Introducing My Tinnitus and Respect for This Forum

[efferent]

Hi y'all,

I have been reading this forum for the last 3 months and finally decided to participate. I have generally been a healthy person, in early thirties. Cause of tinnitus is Mild Sensorineural Hearing Loss (25-35 db in 4khz-8khz). Have met 4 ENTs and 1 TMJ specialist. They have all given me the same diagnosis. I also had an MRI done which came out all normal.

My T started in April 2016 timeframe but was on and off and never bothered me that much. However, since Mar 2017, its been very high and miserable. Initially, it was LOT of noise including very high frequency buzzing and crickets, but since June 2017 it has settled into just high frequency buzz (11Kz-13 khz) - so unfortunately lot of sound therapies are out.

Along with T, I get headaches pretty much every day in the evenings - this is a more recent phenomena (last 2 months). TMJ specialist I visited told me that I have tension headaches and my jaw misalignment is not the reason behind T.

I have tried few things that a newbie does - Gingko, antioxidants (Vitamin A, C, E, NAC, etc), Ayurvedic remedies, Vitamin B12 and D3 supplements (due to deficiency in those, like many other T sufferers).

I am currently trying Accupuncture (with very very limited hopes of it working). I am also contemplating trying Nortriptyline and Gabapentin - both of which were recommended to me by TMJ and Headache specialist in New York city. If I decide to try those medicines, I will keep y'all posted. Given that I am 4-month mark, my hopes diminish every day... :-(

All said and done - whenever I am considering a new therapy / medication / snake oil, this forum is my go to place. Have a LOT of RESPECT and APPRECIATION for this forum and its founders / organizers. Thank you very much! I wish this kind of forum and community existed for all conditions unsolvable by medical science today. My only hope is that one day, whether this life or next, everyone on this forum would find sound of silence!

 

[JTW]

WORLD IS FULL OF SNAKES AND SNAKE OIL................I WISH I KNEW BEST HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS AFFLICTION !

 

[zeroday]

T is one thing most people don't understand, often we don't understand each other's T...I post on the forum to give a glimmer of light no matter how dim...20 plus years and I could not possibly remember a time it wasn't there...it is now "me"...

 

[bbithead]

Good points, efferent! One of the strange side "benefits" I get from reading posting is feeling better about my T because of how much worse someone else has it! Dang, it makes me so sad for so many of my "T-Family" members. I'm creeping up on my 2 year anniversary 8/1, and dang, zeroday, you've had it for 20 years! I couldn't imagine! I still have to go see an ENT for the formal diagnosis, promised myself I'd do it this year, especially since it keeps getting louder, and is also now consistently on the right ear, different frequencies. Thank you T-family for all of your supportive posts!