How Can I Live with Tinnitus for the Rest of My Life?

[acute]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

 

[Allan1967]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

Do you have hyperacusis? Does your tinnitus get worse because of sound?

 

[vermillion]

You must have acquired tinnitus recently.

 

[eldudebro]

I'm a month short of my 5 year "anniversary" with tinnitus so i'll throw in my two cents here.

Everything you've written in your post sums up how my life went and how I felt in the first 6 months of tinnitus showing itself in my life. Yet here I am, life running as normal with very few adjustments.

The majority of people who develop tinnitus end up reclaiming their lives. The probability of you doing likewise is very high.

Try and avoid getting trapped into the cycle of high anxiety and catastrophic thinking. It will only exacerbate your tinnitus suffering. I know this is easier said than done, all I can say is that for me personally, time was the best healer.

Avoid dwelling on the negative posts on here. It's true some people have debilitating long lasting tinnitus however I believe these cases are rare. Reach out to the more insightful and positive posters on this site if you feel you need support.

Good luck.
You got this!

 

[coffee_girl]

If you're new to tinnitus I recommend giving yourself some time to habituate. Avoid the horror stories, the negativity on some of these threads will devour you if you allow it. Focus on the positives for now, once you have your anxiety under control then revisit your concerns. Hope you get better

 

[Manny]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you, and I have no wise words to share. I'll only say that I can really understand your feelings very well - as the same has happened to me. Music was my entire emotional life and it's now destroyed; I had to reduce my working hours and I most certainly do not feel like myself anymore.
You are not alone, is all I can say. I hope we can all have some cure, or at least relief soon. Perhaps Lenire will help many of us? Peace.

 

[jjflyman]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

Your tinnitus is very new, and the odds are you will greatly improve in the next year or so.

I am in my second acoustic trauma tinnitus in my life. The first one was super loud piercing tinnitus. It faded to zero in about 2 years.

Another acoustic trauma happened 2 1/2 years ago. Again, it was super loud, piercing tinnitus. It has faded over 90 % now, and I hardly hear it anymore unless I am in a very quiet room.

I will always be careful around sound, and I do avoid concerts and clubs, but my tinnitus has faded so much (and continues to slowly fade) that it is no longer an issue. I think what you have now is not going be what you have a year from now.

Give your ears time to heal, it may take many months, but most people who get tinnitus has it fade over time.

 

[acute]

@vermillion Yes, my tinnitus started 2 months ago.

@eldudebro Thank you for your answer and for share your experience. It's breathtaking who all of us that develop Tinnitus feel so devastated during the first months, T is a masive life changer. I can't even imagine this is happening to me.

It is true that I am right now in a cycle of anxiety, catastrophic thoughts and despair ... I will try to follow your good advices, even if it is difficult.

Again, thanks for the support.

@coffee_girl Yes, you are right. I'm a newbie in T... Problem is by now I don't accept this condition yet, probably a kid attitude... I'll give me some time and I'll try to focus on positive threads... I hope T gets better or go away. Thanks for your support and hope you are OK.

 

[GSC]

Your tinnitus is very new, and the odds are you will greatly improve in the next year or so.

I am in my second acoustic trauma tinnitus in my life. The first one was super loud piercing tinnitus. It faded to zero in about 2 years.

Another acoustic trauma happened 2 1/2 years ago. Again, it was super loud, piercing tinnitus. It has faded over 90 % now, and I hardly hear it anymore unless I am in a very quiet room.

I will always be careful around sound, and I do avoid concerts and clubs, but my tinnitus has faded so much (and continues to slowly fade) that it is no longer an issue. I think what you have now is not going be what you have a year from now.

Give your ears time to heal, it may take many months, but most people who get tinnitus has it fade over time.

I wish I was your child or grandchild so I could have your god-given genes.

 

[sayitshay]

@vermillion Yes, my tinnitus started 2 months ago.

@eldudebro Thank you for your answer and for share your experience. It's breathtaking who all of us that develop Tinnitus feel so devastated during the first months, T is a masive life changer. I can't even imagine this is happening to me.

It is true that I am right now in a cycle of anxiety, catastrophic thoughts and despair ... I will try to follow your good advices, even if it is difficult.

