My Tinnitus Has Gotten Worse

[Jasonv]

Hey everyone, my tinnitus has started about November '09 been stable all the way to 8/5/15 on this date it really intensified... before it was a 3/4 out of 10 annoyance now it's about a 9. Sleeping is hard as is work. I work retail and it's hard to sometimes give specific directions because I always feel like I'm talking over my ringing. It's like a high pitch tone but can sometimes change. It drives me 100 times for crazy now since 8/5 and the dr. has said there is really not a cure. Basically impacts all aspects of my life. Any advice? besides therapy or meds?

-Jason

 

[Street Spirit]

The only advice I can actually give is to hang in there. Sorry for your worsening, hope it will decrease. It still could.

 

[Thongjy]

Hey everyone, my tinnitus has started about November '09 been stable all the way to 8/5/15 on this date it really intensified... before it was a 3/4 out of 10 annoyance now it's about a 9. Sleeping is hard as is work. I work retail and it's hard to sometimes give specific directions because I always feel like I'm talking over my ringing. It's like a high pitch tone but can sometimes change. It drives me 100 times for crazy now since 8/5 and the dr. has said there is really not a cure. Basically impacts all aspects of my life. Any advice? besides therapy or meds?

-Jason

Were you exposed to any loud noise recently?

 

[Dante500]

I've got my T almost exactly at the same time as you. What you are going through is called a spike. I've habituated to my T fairly quickly when I first got it, it also went down on volume a lot. I went from 10/10 to 0.5/10 in a year. On November last year i had a spike, it was like I had un-habituated and was going through it all over again. Again anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, depression etc. It gradually subsided within 2 months and went back to my baseline. During that time I was taking 5mg melatonin before sleep and ginko pills 3 times a day, I think that helped me a lot, especially melatonin. Be patient, it will decrease to nomral level in time.

 

[billie48]

Don't panic. It may just be a temporary spike due to whatever. Hope you will be just fine shortly. T is known to be unpredictable. It may settle back to baseline soon. Last year my already ultra high pitched, loud dog whistle T shot up the roof too. It is an ultra high pitch shrill packed with so much condensed energy, like a laser beam against a dark sky, resonating in my whole head. A few years back I would have caved in automatically into anxiety & panic attacks. Instead of panicking I went about living my life, travelling even to Asia and going on a mini-cruise. I still went fishing (I posted this on the Positivity Thread) to catch some salmon. The T was so loud and piercing that I even heard it distinctly above all the raging water of the rapids around me. I could hear it above the jet noise in the last 2 flights I took. But I am committed to not react to T high or low and live my life as normally and enjoyably as possible. When I did that, T soon settled back to baseline. It needed the fuel (stress and anxiety) to perpetuate its tyranny, and I chose to cut off its fuel by remaining positive and calm. It works. Have no worry about the temporary setback. Take good care and may God bless your recovery.