Maybe try therapy. This has been total hell for me. But I am trying every day to get better, find sleep solutions, and maximize every other aspect of my health (example: I'm about to check for any other vitamin deficiencies that could impact sleep) even more than I was already doing before tinnitus entered my life about one year ago (along with many other ear issues and major surgery for my ear, which many on here haven't experienced and was its own hell).
I really wish this thread didn't exist to be honest. It's not very hopeful to open the forum and constantly see "suicidal" at the top.
I really, sincerely believe that many people can get better. Most people. I have had catastrophic impact on my life. I have cried and thought this isn't the life I want to live, endlessly.
But I have also fought like hell to get my life back. And I have to say that has been happening, slowly but surely. I enjoy a lot in my life at this point, and the tinnitus isn't bothering me nearly as much during the day or even at night. Really my only sticking point is still sleep, and I refuse to take medications that I have always believed will ultimately destroy health. That's been VERY tough. But I have a group of supplements and strategies that often work. I'm convinced that a lot of my remaining insomnia is caused by supplements and other lifestyle issues, more than the tinnitus, although that doesn't help. So I'm still working every single day to improve and figure out what I need to sleep, be happy, and stay healthy.
I really believe we need to be positive. We need to believe that we can control some aspects of this horrible condition.
I read someone who said they were thankful for their tinnitus because it ultimately improved their lives. I thought that was nuts when I read it. And I still do. But I'm trying to adopt more of that attitude around my tinnitus.
I realize other people are in different places. I just wish everyone would try HARD to focus on what might help them today. That's the absolute only way to get better.
I completely agree that we should try to maintain a positive outlook on the situation. Losing hope can make everything fall apart.
A lot of us in this thread doesn't have tinnitus alone. While tinnitus itself, being severe, is extremely hard to cope with, if not impossible, a lot of people here are coping with sensitivity to sound/hyperacusis. I would say that tinnitus, and especially in combination with sound sensitivity is easily one of the worlds most cruel medical conditions, because things can get perpetually worse while the relief of death is nowhere near in sight. Some of us fight with tinnitus that perpetually worsen due to everyday sounds. Sensitivity to sound, in its many shapes and forms poses
hard limits on ones life which
cannot be compromised with. The only options we have is to wear hearing protection, isolate ourselves and hope that things begin to improve.
Having "
only tinnitus" don't stop anyone from seeking company with friends, enjoying some low volume music or working(given it's not
severe-severe). It's possible to "
fight ourselves back", but when sensitivity to sound is involved, this is no longer possible.
This thread needs to exist for those at the brink of suicide which has no options and who can't do even 1/10 of what they previously could because the conditions are so life limiting.
I believe therapy can be beneficial, when the
emotional reaction is irrational because then we can be given tools to manage the emotional reaction and cope better, but there's no therapy in the world which can help one cope with perpetually worsening tinnitus and sensitivity to sound: there are no tools in the toolbox, it's just a matter of trying to survive and finding ones own way.
Again, I do firmly believe in positivity, but the fact of these medical conditions must be put out there. This thread must exist for people to vent their sorrows and frustrations. I know you sincerely mean well, but I disagree.
Thinking of you all,
Stacken