Hi all,
Here is my story...
I am an IT support guy living and working in Germany.
Starting in September 2013, I had permanent headache for about three weeks.
I was worried so much that I finally thought I have something really serious, for example a brain tumor.
So I visited different doctors, had an MRI scan and many other health checks.
Everything was ok, but I developed different problems like dizziness, migraine and finally a super loud Tinnitus (ultra high pitched in the head).
My head was ringing like crazy. I could not sleep for four nights and really had the worst thoughts.
So it was not noise induced or coming from a cold or infection, but stress was the trigger.
Went into hospital for cortisone injections and got diazepam to calm me down.
This helped a little bit, but my tinnitus was still there.
I stopped working, stopped doing anything at home, stopped nearly everything.
So I had the whole day time thinking about my new head sound.
Since the doctors said (as usual) "You have to live with it", I started reading each and every line about tinnitus on the web. Was looking primarily for success stories, but of course also found horror stories.
After around 6-7 weeks I started realizing things do not improve, but will stay until end of my life.
So panic attacks started and my wife and kids had a really difficult time with me.
Finally I decided going into a TRT clinic here in Germany. I was there for 7 weeks and they told me everything about tinnitus, that it is just "Music of the brain", how the limbic system works, that the sound is produced by nerves in the brain etc.
I had a daily visit with an ENT who herself has tinnitus and lives a happy life with it.
But it was and still is difficult for me accepting this high pitched sound in my head.
What I know in the meantime is that I had a "burnout" that time and my body, mind and soul were fully exhausted. Too many commitments at work, at home and in private life. So my body stopped me completely.
Others would get a heart attack or a stroke, I developed tinnitus.
The usual things (like many others here) started: Anxiety, depression and some other symptoms.
This forum here was a great help so far. In particular statements from billie48 and JeffM helped a lot since they seem also having a high pitched (like an old TV) tinnitus. But also many postings from others. They gave and give me hope.
At the moment I take 22,5 mg Mirtazapine for sleeping and as AD.
Sleeping is luckily no problem for me. I am trying doing all things I did before and not staying isolated at home. Only my job is problematic since it is a complex (high tech) work. But I want to go back to work asap.
What else do I do?
- White noise generators (look like hearing aids) do not really help, but I have them available on loan.
- Hearing aids since I have some hearing loss in the high frequencies. Sometimes they help, sometimes not. Since most sound (for example speech) is in the lower frequencies, I can hear my tinnitus always, so I cannot really mask it and hearing aids only help when I listen to birds or water sound.
- Listening to music or nature sounds (primarily birds)
- Started exercising (running) again, but every meter is a challenge
- Trying to concentrate on other things, but still difficult
- Going outside for walks or sitting on the balcony listening to nature sounds
- Sometimes listening to the self-made Neuromonics sound (generalfuzz thread here in this forum).
BTW, the Neuromonics company (ANM) here in Germany stopped their business (bankrupt) last October (Neuromonics is not really popular at the tinnitus clinics here).
- Taking my life day by day and hoping things will improve towards habituation.
I am now 4.5 months in with my Tinnitus. Have good days and bad days.
I hope I will cope in the near future.
So that is me.
Best regards from Germany,
Martin
Here is my story...
I am an IT support guy living and working in Germany.
Starting in September 2013, I had permanent headache for about three weeks.
I was worried so much that I finally thought I have something really serious, for example a brain tumor.
So I visited different doctors, had an MRI scan and many other health checks.
Everything was ok, but I developed different problems like dizziness, migraine and finally a super loud Tinnitus (ultra high pitched in the head).
My head was ringing like crazy. I could not sleep for four nights and really had the worst thoughts.
So it was not noise induced or coming from a cold or infection, but stress was the trigger.
Went into hospital for cortisone injections and got diazepam to calm me down.
This helped a little bit, but my tinnitus was still there.
I stopped working, stopped doing anything at home, stopped nearly everything.
So I had the whole day time thinking about my new head sound.
Since the doctors said (as usual) "You have to live with it", I started reading each and every line about tinnitus on the web. Was looking primarily for success stories, but of course also found horror stories.
After around 6-7 weeks I started realizing things do not improve, but will stay until end of my life.
So panic attacks started and my wife and kids had a really difficult time with me.
Finally I decided going into a TRT clinic here in Germany. I was there for 7 weeks and they told me everything about tinnitus, that it is just "Music of the brain", how the limbic system works, that the sound is produced by nerves in the brain etc.
I had a daily visit with an ENT who herself has tinnitus and lives a happy life with it.
But it was and still is difficult for me accepting this high pitched sound in my head.
What I know in the meantime is that I had a "burnout" that time and my body, mind and soul were fully exhausted. Too many commitments at work, at home and in private life. So my body stopped me completely.
Others would get a heart attack or a stroke, I developed tinnitus.
The usual things (like many others here) started: Anxiety, depression and some other symptoms.
This forum here was a great help so far. In particular statements from billie48 and JeffM helped a lot since they seem also having a high pitched (like an old TV) tinnitus. But also many postings from others. They gave and give me hope.
At the moment I take 22,5 mg Mirtazapine for sleeping and as AD.
Sleeping is luckily no problem for me. I am trying doing all things I did before and not staying isolated at home. Only my job is problematic since it is a complex (high tech) work. But I want to go back to work asap.
What else do I do?
- White noise generators (look like hearing aids) do not really help, but I have them available on loan.
- Hearing aids since I have some hearing loss in the high frequencies. Sometimes they help, sometimes not. Since most sound (for example speech) is in the lower frequencies, I can hear my tinnitus always, so I cannot really mask it and hearing aids only help when I listen to birds or water sound.
- Listening to music or nature sounds (primarily birds)
- Started exercising (running) again, but every meter is a challenge
- Trying to concentrate on other things, but still difficult
- Going outside for walks or sitting on the balcony listening to nature sounds
- Sometimes listening to the self-made Neuromonics sound (generalfuzz thread here in this forum).
BTW, the Neuromonics company (ANM) here in Germany stopped their business (bankrupt) last October (Neuromonics is not really popular at the tinnitus clinics here).
- Taking my life day by day and hoping things will improve towards habituation.
I am now 4.5 months in with my Tinnitus. Have good days and bad days.
I hope I will cope in the near future.
So that is me.
Best regards from Germany,
Martin