I Figured I’d Introduce Myself

I’m 29 I’ve been a DJ/ producer for 14 years.
I’m sad by the lack of warning in the club scene about tinnitus. I feel let down and I wish someone told me about it ...


23 days ago I went to a club in NYC. I remember looking at the dB meter, it was hitting 110. I forgot my ear protection at home. It was gonna be my first time wearing them as I was starting to get ringing after shows and I was told by friends that’s normal ...

The next day I woke up ears ringing. I didn’t think much of it. I’ve been here before but 3 days later I started getting worried... I went to the doctor he said I had massive ear wax, he flushed it and now everything hurts my ears. I have hyperacusis... just the sound of typing on my keyboard makes my ears tense up ...

I haven’t been able to sleep... the ringing is annoying but it’s been 23 days. I’m starting to kinda get used to it I guess but the not being able to sleep part is driving me to the verge of insanity... I keep questioning my quality of life and if it’s worth anything at this point? I’ve been through every emotion... regret, denial... a feeling that I’m not gonna let it win... but I feel like I can’t even start not letting it win till I get proper sleep... I’ve hardly left my house in 23 days and I know that’s not helping... but I can’t seem to get my sleep to start some kinda routine... since this started I’ve been up 48 hours at a time then I pass out for 3-4 hours and repeat... I’m trying everything I can to sleep but nothing is working... I’ve tried melatonin... no help... the doc put me on Xanax, no help (really didn’t wanna take it anyways)

I’m desperate for help with sleeping here...

My ringing sounds like electronic crickets super high pitched with a lower tone of ringing underneath... it’s really loud and can not be masked by anything I’ve found so far... it’s in both ears... sometimes it changes tones and the ringing gets louder than the crickets...

I feel hopeless... I had a beautiful life and now it just feels so empty. I would give anything to get back to normal or enjoy life again... I don’t wanna die...

I obsessively have been reading threads on here since this started and I know that’s not good but I feel like no one understands me... my mom down plays my complaints and thinks I’m over reacting, no one understands me...

I could use support from some people like me who actually get it...

That’s my introduction. Sorry if it’s sloppy, never been good at writing.


(Edit)
Also forgot .. worth mentioning.. I’ve had cronic ear popping since 2013.. it’s never really bothered me as I got use to it .. when I swallow saliva or move my jaw of clench my teeth my ears pop ... my teeth also seem to start hurting more recently especially my upper two tooth closest to my ears .. I clench my teeth a lot and my nose has felt stuffed for as long as I can remember.. I’ve lived fine with that but the Hyperacusis and tinnitus combined with all that is proving too much I’m only 29 I live alone with a small dog and just been stuffering by myself

 

DJ,

One of the things that has always helped me with sleeping is exercise. Even if it’s something you’ve never done before. It’s is great for the body and the mind. I’m currently experiencing an increase in volume with tinnitus that I’ve had for 12 years. It’s not easy, but yesterday I was able to go for a nice 6 mile hike, and though my ears were ringing the whole time I can say that by the time I went to bed my body was craving sleep so bad that I passed right out. I also took a 3 mg melatonin and 1 Benadryl liquid capsule. Got a solid 8 hours. Rest is necessary for recovery, that is to say mental recovery. I had convinced myself that my T would never get worse, but then it happened. And I’m in the fight again. But I know that I’ve beat it emotionally before, and that I can do it again. There are a lot of stories on this forum that can add positivity to your journey. You gotta stay strong mentally.

 

Hang tight brother. Early days, it sucks, but will get better. May take 6 months, maybe a year or more. Let your ears heal, calm your nervous system down asap. If you need a little help, the dance your doc gave you, use it for sleep. I completely understand you and feel for you. Hang tight and reach out for help. You are not alone, you are loved, you are important.

 

Are you using sound masking (this is when you play nature sounds in your bedroom; crickets work well for high pitch tone tinnitus)? The idea is to give yourself something else to listen to, besides your T.

T often fades over time. Ears take forever to heal, so you might need to wait 2-6 months after onset before noticing any change, and it might continue fading over the first few years after the onset. Also, people tend to stop getting as strong of a reaction upon hearing T after about 18-24 months... Try to ride it out...

??? Being easy on your ears (at least during the first year) IS promoting healing.

The next year or two will suck, but hopefully you will be able to enjoy life again.

In case you haven't seen it, check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822
The first tip links to a thread that links to numerous scientific studies of how tinnitus progresses. That should give you some hope. (And check out the other tips too.) In those studies, they found that not surprisingly the young people tend to be more resilient, their T fades more often than it fades for the older people.

