it will occupy. I hope that you find peace soon...it WILL come.

Fungus.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

@Bobby B @Raggs

One can not force habituation because that is openly fighting the emotional and attention systems and can backfire. The strategy is to create an environment and habits that will help get the habituation to happen. I agree with @Fungus that one very good trick is thinking about nothing when one hears the T. I have been doing that for the last few weeks and has really reduced the emotional distress.

 

[InfiniteLoop]

@Raggs

Yes, this is a very screwed up condition and I am not surprised that some people never really recover or have relapses. However, a very large amount do recover, are fully functional, and even happy. At some extent, we can steer the boat in one or another direction. I can not choose to have T or not, but I can try to manage it and make it an acceptable life companion.

 

[Bobby B]

Backfire - haven't though of that but it does makes sense if you stress too much . No emotional response sounds perfect that's what I am aiming for now .

 

[Raggs]

@Fungus @InfiniteLoop @Bobby B ~ I've just discovered a reverse psychology trick on myself. Although, I see on the internet, other ppl have discovered it too. I've been told that meditating, mindfullness, etc..is good for stress relief, which in turn lowers the sound or keeps your focus away from the sound. Every time I tried to meditate, my mind would wander, and especially get glued back to the sound..so I gave in the other day, and decided to use the sound to keep all OTHER thoughts away, since that is where my mind seems to want to sit. I will purposefully focus on the sound and then I'll be meditating! But guess what happened? Before I knew it, my mind had wandered off somewhere else! ha ha..It was quite the revelation to know that I am not always thinking of the sound, b/c that is what I thought I was doing. So I am going to try this trick again, even during the day, if my mind just wants to listen, I'll let it for awhile and see how long I can do it.

@Fungus ~ But I am going to take your warning into account, and not give it too much thought. Maybe just when I want to meditate. I will use it as a meditative tool..b/c I think it will actually, truly help me learn to meditate..b/c to keep my focus on my breathing wasn't working, so I'll use the noise..sorta gives the noise a positive role in my life.

 

[Ulalena]

If I had Mild to moderate T when I was in my late 20's. Did it every go away or did I learn to habitulize it. I always told people I had it but after time, I never heard it until 2 months ago. I came back. I keep telling myself, If I learned to habitulize it once, I can do it again. I hope I am right

 

[Ulalena]

any thought from anyone who had it, got thru it , then came back again and got thru it again, would be appreciated

 

[Rodica]

I have pulsatile tinnitus, it's a thumping sound in my right ear and follows the same rhythm as my heartbeat. It's happening right now and it's very annoying. Sometimes the sound can last a day, and other times just a few hours. I often can make the sound stop if I turn my head to one side or if I press on my jugular vein or right under my ear. I have no idea what caused it and it's been around for 2 years.

How do I make it stop? I've been to 3 doctors who checked my ears and said that they are clean. I even had an MRI done and it was fine. Not really sure what triggers it and how to make it stop.

The worst part is that I sometimes have a very bad ear ache early in the morning (around dawn time). The pain wakes me up and I can't seem to locate it - it hurts inside and outside, and my ear is hotter than the other one. It doesn't happen every night and not too often, but it's really painful and uncomfortable.

Anyone experiencing the same and has anyone gotten over it?

 

[Fungus]

It seems to me that pulsatile tinnitus is often worse (sometimes caused by) inflammation. Whenever I get an infection or am too hot/exercise my PT is worse.

Rodica are you getting PT and pain on the side on which you have been lying? Just a thought. Maybe fluid is settling there overnight if you have any. It may be worth lying on the other side if this is the case.

One ENT guy I spoke to said it is amazing that everyone doesn't have PT as the huge carotid arteries enter the skull very near to where the ear mechanism lies, so even a tiny change there could cause PT . Maybe we suppress this sound from birth as it is of no consequence to us. Maybe also we suppress PT over a period of time as it also is of no consequence to us (providing serious vascular causes for PT have been excluded).

I've just been told that I have a large concha bullosa on the side of my worst PT (big air cell on the middle turbinate) that is distorting the anatomy very significantly there and that this may be causing both my PT and my recurrent sinusitis on that side (wonder what I wasn't ever told this before?). As the surgery to remove it is pretty minor (day case) and as I'm already habituated to PT, he is urging me to have surgery. I guess I don't have much to lose, but am far from convinced of the need to go ahead.

Hope your PT settles Rodica