Myself: 29 years old, originally from Spain but living and working in England.
My first knowledge of tinnitus was back in 2015. I realised that at bed time, when the room as in complete silence, there was a slight yet noticeable ringing in my left ear. The ENT doctor told me my hearing was perfectly fine and explained some basic things about this condition. Since the ringing was so mild I never thought that would be a problem, and completely ignored it for a couple of years.
In 2017 I got my first big spike that really made me think that I had tinnitus. I woke up from a sudden ringing, hissing in my left ear. As everyone else, I panicked and suffered from anxiety since the onset. My tinnitus started in my left ear but it migrated to the right one. It is bilateral but more predominant in my left ear. I also had mild hearing loss, but surprisingly, in my right ear which is the "quiet" one. I also developed hyperacusis and would try to protect my ears all the time.
ENT doctors, obviously, gave me the same diagnosis: tinnitus, you have to live with it. We do not know the cause. (I only had a MRI and that was all fine)
I tried everything to get rid of the sounds in my head: acupuncture, supplements (ginkgo biloba), some medication my doctor prescribed for blood circulation, I changed my diet, meditation, yoga...
After a year of trying and wasting money, I decided to stop the acupuncture, the yoga and everything else since it was not getting rid of the tinnitus. Since that moment, I did not do anything in particular, but unconsciously, I became habituated to my tinnitus to a point where I would not be bothered by it, it would not cause any trouble to sleep (never used sound maskers ever again at night), I would ignore it day and night (though it was always there at bedtime), but for some reason I would not listen to it for more than 10 seconds.
I thought for many months that I was very lucky that despite having tinnitus I finally managed to live my life normally (always taking precautions such as avoiding loud places and looking after my ears). I have had some mild spikes but they were always noise induced and they would always disappear the next morning.
However, without any noise exposure that I can recall or any other triggers that I can think of, 3 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night from a sudden loud noise in my head. At first I thought: it is OK, it is my tinnitus. But it was not. My ears were screaming with a very loud hissing all over my head and developed a new high-pitch noise in my right ear. Obviously, that night I could not get back to sleep. The next day I tried to manage my anxiety and get distracted thinking that it would go back to normal baseline soon. It did not, and has not for the past 3 weeks, in which I have not slept for more than 2 hours every night. I fall asleep because I am really tired but keep waking constantly because of the loud noise. Bedtime is now a real stress for me. I have downloaded noise apps again but they do not seem to mask the sound, and they even make it louder. Hyperacusis is back again.
I feel miserable and depressed because this seems to be another permanent spike, which I do not think I can tolerate this time. It is very very loud, I hear it over my laptop, tv...
I just started going to psychological therapy that I hope will at least fix my nervous system and anxiety and will deal with the sleepless nights. As to my tinnitus, I am sure this will be the new volume I will have to endure.
I have read so many things on this forum and I think everyone is so nice. I know that unfortunately, no one can help me at the moment, but I needed to let my thoughts out of my chest.
Nadia
My first knowledge of tinnitus was back in 2015. I realised that at bed time, when the room as in complete silence, there was a slight yet noticeable ringing in my left ear. The ENT doctor told me my hearing was perfectly fine and explained some basic things about this condition. Since the ringing was so mild I never thought that would be a problem, and completely ignored it for a couple of years.
In 2017 I got my first big spike that really made me think that I had tinnitus. I woke up from a sudden ringing, hissing in my left ear. As everyone else, I panicked and suffered from anxiety since the onset. My tinnitus started in my left ear but it migrated to the right one. It is bilateral but more predominant in my left ear. I also had mild hearing loss, but surprisingly, in my right ear which is the "quiet" one. I also developed hyperacusis and would try to protect my ears all the time.
ENT doctors, obviously, gave me the same diagnosis: tinnitus, you have to live with it. We do not know the cause. (I only had a MRI and that was all fine)
I tried everything to get rid of the sounds in my head: acupuncture, supplements (ginkgo biloba), some medication my doctor prescribed for blood circulation, I changed my diet, meditation, yoga...
After a year of trying and wasting money, I decided to stop the acupuncture, the yoga and everything else since it was not getting rid of the tinnitus. Since that moment, I did not do anything in particular, but unconsciously, I became habituated to my tinnitus to a point where I would not be bothered by it, it would not cause any trouble to sleep (never used sound maskers ever again at night), I would ignore it day and night (though it was always there at bedtime), but for some reason I would not listen to it for more than 10 seconds.
I thought for many months that I was very lucky that despite having tinnitus I finally managed to live my life normally (always taking precautions such as avoiding loud places and looking after my ears). I have had some mild spikes but they were always noise induced and they would always disappear the next morning.
However, without any noise exposure that I can recall or any other triggers that I can think of, 3 weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night from a sudden loud noise in my head. At first I thought: it is OK, it is my tinnitus. But it was not. My ears were screaming with a very loud hissing all over my head and developed a new high-pitch noise in my right ear. Obviously, that night I could not get back to sleep. The next day I tried to manage my anxiety and get distracted thinking that it would go back to normal baseline soon. It did not, and has not for the past 3 weeks, in which I have not slept for more than 2 hours every night. I fall asleep because I am really tired but keep waking constantly because of the loud noise. Bedtime is now a real stress for me. I have downloaded noise apps again but they do not seem to mask the sound, and they even make it louder. Hyperacusis is back again.
I feel miserable and depressed because this seems to be another permanent spike, which I do not think I can tolerate this time. It is very very loud, I hear it over my laptop, tv...
I just started going to psychological therapy that I hope will at least fix my nervous system and anxiety and will deal with the sleepless nights. As to my tinnitus, I am sure this will be the new volume I will have to endure.
I have read so many things on this forum and I think everyone is so nice. I know that unfortunately, no one can help me at the moment, but I needed to let my thoughts out of my chest.
Nadia
