Tinnitus Wakes Me Up 3 am Every Morning. Advice?

[Mark McDill]

Thank you All so much. @Mark McDill and @here2help - your posts are especially calming.
It must be the stress of t that is causing it to double while I sleep.
But, I also wonder if there is something physiological that is going on as well.
I used to sleep like a baby pre t.
I wonder if t has changed blood flow in the brain or some neuroscience behind this to cause the volume spike also. I know at this point nobody knows. But looking forward to one day scientists giving us a few more answers.
Thank you for your kind words. I will persevere and try to take deep breaths

Lisa
I believe my T has its origin in my upper cervical; so when my neck is cranked over the wrong way my T would really be screaming (whoa!). I got a special pillow that helped a lot. Does your T increase when you turn/strain your head left/right?

Mark

 

[Lisa88]

Hi Mark. Although I have had upper cervical issues, the t does not change with those head/neck movements. If your origin is in cervical misalignment, maybe with that fix, the t would go away. I have also heard of such cases resolving through surgery.

 

[Pipo]

Hey Lisa. I have exactly the same issue as your are describing in your first post. My tinnitus makes me wake up after 3 or 4 hours of sleep every night since about 7 days. The first two days with my tinnitus i did not have this issue.
White noise helps me sleep but does not prevent me from waking up. I use a mouth guard and melatonin, yet so far no real improvement. This is stressing me out because it affects my life quite a bit, I can cope with the tinnitus during the day but I am so incredibly tired…

Have you found a remedy? something that makes u sleep through the night?

thanks for your reply

 

[Lisa88]

@Pipo
Sorry you are going through all this.
Since my post, I began taking lorazepam .5mg x 1 per night for sleep.
It worked, but US docs did not warn me against taking it for too long. I should have come off it in 4 weeks. 4 months later, I am starting a slow wean off the benzo, and my t has returned to levels and behavior as my first post on here.
So I do not recommend medication, and especially benzos.
For your t to have the best chance in its first year, I would try yoga, exercise, meditation, and deep breaths, rubbing your tummy, calming thoughts when you wake up too early.
Some find sleeping with background noise/music helps.
If you decide on meds, only take them as needed, and not on a daily basis. Gives your natural GABA enough time to fight off the t, without any down regulation.
Hope this helps. You seem by your date, relatively new to t.
If that is the case, lots of chance for it to subside with time.

 

[Sjoerd]

@Pipo

So I do not recommend medication, and especially benzos.

I agree! Only use these things as a absolute last option. My Doctor gave me 10 pils. I used those fairly quickly in about 2 months. The next set of 10 are still waiting in my drawer. I have them just as a back-up. Have not used one in about 8 months.

@Pipo
For your t to have the best chance in its first year, I would try yoga, exercise, meditation, and deep breaths, rubbing your tummy, calming thoughts when you wake up too early.

Yoga, Chi Kung or simply walking are a great way to reduce anxiety levels (not as fast but very effective in the long run).

@Pipo
Some find sleeping with background noise/music helps.

some background noise will help you get your mind of T.

I took me about 6 month to go back to a full nights sleep. Butt I only took me 3 month to go back to relative good quality sleep. In those first 6 month I went from hardly sleeping at all --> to sleeping 4.5 hours a night while waking every 1.5 hours --> to 6 hours while waking every 3 hours --> to 8 hours while waking every 4 etc etc.

You need to accept that you will be awake at night (it simply needs some time). Reduce anxiety levels and it will start to become easier to fall back asleep. Slowly but surely you will improve your sleep quality. Before you know it you will not remember being awake at night....

 

[Pipo]

Thanks guys!

 

[Nich]

