Introducing myself
Hi everyone, my name is Tayla and I'm 21 years old. I've been battling with tinnitus for about 8 months now, although it feels like I've had it for a life time! This is going to be a long post, so bare with me please! And if you read the whole thing then I thank you and I appreciate it!
The tinnitus
It started so suddenly for me. I got home from work and lay in bed, just to relax for a bit. I noticed that my ears were ringing. I still remember trying to put my fingers in my ears to see if it was actually my ears or if it was something else because it sounded like a hissing, electrical buzz and I thought that the sound mighty have been a broken fridge or appliance. I was a bit freaked out, but I ignored it and hoped it would be gone in the morning, but of course that was not the case! I was very stressed out and anxious when it first started, so I thought my stress was the cause of my T, so I didn't see a doctor and thought it would go away when life had calmed down a bit. But again, of course it did not stop, I didn't know who I was trying to fool!
When I decided to seek help
I went to my GP after about 2 months of having Tinnitus when I realized that it wasn't going away. She checked my ears and throat and told me that my tonsils were infected. I assumed my infected tonsils were causing my tinnitus because everything is connected and what not. She gave me some antibiotics to take and after the course was complete, my ears were STILL ringing!! I went to the same doctor a week later with the same issue and at the time I was writing university exams, so the stress and anxiety was not making my T any better and I was having many sleepless nights. She checked my ears again and said that she could not see any damage so she gave me some nasal spray and sleeping tablets and she told me to try ignore the ringing because it's "all in my head" which made me pretty angry because I KNEW it wasn't in my head. The sleeping tablets did help me relax and sleep the whole night through, but the nasal spray did not help one bit! The doctor told me to see her again if my ears were still ringing after the finishing the nasal spray and she said that she would refer me to an ENT. Even though the ringing continued, I didn't go see her again because I felt like she wasn't very helpful at all.
The ENT
I took it upon myself to find a good ENT and book an appointment with him. Luckily the one I saw did not need a referral letter. He asked me about my symptoms and what I was experiencing. He asked how loud the tinnitus is and if it's only in one ear, or both. He then conducted a hearing test which showed that my hearing was fine for my age and there was no damage. Because he couldn't visibly see anything wrong, he requested that I have an MRI scan. The thought of the MRI scan and what they were looking for during the scan freaked me out and caused me major anxiety! Of course, Google freaked me out even more because I learned what an acoustic neuroma was and I convinced myself I had one and that I was dying! My MRI scan results came out clear, (thank goodness) which left me wondering what the heck was going on with me and what was causing my ears to ring like this! The ENT told me that I was young and it should probably go away, I think he was just saying that to give me some hope!
Psychologist
Since I was not able to get medical help, I sought the help of a psychologist because I was starting to think that my tinnitus was psychological. We did Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and tried to find ways to help me relax and change my views and thoughts about tinnitus. It did help me slightly, but it's only helped me to relax, it hasn't actually stopped the ringing.
The whole time this was happening, my wisdom teeth were giving me issues but I didn't pay much attention to them because I was more focused on the ringing in my ears! After all the appointments I had with still no hope of figuring out what was the cause of my T, I began to think that perhaps it WAS my teeth causing the issues. I know this seems silly, but I had ruled out every other possibility already and I just did not know what the cause was.
The dentist
I booked an appointment with a dentist so he could see what was going on with my wisdoms. He took an X-ray and said that my wisdom teeth definitely need to come out, but he noticed something wrong with my jaw on the X-ray and referred me to a Maxillo-Oral and Facial Surgeon (a jaw and head specialist). I felt like I had been to so many appointments in the past few months trying to figure out what was causing my tinnitus and I was just so OVER IT! I told myself that I had to do it and I booked an appoitment with the specialist. He was very busy at the time, so I only saw him a month after my dentist visit.
