Hey.

[Yellow Ledbetter]

Hey, soooooo just signed up. I'll try not to rattle on & bore you all to sleep.... unless you want to sleep, in which case read on! My T stared this year in Feb, I got it from painkillers although my Doc thinks it because of my job (I work in bar with live music, but always wear earplugs), I beg to differ since it stared when I had 4 days off, and i'd been on these painkillers for 3 days. I had T when I was in my teens (which is awhile ago now hehe). Don't know how I got it, I assume it was from concerts & listening to my walkman all the time. I told a teacher at my school and she said it was tinnitus & that people usually commit suicide from it....I know positive right...? So I stopped listening to my walkman & stared wearing earplugs to concerts/festivals. And it went away in like 2 years.
So now it's back..... I'm doing ok, my ears feel sensitive alot & I get alot of ear pain, my doc says there's no infection, so won't give me anything for it, but I found a hearing specialist so will try & book in with them. I had a hearing test last year & was told my hearing was pretty good. But I think now i'll invest in those professional ear plugs.... So any advice/coping methods would be awesome, I know I did it awhile ago, but that was before I was diagnosed with anxiety, which never helps anything. Also found out my mum has had it since she can remember, has anyone heard if it's genetic or not.
Anyhoo thats my story & I look forward to meeting you guys =)

 

[Jade]

Hey @Yellow Ledbetter,

FYI you didn't put me to sleep lol. So good to see another Aussie on here... I have read a few internet papers and websites that say its not genetic but there are far too many ppl out there like myself who has got a direct family member with (T) not too believe genetics play a role, I have only just got mine full time (12 days & counting) but have had it on and off throughout my life, I went to a Dr (as I don't have one because I don't believe you should be going to a Dr's unless your proper sick & touch wood I've always been quite healthy) so anyway go to this Dr and straight away gives me the easy answer.... "you have tinnitus, theres nothing you can do, ENT have requested we don't send any (T) sufferers to them as they would be unindated & wouldn't be able to help the ppl they can help as (T) is incurable".... well ok then, thanks for nothing, I work in the mines so a very noisy industry & am trying to reach out for some support and any known remedies to help with this constant ringing in my head, Your mum might be a good place to start, how has she coped with it all these years?

Jade

 

[jazz]

So now it's back..... I'm doing ok, my ears feel sensitive alot & I get alot of ear pain, my doc says there's no infection, so won't give me anything for it, but I found a hearing specialist so will try & book in with them. I had a hearing test last year & was told my hearing was pretty good. But I think now i'll invest in those professional ear plugs.... So any advice/coping methods would be awesome, I know I did it awhile ago, but that was before I was diagnosed with anxiety, which never helps anything. Also found out my mum has had it since she can remember, has anyone heard if it's genetic or not.
Anyhoo thats my story & I look forward to meeting you guys =)

Hi Yellow Ledbetter,

Welcome to Tinnitus Talk! I'm sorry about your tinnitus reemerging, but you've habituated once so you know it can be done! It takes time and being proactive. There are many good supplements and strategies listed on the board. I'll name a few.

First, are you sleeping well? That's critical. Most people find some relief once they start sleeping well. To achieve this, you should try to keep your bedroom filled with soothing sounds. In fact, you should probably be listening to something soothing all day long--except when you're working then you do need those customized ear plugs! For background sounds, there are many maskers--there's even a great one on Tinnitus Talk's home page. You may also download sounds to your iPod or MP3 player. For sleeping, you may need a noise machine or a fan. I plug my iPod into external speakers at night and listen to running water; but if I didn't have this option I'd try a noise machine.

Second, you may need a supplement to help you sleep. I take melatonin, 3mg, time-released every night. Melatonin is good for tinnitus; there are a few studies that suggest it helps reduce your noise. Other people take antidepressants. There's lots of good information on these drugs. Please consult the board for a detailed discussion. Just don't combine antidepressants with melatonin. Your body turns serotonin into melatonin at night so it's important to keep this relationship in balance.

Regarding other supplements, magnesium is one that helps most people. But it might take a while, and the effect will be subtle--it won't get rid of your tinnitus, but it should reduce it. Again, there's currently an active discussion on magnesium too. For a large list of supplements, consult Tinnitus Talks "Alternative Treatments" section.

Well, good luck and please know you have lots of friends on Tinnitus Talk!

Here are some links that may be useful.