When my T started a few months ago I had the exact thing happen @Pipo. I was fine for a few days then I started waking up at 4am every night. This continued until my anxiety decreased and I stopped being hyper-aware of the T. Then I went back to sleeping normally. At 2 months in I was starting to habituate well. I didn't hear it for hours each day (and mine is decently loud; I can hear it over everything except the shower) and life was getting back to normal. I am currently experiencing a small setback with renewed anxiety. Again, started waking up at 4am. I think for me it is the anxiety and not the T causing the waking.
I use klonopin when necessary. It helps tremendously. However, if you take it all the time I believe your body will not get used to the T as it can change/modulate it. Have hope though and LISTEN to the veterans here. My first month I had catastrophic thoughts that I would not be able to live like this and that I would not be able to concentrate and do my job. Now, even in a setback, I know that I will learn to live with this and over time that I will habituate. The first two weeks I could BARELY concentrate at work. Now I am back to normal with my work ability.
The best tips I got:
1. Don't let T take anything from you. Continue your life as normal. Keep socializing. It's really, really hard at first but if you do, by the time your T and anxiety do better then your life will have not changed too much.
2. Stop monitoring your T. Instead monitor your response to it. Every time it flares or your anxiety flares look at what you were thinking to find the catastrophic thoughts that caused that. EVERY TIME stop and face those thoughts and counter them with truth. Or write them down and write the truth out beside them.
3. It is fine to have hope that your T will go away. But, only if it doesn't get in your way of accepting your T. Accepting your T is the first step to habituation. And, it takes time. And, I'm not 100% there yet either. I still want to fight it in my head. I still naturally go into a fight/angry mode when it's really bothering me. I think that when I get to full acceptance i'll just say f*** it, I don't care about it anymore and really mean it. I say that a lot now...but I have yet to really, really mean it.
4. Give yourself a break. I've had T for 3 months and I'm having a setback. And, I'm not feeling bad or angry at myself. Because, this is the natural way habituation goes. Two steps forward and one back. It takes a long time to walk a mile that way but if you keep walking you will get there eventually.
5. STAY POSITIVE. STAY POSITIVE. STAY POSITIVE. Your brain is in fight or flight mode when this first starts. Weird things will happen too. I got really sensitive to loud sounds (they kinda hurt) for a few weeks when it first started and still have a little more sensitivity than I used to have. You will have messed up sleep cycles. Your T will begin to change over time. Mine is less intrusive overall and now has a lot of hiss to it. The pitch has changed a lot too. All this is normal. When you are hyper-aware of what's happening in your body you will very likely try to 'reason' every little thing out. Stop that. It will drive you nuts and misplace your focus from acceptance to a 'fix it' attitude.
6. Be judicious in your use of the internet or even forums when it comes to T. TT is a FANTASTIC place with a lot of amazing people who have helped me tremendously. However, when you are emotionally fragile all it takes is one persons post on how they've tried to commit suicide several times and has been miserable for a decade despite trying to habituate to FREAK YOU OUT. I have so much compassion for those people on here. They are all suffering in a way that we all fear. But the truth is that the VAST majority of us will not end up suffering to that extent.
7. Beware of the herbal/alternative train as an answer to your T. There are people on here who swear by lots of different things. And, I believe 100% that those things work for them. But, taking a cabinet full of pills will likely not make much difference in your T.

 

[Pipo]

Thanks for your encouraging words!

 

[BobDigi]

Try chamomile or red bush tea before sleep. Might be just enough to calm the t enough to wake you.

 

[MattK]

I know you've already said white noise doesn't work for you. But if I were in your position, I'd try to find some type of noise. Maybe that would entail listening to many types of noises until you find the right one. Maybe it might be music. But assuming you find something, I'd play that during sleep. That way it masks the T and if you do wake up, at least T won't be the dominant sound you hear.

 

[Kathi]

@Lisa88, I think @here2help's advice is very good--what you are experiencing is normal for those of us with tinnitus. Also, we are all different in small ways and need to find the path that helps us. I was very distressed when I got here and the members told me what to do. I followed that advice and little by little I coped better. You had your onset of T the same month as me so we are coming up on a year. Although that seems like an eternity, it's actually not a really long time in terms of habituation. Anyway, about sleep...I started taking .50 Xanax 3 times a day 10 months ago. I also walk/jog 2-4 miles a day and I have no problems sleeping. I sleep 7-8 hours most nights and I slept 9.5 hours the night before last (we are camping and nature is so soothing to me). Sleep does make a difference to me, as last night I went to bed late and only slept 6 hours but I was enjoying what I was doing so am willing to pay for it with a day of loud T. I don't advocate that you take Xanax, I just am sharing my experience. I was very prone to anxiety before T and was always waiting for something bad to happen. I also developed a fear of driving on the parkway and I worried excessively. My doc told me that I will probably always take Xanax as it makes me feel normal--like I did before almost losing my spouse and then losing our business in a hurricane. I only tell you all this in case you too, are prone to anxiety. My dose of Xanax has not increased in all these months. It has not stopped habituation. At first I think it lowered the noise but that may be because my anxiety dropped from high alert to almost non existent.

I took @Dr. Nagler's advice and used a strategy. I went through an anxiety workshop where I learned about relaxation/meditation and I went for CBT for a few months--until my therapist said that it was now up to me to keep practicing what I learned. I was skeptical at first as I always thought relaxation/meditation kind of new agey--but it really helped. I have good days now and I still have loud T days but I am not reacting as much to the noise or I am just saying to myself that I can't let it hold me back. Sometimes I still get down but I think that's normal. When I do, I post here and it helps tremendously.

