I am a male, 40s, live in California.
Roughly 1.5 years ago I had a very bad sinus flu I caught from someone. It was one of the most painful flus I've ever had. It had me congested everywhere. Face puffy, ears congested, nose congested. For some reason during this illness I did push ups. I sat in my chair after a set. About 2 minutes later the LOUDEST ringing had me on the floor, I fell onto the ground it was so painful. My life hasn't been the same since.
I went to the Doctor and he noticed I was congested all throughout my head. He prescribed stuff and I thought my tinnitus would go away. 2 weeks and I was not congested anymore or sick. The Tinnitus stayed. It slowly got "better". It was at a 6 most days in the beginning. It gradually got lower but WORSE while sleeping. A "hiss" in my left ear. I started to notice a "wowwowow"pulse too, which is in my right ear, AND in the background a constant "crickets" sound, which sounds like crickets are in a field far away. These noises have been constant ever since.
They are not 'debilitating". They are low in volume, but annoying and draining.
I noticed early off the bat that the hissing is tied to my jaw and it's placement. In fact i believe most if not ALL my tinnitus is due a 'somatic ' cause. But I have tried EVERYTHING. Stretches, TMJ exercises, trigger point massage, heat, ice, every exercise in the book, until I'm worn out. Nothing has silenced it. I have never worked so hard to "fix" a thing in my life. But it's just not progressing.
I've been musician and producer since 17. I NEVER had any issues with hearing. I worked in a steal mill and had pipe banging near my head for 5 years, nothing damaged my hearing. In fact my hearing is in the top 1% for my age. Yet here I am.
Some days are better than other. But most night I struggle to sleep through. Being out and about during the day masks the sound, mostly. On bad days I can hear the "hiss" through ambient noise. But that's rare. I have the luxury of my tinnitus being "low". But when I'm home, alone and in my room or in bed, sometimes I cannot cope with the noises. They're all around, like a symphony of aggravating sounds that I don't want to hear.
The "crickets" noise colors most sounds like a fan or water. The "wowowow" sounds are just annoying. The "hiss" is constant, only helped by Magnesium, Meditation, and MAYBE massage of jaw stretches and posture correction. But NOTHING will release me from this hell. It's a day to day struggle, and I've spent countless hours chasing this down, thinking I have the "answer".
Long story long, I am not sure I can endure this. My quality of life is way diminished. I'm not happy anymore. I thought this would go away, but I am starting to thing there is actually "no cure" and the naysayers were right, and I've been wasting my time. It's come down to that realization. I'm OBSESSED with it, and 95% of my attention is on sounds, and trying to make them go away. I have no life anymore.
And I really don't want this anymore. I've survived some really bad stuff, but this is too much I think.
Roughly 1.5 years ago I had a very bad sinus flu I caught from someone. It was one of the most painful flus I've ever had. It had me congested everywhere. Face puffy, ears congested, nose congested. For some reason during this illness I did push ups. I sat in my chair after a set. About 2 minutes later the LOUDEST ringing had me on the floor, I fell onto the ground it was so painful. My life hasn't been the same since.
I went to the Doctor and he noticed I was congested all throughout my head. He prescribed stuff and I thought my tinnitus would go away. 2 weeks and I was not congested anymore or sick. The Tinnitus stayed. It slowly got "better". It was at a 6 most days in the beginning. It gradually got lower but WORSE while sleeping. A "hiss" in my left ear. I started to notice a "wowwowow"pulse too, which is in my right ear, AND in the background a constant "crickets" sound, which sounds like crickets are in a field far away. These noises have been constant ever since.
They are not 'debilitating". They are low in volume, but annoying and draining.
I noticed early off the bat that the hissing is tied to my jaw and it's placement. In fact i believe most if not ALL my tinnitus is due a 'somatic ' cause. But I have tried EVERYTHING. Stretches, TMJ exercises, trigger point massage, heat, ice, every exercise in the book, until I'm worn out. Nothing has silenced it. I have never worked so hard to "fix" a thing in my life. But it's just not progressing.
I've been musician and producer since 17. I NEVER had any issues with hearing. I worked in a steal mill and had pipe banging near my head for 5 years, nothing damaged my hearing. In fact my hearing is in the top 1% for my age. Yet here I am.
Some days are better than other. But most night I struggle to sleep through. Being out and about during the day masks the sound, mostly. On bad days I can hear the "hiss" through ambient noise. But that's rare. I have the luxury of my tinnitus being "low". But when I'm home, alone and in my room or in bed, sometimes I cannot cope with the noises. They're all around, like a symphony of aggravating sounds that I don't want to hear.
The "crickets" noise colors most sounds like a fan or water. The "wowowow" sounds are just annoying. The "hiss" is constant, only helped by Magnesium, Meditation, and MAYBE massage of jaw stretches and posture correction. But NOTHING will release me from this hell. It's a day to day struggle, and I've spent countless hours chasing this down, thinking I have the "answer".
Long story long, I am not sure I can endure this. My quality of life is way diminished. I'm not happy anymore. I thought this would go away, but I am starting to thing there is actually "no cure" and the naysayers were right, and I've been wasting my time. It's come down to that realization. I'm OBSESSED with it, and 95% of my attention is on sounds, and trying to make them go away. I have no life anymore.
And I really don't want this anymore. I've survived some really bad stuff, but this is too much I think.
Member
