Hi, I am so happy to have come across this site as I really have been feeling so alone in this mess that begun almost 2 years ago. I don't know any person with tinnitus & no one in my life seems to understand how I or every aspect of my life has changed since this has literally crashed in to my life suddenly (or should I say head! ). Ok, so this is my introduction.. I will try my best to not write every tiny detail & will give an outline of scenario... so almost 2 years ago, I was really busy in work for 2 weeks leading up to this weekend, then at the weekend I had a late night, the following day everything appeared normal & I got to bed late that night, I had an episode of sleep paralysis almost instantly on falling asleep, I tried to get up but realised on moving I was moving extremely slow, I managed to stand up & suddenly I literally heard a noise filling my head slowly..so much so, I put my hand to my head and instantly thought something was going to happen in that moment, it reached a level slowly & just stayed there, I stood there for about 10 minutes with my hands to my head, completely confused by this uninvited sudden noise & was undoubtedly worried. That was the beginning. The next day arrived to the office feeling "off balance", woozy, nauseous, generally unwell", I was sent home from work to see a doctor as I began to have "lapses of daze", distant, disorientation, could not concentrate & could not make sense of it, my verbal was interrupted badly, words had disappeared from my mind literally. I left the office & took a fall, went straight to the doctor, I was diagnosed with "vertigo", 2 weeks later it was the same, I was put in hospital, then diagnosed with " a virus", I kept explaining what had happened that night, that I was of good health until then, fit, energetic, motivated etc. eventually I was put in hospital for a brain scan, an MRI.. all came back clear. I was told I had an "unlocated virus".. either in auditory or vestibular area - the noise was/ is 24/7 since then. I had to leave my job Over night, my life changed, Ihad to cut back on exercise, it stimulated the noise the noise, I had to stop drinking my social couple of glasses of wine as I would get "drunk" way too quickly, I could no longer read (cause the no longer read as the noise interrupted my concentration), certain foods began to make me very ill. I lived such a restricted life for 10 months & in it, I as a person changed, I became distant (naturally) I was too consumed by the noise.. I couldn't place external noises correctly for e.g I would hear a noise think it was at the back of the building to realise it was a car ticking over in the front of the building. My doctor told me it was a virus & could take up to 10-12 months before I feel 'ok' again. I began suffering from chronic fatigue, exhaustion, verbal confusion & when I walk I would feel I am not walking steadily. After 1 year, I was sent to an ENT, who diagnosed me with "chronic tinnitus" (it is a static sound constantly), After 1 year & a half, my symptoms would go from being "stable to worse" and back again, I could not "hear myself think" & would get exhausted quite quickly, I began to stay in more & more & do less & less.Just a month ago, I went back to my doctor & told her " this can not continue, I am too young, I want to go back to work, I want to live again, I want to have a drink, run in the fresh air like I used, walk the dog etc. etc.".. she told me she would have to send to a neurologist that she did not know why this is still existing and maybe a residual factot of the "virus", I had so many meds during this time nothing worked. I had anti-virals (the strongest on the market), I had anti-biotics, I had pills for nausea, vertigo, pain relief & many more - nothing worked!! & in it all my immune system is not the same, I have the chronic tinnitus (the biggest problem).. I have had blood test after blood test after blood test, all came back clear, iron levels good, blood pressure good, oxygen saturation levels good, everything good - yet feel so ill all the time & my life has changed, as have I so I am presently waiting to see neurologist but was told last week " it is possible nothing will show up as after virus you may have a residual functional problem, not mechanical (won't show on MRI or scans ), in it all, I now do not recognise some words/spellings when I am even writing, I have headaches, a constant static sound in my head (not ear) it is like surround sound that is with me every moment. I am trying so hard to live my life again, I have made changes to try "get back to work", get back to exercise", changed diet (even though it was already good), I have made changes but everytime I just crash with exhaustion & noise interferes with everything! Any input into any of this from anyone or any input with a similar type of tinnitus, I would be so grateful as I now have lost faith in the medical system & have changed doctor too as I got tired of hearing "well, unfortunately this is tinnitus & there's not much that can be done really".. but at the same time, the quality of my life has diminished & Every day is so difficult with on going symptoms & new ones, all the while the static swooshing sound in my head... (forgive me for sounding so depressing! but this is life for me at the moment) thankyou for taking the time to read