Scared... Having a BAD Few Nights/Days of Tinnitus, Need Help/Support!

[erik]

mine has gotten better

 

[Don H]

Hi Julia , just me thinking of you again. Remember you are not alone. We're here to help you. Lots of bright lights on the horizon.

 

[Karl]

Dan, It certainly can, and you have no reason to give up hope. Stay positive.

Absolutely. Stay positive. Negativity is the reason why people make their tinnitus worse. Don't totally "lose it". Approach this problem rationally, and see how others have come to grips with tinnitus. Educate yourself about the things that you have control over.

I have been reading "Tinnitus Retraining Therapy" by Pawel Jastreboff and Jonathan Hazell. It is very informative book, written for TRT counselors. I think we can all benefit reading this book.

For those who are interested, here's are some excerpts from this book:
On page 41:
"It has been puzzling why and how tinnitus becomes such a strong and dominant signal when the source can be relatively weak; also why even loud tinnitus does not bother some people at all, and weak, nearly inaudible tinnitus causes major problems for other people…
"On many occasions, tinnitus emerges very rapidly…If perception of a signal is associated with high levels of emotional distress, conditioned reflexes are created….once tinnitus acquires a negative connotation and starts to induce activation of the autonomic nervous system, it initiates a cascade of events. As a result, there is stronger and stronger activation of the limbic and autonomic nervous systems, through a conditioned reflex arc….This phenomenon, commonly labeled as a vicious cycle…
"…The emotional stress provides the negative reinforcement needed to create the link in the conditioned reflex arc. Once tinnitus acquires this negative association, an aversive conditioned response is established, and is responsible for the persistence of tinnitus."

On page 47: "The initial strength of a tinnitus signal is irrelevant (it can be weak or strong), as the final strength of reaction and severity of distress caused by tinnitus results from the strength of the feedback loops within the model…The final level of reaction will depend on the intrinsic properties of the limbic and autonomic nervous systems…The process of creating and strengthening these feedback loops, popularly referred to as a vicious cycle, involves processes at both a conscious and a subconscious leve and follows the principle of conditioned reflex."

On page 52:
"1. Is it possible to reverse or nullify the conditioned reflex arc?
2. Is it possible to detach perception of tinnitus (or external sound) from the reaction set up by it?
3. Is it possible to block perception of tinnitus?
4. What treatment protocol is required to achieve this?

"Neuroscience provides us with the necessary information to answer these questions. First, all conditioned reflexes can be reversed; consequently, everything which we have been trained to do can be retrained. Second, reactions of our body to any stimulus can be reversed. Third, our brain is able to continue learning throughout life. Fourth, natural habituation of various stimuli is continuously taking place."

 

[erik]

"Neuroscience provides us with the necessary information to answer these questions. First, all conditioned reflexes can be reversed; consequently, everything which we have been trained to do can be retrained. Second, reactions of our body to any stimulus can be reversed. Third, our brain is able to continue learning throughout life. Fourth, natural habituation of various stimuli is continuously taking place."

Thanks Karl. This above is the key and should be the goal of every tinnitus sufferer.

 

[mock turtle]

Hi mock turtle, I know my father has T and when he drives anywhere he says that his T goes through the roof for a day or two. He believes its the pitch of the engine that does this. Maybe a set of foam ear plugs may help. Yes and fast food mostly contains MSG which is another neural stimulator which is most likely not a good thing. I hope it goes down for you again.[/quote]

----

thanks for the advice and the good wishes...yeah the msg is a real killer for me too

the good news is my vehicle is really quiet, but yeah im always ready to apply ear protection esp if im in a city, driving with the window down

 

[AttackingTinnitus]

Hey guys, I am back after a long hiatus and I've ready through all of your GREAT positive comments reaching out to me. For those of you that have kept up with my story since I joined in June 2012, I like to keep updating as to what I've been doing and how it's helping. First off, thank you ALL for being here for me. I know we all haven't met, but it doesn't matter because the comfort is in the words I read from each of you.

