Tinnitus — Learning to Cope

[ScottK]

I've found this site fascinating and am really learning a lot about how people respond to this disorder. I was telling my wife about it and she told me that she has always had "ringing in her ears", ever since she can remember. I have whistling in mine, and whistling is something that is easy to understand. Ringing, however, isn't easy for me to understand. I asked her to describe it and she couldn't. She's told me this before, and I've never asked about it.

In some ways, I feel feel fortunate. Having had this my entire life, or as far back as I can remember, I've never had to acclimate to it. It's always just been. I do remember that when I was younger, I thought that it is something that everyone had. I can go many days without thinking about it at all. I notice it most frequently when I'm sitting around in the evenings or when it is exceedingly quiet around me. Sometimes my wife and I will be walking around the neighborhood and I'll comment on how quiet it is outside on those days when traffic noises are muffled and the air just seems still. Of course the whistling is always there, but in moments like that, it's below my conscious awareness and all I notice is the lack of sounds around me. If I shift my attention to it, it's there, loud and clear. Over the many years, I have learned to shove it in the background.

I read this story once that has always stuck with me. It was about this guy who loved to meditate. He developed tinnitus and was devastated because it ruined his ability to concentrate. All he could do was think about and focus on the phantom noises in his head. But over time, he actually learned to embrace it and use the sound as a focal point for his meditation.

To those who are just beginning this "journey", yes, it is something that one could consider terrible or awful. Over time, you do acclimate to it. It is possible to live your life with this, and to experience greater and greater moments of peace and quiet, even with it never going away. Your mind will learn to push it into the background. I read somewhere that it is only possible to truly focus on one thing at a time. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it feels like it is to me. When focusing on the noise in my ears, it's what I hear. When I focus on something else, it becomes background noise. My point is that while I am hearing it all of the time, the only time I actually have awareness of it is when I think about it. And of course there are days when it seems louder than others. Those days can be a bit more challenging.

I am not trying to minimize anyone's experiences with this. I know that there are many who have it worse than I do. I think that with time, you can make it through the noise and discover that peace is not something that you can only have without tinnitus. I just don't believe that they are mutually exclusive.

 

[hans799]

In some ways, I feel feel fortunate. Having had this my entire life, or as far back as I can remember, I've never had to acclimate to it.

Same here. I can remember sitting in my room as a child, reading, and listening to the buzzing in my head - that was the definition of "quiet" to me. It was the natural order of things, such as having a constant heartbeat in my body, not something to habituate to.

1. Do you have any idea what caused it?

Mycin antibiotics are ototoxic and as a bonus I'm allergic to them, and I did receive a course as a baby. Maybe that nailed it for me.

There are some people like us on these forums but not many and I'd love to find out how this happens. Were we literally born with the noise, a fault in our brains? Or was it some unremembered babyhood trauma?

2. Beware, for your T can be worsened, like any other person's. Mine was, by dental drilling. I am fine now but you can go through T hell like anyone else. Protect those ears.

3. An interesting thing to consider: having T since childhood is a bit like being inoculated against it, no? I think I habituated a lot quicker to my new noises than is typical (in a few weeks). I already knew how to sleep, concentrate, work with a constant noise in my head, so yet another noise was not as bad as for someone who had silence beforehand. So we should actually be thankful.

 

[ScottK]

Same here. I can remember sitting in my room as a child, reading, and listening to the buzzing in my head - that was the definition of "quiet" to me. It was the natural order of things, such as having a constant heartbeat in my body, not something to habituate to.

1. Do you have any idea what caused it?

Mycin antibiotics are ototoxic and as a bonus I'm allergic to them, and I did receive a course as a baby. Maybe that nailed it for me.

There are some people like us on these forums but not many and I'd love to find out how this happens. Were we literally born with the noise, a fault in our brains? Or was it some unremembered babyhood trauma?

2. Beware, for your T can be worsened, like any other person's. Mine was, by dental drilling. I am fine now but you can go through T hell like anyone else. Protect those ears.

3. An interesting thing to consider: having T since childhood is a bit like being inoculated against it, no? I think I habituated a lot quicker to my new noises than is typical (in a few weeks). I already knew how to sleep, concentrate, work with a constant noise in my head, so yet another noise was not as bad as for someone who had silence beforehand. So we should actually be thankful.

I have no idea, as I have had it ever since I can remember. If I had to guess, it was caused by my first concert (Rush, 1981). I remember being on the train headed home and barely being able to hear. Sounds were muffled and I felt like I had cotton in my ears. That's just a guess, though perhaps a good one. That was near 40 years ago now. Until I was in my 30s, I just thought that it was normal.

Probably the reason that there aren't a lot of us on here is because like you said, we're sort of inoculated to the effects of it. We don't have the need for support that those just getting it might have. It's there, it's always been there, it's something that I've lived with my whole life. I even sleep with earplugs, because I'm a light sleeper and sounds keep me awake. I'd imaging that most people don't sleep with earplugs because it blocks out external noise and makes the tinnitus more apparent. Even with the whistling being the only sound that I hear, I sleep better with it, than with other external noises. Breathing sounds, my wife's sound machine, house noises, the cat; they all drive me crazy.

I can only imagine what it's like for someone who just became a victim of it. I understand why so many seek out support for it.

I know that it can become worse. Mine has over the years. Some days are worse than others. Sometimes I'm more aware of it than others, especially if it is louder or shriller than usual. Today happens to be one of those days. Either that or I'm just more aware of it because I'm thinking about it more because of joining this forum.

I went out today and got some zinc, ginkgo, and l-carosine. I've never tried anything to help with this before, except for some homeopathic thing called Ring Stop (or something like that). That did nothing for me. I figured that I'd try a few other things.

I have a few triggers.

1. Loud noise, obviously. I avoid it when I can. I listen to music very quietly. If I have headphones on, the sound is way down.
2. Hot showers. That's a weird one. I just got done showering and it's whistling loudly right now.
3. CBD oil. Some have claimed that it helps with their T, but I have the exact opposite effect.
4. Aspirin. I know that's an obvious one for many.
5. My blood pressure medication - Valsartan HCT. I need the medication though, because it helps with my blood pressure and keeps my migraines away.
6. Possibly Claritin. Jury's still out on that one.
7. Quiet rooms. Not sure if it's a trigger or just makes it more noticeable.

I feel like I might have some age related hearing loss as well. I don't hear as well as I used to. One thing that I've noticed is if I listen to running water like in the sink, it sounds muffled, like some sound is missing. I've never gone to an ENT before, but perhaps someday I will.