To give you some background information on my tinnitus: So, I have had my tinnitus for about two years. It sparked up around when I was a freshman in college and I am not sure of the exact cause. I have a rare disease where people report having tinnitus and I also went to a concert festival a month before I started hearing it. Also, another random tidbit, I got my hearing tested and they said I don't have any hearing loss. They say this is usual for tinnitus patient, fortunately, I do not have that component. Anyhow, when I first started hearing it the sound was so unbearable. I could hardly sleep or do anything. All day, I'd just hear this super loud ringing no matter what I was doing. I dreaded going to class or going to work because I could hardly focus on anything with no sleep and a blaring, high-pitched ring 24/7.
My ear doctor didn't help much with it besides give me a paper about tinnitus, all information I could find on the internet. He did clean my ears out, stating that there was wax against my drum so that might help it. It did not help though and the ringing was still as bad as ever. It took about a month before my ears got 'used' to the sound, meaning, it was not as invasive but still very present. It was still annoying and loud but it fluctuated and I could deal with it being there and focusing on something else. When it really sparked up was at night, like I believe it does for most people that I've read about. I would compare the sensation to a clock ticking, how once you hear it tick so much your mind sort of just blocks it out. It's still there, just not as present. For months, it would fluctuate in intensity and noticeability from 'this is annoying but I can deal with it' to 'this is my living definition of hell'.
When wax would build against my drum it would get worse so I would go get my ears cleaned out. I also noticed that it got worse if I was stressed or anxious (it was a nightmare during finals time). My first helping Hail Mary came when I bought headband headphones. They're headphones, only the speakers are in a headband. I know using headphones to noise cancel is nothing new to help with this but my ears hurt if I have headphones in my ears too long and it is at the worst when I try to sleep. When it first flared up I overnighted a pair to my house and it helped tremendously and it was comfortable for me to sleep in, since I couldn't with in ear for so long and you can't really sleep with big over ear ones (at least, I can't). I started playing my regular music but found it kept me awake and classical music just wasn't something I could fall asleep to. I started playing nature noises and I would turn it to a volume that would mask my tinnitus decently without blaring in my ear drum.
For about a year and a half, I would have good months and bad but I slept with the headphones every night and it seemed to help. More recently, I was reading that magnesium pills and eating less sodium can help with the ringing. I was skeptical but I figured anything is worth a shot. I haven't cut out sodium completely but I eat less of it and avoid foods that are super high in sodium like soup, fries, etc. It's been about a month or two and I can finally sleep without the headphones on! Sometimes, even if I plug my ears I can't hear the ringing at all. I hear a faint ring sometimes but it is nothing compared to the past. When I am laying down to sleep it is usually at the worst but even then it's not even 90% as noticeable as it was before. I don't hear it during the day as much at all, if any. I know none of these are exactly new ideas to treat tinnitus but I thought I would share my story and combination of what I did that seems to work. If you're reading this, I really hope your tinnitus can dissipate or lessen, I really do!
For those who don't want to read this long post, here's what I do to help me:
1. Eat less sodium
2. Take magnesium supplements daily
3. Sleep with headband headphones and play nature noises or music
My ear doctor didn't help much with it besides give me a paper about tinnitus, all information I could find on the internet. He did clean my ears out, stating that there was wax against my drum so that might help it. It did not help though and the ringing was still as bad as ever. It took about a month before my ears got 'used' to the sound, meaning, it was not as invasive but still very present. It was still annoying and loud but it fluctuated and I could deal with it being there and focusing on something else. When it really sparked up was at night, like I believe it does for most people that I've read about. I would compare the sensation to a clock ticking, how once you hear it tick so much your mind sort of just blocks it out. It's still there, just not as present. For months, it would fluctuate in intensity and noticeability from 'this is annoying but I can deal with it' to 'this is my living definition of hell'.
When wax would build against my drum it would get worse so I would go get my ears cleaned out. I also noticed that it got worse if I was stressed or anxious (it was a nightmare during finals time). My first helping Hail Mary came when I bought headband headphones. They're headphones, only the speakers are in a headband. I know using headphones to noise cancel is nothing new to help with this but my ears hurt if I have headphones in my ears too long and it is at the worst when I try to sleep. When it first flared up I overnighted a pair to my house and it helped tremendously and it was comfortable for me to sleep in, since I couldn't with in ear for so long and you can't really sleep with big over ear ones (at least, I can't). I started playing my regular music but found it kept me awake and classical music just wasn't something I could fall asleep to. I started playing nature noises and I would turn it to a volume that would mask my tinnitus decently without blaring in my ear drum.
For about a year and a half, I would have good months and bad but I slept with the headphones every night and it seemed to help. More recently, I was reading that magnesium pills and eating less sodium can help with the ringing. I was skeptical but I figured anything is worth a shot. I haven't cut out sodium completely but I eat less of it and avoid foods that are super high in sodium like soup, fries, etc. It's been about a month or two and I can finally sleep without the headphones on! Sometimes, even if I plug my ears I can't hear the ringing at all. I hear a faint ring sometimes but it is nothing compared to the past. When I am laying down to sleep it is usually at the worst but even then it's not even 90% as noticeable as it was before. I don't hear it during the day as much at all, if any. I know none of these are exactly new ideas to treat tinnitus but I thought I would share my story and combination of what I did that seems to work. If you're reading this, I really hope your tinnitus can dissipate or lessen, I really do!
For those who don't want to read this long post, here's what I do to help me:
1. Eat less sodium
2. Take magnesium supplements daily
3. Sleep with headband headphones and play nature noises or music