Sound machines for sleeping:

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.http://www.amazon.com/Ecotones-Sound-Sleep-Machine-ASM1002/dp/B002SMJQT4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374170959&sr=8-3&keywords=sound machines for sleeping​

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Good general discussion on various tinnitus treatments:

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http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsl...s-ringing-in-the-ears-and-what-to-do-about-it​

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Good general book that also examines various coping strategies:

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http://www.amazon.com/Tinnitus-Treatment-Toolbox-Guide-People/dp/1426912153/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1374172043&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=tinnitus toolbox​

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Some interesting clinical studies on tinnitus supplements:

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21859051​

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22249877​

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Note: Do make an appointment with an audiologist to reexamine your hearing. Many people with tinnitus do have hearing loss, even it that loss is slight. I have slight hearing loss--not technically enough for a hearing aids--but I wear them anyway. (I have a small dip in frequencies that usually cause tinnitus.) Numerous clinical studies evidence that hearing aids significantly help most people with tinnitus. If you do need hearing aids, or want to try them for 30 days to see if they help, make sure you get ones designed for people with tinnitus. These hearing aids will include either fractal tones or background noise (white or pink) that will help distract you from your tinnitus. I use Starkey's Xino Tinnitus. Widex's Zen2Go is also used for tinnitus and there are other options. Read the detailed discussion on hearing aids on Tinnitus Talk.

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[Cher69]

Hi Yellow Ledbetter - I didn't fall asleep either you will find lots of support from people on here we all appear to go through the same sort of feelings worries and its good to read about those who have been where you are and have turned a corner and finding ways to cope - I'm new to this too and have found ways to cope lack of sleep was my issue anxiety and panic! But now things are helping me and reading posts on here I've had lots of support and taken ideas from others to find my way through this T thing. I hope you do too and welcome you to this fab forum together we can all find our way and get on with living xx

 

[Danny]

zzzzzzzzzz........lol, that was to easy...welcome to this site....

 

[Yellow Ledbetter]

Hey @jazz Thank you so much for all the info....you are a god sent! Sorry it took me awhile to reply, but my T really spiked last week & I thought I was going to just lose it, but somehow managed to keep it together, i've been put on Pseudoephedrine as my doc says there's something wrong with tubes in ears. The pain & sensitivity has gone down & the T has calmed a bit. I went to an audiologist & she said my hearing was good & there was no loss so I guess thats a good thing!
@Jade that's horrible!! Hope you are doing better . Haha us Aussies are everywhere! Whereabouts are you? I went to a place called attune, they have a few centres around the country, they have a tinnitus management section. They are really good cause they know what you are going through & can recommend treatments to help you cope/manage. If there's one near you def give them a call =).
@Cher69 man anxiety is a killer - it's my main enemy at the moment. Thanks for the support

 

[Yellow Ledbetter]

haha and thanks for welcome @Danny

 

[Karen]

Hi, Yellow Ledbetter, and welcome!

I'm glad your tinnitus has calmed down a bit, and hope that continues.

I certainly do understand about the anxiety issue. All or most of us have gone through that, especially during the first months of tinnitus. I'm not much of a believer in drugs, since it was a blood pressure drug that caused my tinnitus to get bad in the first place, so I've been using natural supplements during these past 3 years. One that worked for me (to subtly help with anxiety) was holy basil. It's worth a try! Another natural supplement you could try is pharma GABA, which has calming properties, as well. So does magnesium. These are all subtle, and take awhile to work, but they really do have a calming effect.

I'm interested in your comment about Attune centers (I'm in the U.S.). What are they; are they audiological centers? I think it's great that they have a section for tinnitus sufferers. I sure wish we had something like that here in the U.S.!

Best wishes, and glad you've joined us!

 

[Piper]

Hey, soooooo just signed up. I'll try not to rattle on & bore you all to sleep.... unless you want to sleep, in which case read on! My T stared this year in Feb, I got it from painkillers although my Doc thinks it because of my job (I work in bar with live music, but always wear earplugs), I beg to differ since it stared when I had 4 days off, and i'd been on these painkillers for 3 days. I had T when I was in my teens (which is awhile ago now hehe). Don't know how I got it, I assume it was from concerts & listening to my walkman all the time. I told a teacher at my school and she said it was tinnitus & that people usually commit suicide from it....I know positive right...? So I stopped listening to my walkman & stared wearing earplugs to concerts/festivals. And it went away in like 2 years.
So now it's back..... I'm doing ok, my ears feel sensitive alot & I get alot of ear pain, my doc says there's no infection, so won't give me anything for it, but I found a hearing specialist so will try & book in with them. I had a hearing test last year & was told my hearing was pretty good. But I think now i'll invest in those professional ear plugs.... So any advice/coping methods would be awesome, I know I did it awhile ago, but that was before I was diagnosed with anxiety, which never helps anything. Also found out my mum has had it since she can remember, has anyone heard if it's genetic or not.
Anyhoo thats my story & I look forward to meeting you guys =)

My mum had it for years, and now I have , I have been told it is genetic unfortunatley

 

[Molan]

Piper who told you this was genetic? Was it a medical professional? Are there any papers to support this idea?

I ask because I'am the only one in my family on both sides across all generations with Tinnitus so unless I'm secretly adopted and no-one told me there is no genetic component with me at least! I've spoken to many Tinnitus sufferers over the years as well who say they are the only ones in their families with this condition. I've never seen any evidence for a genetic component for this.