Hi to everyone,
*Sorry for all the typos & misspellings but you get the point I'm trying to convey... I hope.
**I'm deaf since childhood in my left ear so this is all happening in my right ear.
Let me just start out by saying I am not a Doctor and anyone who does what I have does so at their own risk, so see a Doctor and discuss if this would be ok for you to try. I'm lucky as I don't take any medications so my vitamin regime doesn't interfere with anything.
Around March 14, 2020 I noticed my hearing was muffled so stupidly I put in a Q tip to take out some wax, well that didn't work as I believe my ear got infected. But as I never see doctor's I just let it go and after a few days the pain went away so I forgot about it. Fast forward two weeks and while cleaning my bathroom the toilet lid slammed down sending a piercing hurtful pain straight thru my ear, I mean this really hurt. Three hours later my hearing became severely muffled with the added condition of a steady none stopping sound like an appliance running-this of course freaked me out. The next day that sound was complimented by another, this a high pitch ringing.
Day after I saw my regular Doctor & he said I had "old dry compacted wax" and told me to use ear drops for five days to soften the wax up and then see him to irrigate it out and the sounds should be gone after. During the five days I waited to see him my two sounds were joined by a third, a hissing, which would start slow then ramp up loud, every 5 seconds this sound would go thru its cycle.
Day came when I went to Doctor and he irrigated the ear, he said all the wax was gone but I told him I still had the sounds, he looked at me and said "maybe it'll go or maybe you just have to learn to get used to it" my heart sank.
But let me go back the five days before I saw the Dr-as soon as I got the sounds (hate calling it tinnitus!) I started doing research, I read everything, I watched countless YouTube videos took copious notes and quickly came up with a plan. I changed my diet for starters-all junk food, sugars (I drank a lot of soda) salts, processed foods were replaced by lots and lots of water, salads, lean turkey (no fatty foods,no red meats) & as many fruits & vegetables as I could eat. I knew sleep was going to be a possible nightmare but I needed as much sleep as possible for my body to heal so I bought a large box fan to drown out as much as possible the sounds & added YouTube videos of rain & thunder storms which surprisingly to me did the trick mostly and I slept... mostly.
It was still heartbreaking to wake up to LOUD ringing with other sounds rolling around my head so I kept busy cleaning and very importantly I rode my bicycle everywhere to lose that anxiety, that feeling of "claustrophobia" that I had and at times while riding I would forget about the sounds. I also, after having read many stories of what people have done decided as much as possible that I was going to accept the sounds as coming from me, not some "alien" force invading me. I was going to say "yeah, that's me, that's my body and its different but I'm going to work with that sound & try and lower it... it is after all me, im in charge" that was a big step as I felt I was no longer a passenger but the driver.
After my Doctor said "get used to it" I went to an ENT - this guy was as rude & uncaring as it gets - I explained my problem & he just shrugged, I couldn't believe it. So he looks in the ear says there's a bit of wax still in there & without asking stuck one of those ear wax vacuums in & I felt as if my head were going to explode! I actually jumped out of the seat and said what are you doing, with that he said "I've been doing this for 22 years & think I know how to do this" Well that was the end of the visit but before I left he said about the tinnitus "try and get used to it" My heart sunk a second time.
That was when I said ok what else besides changing my diet,exercising, having a positive outlook can I do? And decided to go all in on some sort of vitamin regime so went to Rite Aid and got *remember check with Doctor & take a dose that fits your body - I'm 6ft, 190lbs & buy what you can afford, I bought store brands although a couple of friends said get the all natural, plant based expensive stuff... up to you.
1. Lipo Flavonoids "ear ringing"
2. Vitamin E (400IU)
3. MegaRed omega 3 krill oil (750mg)
4. Magnesium (500mg)
5. Ginseng (250 mg)
6. Nature made Turmeric w/curcumin
7. Vitamin D-3 (5000 IU)
8. Doctors Best CoQ10 (100mg)
9. Ginkgo Biloba
10. USANA Copaprime
In the morning I take 2 Lipo Flavonoids,1 Ginkgo biloba, 2 vitamin D-3 (remember that's 5000 IUs each pill) & sometime 1 Turmeric. Wash down with water then I have 1 cup of warm water (I put in microwave for 45 seconds) add to warm water 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar & grated ginseng to your liking-& lets call it the "Potion"
In the later afternoon I take all the vitamins on my list 1 each except I take 2 Lipo Flavonoids & 2 vitamin D-3's & drink another "Potion"
Before bed I take 2 Lipo Flavonoids, 2 vitamin D-3, sometimes another magnesium & a ginkgo with once again the "Potion".
