Help, I Can't Sleep

[Emanuel Lourenco]

I have had tinnitus for more than a year now... It has become worse with time, right now I'm trying to sleep and I can't... it is so loud all I want to do is cry... I am so sad and I don't know what to do... All seems lost...

I can't even sleep anymore.

What can I do to make this better?

 

[raybaudi]

Can you go out for a walk? A brisk walk? Something where you could only focus on walking and doing nothing more.

Sometimes that helps me cool down when on a rush of anxiety

 

[Emanuel Lourenco]

Can you go out for a walk? A brisk walk? Something where you could only focus on walking and doing nothing more.

Sometimes that helps me cool down when on a rush of anxiety

I am not even that anxious as I used to, I can control that better now since I have this for quite a while now but it just makes me so angry why has it become so loud I have been a lot more careful this year, and I don't see any improvement just the opposite, christ... How can I keep going... All i would wish is for this to go away I don't want anything else anymore....

 

[raybaudi]

Look, don't mind Tinnitus as something chronic. Actually, it should be more likely for Tinnitus to go away at some point than to stay. Only 5%-10% of the population has a chronic case so odds are in our favor. Just hang in there a little more and you will heal.

 

[Kolisar]

@Bill Bauer wrote the following post discussing studies that show a fairly high recovery rate from tinnitus ( https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/ )

Your chances are fairly good that you will recover. Try to stay calm and not worry.

 

[Emanuel Lourenco]

@Bill Bauer wrote the following post discussing studies that show a fairly high recovery rate from tinnitus ( https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/ )

Your chances are fairly good that you will recover. Try to stay calm and not worry.

How can I have hopes that it will get better, when it has been getting worse
Oh god... I feel so hopeless, I can't even sleep anymore...

 

[Greg Sacramento]

I would try the pink nose. I use a CD player that runs gentle rain about 10 feet from my bed. Play the CD at a lower level. Feather touch if available for your back.

 

[smel]

@Kolisar Do you use any kind of noise masker at night? They can make a huge difference. I can't sleep without one. It took a few nights to get used to the noise maker but now I rely on them and normally sleep very well despite loud T. I use an app on my phone that allows me to combine various noises, and after some fiddling around I found a combination that works for me. Something like fans or air cleaners don't work for me.

Getting a good night of sleep probably won't get rid of your T but it can help a lot with the stress. You CAN cope with this. It just takes figuring how to do that, and each person has different coping mechanisms. The key is finding what works for you, and the wonderful people here are very helpful with that.

 

[Bill Bauer]

What can I do to make this better?

During the acute stage of my T, I found that amitriptyline helped me sleep. It is non-addictive and it didn't make me feel drowsy the next day.

If you haven't been protecting your ears from moderate noises like that of a vacuum cleaner, blender, lawn mower, etc., it might be a good idea to begin doing that.

 

[billie48]

I have had tinnitus for more than a year now... It has become worse with time, right now I'm trying to sleep and I can't... it is so loud all I want to do is cry... I am so sad and I don't know what to do... All seems lost...

I can't even sleep anymore.

What can I do to make this better?

Welcome to the forum.
To help sleeping, you can try these two approaches:
a) masking:
1) Mask at bed time if having trouble sleeping, by using a sound pillow or sound machine with pillow speakers. There are good sound machine & pillow therapy systems like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Oasis-...d-Oasis-Therapy-System-Speakers/dp/B00MH5HKTA

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds. Use wisdom in the use of headphones or earbuds as extended use or excessive volume may hurt your ears. Try set the volume slightly below that of your tinnitus.

3) With PC & speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds to see which one masks best:

TT's excellent audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or click play to mix these sounds with this simple sound generator: http://asoftmurmur.com/

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

b) medication or natural herbal supplements:
You can try doctor's prescribed sleeping pills, such as Remeron, or natural alternatives such as Melatonin, Lemon Balm, Valerian, Hops, Catnips, Passion Flower, Chamomile, Lavender, Kava, etc. You can do google search or check Amazon.com for each of them to know how people review these products, and see if you can take them as a supplement. Check out this site on using natural herbs for helping to sleep or to calm the nerves. Good luck. Take care. God bless.

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/lib...ealth/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia /

 

[vermillion]

I have had tinnitus for more than a year now... It has become worse with time, right now I'm trying to sleep and I can't... it is so loud all I want to do is cry... I am so sad and I don't know what to do... All seems lost...

I can't even sleep anymore.

What can I do to make this better?

There has to be a reason behind your worsening. I still haven't figure out mine. What have you done so far with treatments. I also have read this spontaneous recovery paper and the two years mark but i also cannot be vey optimistic since it worsens then lessens. Sleep is essential. If you address your sleep you will see improvements.

