Is It Possible My Tinnitus Will Get So Loud That I Will Never Sleep?

[Geoffman]

Is it possible that my tinnitus will get so loud that I will never sleep? I'm afraid of that. Right now I can mask it with noise but, this is getting crazy and have never really understood why someone would ever prefer death over life. I am not suicidal but sometimes the thought creeps in.

Has anyone had it so bad they couldn't sleep?

 

[Indianajohn]

yes, I'm struggling with it too..

 

[RaZaH]

Yes, It has been so bad that I could not sleep.
But...

Thinking about what is possible serves no purpose.
Dealing with the current situation is sufficient at the moment in my opinion.
No need to torture onself with possible outcomes that might never be realized.

 

[Telis]

I have it loud and can not cope in the day but sleep alright. It's annoying falling alsleep but I always manage, even without masking.

 

[Venryx]

Well, I think physically you would have to fall asleep after a certain number of days (your brain just 'shuts down' basically at some duration of sleep deprivation, from what I understand). But if you just mean, bad enough you have extreme trouble sleeping (like for whole nights), than I have read of some other people who have had that, yeah.

Personally I haven't had it that bad, though tinnitus has been a motivating force for me to have a better sleep schedule now. If I follow that new sleep schedule (which has me not go to bed unless I'm sufficiently tired, for example), then I can fall asleep as quickly as I did 'when the world was quiet'. (which I'm very glad of)

Apparently some people use sleeping aids. I've never tried them so I can't comment on how well they work. (other than to say that from what I've read, it can help get you to sleep, but it has some unpleasant side effects like leaving you drowsy and sometimes raising the intensity of your tinnitus the morning after)

 

[Jesse Pinkman]

If that happened, you would probably have some sleepless nights, but longterm your brain would most likely adapt to it. There are people on here with screaming tinnitus who sleeps well, but it took some time to get there.

 

[awbw8]

Hi @Geoffman, I agree that being in the present moment is best - worry about a future that may never occur is no fun.

That said, a good way to think about sleep and tinnitus:

The tinnitus will never "keep you awake" the anxiety you feel may keep you awake, but anxiety is something you can alter. You will always be able to sleep with time.

 

[Martin69]

@Geoffman
Sleeping is break from T.
So I enjoy sleeping 8-9 hours. Like for Telis, I have much trouble during the day since T is unmaskable.
As awbw8 says, it is more anxiety that keeps you awake.

 

[Nick the Swede]

@Geoffman, no need to worry about that. As mentioned above, only anxiety wakes you up. I sleep like a child despite my T, i often kind of smiles when i go to bed because it´s so loud when i put my ear to the pillow, but i pass out anyway.

 

[Michael Hamond]

I agree that it's the anxiety that keeps you awake, not tinnitus. I have had a great deal of troubles with sleeping, but there are ways to cope. Sleep with a fan on (works for me), try supplements that help promote sleep (I've used valerian root in the past) or go see your doctor. I am on medication for anxiety (Remorin as it's known in North America). Just make sure, if you do go to a doctor, that you are aware of the potential ototoxic effects on many anxiety and depression medications. I learned the hard way. Good luck.

 

[Indianajohn]

My biggest issue with it is that if I wake up during the night, it is very difficult for me to fall back to sleep. Even with masking sounds.

 

[billie48]

I used to have trouble sleeping at the start. Hence I used sleeping pills. But even that I would wake up multiple times with loud T blasting away. I used to have anxiety and panic attacks on auto mode when waking up with the loud T due to prior condition of such disorders for decades prior to T & H. But then slowly it improves. I attributed the improvement to a silly analogy I came up with myself. I had seen how people work in jobs with real loud noise - miners, drillers, flight attendants etc. Most of them don't have ear protection. Yet they mostly are happy with having a job for wages for life. Perhaps I thought I should try to accept the noise in my ears to have my life back. So when the loud T woke me up and I had trouble falling asleep, I just imagined and visualized myself as working in a loud job, like the drillers here (they are even smiling while working, Gosh! If you crank up the volume to resemble real life condition, you know how incredible they can deal with this noise level day in and day out, for life. That tells me how we react to a loud noise can dictate its effect on our life).

So I said 'OK, I may have a long shift on a loud job but at least I don't have to work 1000+ ft underground risking mine collapse or poisonous gases. It is not a perfect analogy of course, but I could ill afford a perfect analogy. Either I accept my ultra high pitch dog whistle T (using whatever reason I could come up with) or it can be misery for life. I choose the former. I would count my blessings in other aspects of my life and would accept the imperfection such as T. Can't have it all my way. No more all-or-nothing thinking. Silly thought. But it calmed me down and I usually would slowly drift back to sleep.

 

[Geoffman]

Thanks everybody. Made me feel a bit better. I do think when I wake up my anxiety is bad so I automatically hear it and get sad.

 

[Michael Hamond]

Over time, that anxiety may become less of an issue, but it depends on your attitude toward the tinnitus. I found that being proactive about the condition really helps me. I read threads on this board each day. I also constantly look for any and all potential treatments. I have also begun to accept that this will likely not go away, so I may as well work as hard as I can to protect what I have and enjoy what I can in life. It's when I'm doing nothing and worrying about it when I have the most trouble. Keep fighting.

 

[Ricky81]

First few months my T Was loud.. Now It's A Low Whooshing Sound.

My T started after assault, ear infection, ciprodex ear drops.

I don't hear my T with everyday office sounds.. it's at night or quite rooms that I hear my T.

I avoid loud noisy places now.. my ears were perfect before. My hearing is still perfect.

 

[Paul201]

It gives me heart to hear people with loud t being able to sleep fine as surely with what I would call moderate t I will also achieve this, its not anxiety with me it seems as I can fall asleep usually within 45 mins but im often awake 1 hour later and many times during the night. Often I don't stay awake for too long but sometimes I do. I don't seem anxious but this never happened pre t. If I could sort a good regular sleeping pattern Im sure I would feel a lot better as my t does not overly bother me during the day, even though I can hear it piping away, but not too loud to overwhelm me. The more you think about sleep the worse it may get, I guess if t is not an issue at night eventually then sleep should follow on from that

 

[Arlo]

Knowing that I'm not alone with tinnitus somewhat assures me that I'm not singularly persecuted by the ear gods. Endless shallow nights, lack of asleep. Irritatingly awake as dawn arrives, I look in the mirror and wonder at the ghost staring back at me. Maybe things could be worse. Maybe. But how? I could never think that ending my life would be a way out. Maybe since I don't know what awaits in the hereafter, the fear is that I could well enter a new dimension where this condition is amplified and I wouldn't have the familiarity of surroundings and a loved one who understands. So I cope. Let's all cope together, companions in this misery. I keep holding on because so many others do as well. Thank those of you generous enough to share what you endure.