New born Tinnitus is going crazy in my head! Can I kill it while it's young??? Please help!

[RoyZ]

Hello good people!

My name is Roy, I am 30 y/o and I need your help

I got an idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss and Tinnitus just 3 weeks ago.
I went to my GP, she misdiagnosed me but also sent me to an ENT Doctor.
I chose to go to a specialist, he is the head of division of ENT in a major hospital in my country.
He sent me to an audiology test. I had some hearing losses on some ranges on both ears but mostly on the left ear. I got back to the Doctor. he put me on steroids for a week. (starting 11 days after the hearing loss, tinnitus started after about 8 days from the hearing loss) I did an audiology test again and Hurray!
Hearing got much better. almost like an ordinary hearing, although my ears still feels a little stuffed. so I was extremely happy to have most of my hearing back. I could feel it even before the second test. the Doctor said that my case looks typical to noise damage. I do play music and musical instruments but have always been conscience and sane about volume levels. I guess it has no rules.

but.. The Tinnitus didn't go away (yet?).

yesterday was the last day on the steroids, the Doc said there is nothing else to do because the hearing is back and the steroids treatment is for getting the hearing back and that The Tinnitus is a secondary symptom which might stay or leave but I should start "to learn to live with it" and that it's not a disaster or a disability.
I asked about other treatments like Vitamins and other supplements, He said that it was all tried for recovering the hearing loss but I don't even need it now cause I got my hearing back but even though, he said that no method but steroids alone has shown significant success in trials and that is what they needed to see to make a method a conventional medical treatment. not supplements or Hyperbaric oxygen chamber or any other treatments were proved to work and doctors can't rely on personal hunches, they need to follow facts or else they won't be doctors.

I also feel things happen in my ears. the Doctor said my pathology is active. which means stuff happens over there and if it wasn't for that the steroids might had less chance to work.

I have made a lot of research about supplements that were used to try to cure ISSHL and found out many substances that have been found to have some benefit while given together with steroids over steroids alone.
when I've asked the Doctor about what will happen if I'll try to take all of those for a while to treat the tinnitus while it's young, he said there is no point because there are no facts and I should leave it.
so I asked him if it can do any harm, he said that even the "natural" supplements could have major impacts over our bodies, and no one knows how one body will react to any substance and if something goes wrong doctors won't be sure how to fix it in the contrary to a medicine that they give which they know a lot about.

So as I said, I am very happy I got my hearing back but since today which is the first day with out the steroids (predinsone) the Tinnitus is going wild in my head! and it's driving me crazy!
it's going up and down in pitch and in volume like a siren or a radio out of tune (but on very high frequencies around 8000hz). I also have some clicks sometimes, and sometimes some little cramps like feeling. all of that happens only on the left ear. the right ear is about fine.

I want to know I am doing anything I can to try to kill it while it's young (even tough I am not sure it is possible.)
I have asked the doctor about taking more of the steroids to make sure they'll help by a 100% but he said there was a reason that the accepted duration for taking the steroids is 7 days and that it has been tested to get to that fact, as they will not let someone stop the taking the medication even if the symptoms had passed after 3 days, they will also won't let no one take it for more than what they think is the optimal duration (7 days) although I read that on some cases steroids were given for up to 14 days (sure that is not good for the rest of the body). and intratympanic injections of steroids is out of the question too since I got my hearing back.

so right now, I am thinking, what can I do to try to stop the Tinnitus while it's young?
should I do anything else? should I go in to this "anti-oxidant" route I've seen mentioned here on the forum?
from all the researches I've read about ISSHL I've found that there was a benefit for those who were given each of any of these following supplements with steroids compared to steroids alone, but again, this was all for recovering the hearing loss, and I got most of my hearing back.

should I take this "crazy" list of substances for a while to try to fight the new born Tinnitus?

I wish to know what you people know about the birth of the tinnitus and if there is anybody with experience giving the Tinnitus a fight right after its birth?
would you take all or some of these supplements for about month just to make sure? should I risk it?

any help will be greatly appreciated.

Roy.

 

[Grace]

Yours is still young so can deff improve or just go away... Pisses me off that doctors still use the "learn to live with it" saying... Even though they all claim that you dont just have to live with it anymore.. Yeah theres treatments out there to mask and therapy but all in all thats still just techniques to learn and live with it.. Nothing to decrease the T. Or make it BETTER ..Really makes me mad. Sorry this happened to you.. Were all dealing with this hell disease.. Alot of people might suggest takin vitamins.. I just started takin a multivitamin today.. so isnt gonna hurt and try new things and experiment and maybe you will get lucky and it will either really improve down to nothing or just go away completely! !