OK, I try not to retype everything about my story and how I got T.....because it's long. So, for those of you that are new here and might be suffering from T like me which is from my (neck, C1-C3, Atlas Subluxation issues), then read the Intro and also read the Support threads.....there you practically see my story posted over and over it seems like.

The reason I haven't been here and I am sorry I know I should have to give support, but this is what's taken place for me. Since I know my T is coming from neck issues, Occipital Nerve problems and NOT my ears. I had my hearing tested in 2009, 2010 and 2012 and my hearing has barely changed since 2009. The ENT cannot see ANY cause that it's my hearing. I just had an MRI/MRA about a month ago and the neurologist said everything is fine.

My pain mgmt. dr on Thursday, December 13 gave me an injection in my upper spine sort of in between where your shoulders are. About 3-4 discs below the neck area. Then he gave me an injection right in my neck area, then he gave me an injection in the Occipital Nerve on the RIGHT side of my head.

When I left that Thursday, I had to return the next day for my pain med. refill....go figure because of the DEA....people like me can't get my medication refills even one day early because they are intervening with us in the process of trying to stop drug addicts, which will never happen. (That's another story anyway).

So, Friday when I went back, my Tinnitus was screeching like there was NO tomorrow. I was like, OMG, what did I do to myself? I should have left well enough alone. By late that Friday and starting Saturday, my Tinnitus HAD COMPLETELY GONE AWAY. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? By the way, I didn't get the injection on the left side because I am a chicken and didn't let him and yet that side was still humming, but not as previously. It was gone by Saturday, the 15th of Dec. and the sad, sad thing is.........just this past Thursday or Friday, the 3rd or 4th of Jan. I went to lunch, came back to work and while at my desk, ole T returned with a vengeance.

Last night was real bad for me because the past 3 weeks were the happiest since I got this in June 2012. It made me realize that anyone could have offered me a half million dollars or have the Tinnitus gone, what do you think I would have took....T to be gone.

A life lesson, these past several weeks without the T made me TRULY realize what life means and it's not material things.....it's happiness. I am crying as I type this because I thought I recaptured that simple quality in life and slipped through my hands that quick.

My pain mgmt. dr. said it's only temporary because he's injecting "anesthetic" into the nerve. Now, what he wants to do is to take this needle, insert it into the Occipital Nerve and ALMOST KILL THE NERVE, but not fully because he said I will be in pain if he does.

I can't remember here on this site that where a "member" had come forward with something he said he had to do in order to get into a "clinical trial for tinnitus", which was fib and say he had it longer than what the trial requested.....hey, I would have done the same exact thing.....anyway, I am sorry I can't remember the name and he said after the injection his T really spiked, but then came back down, well that's what happened to me. So now, I am really considering having that Occipital nerve nearly deadened.

Has anyone on this forum had that done and if so, did you get relief from it? I am trying to sort of keep a log of every detail I am going through so someone else can try what I am doing if they have the same issue. Remember, Tinnitus issues from the neck is 80% worse than ear trauma. At least there might me help in the future since it's basically involves the nerve...I hope.

Sorry for the long post but I want everyone that is scared like I was and am still sometimes to know there is some sort of relief.

Lots of Luv to everyone here.

Julia

 

[Paul D]

a.) Listen to Youllbefine. Sounds like he's got his s___ together.
b.) Prilosec (I use the generic omeprazole) changed my life as far as acid reflux. Takes about three or four days to kick in. If you're close to Mexico, I bought a year's worth for about twenty bucks - saved me four hundred+.
c.) Drop the quack-o-practor. This from a guy whose seen a good one for years treating a chronic back condition. They have little to offer for tinnitus, yet of COURSE he wants you to come back.
d.) You WILL be fine. Keep busy, active, and accept that you're going to have good days and bad days, or good weeks and bad weeks. Pay attention to the good days.
Good Luck!