Edited to add: You might try having an iPod or mp3 player with an audio book or soothing sounds for when you awaken. It will help you fall back to sleep.

I wish you a good night's sleep and send you hugs. ((Lisa88))

 

[Street Spirit]

I wake up in the night around 3am, with screaming T. It has happened so often, I KNOW it's physiological. I already know about the liver working at this time..and it can't always be from clenching as I do that during the day...something makes it super loud in the middle of the night, that IT wakes me up.

 

[uncle vikin]

I think it is too much glutamate in our diet it over acts neurons in the brain and can cause various symptoms including tinitus.calcium is the bullet.Eat more natural foods b3 + multi b vit. green tea less stress more exercise Humans just hit their limit at sometime and bam you get sick some people are more prone than others but eventually we all do if you dont live healthy.The brain is a fantastic organ that needs a delicate balance just give it the resouces it needs it will do the healing.

 

[dh42]

If you are looking for something just to treat sleep, I would consider low doses of Trazodone (25mg – 100mg). It's an anti-depressant, but at those dosages there is very little anti-depressant in it and it's mostly acting like a strong antihistamine (think Benadryl on steroids). I've tried almost every drug for sleep as I was seeing a sleep Dr last year and see a Psych Dr now. Trazodone is hands down the best (and safest). I had sleep and anxiety issues that started last year just before my Dad passed away. It was very difficult situation for me.

When my tinnitus started a few weeks ago, I started having sleep issues again. However, in my case – and I am very rare – I find Trazodone increases my anxiety if used on a every night basis. For most people this will not be a problem but there are a few of us who find antihistamines increase anxiety. As a result, I only use Trazodone on 2-3 non-consecutive nights per week right now. I use low dose Valium or Klonopin as they also provide anxiety relief through the day. But my Dr. said perhaps using Traz with the benzo might aleave the anxiety Traz could give me or perhaps a combination could help. Last night I took 10 mg of Valium and 50 mg of Traz and slept DEEP for 7 hours straight. I am a little groggy today, but it's great getting that kind of quality sleep.

In my opinion, Xanan or Ativan should only be used if you are having panic attacks. They are short acting and have the potential for greater dependency/abuse/tolerance especially just taken without a routine/schedule and just "as needed". Using Valium or Klonopin once per night for sleep and/or anxiety at a steady dosage is a better alternative if you are going to use a benzo. They will also provide relief for more of the day especially Valium. The downside is, the longer acting benzo will make you more drowsy throughout the day potentially.

You could also try Doxepin and Mirtazapine for sleep and as anti-depressants, but those just have me too much of a hangover effect the next day and I really don't sleep good on them.

 

[uncle vikin]

I currently take .5 mg klodipin at night and between .25 or .5 mid day .I was an alittle scared about taking them at first back in oct. 2014 a month after T started. I had 2 panic attacks within 3 days ER twice I found some xanax only take it for panic attacks but since I have seen pshc dr he presribed .5mg clonazepam 2wce a day .T is too much to handle for some of us not to take something for anxiety and sleep so I'm ganna take it.Anti D hmm I don't know if I want to be on those yet. I have started to try 2times but backed off cause of side effects. ANYBODY got opinion about Anti Ds. a good one without alot of side effects.

 

[uncle vikin]

Oh I still try to eat exersice all the natural stuff it helps but still need some meds.

 

[Ralphe]

2 months in my tinnitus, a 6k frequency in my left ear, mine too wakes me up around 3am, (in fact I finish writing this at 4.30am - please mind the early morning writings) I know for sure of time as well, as I've kept a log of the T-strength. If you want to know my story keep reading.

But for those wanting immediate Tinnitus recommendations on tools that have helped me to date try these things:
1) Go to a steam room. And meditate. I'm lucky as I found a public place that has a steam room, and a spa. If you're lucky try and find a steam room where people don't talk, so you get the nice quite place to relax. Don't try and think. Just try and relax.
2) Ginkgo Biloba. Supplement. Helps bloodflow to the brain. Although I took one a day for the first month, not so much now. Unless my T is bad I suppose. But I'd rather not drown my T in pills. I prefer meditation. Ginkgo did help my T disappear in the day, but I still have T at night, so it is not a write-off, do try it. I heard about this by watching an interview of Chris Martin from Coldplay.
3) Meditation, find a quite spot, like a beach, or a quite park, soak up some sun, and be around nature.
4) SleepPhones device. A New Zealand company, where I'm from, yay kiwis: www.sleepphones.co.nz - this has been really helpful. I go on youtube and search for "8 hours tinnitus nature", the bleeps and white noise I don't enjoy as much. I prefer water sounds, wind, or anything nature. More calming. I used to try and sleep with headphones and earphones but of course that is uncomfortable or falls out. SleepPhones is "pajamas for your ears" as it wraps around your head as a headband with speakers built in.
5) Earplugs / further prevention - I still play music - but try and not forget my earplugs. Don't want this getting worse. Also notice that I need to bring earplugs to loud places like the cinema.




