Hi all
So back in January I posted this thread, and my goodness it was a terrifying time for me.
When you first realise that there's a sound in your head it can be extremely daunting and debilitating. You wonder what it is, and how do you get rid of it. When you can't get rid of it, you start wondering if it's there for the rest of your life, and you spiral out of control. I suffer from panic disorder and anxiety, so naturally this new sound in my head had broken me down, to the point where I was curled up on the sofa with my mum for a few days whilst I tried to get used to this sensation.
I can't exactly tell you how it was caused, although the doctor noticed that my ears were completely (ear drum obstructed from view!) blocked. After my ears were cleaned out, the doctor noticed redness and dullness on my ear drums which suggested a middle ear infection. Now I am a young fella, and I will be the first to admit that I love my music, and preliminary research seemed to suggest that I had damaged my hearing, so I was scared of that as well. Anyway, shortly after the infection was cleared up from a week of antibiotics, the tinnitus was still there loud as ever. When the doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong with my ears, I began to cry.
Fast forward 6 weeks, I was seen by an ENT and given a "Tinnitus Aid" device , it looks like a hearing aid but it plays white noise in your ears. This device is an absolute godsend, it's instant relief and I wear it all of the time.
I also had a hearing test and was told my hearing was really great, can hear close to zero decibels and my mum said it's because our family has sensitive hearing. I was really happy to know that my hearing wasn't damaged (much!).
Today as I am writing this post, my tinnitus is 95% gone. It's very faint and will come back if I strain to listen for it.
I'm writing this post to tell you all what I have experienced and learned.
First of all, you really begin to appreciate life and especially when something like this happens to you. You take things for granted until it happens and then you wish that it didn't happen to you.
Forums like this and Reddit are great for when you need support, but my advice would be to stop searching for tinnitus on the internet because it will drive you insane. You see stories of how people cannot cope, and how there's no cure yet. Complete detachment from the internet, and to stop wondering about my tinnitus was the first step in acceptance, and in my case the tinnitus fading.
I also accepted tinnitus as a normal background noise, and once I stopped thinking about it then the panic stopped, and the anxiety stopped.
My family are my rock for me, I was very honest and open about it all, and I was really happy that my workplace was also able to accommodate me.
To anyone who reads this, you can do it. Speak to your doctor, get seen by an ENT, get the support of everyone who is close to you. You can do this.
So back in January I posted this thread, and my goodness it was a terrifying time for me.
When you first realise that there's a sound in your head it can be extremely daunting and debilitating. You wonder what it is, and how do you get rid of it. When you can't get rid of it, you start wondering if it's there for the rest of your life, and you spiral out of control. I suffer from panic disorder and anxiety, so naturally this new sound in my head had broken me down, to the point where I was curled up on the sofa with my mum for a few days whilst I tried to get used to this sensation.
I can't exactly tell you how it was caused, although the doctor noticed that my ears were completely (ear drum obstructed from view!) blocked. After my ears were cleaned out, the doctor noticed redness and dullness on my ear drums which suggested a middle ear infection. Now I am a young fella, and I will be the first to admit that I love my music, and preliminary research seemed to suggest that I had damaged my hearing, so I was scared of that as well. Anyway, shortly after the infection was cleared up from a week of antibiotics, the tinnitus was still there loud as ever. When the doctor confirmed there was nothing wrong with my ears, I began to cry.
Fast forward 6 weeks, I was seen by an ENT and given a "Tinnitus Aid" device , it looks like a hearing aid but it plays white noise in your ears. This device is an absolute godsend, it's instant relief and I wear it all of the time.
I also had a hearing test and was told my hearing was really great, can hear close to zero decibels and my mum said it's because our family has sensitive hearing. I was really happy to know that my hearing wasn't damaged (much!).
Today as I am writing this post, my tinnitus is 95% gone. It's very faint and will come back if I strain to listen for it.
I'm writing this post to tell you all what I have experienced and learned.
First of all, you really begin to appreciate life and especially when something like this happens to you. You take things for granted until it happens and then you wish that it didn't happen to you.
Forums like this and Reddit are great for when you need support, but my advice would be to stop searching for tinnitus on the internet because it will drive you insane. You see stories of how people cannot cope, and how there's no cure yet. Complete detachment from the internet, and to stop wondering about my tinnitus was the first step in acceptance, and in my case the tinnitus fading.
I also accepted tinnitus as a normal background noise, and once I stopped thinking about it then the panic stopped, and the anxiety stopped.
My family are my rock for me, I was very honest and open about it all, and I was really happy that my workplace was also able to accommodate me.
To anyone who reads this, you can do it. Speak to your doctor, get seen by an ENT, get the support of everyone who is close to you. You can do this.
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