After @threefirefour had treated his TMJ, his T was gone.

 

Should I follow my doctor instructions and take xanx to get some sleep ? They also gave me Hydroxyzine but I haven’t tried it yet ... after obsessively reading these forums I’m worried about putting anything unnatural in my body .. melatonin didn’t help me but I only took 5mg should I try 10?

 

Take the sleeping pills if you are freaking out. Sounds like you need to sleep. If your doctor gave you Xanax, why not use them to help you through this difficult period. I used Valium at the beginning, really helped me, to get a little shut eye and to calm down. Try massage, acupuncture, anything that brings calm.

 

Sorry to hear about this. This T and H often comes on all of a sudden, after tolerating these loud sounds for years as what happened to me as well.

A few thoughts:

Try the higher dose of melatonin at 10 mg at bedtime. Combine it with hydroxyzine. If this does not work, stop the hydroxyzine, and use the xanax. Sleep may not be normal for a while, but it should help.

No music listening for the next several weeks. I watch TV at minimal volume, and lower it even further when they start shooting guns.

Ear plugs for any noise exposure, and if you live in the city this includes leaving the house. I figured out my T was persisting and needed to avoid using the telephone and crank the volume way down, and use it on speaker when possible.

Throw your headphones and ear buds out. They will only injure you further at this point.

Try some omega 3, as I recently started it, and seems to be helping. I also added green tea at the same time, 1 to 2 cups daily. I am not sure which is helping more, but can't hurt.

This will most likely get better over time, but need to follow the rules, and avoid additional noise as much as feasibly possible. I have accepted I am one loud noise away from another terrible spike.

Feel better soon, and those clubs should not be so loud.

 

I have anxiety about taking drugs to be honest
Just taking the drug gives me anxiety I always have been like that I’ve never even liked taking Advil. I’m considering trying the xanx again because I really need to sleep normally if I’m ever gonna have a shot at living with this T.


I’m on my way to my first ENT appointment now and after reading the horror stories from everyone’s visits I’m nervous about that tbh

 

I would pass on the audiogram, too loud for right now.

 

ENT was like bro put a fan on bye .. hah

 

Hi @Djstarkiss -- Sorry to hear how much misery you're going through, and how difficult sleep is for you at this time. Just to mention, I've frequently posted on how regular mHBOT sessions have helped my sleep dramtically. I've also recently discovered that eating oatmeal at least once each day significantly improves my sleep as well (oats are a well-known nervine). Keep experimenting; I think there's a good chance you'll find something that works well for you. -- All the Best...

 

I am 3 years + after my accoustic Trauma (shooting very noisy large rifles and machine guns with insufficient protection) and I would not be able to sleep without the Mynoise app : summer night..very high pitched crickets
Use the speaker phone, iPhones are best and put it close to you in the bed or on a bed table

 

The website is
https://mynoise.net/

You can also try the sounds of a purring cat
https://purrli.com/

 

wow I just watched that trial where the judge made sure you got paid after the club tried to f you over like 2 days ago.

I too got my tinnitus from hearing loss caused by loud music, mainly playing my guitar way too loud.

Welcome to this community. Stay strong, there are treatments coming somewhat soon that will probably alleviate or cure our noise induced tinnitus. Go check out a thread here called MyPostingPlace, JOIN US.

Go check out something called fx-322, it is currently in human trials, it's not even really a drug because you only take it once or so through an injection IN YOUR EARDRUM. So go ahead and prepare yourself to eventually have something injected through your eardrum.

Don't believe any of the scammers that push pills, diets, head thumping, and don't buy any books that purport to explain how to "get better" from tinnitus.

There is something called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), which is bullshit and there's also Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which is also bullshit. Then there's devices like the Levo system that are also bullshit.

There is a real need to promote awareness of emerging technology that can regenerate damage hearing. Don't trust the American Tinnitus Association, they are total cranks that downplay our condition and peddle TRT and CBT. Also, don't believe people that try and tell you that tinnitus isn't caused by hearing loss. The audiologists use outdated hearing tests that mainly just go up to 8Khz and can't detect something called hidden hearing loss.

This community is probably your best source of information.

 

I see you spin glowsticks. I used to do poi.

 

Some guy on reddit recently posted that he had amazing results with hydroxyzine, also I'm a producer too, collab bro?

 

This is the best welcome post I've ever read.

 

Is this a laser that people shine into their ear?

 

https://otoharmonics.com/