Let me share with you what I consider to be my success story.
Maybe you already read about it in my introductory thread, but in case you haven't, here is the story. It's gonna be lengthy, so strap in.
Sorry for any errors, English is not my primary language, I'm sure you'll find many
(Jump to tl;dr if you don't feel like reading)
First, a little intro. I live in an apartment that is two stories above a bar. On weekends it would get particularly loud, but I've lived there for years and I got used to it. So this particular Friday I was being my usual "pensioner" self and went to bed pretty early, around 10 PM. The noise from downstairs was pretty bad, but nothing unusual, still - I was kinda fidgety. I couldn't fall asleep and at first I had no idea why - I was super tired and usually I just pass out, so I though what kind of a crazy noise is coming from the bar. And then it hit me - I hear ringing in my ears! It completely threw me off. But I thought that it's maybe something temporary due to tiredness or something. However, it didn't stop. Days passed, I scoured the internet about it and found only pretty bad stories, and I didn't talk to anybody about it until one day I just broke in front of my boyfriend. I was bawling.
He told me that I shouldn't have gone to internet first and freak myself out, but to my GP And he was right, but I just can't help it. I'm sure you guys understand.
I went to see my GP, explained what was happening and she sent me to an ENT.
The first ENT that examined me was pretty horrible. Did some basic tests, said my ears are fine and to my question about tinnitus he literally ignored me. To say I was shocked is an understatement, and I immediately started crying after I left his office.
That's when I decided to look for another doctor even though I was pretty pessimistic about the entire thing.
The second doctor examined me and said I have a retracted eardrum. So we had a few sessions treating that, equalising the pressure. After that it was quieter, but still not gone.
Soon after I found a brilliant ENT, an expert for cochlear implants, hearing difficulties, tinnitus, chronic and acute ear infections, ear tumors… and I was lucky, because he really was the right choice and a complete difference from the first one. First we discussed my everyday life - what I do for work, how I relax, what my diet looks like… Then we discussed my tinnitus, what are the sounds I hear, if I remember how it started. I sad that I just noticed it that night and that was it. So he was really trying to make me remember if I did anything that might trigger it prior to that night, but I really had no trauma whatsoever. It just appeared.
After that we did all sorts of tests, I can't even tell you their names because I don't know All tests proved my ears are in an excellent shape and there was no acoustic trauma or anything evident that could've caused tinnitus.
But let me tell you - the way your ENT talks to you about it means so much. Even after I left his office without knowing the cause of my tinnitus, I was much calmer.
I'm gonna digress here a bit because I want to share with you two stories he told me.
The first one is about a patient that came to him, a woman who developed tinnitus. She was an athlete preparing for some ultramarathon. She discussed her diet with him and it was a big red flag for him, because it was very light. And what he said to me is that basically our diet plays a large role in tinnitus, because even though our bodies are pretty resilient, they have weak links and it will break somewhere if you don't treat it right, and for some its - ears, or whatever causes tinnitus. So after she modified her diet it improved dramatically.
The second story was about a guy who developed sudden tinnitus and hearing loss and was lucky or smart enough to come to him early. He treated it with injections, it took a few sessions, but he was completely cured after it.
It just proves that many individuals actually resolve their tinnitus but never write about it (and why would they, right?).
Anyway, after a few months I was buried in work and I guess that helped me to get used to my tinnitus, because I would still hear it, but it wouldn't bother me. And then, this year it spiked suddenly, and my eardrum twitched which made me again anxious about it and super aware of it and I felt like I'm back at square one.
It turned out that my eardrum was retracted again - something that could potentially be fixed if I fix my deviated septum. I gave it some thought and decided that I would do the surgery, if nothing else - I'll be able to breathe through my left nostril again.
The surgery went well and I was focused on my recovery and freaked out a bit about it and then I noticed my tinnitus calmed down. I'm not sure if it was due to the surgery or it's simply because my anxiety shifted to my nose rather than my ears. Who knows! Maybe it's a combination of both.
My tinnitus is still with me, but I don't hear it now. When I was focused on it I would hear it over all kinds of noises, I was afraid of silence and as soon as I'd enter a room I'd turn the tv on, or play music. When I'd go to sleep I would make sure that I don't sleep on my side because that way my ear would be pressed against the pillow and it would make it more louder. Now, I can sit in silence and the ringing I hear Is sort of like a background music. I sleep on my side all the time. And it doesn't bother me at all, it's like it's not there. And the only time I can really hear it if I look for it and only in quieter places.
This summer I started going to concerts again. But I'm still scared about my hearing, even if all the tests proved it's perfect, so I wear ear plugs - just in case. Went to see Foo Fighters - I'm sure you know they are loud. But I wore my ear plugs and enjoyed my time and my tinnitus enjoyed it too I guess, because it remained the same.
Hang in there. Everyone's tinnitus is different and requires different solutions. I hope you find yours and I hope to read about it in this thread.
TL;DR
Started hearing ringing in ears in 2017, was obsessed with it and desperate. But now I don't notice it.
Tinnitus consumed me, until it didn't.