Yes, that's a lot of vitamins, especially vitamin D-3 but I saw a YouTube video and decided I would take 30,000 IU's a day for a month to see what happens, don't think it can hurt - maybe I'm wrong but it's my choice.
Also during the day and night I take a few minutes to take in a big breath thru my nose, hold for a second then let out thru mouth. I do this several times and just remind myself I'm fine, I have this noise but I'm not dying yet!
After the two Doctors I waited a week and saw yet another ENT (my third Doctor) who gave me a complete audio test, said my hearing was what he would expect for a 53 year old with some high frequency loss. Very nice man but who, like the other Doctors, said try meditating (which I had already tried with mixed results, I'm a type A & find it very difficult to sit still!) and try and get used to the sounds - sigh.
Then I saw an allergist who said I was allergic to dust mites & proscribed me Azelastine HCI as she said my sinus cavities were inflamed. I spray once in morning, once at night - not sure if it helped my ear problem but I do feel clearer & everything is connected in there so maybe?
I tried the vitamins, potion, exercise, positive thoughts and wouldn't you know after a 5, 6, 7 days the sound was noticeably lower* from the time of the first day to when the noise subsided was a month and a half.
That was last week and I can safely say most of the sounds are gone, sometimes when I wake I have an extremely low motor sound that goes away after a half hour and sometimes I do hear a sound like wind chimes but very low and doesn't bother me. So the last four/five days have been great, I can go outside and just hear... birds, and wind & it's fantastic!
I don't know and will never know if the vitamins, potion, positive thoughts, exercise, diet change helped or did my ear just heal on its own? Yes, a bit is still there but now I use that as a warning signal to take better care of myself, to lose the anxiety, the bad thoughts, to treat my body for what it is - a fragile vessel that I have to take care of all the time.
I've said to myself it can come back, I can have those three noises competing for attention 24/7 but then I I say, no, enjoy now, stop fretting over what can happen and get on with life.
For those going thru this right now your mind is the most powerful part of your being, it can with the right attitude accomplish miracles, you can achieve peace of mind, just never give up. Take action and tell your sound "you are me and I am you" it is not the enemy, it is just you a little out of sync.
You are not alone, people are thinking of you, me, all of us and praying, hoping for the best. We are in this together. Believe in YOURSELF that it WILL GET BETTER!!!
*Sorry for all the typos & misspellings but you get the point I'm trying to convey... I hope.
**I'm deaf since childhood in my left ear so this is all happening in my right ear.
Let me just start out by saying I am not a Doctor and anyone who does what I have does so at their own risk, so see a Doctor and discuss if this would be ok for you to try. I'm lucky as I don't take any medications so my vitamin regime doesn't interfere with anything.
Around March 14, 2020 I noticed my hearing was muffled so stupidly I put in a Q tip to take out some wax, well that didn't work as I believe my ear got infected. But as I never see doctor's I just let it go and after a few days the pain went away so I forgot about it. Fast forward two weeks and while cleaning my bathroom the toilet lid slammed down sending a piercing hurtful pain straight thru my ear, I mean this really hurt. Three hours later my hearing became severely muffled with the added condition of a steady none stopping sound like an appliance running-this of course freaked me out. The next day that sound was complimented by another, this a high pitch ringing.
Day after I saw my regular Doctor & he said I had "old dry compacted wax" and told me to use ear drops for five days to soften the wax up and then see him to irrigate it out and the sounds should be gone after. During the five days I waited to see him my two sounds were joined by a third, a hissing, which would start slow then ramp up loud, every 5 seconds this sound would go thru its cycle.
Day came when I went to Doctor and he irrigated the ear, he said all the wax was gone but I told him I still had the sounds, he looked at me and said "maybe it'll go or maybe you just have to learn to get used to it" my heart sank.
But let me go back the five days before I saw the Dr-as soon as I got the sounds (hate calling it tinnitus!) I started doing research, I read everything, I watched countless YouTube videos took copious notes and quickly came up with a plan. I changed my diet for starters-all junk food, sugars (I drank a lot of soda) salts, processed foods were replaced by lots and lots of water, salads, lean turkey (no fatty foods,no red meats) & as many fruits & vegetables as I could eat. I knew sleep was going to be a possible nightmare but I needed as much sleep as possible for my body to heal so I bought a large box fan to drown out as much as possible the sounds & added YouTube videos of rain & thunder storms which surprisingly to me did the trick mostly and I slept... mostly.
