MemberHey guys, I'm only 4.5–5.5 months in. I want to keep this post short because I still have intrusive tinnitus that I can hear over the television, but it has been improving some in the morning.
My tips are as follows:
1. Overprotect if you have to during this critical period. The first two months it seemed like every possible fucking secondary acoustic trauma that could've happened was occurring (ultra-frequent unnecessarily loud door slams, people screaming, my physical therapist putting some electro therapy device near my ear in efforts to fix my issue, etc.) It is my utmost worry that all the damage I sustained in the initial onset of tinnitus is going to be what does me in, in the long-term. I had terrible terrible hyperacusis immediately upon airbag deploy. While this has reduced from a 10 to about a 6, my tinnitus has reduced from an 8 to a 5–6. I now hear it over the television, but can listen to some genres of music over a speaker at a low volume.
2. Use Magnesium Threonate every night not just for help sleeping (didn't do a damn thing for me in that regard), but for its actions as an NMDA receptor antagonist. Drug companies are investigating novel applications of NMDA receptor antagonists (Ketamine, Gacyclidine) to play a role in diminishing tinnitus during the acute phase (see OTO-313).
3. Use N-Acetylcysteine for defense against secondary acoustic traumas up to 1800 mg/day.
4. If you cannot sleep, GET YOUR DOCTOR TO PRESCRIBE YOU APPROPRIATE, NON-BENZODIAZEPINE BASED SLEEP MEDICATION. Benzos rob you of REM sleep and tinnitus robs you of stage 4 sleep, so you're basically left laying there feeling the hours pass in this transient sleep-wake stage 1-2 cycle. IMO, the best drugs for this are: Tiagabine (look up its effects on stage 4 sleep; not sure the dose), 7.5–15 mg Mirtazapine (SSRI not implicated in exacerbating tinnitus that increases REM sleep), and 100–300 mg Quetiapine (also not implicated in exacerbating tinnitus). After I was put in the psych ward for my debilitating insomnia, I was put on 300 mg Quetiapine and 15 mg Mirtazapine. Since having returned to resistance training, I have managed to drop to 250 mg Quetiapine along with 15 mg Mirtazapine. I used to wake up to the tinnitus at the 8 hour mark, still feeling pretty exhausted but the tinnitus has at least been diminishing in the mornings only, allowing me to now sleep 10 relatively refreshing hours; the reason I allow myself this extra time is because (a) my body clearly needs it; and, (b) I'd rather not be conscious through this hell as long as possible.
5. Stay busy, preferably on physical tasks rather than mental tasks. Activities that require narrow, internal awareness are the worst for allowing tinnitus to intrude into your thoughts. Conversely, activities that require broad, external focus—such as socializing, playing games (like D&D, virtual reality, or shooter video games), and exercise, draw your attention away from the tinnitus.
6. Stop smoking marijuana. Marijuana increases sensory perception, and thus enhances the tinnitus signal. This one sucks for me because I have bloody, ulcerative colitis. My UC medication and momentary escape from hell has been taken from me with this horrible affliction.
I'd say I wanted to die every minute of every day at the 30 day—100 day mark of this terrible affliction. Lately I feel like, although the tinnitus has only gone down in the mornings and no longer wakes me up to a 90-100 bpm fight or flight response, I don't feel like dying as much. Perhaps because there is therapeutic hope coming down the pipeline in the next year and a half to two years, perhaps because I read success stories here on a daily basis to help me cope. But the longing to be struck dead has more or less passed, and I only cry about it once a week or so, and they're not as prolonged or soul-crushing.
I've tried many different supplements. Save your money. I do not believe in CBT or TRT. I, like many people on this forum, am a bit too smart to fall for the psychobabble "it's all in your mentality" bullshit. It's a physical condition that can be ameliorated by various biological agents. However, I may spring for some Widex hearing aids to help me cope during the winter months and hope that it's suppression/support through these white knuckle months will help me get the tinnitus down to a pitch/volume that does not intrude into my thoughts whenever I am doing something as leisurely as watching television.