 

[vermillion]

@Kolisar for the article that Bill found read please Aaron's quote. It's significant.

Unfortunately, the title of the thread and the subsequent discussion is misleading. As it indicates in one of the quoted passages, HBOT was administered to the individuals in study I, so they do not claim to know the spontaneous recovery rate:

"Although tinnitus was present in 97% of conscripts after AAT, the majority had resolved
by the end of the military service, at which time tinnitus was still present in 32%, and
68% had resolved. Hearing loss was present in 48% after AAT and 23% persisted at the
end of service. Thus, at the last visit before discharge, tinnitus, hearing loss or both were
present in 45%, and 55% were cured. Most of the conscripts received hyperbaric oxygen
treatment, so it is not known, what the spontaneous recovery rate of symptoms was, and
how many were cured due to treatment."

 

[Raphael7713]

You need to find a masking sound that suits u. Also i would recommend taking sleeping pills so u can get some sleep which reduces teh stress and anxiety and then u will be able to sleep without it.

 

[Kolisar]

How can I have hopes that it will get better, when it has been getting worse
Oh god... I feel so hopeless, I can't even sleep anymore...

You, basically, have two options: You can let it bother you, be miserable, withdraw from life, and live in hopelessness; Or, you can try to remain positive, hold on to hope, and not let tinnitus destroy you. Neither letting it bother you or feeling hopeful will cure your tinnitus. Being miserable can make it worse.

I have stated before in other posts that I, personally, do not think my tinnitus will every be cured or even get better. After 51 years with it, I think that is a pretty safe assumption. But, I still hold on to hope (as best as I can) because the alternative is not good, especially since I have previously attempted to take my own life.

I cannot tell you with any certainty that you will get better, or that your tinnitus will not get worse (mine was stable for over 45 years, then it got much worse, bringing me to this forum). What I can say with 100% certainty is that worrying about it, and dwelling on the negative aspects of tinnitus will not make it better, and will only make you miserable, make your life, and the lives of those around you and who care about you much harder.

It is not easy trying to hold on to hope, this is why support groups like this forum exist. We all know that some of our members will never find relief, we hope that they will, but we are realistic and know that, statistically, some of us will be stuck with this infernal ringing until our last breath (or in my case, probably about 30 minutes afterwards ) .

This is difficult for all of us, that is why we help each other out, when one of us is having a particularly bad day, those of use who are not doing too badly at that time try to help those who are having trouble.

So, I do not know how you can have hope, I don't know how I do, you just make it happen and when it becomes difficult you turn to places like this where there are caring, sympathetic, compassionate people who understand what you are going through and are willing to help pick you up when you falter.

I am very sorry that you are feeling hopeless, and I truly wish I could help you.

 

[Kolisar]

@Kolisar for the article that Bill found read please Aaron's quote. It's significant.

You are correct, and thank you for pointing that out. I would not want to post false or misleading information.

That being said, I still believe that there is hope; in @Bill Bauer 's response directly below the post you quoted, he states the following:

I see that you are right. My T must have caused me to lose focus just when I was coming up with the title for the thread. Too bad I can't edit the thread in order to change the title.

Having said that, the two studies of survivors of terrorist bombs seem to indicate impressive spontaneous recovery rates (47% recovery after 6 months/13% improvement & 26/27 = 96% recovery). The third study was that of seniors, where recovery rates were also not insignificant.

And, the conclusions section of the paper states:

• Two-thirds of tinnitus disappears during the first year after AAT (I, 68%) (III, 71%), but later the resolution of tinnitus is less likely; two-thirds (65%) of the cases not resolving during military service become permanent (III). After AAT induced by firearm exposure, one-fifth (19%) of tinnitus cases become permanent (III). Ten per cent of AAT-induced tinnitus is severe (III).

I am certainly not a doctor, so if someone with some medical or scientific training would like to weigh in, the original study can be found here. https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/27440/investig.pdf?sequence=1

Again, @vermillion , thank you for pointing that out. I will attempt to better understand the paper myself and look for comments here so that I do not, accidentally, post misleading information in the future should the conclusions in the paper turn out to be misleading.

 

[Kolisar]

@Kolisar Do you use any kind of noise masker at night? They can make a huge difference.

Thank you for the advise. I was able use a sound machine before my recent volume increase in my tinnitus, and you are correct in that it did help and was the only reason I was able to sleep. Now I am unable to mask, even with volumes that border on potentially damaging by themselves. At this point I get at the very most four hours of sleep per night, and that is usually interrupted sleep.

