New and not improved!

[Dykey Phillips]

Hi Everyone.....
I am new and a wreck. I have been dealing with this for about 6 weeks and I am struggling SO BAD! How am I ever gonna be able to live this way. I have been taking Archies Tinnitus formula for about 1 month. Not sure I van cope with this much longer.
Any help Really Appreciated.
Thx
D.Phillips

 

[Karen]

Hi, Dykey --- Welcome to this forum! You've come to the right place to find support and suggestions from others who are going through the same things. Please do read through some of the other threads, and you'll find a wealth of information about ways to cope, and about new possible treatment options on the horizon. Don't give up; things will get better! Have you tried masking sounds or music? When the tinnitus is at its worst, sometimes retreating into masking sounds can really help.

How did your tinnitus begin? Is it in one ear or both ears? Have you been to an ENT or other ear specialist, and what was the diagnosis?

Best wishes, and welcome!!

 

[Pat]

Hi, Dykey --- Welcome to this forum! You've come to the right place to find support and suggestions from others who are going through the same things. Please do read through some of the other threads, and you'll find a wealth of information about ways to cope, and about new possible treatment options on the horizon. Don't give up; things will get better! Have you tried masking sounds or music? When the tinnitus is at its worst, sometimes retreating into masking sounds can really help.

How did your tinnitus begin? Is it in one ear or both ears? Have you been to an ENT or other ear specialist, and what was the diagnosis?

Best wishes, and welcome!!

Welcome. I've had t for only 4 months and felt exactly the way you do. This forum was a god send for me. I didn't think I could go on either. Please read all the forums . Karen is right. I still have to get some help for sleep and I listen to Jim's nature sounds on my mp3 player every night. Jim's posted them for us free on his postings. I'm finally accepting the things i can't change. Everybody here is going thru the same thing. There is help on this forum. All the best....pat

 

[mock turtle]

D Phillips

sorry you are suffering so bad...you are not alone, just about everybody who has commented here has been thru or is currently going thru very tough times

this is my second bout with tinnitus...many years ago i got hit with this awful affliction and found nothing that helped except two things...diverting my attention doing other stuff...staying busy

and oh yes, something that involves some risk, taking a small dose of clonazepan, once a day ( .5mg)

i tapered of of the clonazepam after many months (less than a year)

and

after about 18 months i actually found that i had days where i only thought about and noticed tinnitus 4 or 5 times a day for a few minutes each time

and then , maybe a year after that i noticed one day that it had been a day or two since i "thought" about tinnitus...and i could hear it if i attended to it, listened to it, but if i shifted my attention then soon it faded from view

i guess this is called habituation...a good thing, like we get used to the hum of the refrigerator and dont hear it, or the endless nagging of our spouse and dont hear it ( ha ha ha just kidding)

i also noticed that long periods of exercise were really beneficial in lowering my perceived level of tinnitus

i know this is going to sound lame, but you will benefit from telling yourself over and over that this tinnitus thing is just a sound and cant hurt you UNLESS YOU LET IT...dont fight it...let it pass thru you unharmed imagining that it is a wind and you are spirit and it cant blow you away cause you let it pass right thru

it about changing your thinking and therefore the way you feel about T and not letting it harm you because you refrain from being a target for its impact

CBT...cognitive behavior therapy....go to tinnitus.org and read some of the education materials from dr jastreboff

http://tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm

dont give up hope, things will get better but it will take time

hang loose
mock turtle

 

[Karen]

Mock --- Excellent advice and information; and I love the analogy of tinnitus (wind) and you (spirit)!

 

[mock turtle]

Karen....thank you!

 

[Jim]

Welcome Dykey, sorry your having a tough time, I'm going cut and paste some advice I've given to others. I hope it helps you.
It really will get better with time. Hang in there and good luck.



First and foremost, try not to panic. This will only make you focus more on the tinnitus. Use background noise or music to distract yourself. Anti anxiety meds can help, I used them for a while. Stay busy and keep your mind busy. I spent a lot of time (months) trying to assess what was causing the volume fluctuations, foods, environment, weather, noise etc. All to no avail. It is completely random as far as I can tell. It seems that most people have the hardest time in the first 6 months or so and then start to habituate to it, so hang in there, it most likely will get better for you. It's sort of a catch 22 in that you want to learn as much about tinnitus as possible but on the other hand you don't want it to become the focus of your life. Read through the posts here, learn what you can. I saw a psychiatrist for a while, that really helped. He helped me get a good understanding of the physical response to tinnitus. Basically a persistent fight or flight response. You want to get your response to it under control. I think it is a good idea to spend a limited period of time every day, maybe an hour, researching tinnitus and then move on to your normal activities for the rest of the day. Hope this helps. good luck. -Jim-

 

[Dykey Phillips]

D Phillips

sorry you are suffering so bad...you are not alone, just about everybody who has commented here has been thru or is currently going thru very tough times

this is my second bout with tinnitus...many years ago i got hit with this awful affliction and found nothing that helped except two things...diverting my attention doing other stuff...staying busy

and oh yes, something that involves some risk, taking a small dose of clonazepan, once a day ( .5mg)

i tapered of of the clonazepam after many months (less than a year)

and

after about 18 months i actually found that i had days where i only thought about and noticed tinnitus 4 or 5 times a day for a few minutes each time

and then , maybe a year after that i noticed one day that it had been a day or two since i "thought" about tinnitus...and i could hear it if i attended to it, listened to it, but if i shifted my attention then soon it faded from view

i guess this is called habituation...a good thing, like we get used to the hum of the refrigerator and dont hear it, or the endless nagging of our spouse and dont hear it ( ha ha ha just kidding)

i also noticed that long periods of exercise were really beneficial in lowering my perceived level of tinnitus

i know this is going to sound lame, but you will benefit from telling yourself over and over that this tinnitus thing is just a sound and cant hurt you UNLESS YOU LET IT...dont fight it...let it pass thru you unharmed imagining that it is a wind and you are spirit and it cant blow you away cause you let it pass right thru

it about changing your thinking and therefore the way you feel about T and not letting it harm you because you refrain from being a target for its impact

CBT...cognitive behavior therapy....go to tinnitus.org and read some of the education materials from dr jastreboff

http://tinnitus.org/home/frame/THC1.htm

dont give up hope, things will get better but it will take time

hang loose
mock turtle

Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Dykey