- Apr 9, 2019
- 7
- Tinnitus Since
- 02/2019
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Not sure, probably earwax
I got hit with tinnitus in February 2019 and since I so desperately needed every new success story that was posted in this forum during that time, I wanted to share mine. After 10 months of tinnitus, I am almost there. It is 97% gone.
To this day, I am not entirely sure what brought my tinnitus on and rather than having one single cause, I believe in my case it was triggered by a mix of things. I did listen to music through headphones a lot, but at the time I was also suffering from intense emotional stress and my doctor found that both my ears had been completely blocked with earwax. The earwax was most likely the main culprit as my tinnitus improved massively after I had it removed - although the annoying ringing didn't go away completely.
For the first few weeks after the onset, my tinnitus was so loud, piercing and relentless that I thought my life was over, that I couldn't endure the rest of my days like this. At one point I screamed at my husband to take me to A&E and beg them to give me something, anything that would make that unbearable dentist drill in my ears and head stop. My doctor at the time gave me drops to soften the earwax and after the blockage eventually was removed (I achieved that with drops and a little bulb syringe alone - I was VERY keen to avoid microsuction after all the horrible stories I had read) - the tinnitus in my left ear stopped, in my right ear it reduced by a good 80%. I was endlessly grateful for the tinnitus having reduced so much, but nonetheless, I wanted it gone for good. All of it.
Over the next few weeks and months I tried a variety of things I had read in various forums to help me get rid of the remaining tinnitus, such as magnesium supplements, drinking lots of lemon water and green tea, improving my diet and cutting out caffeine (although I quickly noticed that caffeine had no effect on my tinnitus whatsoever), Yoga and Mindfulness and being careful around loud noise. I never took any kind of medication for my tinnitus but gradually, with some improvements to my lifestyle and taking good care of my ears, I did find that my remaining tinnitus improved ever so slowly and ever so slightly to the blissful point where I am now . I can only hear it ever so quietly in completely silent rooms - and even then only if I focus on it. There is still a bit of tinnitus left, but it has become such a minor thing in my life now that I can go for days without noticing it at all. I am confident that this last bit of remaining tinnitus will eventually disappear too, and if not I can honestly say that I am not bothered by it anymore.
Looking back on the last 10 months of my life, what seems to have been the major turning point for me (the point where my tinnitus went from a bearable but still annoying nuisance to something that I hardly notice), was a major move to a different country and a new job that came with it. During and after the move I was so busy with other things that my tinnitus changed from something that I would monitor and obsess about all day everyday to something I had simply no time to think about. A new life, which was too hectic to constantly monitor and worry about tinnitus, had forced itself upon me. Without really noticing it, the ringing in my ears was not a priority for me anymore. It faded away very, very slowly.
Over these last few weeks I have learned to be more confident in my ears again and while I still have good set of earplugs with me at all times, I have visited the dentist for some drilling, flown on an airplane, been to the pub, travelled on the tube, and gone to work in a noisy city centre- all without earplugs. My tinnitus continues to improve and while I will never ever use headphones again or go near a concert, I believe the mixture of distraction and gradually regaining confidence in my ears has helped me get better. I should add that I have never suffered from hyperacusis and that my tinnitus has never been reactive to noise. I understand that people who have to deal with these things might not be able to relate to my post very much, but I am simply trying to share what helped me get better and most importantly, that I did get better.
My life is pretty much back to normal now and having been through some pretty dark times with my tinnitus, I do hope that one day not too far away there will be a cure for this cruel, truly terrible condition. In the meantime don't give up, read as many success stories as you can and try to find some distraction from the ugly beast that is tinnitus.
To this day, I am not entirely sure what brought my tinnitus on and rather than having one single cause, I believe in my case it was triggered by a mix of things. I did listen to music through headphones a lot, but at the time I was also suffering from intense emotional stress and my doctor found that both my ears had been completely blocked with earwax. The earwax was most likely the main culprit as my tinnitus improved massively after I had it removed - although the annoying ringing didn't go away completely.
For the first few weeks after the onset, my tinnitus was so loud, piercing and relentless that I thought my life was over, that I couldn't endure the rest of my days like this. At one point I screamed at my husband to take me to A&E and beg them to give me something, anything that would make that unbearable dentist drill in my ears and head stop. My doctor at the time gave me drops to soften the earwax and after the blockage eventually was removed (I achieved that with drops and a little bulb syringe alone - I was VERY keen to avoid microsuction after all the horrible stories I had read) - the tinnitus in my left ear stopped, in my right ear it reduced by a good 80%. I was endlessly grateful for the tinnitus having reduced so much, but nonetheless, I wanted it gone for good. All of it.
Over the next few weeks and months I tried a variety of things I had read in various forums to help me get rid of the remaining tinnitus, such as magnesium supplements, drinking lots of lemon water and green tea, improving my diet and cutting out caffeine (although I quickly noticed that caffeine had no effect on my tinnitus whatsoever), Yoga and Mindfulness and being careful around loud noise. I never took any kind of medication for my tinnitus but gradually, with some improvements to my lifestyle and taking good care of my ears, I did find that my remaining tinnitus improved ever so slowly and ever so slightly to the blissful point where I am now . I can only hear it ever so quietly in completely silent rooms - and even then only if I focus on it. There is still a bit of tinnitus left, but it has become such a minor thing in my life now that I can go for days without noticing it at all. I am confident that this last bit of remaining tinnitus will eventually disappear too, and if not I can honestly say that I am not bothered by it anymore.
Looking back on the last 10 months of my life, what seems to have been the major turning point for me (the point where my tinnitus went from a bearable but still annoying nuisance to something that I hardly notice), was a major move to a different country and a new job that came with it. During and after the move I was so busy with other things that my tinnitus changed from something that I would monitor and obsess about all day everyday to something I had simply no time to think about. A new life, which was too hectic to constantly monitor and worry about tinnitus, had forced itself upon me. Without really noticing it, the ringing in my ears was not a priority for me anymore. It faded away very, very slowly.
Over these last few weeks I have learned to be more confident in my ears again and while I still have good set of earplugs with me at all times, I have visited the dentist for some drilling, flown on an airplane, been to the pub, travelled on the tube, and gone to work in a noisy city centre- all without earplugs. My tinnitus continues to improve and while I will never ever use headphones again or go near a concert, I believe the mixture of distraction and gradually regaining confidence in my ears has helped me get better. I should add that I have never suffered from hyperacusis and that my tinnitus has never been reactive to noise. I understand that people who have to deal with these things might not be able to relate to my post very much, but I am simply trying to share what helped me get better and most importantly, that I did get better.
My life is pretty much back to normal now and having been through some pretty dark times with my tinnitus, I do hope that one day not too far away there will be a cure for this cruel, truly terrible condition. In the meantime don't give up, read as many success stories as you can and try to find some distraction from the ugly beast that is tinnitus.
. I guess my question for you is.... Did you have Spikes a long the way? How often if you did? Once again I'm so happy for you!!