The Specialist
The Maxillo-Oral and Facial Surgeon checked my teeth and my jaw. He put a stethoscope on my jaw and asked me to open and close my mouth while he listened to my jaw. I explained all my symptoms to him and he told me that it sounds like TMD (not sure how to spell the whole thing, but basically it's a jaw joint disorder.) My jaw's cartilage was out of place and it was causing my ears a lot of pain and it was possibly causing the ringing too because this jaw joint is located pretty close to the ears. When I bite/clench my teeth really hard, the ringing is louder, so it's possible that the jaw and the ringing is connected. My jaw joint is out of place due to clenching/grinding my teeth when I sleep. The specialist did not have any solutions for me. He told me that my wisdom teeth need to come out and that I should get a bite guard for when I sleep to prevent grinding, but those things cost R2000 in my country (probably about $200) and medical aid does not pay for it, so I'd need to pay for it with my own money!
The Solution
For now, I have no solution! I'm just trying to live with this tinnitus and hope that it goes away. I have been using techniques I have learned from the psychologist in order to relax and calm myself down when the T is too much. I'm wanting to get a bite guard, but like I said, they're really pricey and I don't know if it will work or make my situation any better. Do any of you have TMD or problems with grinding your teeth at night? And if so, how many of you use a bite guard and see results?
Tinnitus and Mental Health
I have recently been thinking that tinnitus and mental health are closely linked. I have been looking online and a lot of the things I read say that there is definitely a connection between tinnitus and depression. How many of you have tinnitus and have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety or any other mental health issue? Did your tinnitus start before or after you were diagnosed or has the tinnitus caused you to become depressed/anxious? I have read that lots of people have found relief with the help of a psychiatrist. Tinnitus that is not paired with hearing loss or damage could possibly be psychological or could be the result of an underling psychological issue. I know that living on tablets is not the way to live, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Are any of you on any sort of anxiety or anti-depressant medication? If so, is it working and is it helping with the tinnitus? If I do see a psychiatrist, then which meds should I take and which should I avoid?
If you have read all this way, then I thank you! Feel free to message me whenever you need to, my door is always open! I love to help fellow sufferers because nobody else really knows what you're gong through!
Hi everyone, my name is Tayla and I'm 21 years old. I've been battling with tinnitus for about 8 months now, although it feels like I've had it for a life time! This is going to be a long post, so bare with me please! And if you read the whole thing then I thank you and I appreciate it!
The tinnitus
It started so suddenly for me. I got home from work and lay in bed, just to relax for a bit. I noticed that my ears were ringing. I still remember trying to put my fingers in my ears to see if it was actually my ears or if it was something else because it sounded like a hissing, electrical buzz and I thought that the sound mighty have been a broken fridge or appliance. I was a bit freaked out, but I ignored it and hoped it would be gone in the morning, but of course that was not the case! I was very stressed out and anxious when it first started, so I thought my stress was the cause of my T, so I didn't see a doctor and thought it would go away when life had calmed down a bit. But again, of course it did not stop, I didn't know who I was trying to fool!
When I decided to seek help
I went to my GP after about 2 months of having Tinnitus when I realized that it wasn't going away. She checked my ears and throat and told me that my tonsils were infected. I assumed my infected tonsils were causing my tinnitus because everything is connected and what not. She gave me some antibiotics to take and after the course was complete, my ears were STILL ringing!! I went to the same doctor a week later with the same issue and at the time I was writing university exams, so the stress and anxiety was not making my T any better and I was having many sleepless nights. She checked my ears again and said that she could not see any damage so she gave me some nasal spray and sleeping tablets and she told me to try ignore the ringing because it's "all in my head" which made me pretty angry because I KNEW it wasn't in my head. The sleeping tablets did help me relax and sleep the whole night through, but the nasal spray did not help one bit! The doctor told me to see her again if my ears were still ringing after the finishing the nasal spray and she said that she would refer me to an ENT. Even though the ringing continued, I didn't go see her again because I felt like she wasn't very helpful at all.
