So here's my little story that gives me some hope(and hopefully hope to others).
I've had T since 10/20/2017. I may very well have had it for longer but it was extremely quiet, I can't be certain from memory. I say this because the onset of the T(it's only in my right ear) seemed to not really have a cause. Yes I've been to concerts but it's been over 15 years, plus I don't blast my music when I would wear headphones and there were no sudden loud noises. I walk by people at work with buds in and I can hear their music perfectly they are cranking it so loud, it's crazy!
Anyways, after 1 week I got to see an NP who checked my ears and said both of them had fluid. So she put me on Flonase. I took that for about a month, which was my next appointment with her. After two weeks of using it my T decreased by probably 40-50%, so that was promising! At my check-up after taking it for a month she said the fluid was gone, yet the T, now decreased, was still there. I saw an ENT shortly thereafter and he didn't have much to say without doing some testing. I had a CT scan and an ultrasound done, and I have a hearing test coming up, after which I'll see him again and go over all that.
I started to wonder if maybe my neck or jaw had a part to play because if I clench my teeth, or move my lower jaw forward, I get a much louder ringing sound until I stop doing it. Sometimes my jaw muscle, and my neck a bit, does feel a bit tense in the back closer to my ears so I don't know if I really have a TMJ issue or not. I don't think I ever had a grinding of teeth issue BUT I do have a habit of biting my lip which produces a similar motion. Along with that I do tend to chew on my right side much more than the left due to tooth issues I had in the past. So it kind of became a habit. Whenever I sleep at night, usually on my back 90-95% of the night and the rest on my left side, the T can get a bit funny. My perception of it seems to change a tad. It'll seem a bit louder and/or it'll seem like it's not only in my right ear anymore. That always goes away though and it returns to how it is now in my right ear. If I plug my ears I only hear the T in my right ear and no T whatsoever in my left. Anyways, that's what I've come to understand about it so far.
Now, on to the POSITIVE parts of this post! Over Thanksgiving weekend I had a good 2 days where the T was so low I had to really pay attention to find it, even with my ears plugged. I never thought I would be so excited to hear almost complete silence! However as soon as Monday hit it slowly but surely returned to what it is now, which isn't too bad, but still pretty disappointing. I've become much more accepting that this will be my little annoying friend for the rest of my life, but I like to hold out some hope it'll resolve entirely based on that weekend. IMO it's better to accept it's not going away and then acclimate to it. False hope is one of the worst motivators because it can turn out very badly! Anyways, with my being more accepting of it it has definitely made it easier to deal with. When I'm at work I can ignore it almost completely with the hustle and bustle of the office. I feel I'm also more tolerant of hearing the T when I'm in the quiet of my own home. One thing that REALLY helps me is the fact my T does not seem keep me awake at all. I've continued to have a very good night's sleep despite having it. I do use a fan to provide some background noise though, so I don't know if I would sleep as well without it. If I was having bad nights because of the T I would be absolutely miserable!
I know there are a lot of you having a hard time with T, and some who have issues with depression and need to take meds. I really wish the best for you all. If there's one thing this has shown me it's that these things take time. Some may need more than others. Try not to focus on things like, "Oh am I still going to have this in 5 years? Will it get worse?!". Focus more on dealing with how you feel towards it NOW and you may find that one day you realize you don't care enough about it for it to bother you!
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