Small steps is all we have.
My tips are as follows:
1. Overprotect if you have to during this critical period. The first two months it seemed like every possible fucking secondary acoustic trauma that could've happened was occurring (ultra-frequent unnecessarily loud door slams, people screaming, my physical therapist putting some electro therapy device near my ear in efforts to fix my issue, etc.) It is my utmost worry that all the damage I sustained in the initial onset of tinnitus is going to be what does me in, in the long-term. I had terrible terrible hyperacusis immediately upon airbag deploy. While this has reduced from a 10 to about a 6, my tinnitus has reduced from an 8 to a 5–6. I now hear it over the television, but can listen to some genres of music over a speaker at a low volume.
2. Use Magnesium Threonate every night not just for help sleeping (didn't do a damn thing for me in that regard), but for its actions as an NMDA receptor antagonist. Drug companies are investigating novel applications of NMDA receptor antagonists (Ketamine, Gacyclidine) to play a role in diminishing tinnitus during the acute phase (see OTO-313).
3. Use N-Acetylcysteine for defense against secondary acoustic traumas up to 1800 mg/day.
4. If you cannot sleep, GET YOUR DOCTOR TO PRESCRIBE YOU APPROPRIATE, NON-BENZODIAZEPINE BASED SLEEP MEDICATION. Benzos rob you of REM sleep and tinnitus robs you of stage 4 sleep, so you're basically left laying there feeling the hours pass in this transient sleep-wake stage 1-2 cycle. IMO, the best drugs for this are: Tiagabine (look up its effects on stage 4 sleep; not sure the dose), 7.5–15 mg Mirtazapine (SSRI not implicated in exacerbating tinnitus that increases REM sleep), and 100–300 mg Quetiapine (also not implicated in exacerbating tinnitus). After I was put in the psych ward for my debilitating insomnia, I was put on 300 mg Quetiapine and 15 mg Mirtazapine. Since having returned to resistance training, I have managed to drop to 250 mg Quetiapine along with 15 mg Mirtazapine. I used to wake up to the tinnitus at the 8 hour mark, still feeling pretty exhausted but the tinnitus has at least been diminishing in the mornings only, allowing me to now sleep 10 relatively refreshing hours; the reason I allow myself this extra time is because (a) my body clearly needs it; and, (b) I'd rather not be conscious through this hell as long as possible.
5. Stay busy, preferably on physical tasks rather than mental tasks. Activities that require narrow, internal awareness are the worst for allowing tinnitus to intrude into your thoughts. Conversely, activities that require broad, external focus—such as socializing, playing games (like D&D, virtual reality, or shooter video games), and exercise, draw your attention away from the tinnitus.
6. Stop smoking marijuana. Marijuana increases sensory perception, and thus enhances the tinnitus signal. This one sucks for me because I have bloody, ulcerative colitis. My UC medication and momentary escape from hell has been taken from me with this horrible affliction.
I'd say I wanted to die every minute of every day at the 30 day—100 day mark of this terrible affliction. Lately I feel like, although the tinnitus has only gone down in the mornings and no longer wakes me up to a 90-100 bpm fight or flight response, I don't feel like dying as much. Perhaps because there is therapeutic hope coming down the pipeline in the next year and a half to two years, perhaps because I read success stories here on a daily basis to help me cope. But the longing to be struck dead has more or less passed, and I only cry about it once a week or so, and they're not as prolonged or soul-crushing.
I've tried many different supplements. Save your money. I do not believe in CBT or TRT. I, like many people on this forum, am a bit too smart to fall for the psychobabble "it's all in your mentality" bullshit. It's a physical condition that can be ameliorated by various biological agents. However, I may spring for some Widex hearing aids to help me cope during the winter months and hope that it's suppression/support through these white knuckle months will help me get the tinnitus down to a pitch/volume that does not intrude into my thoughts whenever I am doing something as leisurely as watching television.
Small steps is all we have.
