New with Questions....

[Dykey Phillips]

Hi Guys,
Well I find myself on this board which is good for the fact that it makes me feel "not so alone"...but bad in the fact that I would sure like to be somewhere else (no disrespect).
I have read hundreds of pages on many Tinnitus forums...I have some questions that are running through my mind...right next to my "T".
1.) I got my "T" about 6 weeks ago from noise induced hearing loss...banging hard on a metal pole to straighten it out for my kids trampoline. Does this mean that I have "No Chance" of it eventually going away since I have a direct stimulus for my "T"? Or is it still a guess...maybe it will...or..maybe it won't..
2.) It sounds like an old T.V. when you first turn it on.....is that tonal? I can make it change slightly by clinching my jaw. ( I think most people can) It seems the New CR Reset..seems like it may work...hence "am I tonal"...I am guessing that it means my invisible sound can match a specific tone..I am supposed to listen to tone generators to find out? Any thoughts?
3.) If SO many people have "T" ...why aren't there more members? Does it go away for alot of people and they just don't come back?...are they lurkers? Do they just deal with it better than me? Do they not have it as bad as me? Is everyone on here "Bad T Sufferers" ...that's why they are here....or did it suck so bad that when it got better they wanted to help so they hung around.
4.) This crap makes you Depressed....It seems since I have been dealing with this I have a black cloud hanging over me...I am usually the counselor...not the counseled. I may end up divorced if I don't stop talking about this crap. Wife (who had stage 3 breast cancer 5 years ago and is a cancer free survivor) thinks that I am ridiculous....she don't want to here me talk about it any more....Of course I still do. And Read and Read and Read. Even think dark thoughts sometime. Fairly normal Newbie I would say. Her take on it is.....you have slight hearing loss with some ringing in yours ears....get over it...50 million people have.
5.) I am gonna do LLLT therapy in 2 days.....To me this seems logical to help heal my ears and maybe stimulate nerves and help heal them. It has only been 6 weeks since my injury..I don't see why this couldn't at least help. Plus I have read extensive research stuff about LLLT from Dr. Wilden in Germany and it seems possible. I have heard the newer your injury the better? Any thoughts? I did one session of Acupuncture and I have been taking Arches Tinnitus Relief formula for about 30 days now.....My problem is I am so grounded...I just don't believe in crap that just don't make since to me...hence Acupuncture....Then I just read That head Acupuncture could stimulate sensor nerves around the eras that could help with "T".....That was from some health magazine......Man.......seems nobody really knows ......some things work for some people...not for others. About the only thing that I have read that helps many people is Meditation....Which has always seemed kinda stupid to me. I would stick a goldfish up me A** if I knew it would help. This is no time to care about ethics....
I have read about everything and any ideas from "Old Tones" is always appreciated.
Here is to Quite Times.
Thanks,
Dykey Phillips

 

[Karl]

Dykey-
I know this sounds simpy, but hang in there. When you freak-out it gets worse. I may not be the best person to consul you, because I am also searching for answers.

I read a book by William Shatner (who has tinnitus), and he said, "Please, listen to me. It gets better." Listen to Captain Kirk.

Science and medicine seem to be on the verge of finding ways to cure this thing. But for now, the traditional approach is to use masking devices. I wear maskers that send a wispy white noise into my ears, which obsure the "old TV signal" sound. I'm not going to lie to you - these maskers haven't solved my tinnitus. But the white noise gets my mind off the tinntus.

At your early stage of "T", it's a completely weird and new experience to your body. You will need to make "T" into something that you are familiar with, like it's the rain or cicadas. This is what habituation is about, which I myself and going through.

My audiologist gave me the following paper to read: http://www.tinnitus.org/home/frame/tin2_download.PDF

This paper explains what you need to do.

It may just go away, too!

 

[Karl]

Dykey -
Another thing I failed to mention: Drugs.

You are probably exhausted from lack of sleep. That was my problem when I firt got "T". I was deperate. My blood pressure was really high. I was freaking out. I went to a psychiatrist who prescribed an anti-depressant, Remeron. When I sleep I'm not aware of my tinnitus.

There seem to be many opinions about the best medicines for getting sleep and taking the edge off of the anxiety associated with tinnitus. Some people like "natural" medicines, such as Melotonin, which you can buy over the counter. Others like sleeping pills. There are anti-anxiety meds, such as Xanax and Clonepin. There are SSRI anti-depressants, such as Paxil, Zoloft, Prozac - but these can have side effects.

My ENT doctor told me the best medicines for tinnitus are Xanax and Elavil. I haven't personally tried either of these.

If you have inhibitions about taking drugs like these, give yourself a break and just take them for a short time. My point is, you need to get over this intial freak-out phase and get some sleep, so that you can re-group your thoughts. This is a major adjustment in your life. Your body and brain need time to adjust.

 

[Jim]

Hi Dykey, Karl has given you some good advice. Masking, sleep and anxiety. Get these under control and then you can live with it.
I'll try to address some of your questions directly:

If SO many people have "T" ...why aren't there more members? Does it go away for alot of people and they just don't come back?...are they lurkers? Do they just deal with it better than me? Do they not have it as bad as me? Is everyone on here "Bad T Sufferers" ...that's why they are here....or did it suck so bad that when it got better they wanted to help so they hung around.

The pattern seems to be that it does get better over time for many people. It can also come back again. I would think most of the people here do have it bad. I had it for several years before it got bad enough to think of reaching out to a forum like this. Mine is much better now and yes, I hang around because I know how bad it can be and want to provide hope to others. I have been to the dark side and back.

This crap makes you Depressed

Yes it can. You have to try not to let that happen. Stay busy, listen to music etc. Do what Karl said. There is hope of treatment in the future. Do what it takes to live your life. Try not to dwell on it, spend some time researching and then do something else. You have to fight it but not directly. Get it?

Wife (who had stage 3 breast cancer 5 years ago and is a cancer free survivor) thinks that I am ridiculous....she don't want to here me talk about it any more....

That's unfortunate...she doesn't get it. You would think she would be more understanding given her history.
That's what we are here for.

My problem is I am so grounded...I just don't believe in crap that just don't make since to me

Desperation will weaken your resistance to bullshit. Don't believe any of the crap you wouldn't have believed a year ago. Nothing has changed except your vulnerability.

Hang in there

 

[Jimmie 76i]

Dykey,

I completely know what you mean about the depression and wife not supporting you. Mine is ready to leave because I keep spending money trying to find out what is wrong with me. I wish I had some comforting words, but things are hellacious out here... You will be okay, we will make it somehow.

 

[PaulBe]

My problem is I am so grounded...I just don't believe in crap that just don't make since to me

Stay grounded. If any of that stuff did anything significant there wouldn't be a need for this forum. Any snake oil you see, just ask yourself "if its so good why isn't everybody using it?"

 

[undecided]

Pointing out this is actually from March 2012...
Dykey probably moved on.