Starting to Get Worse.

[Rob W]

Hey All,

This is my first post and my first time visiting this Tinnitus Talk.

My tinnitus has been around for 25 or so years. There could be a lot of things that started it in my opinion, shooting a shotgun when I was young, going to loud concerts, exposure to toxic chemicals in my work place, you name it, I've done it and all with no protection. Another factor is that both my father and my sisters experience(d) tinnitus. My father was on the ground in WW2, so some obvious stuff there, but my sisters were both careful with their hearing. The younger of the two, said when she had her tonsils removed, her tinnitus went away!

In my twenties, I became an audiologist (my father was the President of the Illinois Hearing Association then). My current understanding of tinnitus is limited to what I learned back then, which wasn't much. We were told basically that there was nothing we could do about it.

I'm connecting now because a. it's getting worse and b. (or whatever number we're on I want to learn how others are coping.

 

[Karen]

Hi, RobW, and welcome to Tinnitus Talk! You'll find a lot of great support and information here, so look around and read some of the threads that are of interest to you.

I'm a lot like you, in that I had tinnitus for more than 25 years when mine suddenly got worse. (I'm 68 years old).
In my case, I'm pretty sure it was due to a blood pressure drug that I started taking. It has now been five years since my tinnitus worsened (and I also acquired pulsatile tinnitus at the same time), and I'm coping pretty well most days. I think some factors, such as barometric pressure, make my tinnitus worse, but for the most part, it remains pretty steady.

How am I coping? Well, right at first, it was very difficult, and I was frightened and full of anxiety. I also suffered from very severe insomnia, as well as adrenal fatigue. It took some time, but with patience and tenacity, I finally pulled myself out of the worst of it. Now, I cope with my tinnitus by keeping busy, distracting my mind as much as possible, and taking natural supplements. The tried and true supplements that work for me are: Magnesium chloride, niacin, B vitamins, and N-Acetylcistene (NAC). Ever since I've been taking the NAC, my tinnitus has seemed a bit calmer. NAC also protects your ears from further damage, so it's worth a try.

I'm sure others on this forum will have additional suggestions for you. Again, welcome!

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[Cymro41]

Hi Rob,
Iv'e had the dreaded T for about 7 years now and it became worse about March this year. Don't know why. I do or rather did play in a band where volumes got a bit high but always wore ear plugs with high attenuation. I find my T gets worse during mid afternoon for no obvious reason. Trying hard to habituate. My doctor gave me diazepan to help with the anxiety. Good luck Rob and stay positive. Don't let it rule your life.

 

[Karen]

@Cymro41 ,

Mine gets worse in the mid to late afternoon, too! I have never understood why the time of day would make a difference, but it does. Maybe some day they'll find some answers for us. Something to do with the brain, I feel pretty sure. At any rate, what works best for me is to keep really busy at that time of day, so you don't notice it so much. Good luck, and peace!

 

[Sailboardman]

My T also ramps up at about 2pm. I think, it just starts working a bit harder on your mind and nervous system by then. It just wants to let you know, "hey, you're not paying enough attention to me!"

Sailboardman

 

[billie48]

I wonder if it has to do with the change or slowing of blood flow to the ears or brain. We all know when we age, the blood circulation slows down. What makes it worse is after lunch, the body needs the digestive organs to work hard on the food, especially if it is a meaty or heavy lunch. So more blood are with the digestive systems and the extremities of the body get less blood. The limbs and the head are farther away from the mid vital organs of the body & the stomach. The slowed down circulation of aging amplifies the effect of slower blood circulation to these extremities and so the brain tends to doze off. Younger folks with hot & fast blood don't seem so bad, but those of us past 40 will probably feel this dozy effect after lunch very fast. Even if we don't feel dozy, the brain will probably still sense slower blood flow and it kicks up T accordingly. That is the best I can think of about the link between early afternoon doziness and T after lunch.

 

[sara]

Hello my name is Sara. I developed very mild tinnitus back in 2011-2012 I think..... Lol. I don't even know what year since it was so mild. It got worse since last year when I moved out. My bf and I moved out to his parents place temporarilyto save money and buy a place. In that period I was super stressed. Tinnitus got worse. I went to specialist. He took out wax from both o my ears. I used to wear ear plugs for 4 years very night since my bf snores loudest. Anyways tinnitus cleared. I was fine. But there as still a faint sounds in my left ear. I let it go. It grew louder and louder. Again auper stresseful time. It was so loud that I couldn't sleep for weeks. It kind of got better.but worse again. I developed buzzing , whistling, screeching sounds. It was terrible. I went to back to the specialist. He checked my ears. Everything was fine. He did a hearing test. He said perfect hearing. So he told to get dental guard and come back in three months. It's been two months. My headaches are better. I still get dizzy and have pressure and fullness in my ears. My Tinius spiked to higher frequency where it literally hurst my ears. I don't know what to do. Please share any tips or comment. Thanks.

 

[Danny Boy]

Hello my name is Sara. I developed very mild tinnitus back in 2011-2012 I think..... Lol. I don't even know what year since it was so mild. It got worse since last year when I moved out. My bf and I moved out to his parents place temporarilyto save money and buy a place. In that period I was super stressed. Tinnitus got worse. I went to specialist. He took out wax from both o my ears. I used to wear ear plugs for 4 years very night since my bf snores loudest. Anyways tinnitus cleared. I was fine. But there as still a faint sounds in my left ear. I let it go. It grew louder and louder. Again auper stresseful time. It was so loud that I couldn't sleep for weeks. It kind of got better.but worse again. I developed buzzing , whistling, screeching sounds. It was terrible. I went to back to the specialist. He checked my ears. Everything was fine. He did a hearing test. He said perfect hearing. So he told to get dental guard and come back in three months. It's been two months. My headaches are better. I still get dizzy and have pressure and fullness in my ears. My Tinius spiked to higher frequency where it literally hurst my ears. I don't know what to do. Please share any tips or comment. Thanks.

Did you take any medication for the stress?

 

[sara]

Hello. Thanks for your response. No I didn't take any medication. I personally hate taking medication for anything. Does anti anexiety medication make Tinitus better ?

 

[uncle vikin]

Rob it is the mystery of T that keeps us all searching for the answer. I believe once you pass a point that you can live with T and function normally, some people move on, but it is hard for the more curious to let it go. Like I just told one of my buddies on this site. T has really made me aware of how our perception has to do with every thing in our lives and how powerful the brain is . We will all keep searching for the reason for T and someday someone will find a cause and a cure. Just like cancer they will probably find that it is very complex and it varies from case to case but they will be heading in the right direction and slowly make break through discoveries little by little and cure it . I hope I am alive to find out what the root cause is and what the cure will be cause I am one of the curious ones with T. Uncle Vikin