I Have to Wait Six Months for a Hearing Test. What Can I Do in the Meantime?

[Fading Glimmer]

Hey everybody, I got Tinnitus about six weeks ago. It started in my left ear and spread to my right in a few days. My mind has been all over the place (Being a life-long pessimist doesn't help one bit).

I visited an ENT and he checked out my ear saying it looked fine. He then used some tool he hit with a hammer that made it ring and put it in different places and asked me which placements sounded louder. I'm guessing it was a really basic hearing test? He said my hearing seemed fine at first glance, but he'd need me to do a full hearing test to make sure. He told me that since I'm sixteen that most places won't do hearing tests for people my age so I'd have to go to some special one, and that it may take a while to get an appointment. He told me that the office would call back about an appointment in a bit to tell me when I'd get mine. I waited a month and called back, and they set up an appointment six months from now.

I don't know what to do in these six months. I thought about just waiting it out at first, but by week two I'm going insane. I can't handle this. Silence was a very important thing to me before. I had discussions with friends about how I'd rather live in a world with no sound multiple times before all this started. It drives me up the wall that I lost something like that. I had always hated loud noise and avoided it. Never went to concerts, never wore headphones, max volume at 20% on my laptop. I had been struggling for years with whether I wanted to die or not and about two weeks before I decided I wanted to live... I take that back now.

I'm always thinking about what could have caused this. My ENT thinks it's a shift in the jaw since I've had a jaw clenching problem for years. I went to the orthodontist a week back and he said everything seems normal, and he'll take an X-Ray next month if it continues. I sometimes have minor pains in the jaw for a bit, but I really don't know. There's sometimes pressure on the ear, but I don't know if that's normal or means anything. I had a lot of tuna for the month prior to when the tinnitus started and mercury could be a factor, but I hear the mercury in tuna isn't significant enough on its own to cause anything. If it's hearing loss, I don't know how I fucked up this bad.

I just don't know anymore. I just want everything to stop.

 

[Bill Bauer]

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...a-week-ago-is-it-permanent.22784/#post-262008

Protect your ears from noises like the vacuum cleaner, blender, lawn mowers, loud restaurants, etc.

 

[Michael B]

FG,
I know exactly what you're going through. I spent a great amount of time researching the internet and learning all I could about tinnitus. What helped me was a support group for others with the same condition where I knew I wasn't alone. A hearing test is fine but won't help a great deal unless you have moderate to severe hearing loss and I'm not hearing that's the problem. Most people adjust fairly well to their tinnitus and learn to live with it. That may very well happen to you but it will take time. I use a sound machine myself to help sleep. I listen to music during the day. Tinnitus is not an easy thing to adjust to at first. Give it time. Distract yourself. Don't cater to it. And live life.
Mike

 

[Pleasure_Paulie]

I'm sorry you have to go through this; I know how difficult it is. A few things and advice for you:

1. Get all medical checks from your ENT/Dentist to rule out the few medical reasons which can cause tinnitus - I see you've done this. Great.

2. A hearing test will not change your tinnitus - even if you do or don't have hearing loss it won't make a difference.
PS. I would be very surprised if you do have hearing loss, and either way it doesn't appear to have had an impact on your life; be thankful for that! You would known if you had a sudden huge threshold shift in your hearing.

3. Protect your ears with plugs, but don't be silly about it - clubs, concerts, power tools, lawn mowers - use a Decibel meter off your phone if you're worried as a "guide". 85+DB start to lower the time you spend in those environments from now on.

4. Stop worrying about the cause - you probably won't find the cause (No, it wouldn't be your Tuna) and regardless, if you do find it - what then? It's human nature to find it, but it also won't change your situation or give you peace.

5. Get off these forums, go and live your life; We are here because we have struggled to get over tinnitus, the majority of people come and go and I hope that you're one of them. Break the cycle; tinnitus is fed by your anxiety. If you are struggling, go and speak to your doctor about pharmaceutical options and psychology.