 

[Magpie]

Vitamins didn't help me and I also tried high doses of zinc which also didn't work. Look on the positives, your hearing has recovered and it's possible your tinnitus might also fade but not while you are in a state of alert. It's the old fight or flight syndrome. Be careful about really high doses of particular vitamins as they can be harmful in certain circumstances. Use music to mask or partially mask your T. Give it a little time and maybe you will be lucky.

 

[RoyZ]

Thanks for you words friends, for me, I really hope it will just go away as it came.
I just got a taste of it and it was the worst week of my life. but as you know.. the beginning is the hardest part.
I really hope that sometime very soon there will also be a treatment for long time sufferers.
I am sorry that Vitamins did not work for you Magpie,
and Grace, I wish you luck with your shot at vitamins.
counted you both as +1 for taking a shot at it too

 

[Grace]

Thanks for you words friends, for me, I really hope it will just go away as it came.
I just got a taste of it and it was the worst week of my life. but as you know.. the beginning is the hardest part.
I really hope that sometime very soon there will also be a treatment for long time sufferers.
I am sorry that Vitamins did not work for you Magpie,
and Grace, I wish you luck with your shot at vitamins.
counted you both as +1 for taking a shot at it too

Lol ughh thank you.. Hope to godd mine and yours and everyone elses get cured eventually.. I was just sitting in my living room watching a movie and the power went out.... Absolute silence for everyone in my house but i hear this noise shit!!! Silence is torrrtureeeeee!!!!!!!!!

 

[RoyZ]

oh man.. two weeks ago silence was my best friend! now I feel like there is an electric current running and buzzing its way through my mind.. sorry.. it has to go.. I'm letting it go.

 

[DebInAustralia]

hi Roy,

I am writing to tell you that there is definitely life after t.

I am still relatively new to t myself (about two months). I became aware of my sound/s after an ear infection at the end of November of last year.

The first month was the worst in terms of anxiety and sleeplessness.

I have been really fortunate to have the tinnitus association of Victoria counsellors to speak to about my t and ways to effectively manage it. www.tinnitus.org.au

I also know several people who have had t for many years and have habituated to it. It simply isn't a problem for them. I believe it will be the case for me too one day.

I wouldn't say I am there yet (habituated) but I am managing to have more and more moments in a day when I am not aware of the sound and/or my distress has turned to irritation (that is manageable with distraction).

In the very beginning, I tried various supplements in the event that something would 'cure the t', but I decided that it wasn't working, and have now poured my energies into other things like life! As you are able to do this, your confidence in the natural process of habituation will grow and chasing cures wont matter to you anymore.

If your t does go (and there are testimonies of people who have had t vanish after months/years ), then that is great. if it doesn't, that is still OK too, because of what I have learnt about habituation. You will be OK.

You have this support group to support you and give you information.

I would seek out trt (the counselling component is the most useful aspect I feel).

Perhaps do some reading about habituation to give you some insight.

There are sound therapies available. Ive read mixed reviews about their effectiveness. There are threads on this site about sound therapy and people on here who are currently trialling neuromonics etc. Maybe you could have a chat to them about it and get their perspective of this.

I am sorry I don't have a magic wand. i wish i did! So many people afflicted with t. You are definitely not alone.

Just remember, if your t doesn't go away, you can definitely reach a point that you are either not aware of the sound/s, and/or have a neutral reaction to the sound. This is a natural process and it will happen for you. In the meanwhile, try to focus away from the sound as this will only serve to amplify it. Know that there are people here who care about you, and are more than happy to share their experiences with you.

Looking forward to getting to know you Roy

cheers
debx

 

[RoyZ]

Thanx debx! You are a true supporter! god bless you for that
although I am ready to accept whatever will happen,
I'm just in a point that I want to know I'm doing everything I can.
this is why I am more calm now. looking forward to getting you too!

 

[RoyZ]

I need to know for sure that I wont hurt myself by taking this supplements cocktail.
does anybody know? Thanks.

 

[Karen]

RoyZ,

I'm taking a lot of those same vitamins and minerals, and no, they haven't hurt my tinnitus. If anything, they've made things better. Some people have a vitamin B-12, D3, or magnesium deficiency, and after they begin taking these supplements, their tinnitus improves.

You could try it (is this all in one tablet?) slowly, and see if it works for you. If not, you can cut back or stop completely. The good thing about natural supplements is that there are usually no side effects.

I go to the doctor periodically, and have just gotten a blood test. It showed that I was too high in Vitamin D3 (I had been taking a large dose), so I scaled back.

I wish you success. Has anyone else had experience taking any of these supplements? What are your thoughts?

 

[kenji]

I'm patiently waiting ,I'm surprised the pharmaceutical companies havnt tried to make big bucks on tinnitus cure or whatever you want to call it ...theres a a lot of money to be made for the first one who can make that magic pill