Hi — I Have Tinnitus and It's Making Me Crazy :(

[mamag]

Hi all - My name is Karen. I'm a 44yo mom with 2 kiddos under 8. And I have this lovely little thing called tinnitus.

It started in Dec of last year. For about a month I woke up with congestion, then it would go away. Right before new year's, I woke up and thought I heard the furnace making noise...until I realized this low hum was in my head. Already a bit of a hypochondriac, I freaked out. My GP said it was fluid in my ears and prescrived me some Nasonex and told me to take Sudafed. Within a couple of days, I could feel my ears draining in the back of my throat. Then about the 3rd or 4th day into this my ears started ringing. Loudly.

I was so upset. I had the dr give me an antibiotic - but nothing helped. I was a total mess and was given Xanax to sleep. ENT gave me a whole series of audiology tests. Hearing is fine. No evident structural damage. Switched me to FloNase. Said it should clear up in 2 weeks. Well, it didn't. I saw another ENT - more audiology tests (fine). He also told me this was fluid in my ear and eustachian tube dysfunction.

It's almost a year later and the ringing, while always present, changes in tone and volume. This second it's just a quiet, constant shhhh. My left ear is worse with the ringing, though my right ear is worse with the crackling/popping. Sometimes it's pulsating, but most of the time it's not.

Oh! Additionally, throughout this whole time (nearly a year now) I have been dealing with sinus congestion. So I am convinced that this chronic congestion is causing this unending tinnitus. I have just started seeing an acupuncture doctor to help with the sinus congestion and my prayer is that if I get rid of that, then the tinnitus can be much quieter. Or gone! One can hope. Anyway...I know that's not likely. Acupuncture dr said it really depends on how much damage the fluid has done to my ears

My problem is that I am having a very difficult time dealing with the anxiety/fear/stress. Logically I know that the sounds change based on where the fluid is and how much is there. That low furnace hum really sets me on edge. But emotionally it's just very hard.

Other than that - i do have some sound sensitivity. Initially, when this started it was made worse by my sudden noise sensitivity (think two little girls with high voices). I was wearing head phones for days. That has gotten better but I do wear earplugs in louder environments.

Otherwise, I am healthy and have no other medical issues. Would love any advice.

Thank you!

 

[George Brady]

If I were you I would go to your GP and get some meds for the anxiety. Don't give up on them it takes awhile for them to kick in .In my case the sooner I took care of my anxiety the T was easier to deal with.For the sensitive ears open hats a hard one you have to be careful with them I know it hard to do with to little kids running around

 

[George Brady]

And don't wear earplugs to long when your ears or hurting

 

[erik]

Hi Karen. I would look into some CBT (Cognitive Based Therapy) which can help you deal with your anxiety, fear and stress issues. It wasn't until I did this for myself that I was able to accept the tinnitus and get back to my full life. Anxiety and fear along with tinnitus goes hand in hand and keeps you in the vicious cycle which you cannot break free from. Once you control your fear and anxiety and not the other way around, you will have a much easier time with tinnitus. Most of the time the fear and anxiety you experience has nothing to do with tinnitus. Tinnitus may be a trigger, contributor or symptom but not always the root cause. CBT gives you strategies to deal with fear, anxiety and stress. In my case it was also frequent panic attacks.

I did 20 weeks of CBT and it did wonders for me. It wasn't easy especially in the beginning and there were many times where I just wanted to not go at all or leave in the middle of the session. However, I fought through it and am better due to that. Dr. Hubbard in the Dr's corner specializes in CBT so if you have any questions you can ask him. You can also ask me here or via PM if you like.

 

[Kelli]

I'd find the best otolaryngologist in your area and be persistent.

 

[mamag]

Thanks all! I didn't realize you had all responded I actually started seeing a acupuncture specialist and that actually has been helping me with the anxiety and the ear fluid issues to an extent.

You are so right - I think dealing with the anxiety is my biggest challenge. Reading through so many posts here helped me to see that, and actually to become more rationale. Once I am ok with it, though...if the sound changes (ex, sometimes it goes in time with my heartbeat) I freak thinking oh no, vascular disease! Though logically I know it's not - I've had 2 drs tell me it's the fluid, that I have tons of blood vessels in my head and that is what I am hearing. So for me to have fluid (which I do believe is the problem without a doubt) AND vascular disease would be quite the coincidence.

So let me ask - how do you deal with differing sounds and not going insane?

You guys are awesome, thanks for helping me on this journey.

 

[gary]

So let me ask - how do you deal with differing sounds and not going insane?

You guys are awesome, thanks for helping me on this journey.

Karen, what helped me was realizing the fact that the sounds will not harm me, hurt me or kill me. It is just sound, albeit it is quite an annoyance. you may not see it that way overnight, but eventually it will make perfect sense to you..