 

[billie48]

How can I have hopes that it will get better, when it has been getting worse
Oh god... I feel so hopeless, I can't even sleep anymore...

If you read some of the success stories, you will find that some people may take months but others take years to get better. Your T is still relatively new. Why rush yourself? I think these success stories will help you understand that there is hope out there if you just hang in there and try to live your life regardless of T. Try to treat T, even worsening T (for the time being) as your new normal. Try to mask it if it gets too irritable. These stories are with people who have bad T for some time but are doing ok now.
1) T gets better after 40 years of suffering by IWLM. This is the most read success story using 1 simple method called 'Back to Silence' method:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-
silence.7172/

2) Paul Tobey, once a feature speaker on ATA and my first mentor gets better after 4 years of suffering:
http://www.ata.org/sites/default/files/my_choice_concert_pianist_personal_story_tobey_june_06.pdf

3) David Letterman and William Shatner said on this 1996 video that their T were worsening, and yet 20+ years later they are still doing fine as Letterman only retired about 3 years ago and Shatner still in movie acting:

 

[Greg Sacramento]

Increased noise exposure isn't as high on the list as some of the following for increased tinnitus and/or with an increased high pitch. If the reasons on this list are corrected then tinnitus will most often start to decrease.
A collection of reasons from different sites.

Placing pressure on teeth when sleeping. Solution is a thin medium hard professional molded mouth guard or at least a good self made one. The mouth guard shouldn't be too thick.

Using more than one pillow may not be best. Sleeping with neck not supported. These two reasons often lead to placing pressure on teeth. A twisted or unsupported neck while sleeping could also increase T on it's own.

 

[Bill Bauer]

T gets better after 40 years of suffering by IWLM. This is the most read success story using 1 simple method called 'Back to Silence' method:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-
silence.7172/

"Over time, I learned through
trial and error that I could control the
loudness of my tinnitus by eliminating
wheat, milk, caffeine, salt, and other
foods from my diet, and by eating high-
protein foods and green vegetables."

Fascinating!

 

[Vicki14]

the reality is that it does not improve over time, it is not common (only it suffers approximately 0.0003% of the population) and is not habituable.

Ughhhhh... sooo damn depressing!!!

 

[Bill Bauer]

the reality is that it does not improve over time, it is not common (only it suffers approximately 0.0003% of the population) and is not habituable.

The studies listed in
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
provide evidence against your statements above. Could you please provide links to studies that support your statements?

If you search for "tinnitus" on scholar.google.com, you will find many studies. Most of those studies cite studies that had estimated the prevalence of tinnitus at something like 1-10% of the population (I don't remember the exact numbers, but it is certainly far larger than 0.0003%). If you have a study that got published in a peer-reviewed journal citing the figure of 0.0003%, please provide us with a link.

As for "not habituable" - see the countless testimonies on this cite (as well as many studies that you can easily find) that give evidence that most people habituate. If you have a link to a study that reports that nobody habituates, please share this link with us.

 

[JasonP]

Ughhhhh... sooo damn depressing!!!

Don't believe that. Habituation is common. Read the success stories. Also, read the post from above.

 

[threefirefour]

Ughhhhh... sooo damn depressing!!!

Don't worry, he's objectively wrong.

 

[Bill Bauer]

do not look for studies that can lie

Do the authors of the studies have an incentive to lie? Keep in mind that those studies had been published in peer-reviewed journals. The referees have an incentive to point out to the editor that the study is based on a lie.

to make feel better to the sick.

Just because someone might want to lie about his or her own experiences to give hope to others does not imply that Nobody is habituating. It also doesn't imply that Everyone who said they had habituated is lying.

The prevalence of tinnitus is as misleading as this forum, at first glance it seems that many people participating and it is a very busy forum with high participation, but if you look closely for a few hours, you will realize that the participation is actually low because 90 % of those who comment daily are the same participants as always, the new participants are rare.

If you go to
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/members/ and scroll down to "newest members", you will be able to see how often people are registering for this site (when your mouse pointer is over someone's name, you see when they registered). There is one registration every couple of hours. It is depressing.

As for only a small fraction of new members posting, there is no reason to think that this sample is biased in any way. For example, it is not the case that people who habituate are more likely to make a post (compared to people who don't habituate).

 

[Markku]

Assessing the prevalence of tinnitus does need some work, but a 0.0003% figure is delusional.

You do understand that would mean there's fewer than 1,000 tinnitus sufferers in the US?

Also, Equalizer, when you say:

"the reality is that it does not improve over time, it is not common (only it suffers approximately 0.0003% of the population) and is not habituable."​

You have an interesting reality, which seems to go against common sense and current knowledge of tinnitus. It can improve over time. It won't always get quieter, but habituation is not a myth and it continues to happen to many. It's also part of the reason why tinnitus is not that big of a thing on the internet because so many tend to be able to live with it and have no reason to seek support for it.