Again, thanks for the support.

@coffee_girl Yes, you are right. I'm a newbie in T... Problem is by now I don't accept this condition yet, probably a kid attitude... I'll give me some time and I'll try to focus on positive threads... I hope T gets better or go away. Thanks for your support and hope you are OK.

Hey! You'll be okay. Keep living. Don't let tinnitus win. Try not to dwell on it. Avoid horror stories. Let time heal. I had a major spike for 2 weeks and I felt suicidal. My tinnitus is fluctuating right now. But I'm not letting it bother me anymore.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back.

If you avoid concerts and other loud noises and protect your ears when you have to be exposed to noise, then the chance of it coming back ought to be low. There haven't been any studies into how often it comes back, and what makes it more likely to come back, but there have been very few reports on this forum of it coming back for No reason. The chance of getting hurt in a car crash is also always there. Those two risks (of tinnitus coming back despite one's best efforts and of being hurt in a car crash) might have similar chance of occurring. So just like you are not losing sleep over being hurt in a car crash sometime in the future, you shouldn't worry too much about your tinnitus coming back.

Have you experienced any fading of your tinnitus, compared to how your tinnitus was a month ago?

 

[Earing]

Don't despair. Get really good earplugs. Different types and strengths.

You will find ways to enjoy life, music and friends. Just at lower volumes.

After the initial shock of the lifestyle change,you will find a way to be you and enjoy your life.

 

[Earing]

I have spent the last 35 years of my life becoming a professional guitar player. As of about 4 weeks ago I will never be able to play my guitar loud ever again. It is like a classic tragedy. I am playing at a level that is amazing. Now I am at that level I am unable to perform live.

But I will find other avenues and happily move forward.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

The IP said that she's sorry for the negativity
and that tinnitus has destroyed her life completely
and how depressed she has become.

This is understandable, but it's a horror story.
From some she had been told to avoid horror stories.
Does this mean that her story shouldn't have been read by some either.
I think that her story and other similar stories need to be told and read by others going thru the same as her.
So that they can seek, receive support and see support that others always give.

I suppose that some here have never been part of an in person issue and condition talk group
monitored by professionals. I have monitored such groups and all had severe condition issues.
Some who haven't been deeply in pain may not understand this.

@Jazzer I think that Jazzar and many others with severe issues will agree.

 

[CMIH]

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

Lenire is not your last hope. The truth is your brain will naturally on its own - without you having to do anything - start to ignore the tinnitus. In fact, the more you fight the tinnitus, the harder time you'll have of adjusting to it.

Someone recently told me about this video by psychologist Dr. Hubbard and just listening to it really helped me understand the anxiety I was experiencing from tinnitus. It's about an hour and a half long so you might want to listen to it in segments. Also, about halfway down this web page on Dr Hubbard's web site there is a "Mindfulness Training" audio you can listen to that can help you start the process of reducing the stress that goes with tinnitus. It helped me.

 

[Jazzer]

Hi @acute - first of all - I love your avatar.
That is so cute. xx

I am truly so sorry that you have acquired this horrible condition.
There is no question that it "STINKS !!!"
I see you have been advised by the 'would-be' wise members on here to avoid horror stories.
You have had to give up work, give up social gatherings, drastically change your way of life etc...
My bet is that you already know from personal experience that 'tinnitus' is a horror story.
Am I right?

You have also been advised to avoid reading posts
that contain 'negativity' - whatever that is?
Whenever I have asked, nobody has been able to give me a definition of negativity, to my satisfaction.
Those with mild 'T' truly enjoy throwing the word 'negativity' around at others like a game of 'Frisby.'
What they really mean is - avoid posts that speak of the realities of this condition.
(Like leprosy - reality could be catching.)

Some people will tell you that this thing will bother you less and less and you will soon be back to normal.
(I don't think you'll fall for this one.)
Others may tell you that a course of sunbathing should do the trick. (a likely story.)

I have had Tinnitus for 27 years.
Mild for 22 and severe for 5 years.
As a successful professional jazz trombonist for 55 years, I have lost my passion, my career, my income.
Of course, I loathe it. But it is a fact of life, so I have had to accept it for what it it.