Now my story.


Do note, I am a musician (www.ralphe.co.nz / www.thisflighttonight.com / www.musicstudios.co.nz / www.youtube.com/ralphengle) and I am a trained audio engineer. For a long time I've been trained to hear quite noises and subtle frequencies, and have been that guy in the office who would be sensitive to radios at work, or previous to my accident I would be the guy that needed earplugs in bed as my hearing was sensitive to start with, light snores would wake me, a form of Hyperacusis (self diagnosed of course - thanks internet forums.)
You'd think for a musician I've been known to wreck my hearing, not really as I've been cautious and trained regarding safe listening levels. I'm 33 now, and yes in my early 20s I would go to raves and have a great time listening to loud sounds all night, I used to DJ, I played in bands... but never to the point that T would give me sleepless nights, and the T wouldn't carry on in the day if I were to catch it temporarily in the past. I often wore earplugs - but if I were to get temp T in the past, it would last for a few days, not like now.

Since a work conference two months ago, my life changed.

You might say due to my 'musical' past it was like a loose branch, but since my incident the branch just snapped and fell. But I would argue and say my T was immediate, and due to a very loud sound.
So what happened two months ago?

Time of Incident: 1530pm

Date of Incident: Wednesday 26th July 2017

Hours worked before incident: 8 hours

Where did this incident happen: Work conference, offsite, well known Office stationery company, let's call them O.


At the O Supplier Expo outside of my normal office site - in Hamilton, I was with a group of people at the time - witnesses! We were heading back to the bus to go back to Auckland after a full day at the expo.


Located at the entrance between the restroom and eating area was two large PA speakers positioned in a narrow hallway, at ear level.

I was the person closest to one of the speakers, and did not see or notice the speakers as I was walking by, it was silent at the time but all of a sudden the MC started talking and I was blasted by a loud sound (twice) in my left ear which made me jump as a reaction.

I was standing at ear level to the speaker and no more than a metre distance.


That evening I noticed a loud ringing in my ear and it hasn't stopped since. I visited my doctor, some audiologists, submitted a work incident report, and finally submitted a claim with ACC.


Firstly www.acc.co.nz is a New Zealand Government company that gets income, because everyone in NZ pays an ACC levy - through their car levies for example. Really I see them as a compulsory Government insurance company.

Overall and so far, ACC have been good, although there are a lot of initial hoops to jump and paperwork because I suppose some people take the system for a ride, but once my evidence became clear that my T was not "prior existing" due to my musical history, but an immediate change, they have just approved my claim. (I haven't seen first payment from them yet but it is early days because my claim has just been approved). I retain 80% of my income, and they pay for my GP and specialist visits. But not for any "alternative remedies" such as going to a steam room and my SleepPhones device.

Anyways my GP has just signed me off 2 weeks at work, work won't allow me to go into work as I have a medical certificate, they claim it is a legal thing in NZ, if your GP tells you you're unfit for work and you have a certificate for it, then you must not work. I tried to ask work if I can have half days as ACC only compensate 80% of my income, or work from home as all I do is sit at my desk, some managers have remote access to our system, so it would be technically possible, but they wouldn't allow me.

So now two weeks of trying to "heal myself" with alternative remedies as I wait for a specialist to see me in a week, I also signed up with University of Auckland because they carry ongoing studies on T - but they are not free, and the University is actually more expensive than GPs or specialists. For anyone in New Zealand - before you make any appointments with anyone, make sure they are ACC accredited so costs can be reimbursed by your ACC case manager, and that there are no surcharges.


My ACC claim is new so for an updated case on my story, please feel free to contact me and ask questions, I might continue to blog about it in order to get my story out there, to possibly help others, and in turn hopefully someone can reach out to me, and communicate anything that might be of help.

Thank you for this forum. (This is officially my first post at TinnitusTalk.com).

www.ralphe.co.nz