Another observation: can I ask what is your purpose to being on here? This is a support forum, why would you come to another person's thread, where they are looking for advice and encouragement, to spread your negativity and misinformation? That's the antithesis of support.

Maybe being on here for extensive periods of time doesn't help your own well-being?

Have you tried other venues of support, for example face-to-face counseling? Or do you assume such couldn't benefit you?

 

[Zug]

I have had tinnitus for more than a year now... It has become worse with time, right now I'm trying to sleep and I can't... it is so loud all I want to do is cry... I am so sad and I don't know what to do... All seems lost...

I can't even sleep anymore.

What can I do to make this better?

It gets better. Lack of sleep is a common problem, one that also affected me. Anything that helps you relax is good. Massage helps, exercise is great. For a while there I would also turn off my phone and stay offline at least an hour before going to sleep. I took Clonazepam for a while, maybe 2 or 3 times a week for a few months.

I would recommend that you try those behavioral changes and see if it affects your sleeping pattern. If it doesn't work, look for professional help.

Best,
Zug

 

[Emanuel Lourenco]

It gets better. Lack of sleep is a common problem, one that also affected me. Anything that helps you relax is good. Massage helps, exercise is great. For a while there I would also turn off my phone and stay offline at least an hour before going to sleep. I took Clonazepam for a while, maybe 2 or 3 times a week for a few months.

I would recommend that you try those behavioral changes and see if it affects your sleeping pattern. If it doesn't work, look for professional help.

Best,
Zug

Hi, I used to have a sleep schedule when my T appeared and it helped me a great deal, but now i can't even do that anymore because falling asleep is always so hard i cant keep a routine... I do have clonazepamum but I only use it when im at my absolute worse because I am afraid this is gona make my T worse...
Thank you for your tips

 

[vermillion]

Assessing the prevalence of tinnitus does need some work, but a 0.0003% figure is delusional.

You do understand that would mean there's fewer than 1,000 tinnitus sufferers in the US?

Also, Equalizer, when you say:

"the reality is that it does not improve over time, it is not common (only it suffers approximately 0.0003% of the population) and is not habituable."​

You have an interesting reality, which seems to go against common sense and current knowledge of tinnitus. It can improve over time. It won't always get quieter, but habituation is not a myth and it continues to happen to many. It's also part of the reason why tinnitus is not that big of a thing on the internet because so many tend to be able to live with it and have no reason to seek support for it.

Another observation: can I ask what is your purpose to being on here? This is a support forum, why would you come to another person's thread, where they are looking for advice and encouragement, to spread your negativity and misinformation? That's the antithesis of support.

Maybe being on here for extensive periods of time doesn't help your own well-being?

Have you tried other venues of support, for example face-to-face counseling? Or do you assume such couldn't benefit you?

Maybe he uses the reverse psychology technique. He wants eagerly to hear the opposite from us so he might feel better. But he surely needs professional help. His posts are very discouraging.

 

[vermillion]

Hi, I used to have a sleep schedule when my T appeared and it helped me a great deal, but now i can't even do that anymore because falling asleep is always so hard i cant keep a routine... I do have clonazepamum but I only use it when im at my absolute worse because I am afraid this is gona make my T worse...
Thank you for your tips

Emanuel as far as i know clonazepam isn't ototoxic. In fact due to it's anti epileptic action, reduces temporary the symptoms for many patients. It unloads temporary the stress. @Michael Leigh also use this drug when his t goes BAM. I don't think its a bad idea using it once in a while. Benzos are vicious when you use them systematically due to tolerance build up and withdrawal symptoms. Have you consulted your doctor? You should opt for relaxing teqniques such us yoga, meditation, breathing exercises. I'll go for that.

 

[Emanuel Lourenco]

Emanuel as far as i know clonazepam isn't ototoxic. In fact due to it's anti epileptic action, reduces temporary the symptoms for many patients. It unloads temporary the stress. @Michael Leigh also use this drug when his t goes BAM. I don't think its a bad idea using it once in a while. Benzos are vicious when you use them systematically due to tolerance build up and withdrawal symptoms. Have you consulted your doctor? You should opt for relaxing teqniques such us yoga, meditation, breathing exercises. I'll go for that.

Yeah I got clonazepadum from the doctor so i could sleep, and it actually helps me a lot, I was just afraid it could make my T worse... But I think I will use them once in a while because I am destroyed at the moment... Hope I get better
And thanks again for all the tips