It was still heartbreaking to wake up to LOUD ringing with other sounds rolling around my head so I kept busy cleaning and very importantly I rode my bicycle everywhere to lose that anxiety, that feeling of "claustrophobia" that I had and at times while riding I would forget about the sounds. I also, after having read many stories of what people have done decided as much as possible that I was going to accept the sounds as coming from me, not some "alien" force invading me. I was going to say "yeah, that's me, that's my body and its different but I'm going to work with that sound & try and lower it... it is after all me, im in charge" that was a big step as I felt I was no longer a passenger but the driver.
After my Doctor said "get used to it" I went to an ENT - this guy was as rude & uncaring as it gets - I explained my problem & he just shrugged, I couldn't believe it. So he looks in the ear says there's a bit of wax still in there & without asking stuck one of those ear wax vacuums in & I felt as if my head were going to explode! I actually jumped out of the seat and said what are you doing, with that he said "I've been doing this for 22 years & think I know how to do this" Well that was the end of the visit but before I left he said about the tinnitus "try and get used to it" My heart sunk a second time.
That was when I said ok what else besides changing my diet,exercising, having a positive outlook can I do? And decided to go all in on some sort of vitamin regime so went to Rite Aid and got *remember check with Doctor & take a dose that fits your body - I'm 6ft, 190lbs & buy what you can afford, I bought store brands although a couple of friends said get the all natural, plant based expensive stuff... up to you.
1. Lipo Flavonoids "ear ringing"
2. Vitamin E (400IU)
3. MegaRed omega 3 krill oil (750mg)
4. Magnesium (500mg)
5. Ginseng (250 mg)
6. Nature made Turmeric w/curcumin
7. Vitamin D-3 (5000 IU)
8. Doctors Best CoQ10 (100mg)
9. Ginkgo Biloba
10. USANA Copaprime
In the morning I take 2 Lipo Flavonoids,1 Ginkgo biloba, 2 vitamin D-3 (remember that's 5000 IUs each pill) & sometime 1 Turmeric. Wash down with water then I have 1 cup of warm water (I put in microwave for 45 seconds) add to warm water 1 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar & grated ginseng to your liking-& lets call it the "Potion"
In the later afternoon I take all the vitamins on my list 1 each except I take 2 Lipo Flavonoids & 2 vitamin D-3's & drink another "Potion"
Before bed I take 2 Lipo Flavonoids, 2 vitamin D-3, sometimes another magnesium & a ginkgo with once again the "Potion".
Yes, that's a lot of vitamins, especially vitamin D-3 but I saw a YouTube video and decided I would take 30,000 IU's a day for a month to see what happens, don't think it can hurt - maybe I'm wrong but it's my choice.
Also during the day and night I take a few minutes to take in a big breath thru my nose, hold for a second then let out thru mouth. I do this several times and just remind myself I'm fine, I have this noise but I'm not dying yet!
After the two Doctors I waited a week and saw yet another ENT (my third Doctor) who gave me a complete audio test, said my hearing was what he would expect for a 53 year old with some high frequency loss. Very nice man but who, like the other Doctors, said try meditating (which I had already tried with mixed results, I'm a type A & find it very difficult to sit still!) and try and get used to the sounds - sigh.
Then I saw an allergist who said I was allergic to dust mites & proscribed me Azelastine HCI as she said my sinus cavities were inflamed. I spray once in morning, once at night - not sure if it helped my ear problem but I do feel clearer & everything is connected in there so maybe?
I tried the vitamins, potion, exercise, positive thoughts and wouldn't you know after a 5, 6, 7 days the sound was noticeably lower* from the time of the first day to when the noise subsided was a month and a half.
That was last week and I can safely say most of the sounds are gone, sometimes when I wake I have an extremely low motor sound that goes away after a half hour and sometimes I do hear a sound like wind chimes but very low and doesn't bother me. So the last four/five days have been great, I can go outside and just hear... birds, and wind & it's fantastic!
I don't know and will never know if the vitamins, potion, positive thoughts, exercise, diet change helped or did my ear just heal on its own? Yes, a bit is still there but now I use that as a warning signal to take better care of myself, to lose the anxiety, the bad thoughts, to treat my body for what it is - a fragile vessel that I have to take care of all the time.
I've said to myself it can come back, I can have those three noises competing for attention 24/7 but then I I say, no, enjoy now, stop fretting over what can happen and get on with life.
For those going thru this right now your mind is the most powerful part of your being, it can with the right attitude accomplish miracles, you can achieve peace of mind, just never give up. Take action and tell your sound "you are me and I am you" it is not the enemy, it is just you a little out of sync.
You are not alone, people are thinking of you, me, all of us and praying, hoping for the best. We are in this together. Believe in YOURSELF that it WILL GET BETTER!!!