The ENT
I took it upon myself to find a good ENT and book an appointment with him. Luckily the one I saw did not need a referral letter. He asked me about my symptoms and what I was experiencing. He asked how loud the tinnitus is and if it's only in one ear, or both. He then conducted a hearing test which showed that my hearing was fine for my age and there was no damage. Because he couldn't visibly see anything wrong, he requested that I have an MRI scan. The thought of the MRI scan and what they were looking for during the scan freaked me out and caused me major anxiety! Of course, Google freaked me out even more because I learned what an acoustic neuroma was and I convinced myself I had one and that I was dying! My MRI scan results came out clear, (thank goodness) which left me wondering what the heck was going on with me and what was causing my ears to ring like this! The ENT told me that I was young and it should probably go away, I think he was just saying that to give me some hope!
Psychologist
Since I was not able to get medical help, I sought the help of a psychologist because I was starting to think that my tinnitus was psychological. We did Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and tried to find ways to help me relax and change my views and thoughts about tinnitus. It did help me slightly, but it's only helped me to relax, it hasn't actually stopped the ringing.
The whole time this was happening, my wisdom teeth were giving me issues but I didn't pay much attention to them because I was more focused on the ringing in my ears! After all the appointments I had with still no hope of figuring out what was the cause of my T, I began to think that perhaps it WAS my teeth causing the issues. I know this seems silly, but I had ruled out every other possibility already and I just did not know what the cause was.
The dentist
I booked an appointment with a dentist so he could see what was going on with my wisdoms. He took an X-ray and said that my wisdom teeth definitely need to come out, but he noticed something wrong with my jaw on the X-ray and referred me to a Maxillo-Oral and Facial Surgeon (a jaw and head specialist). I felt like I had been to so many appointments in the past few months trying to figure out what was causing my tinnitus and I was just so OVER IT! I told myself that I had to do it and I booked an appoitment with the specialist. He was very busy at the time, so I only saw him a month after my dentist visit.
The Specialist
The Maxillo-Oral and Facial Surgeon checked my teeth and my jaw. He put a stethoscope on my jaw and asked me to open and close my mouth while he listened to my jaw. I explained all my symptoms to him and he told me that it sounds like TMD (not sure how to spell the whole thing, but basically it's a jaw joint disorder.) My jaw's cartilage was out of place and it was causing my ears a lot of pain and it was possibly causing the ringing too because this jaw joint is located pretty close to the ears. When I bite/clench my teeth really hard, the ringing is louder, so it's possible that the jaw and the ringing is connected. My jaw joint is out of place due to clenching/grinding my teeth when I sleep. The specialist did not have any solutions for me. He told me that my wisdom teeth need to come out and that I should get a bite guard for when I sleep to prevent grinding, but those things cost R2000 in my country (probably about $200) and medical aid does not pay for it, so I'd need to pay for it with my own money!
The Solution
For now, I have no solution! I'm just trying to live with this tinnitus and hope that it goes away. I have been using techniques I have learned from the psychologist in order to relax and calm myself down when the T is too much. I'm wanting to get a bite guard, but like I said, they're really pricey and I don't know if it will work or make my situation any better. Do any of you have TMD or problems with grinding your teeth at night? And if so, how many of you use a bite guard and see results?
Tinnitus and Mental Health
I have recently been thinking that tinnitus and mental health are closely linked. I have been looking online and a lot of the things I read say that there is definitely a connection between tinnitus and depression. How many of you have tinnitus and have been diagnosed with depression, anxiety or any other mental health issue? Did your tinnitus start before or after you were diagnosed or has the tinnitus caused you to become depressed/anxious? I have read that lots of people have found relief with the help of a psychiatrist. Tinnitus that is not paired with hearing loss or damage could possibly be psychological or could be the result of an underling psychological issue. I know that living on tablets is not the way to live, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! Are any of you on any sort of anxiety or anti-depressant medication? If so, is it working and is it helping with the tinnitus? If I do see a psychiatrist, then which meds should I take and which should I avoid?
If you have read all this way, then I thank you! Feel free to message me whenever you need to, my door is always open! I love to help fellow sufferers because nobody else really knows what you're gong through!
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