Maybe you already read about it in my introductory thread, but in case you haven't, here is the story. It's gonna be lengthy, so strap in.
Sorry for any errors, English is not my primary language, I'm sure you'll find many
(Jump to tl;dr if you don't feel like reading)
First, a little intro. I live in an apartment that is two stories above a bar. On weekends it would get particularly loud, but I've lived there for years and I got used to it. So this particular Friday I was being my usual "pensioner" self and went to bed pretty early, around 10 PM. The noise from downstairs was pretty bad, but nothing unusual, still - I was kinda fidgety. I couldn't fall asleep and at first I had no idea why - I was super tired and usually I just pass out, so I though what kind of a crazy noise is coming from the bar. And then it hit me - I hear ringing in my ears! It completely threw me off. But I thought that it's maybe something temporary due to tiredness or something. However, it didn't stop. Days passed, I scoured the internet about it and found only pretty bad stories, and I didn't talk to anybody about it until one day I just broke in front of my boyfriend. I was bawling.
He told me that I shouldn't have gone to internet first and freak myself out, but to my GP
And he was right, but I just can't help it. I'm sure you guys understand.I went to see my GP, explained what was happening and she sent me to an ENT.
The first ENT that examined me was pretty horrible. Did some basic tests, said my ears are fine and to my question about tinnitus he literally ignored me. To say I was shocked is an understatement, and I immediately started crying after I left his office.
That's when I decided to look for another doctor even though I was pretty pessimistic about the entire thing.
The second doctor examined me and said I have a retracted eardrum. So we had a few sessions treating that, equalising the pressure. After that it was quieter, but still not gone.
Soon after I found a brilliant ENT, an expert for cochlear implants, hearing difficulties, tinnitus, chronic and acute ear infections, ear tumors… and I was lucky, because he really was the right choice and a complete difference from the first one. First we discussed my everyday life - what I do for work, how I relax, what my diet looks like… Then we discussed my tinnitus, what are the sounds I hear, if I remember how it started. I sad that I just noticed it that night and that was it. So he was really trying to make me remember if I did anything that might trigger it prior to that night, but I really had no trauma whatsoever. It just appeared.
After that we did all sorts of tests, I can't even tell you their names because I don't know
All tests proved my ears are in an excellent shape and there was no acoustic trauma or anything evident that could've caused tinnitus.But let me tell you - the way your ENT talks to you about it means so much. Even after I left his office without knowing the cause of my tinnitus, I was much calmer.
I'm gonna digress here a bit because I want to share with you two stories he told me.
The first one is about a patient that came to him, a woman who developed tinnitus. She was an athlete preparing for some ultramarathon. She discussed her diet with him and it was a big red flag for him, because it was very light. And what he said to me is that basically our diet plays a large role in tinnitus, because even though our bodies are pretty resilient, they have weak links and it will break somewhere if you don't treat it right, and for some its - ears, or whatever causes tinnitus. So after she modified her diet it improved dramatically.
The second story was about a guy who developed sudden tinnitus and hearing loss and was lucky or smart enough to come to him early. He treated it with injections, it took a few sessions, but he was completely cured after it.
It just proves that many individuals actually resolve their tinnitus but never write about it (and why would they, right?).
Anyway, after a few months I was buried in work and I guess that helped me to get used to my tinnitus, because I would still hear it, but it wouldn't bother me. And then, this year it spiked suddenly, and my eardrum twitched which made me again anxious about it and super aware of it and I felt like I'm back at square one.
It turned out that my eardrum was retracted again - something that could potentially be fixed if I fix my deviated septum. I gave it some thought and decided that I would do the surgery, if nothing else - I'll be able to breathe through my left nostril again.
The surgery went well and I was focused on my recovery and freaked out a bit about it and then I noticed my tinnitus calmed down. I'm not sure if it was due to the surgery or it's simply because my anxiety shifted to my nose rather than my ears. Who knows! Maybe it's a combination of both.
My tinnitus is still with me, but I don't hear it now. When I was focused on it I would hear it over all kinds of noises, I was afraid of silence and as soon as I'd enter a room I'd turn the tv on, or play music. When I'd go to sleep I would make sure that I don't sleep on my side because that way my ear would be pressed against the pillow and it would make it more louder. Now, I can sit in silence and the ringing I hear Is sort of like a background music. I sleep on my side all the time. And it doesn't bother me at all, it's like it's not there. And the only time I can really hear it if I look for it and only in quieter places.
This summer I started going to concerts again. But I'm still scared about my hearing, even if all the tests proved it's perfect, so I wear ear plugs - just in case. Went to see Foo Fighters - I'm sure you know they are loud. But I wore my ear plugs and enjoyed my time and my tinnitus enjoyed it too I guess, because it remained the same.
Hang in there. Everyone's tinnitus is different and requires different solutions. I hope you find yours and I hope to read about it in this thread.
TL;DR
Started hearing ringing in ears in 2017, was obsessed with it and desperate. But now I don't notice it.
Tinnitus consumed me, until it didn't.
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