But I will tell you this.
I have a life back.
Unfortunately it is not the same glamorous life I had, playing jazz on a big stage on cruise ships going around the world.
But I enjoy myself.
I enjoy social gatherings - carefully utilising ear plugs as necessary - I enjoy my children, my grandchildren, my pussycats, my garden, my walks in the countryside, etc....
I keep nice and calm, courtesy of good meditational techniques etc....which work wonders for me.
I really recommend learning about some meditation - it can help you to acclimatise.

Very best wishes Acute - I know you can get a decent life back. I believe you will get to feel better.

I'll leave you to decide if I'm negative or positive?

Love
Dave x
Jazzer

 

[acute]

Have you experienced any fading of your tinnitus, compared to how your tinnitus was a month ago?

Hi Bill. Yes, I think so... The first four weeks Tinnitis was horrible. It sounded like some kind of electric very high pitched intermittent sound. It seemed to me that I had "layers" of fluctuant high-pitched frequencies rather than flat tones. It's hard to describe. I could feel that extremely high pitched electric zapping inside my right ear and brain, mixed with other undescribible sounds.

Now I have more like a hissing background noise along with some kind of white noise in the brain. Like a badly tuned radio or a hissing like steam escaping. In the right ear, I have like a morse code sound, it sometimes is louder and sometimes is quiet.

I do not know if all this is a good sign.

 

[Jack Straw]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

Why can you see your friends? You can adapt to your situation and do different things with your friends that don't involve loud situations.

You can listen to music, just not at loud volumes. I don't understand why everyone always says, "I can't listen to music." You can listen to music at normal volumes without blasting it and be fine.

Lenire may help your tinnitus, but it isn't curing your hearing damage. You still won't be able to attend loud venues without further damaging your hearing.

It's not about not being able to do things as they were before tinnitus, it's about how can I still enjoy things in my current situation. You have to adapt and do things differently.

I have had tinnitus my entire life and I am still pushing forward. Life isn't fair or easy. I learned this the hard way multiple times, but I have to keep moving forward.

This may sound harsh, but your old life is now gone. I didn't start feeling better emotionally until I accepted this and started looking for ways to adapt my life to find enjoyment in different things. You can move on from this but it will take a while to emotionally get there.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Yes, I think so...

Awesome! I am pretty sure that this means that, unless you are unlucky and get a second acoustic trauma, eventually (6-24 months after the onset) you will end up being ok. It ought to continue fading until you get to hear silence, or failing that, until you can hear it only in quiet rooms.

The first four weeks Tinnitis was horrible.

Same here.

I have more like a hissing background noise along with some kind of white noise in the brain

As people heal, they tend to go from a high pitch and electrical type of sounds to a hiss/white noise type of sounds.

I do not know if all this is a good sign.

This sign is as good as it gets. You are making making rapid progress.

 

[winstona]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

Hi acute,

I don't think you have to apologize because we are here for you and what you are saying is not negative, it's just what you feel and it's absolutely ok to feel that way when you have tinnitus. We are human beings after all.

My first few weeks of tinnitus onset were also the most devastating times I have ever experienced in my life.

I wasn't able to enjoy things like music and movies because doing so hurt my ears immensely. I didn't want to see anyone because I just hated asking people to repeat themselves over and over again.

I didn't want to do anything as I have lost interest in life because I truly believed life was really not worth living when you were barely surviving...

I ended up isolating myself from life and people and was drowning in depression for weeks.

Sounds familiar right?

The good news is I got better after just 8 months. My tinnitus while still exist does not bother me as much as before. I am now able to enjoy music and movies and have a social life once again. Although not 100% recovered, I have experienced volume reduction and can now enjoy days where the volume is low enough where I don't notice it.

It sounds like you are also recovering bit by bit and I don't see why you won't follow the path of my recovery and achieve even more volume reduction and perhaps have tinnitus fade away completely over time.

You are still young and your body should recover better than my 43 year old body. From now on, just make sure you take care of your ears by not over exposing them to loud music and try not to use headphones/earphones to listen to music at least for 6 months. Our ears are very sensitive and they need time to heal. Once they are able to heal and they have built enough tolerance, you can try to slowly let music back in to your life. But again, be careful and don't overdo it so soon.

 

[Bob90]

Hi Acute,

I will agree with the others and say to avoid concerts or similarly loud environments. My T was doing pretty well and I made the mistake of (likely) retraumatizing my ear because I didn't give it the time to heal. I had thought it had healed, I felt fine, but I've learned in the short time I've been here after the probable second trauma (which made my T louder, and has made sleep troublesome) how many months it actually takes to heal the ears.

It sounds like yours is getting a bit better and you definitely made a good choice in coming here for advice/support.

 

[PeteJ]

Hi Acute,

I will agree with the others and say to avoid concerts or similarly loud environments. My T was doing pretty well and I made the mistake of (likely) retraumatizing my ear because I didn't give it the time to heal. I had thought it had healed, I felt fine, but I've learned in the short time I've been here after the probable second trauma (which made my T louder, and has made sleep troublesome) how many months it actually takes to heal the ears.

It sounds like yours is getting a bit better and you definitely made a good choice in coming here for advice/support.

What trauma was it? What is considered a trauma and what isn't?

What is considered too loud and what isn't?

 

[PeteJ]

I don't know why I'm writing this. Sorry for the negativity.

I'm 25 years old. Tinnitus has destroyed my life completely. I quit my job because it was impossible for me to function normally and concentrate. I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go out as everywhere is too loud.

I was supposed to have a long life ahead of me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore, I can't even go to a bar or a birthday party, I can't sleep, I can't listen music, and music was my passion. I can't be myself anymore.

Even if my tinnitus was resolved in the coming months, I would be scared all my life of it coming back. If the tinnitus didn't go away, I would be scared of a possible spike that will ruin my life even more.

I will never be able to return to my old life. My life will never be the same again. What's the point of all of this...?

I don't think it's worth living anymore.

Lenire is my last hope... I cannot even think about the possibility of Lenire not working for me.

I'm very depressed and I still do not understand why this is happening. What did I do wrong.

How do you think you got tinnitus?

I think the advice you received was good.

No need to apologize here. So many varieties and variables. I feel the same way as you do. I quit my job too.

But, mine worsened from about 2.5 months ago and I am not sure why.

Try to avoid loud noises as much as possible and try to not feel anxious which is easy to advise but difficult to do.

 

[acute]

Thanks you so much to all for your kind responses. I'm sorry for not answering one by one. My English is poor and sometimes I am not able to express what I really want to express.

I can't believe I wrote that first post three weeks ago, I feel practically the same as then. Or even worse. I cry everyday. I feel a terrible despair that I never experience before in my entire life.

My tinnitus has doesn't change. But my life is completely destroyed. I am not myself anymore.

I am triying to think positive, and try to think tinnitus will fade away on his own with some time, but it's so difficult because I don't see any improved along the days.

I am alone, depressed and in a cycle of anxiety. It seems that tinnitus has won the battle.

I think so much in suicide. But I'm on the way to seek psychological help to stop that.

I didn't want to do anything as I have lost interest in life because I truly believed life was really not worth living when you were barely surviving...

I ended up isolating myself from life and people and was drowning in depression for weeks.

Sounds familiar right?

Sounds totally familiar. I am very happy that after 8 months you could return more or less to normal and enjoy life again. Maybe it is possible that the same thing could happen to me, although right now it is impossible to imagine for me.

How do you think you got tinnitus?

I think it's noise induced. I think it's caused by hearing very loud music in my car for several days in a row.

I'm sorry to hear that yours worsened.

 

[Lane]

I think it's noise induced. I think it's caused by hearing very loud music in my car for several days in a row.

@acute -- Sorry about what a difficult time you're going through. You're very early into this experience. Your ears became traumatized, and it can take a frustratingly long time for them to recover from that trauma, especially if you don't know how it's going to happen. But the odds are that things will improve for you going forward.

I think it's also important you consider the meds you suspect may have been a contributing factor. Nobody with tinnitus should take ANY drug unless they've extensively researched it first. Assurances from health care practitioners that a particular drug is safe, or won't cause or exacerbate tinnitus should always be viewed with skepticism.

Take Care!