Hi,
I'm Jo and I have had tinnitus for nearly 11 years now. It first started 3 months after I had spinal surgery, there was a lot stress in my life at the time and I was grinding my teeth at night and heard a snapping noise in my jaw in the middle of the night. I ended up with a permanent facial and head migraine that has lasted 11 years, this in itself has ruined my life and is the source of severe daily pain. At the same time that this happened a low level mid range humming started in my left ear. It was the least of my worries and didn't really bother me.
Over the years I have been on many medications for the refractory migraine and went through years of side effects and withdrawal symptoms. This was after 6 years of being misdiagnosed and being fobbed off on the NHS. I only got the correct diagnosis when my partner got private healthcare through work.
Last year after spending 2 years weening myself off sodium valproate I ended up with another problem which sent me to the hospital and I ended up having another major surgery in July last year. My body went into shock after the surgery as they couldn't get the pain under control. I was pumped full of strong pain killers which was concerning to me as I haven't taken any in years as my neurologist explained it keeps the cycle of chronic migraine going.
10 days after the surgery I realised that my tinnitus had become more bothersome, I could hear it over the telly and it was irritating me. A financial stress happened which sent me into a melt down and the tinnitus became even more bothersome. Then I had a knock in my car and this set off anxiety in me. My partner has had tinnitus for 20 years and suggested we do ear syringing. I was unsure about this and should have followed my instincts but I didn't and we got a home kit. My partner did the water syringe on me and the next morning it all went to hell. The mid range hum turned into a high pitched whistling that made me want to cut my head off.
I have been sensitive to noise my whole life and having this noise in my head 24/7 has been an absolute nightmare. I have suffered from extreme anxiety for the past 5 months now. I can't sleep, if I do it's only for 2 hours at most and when I wake I am covered head to toe in pins and needles that get so strong that my legs and arms go numb. I have lost 20lbs in weight and can't eat. I retch in the morning, have been shaking and crying, have a dry mouth with excessive thirst. I feel terrified most of the time, have panic attacks but more than anything else I feel completely exhausted. Dealing with a permanent migraine on top of this has been challenging to say the least.
I have been to the doctors multiple times. I got an antihistamine for sleep which quickly lost it's effect and had a bad effect on me anyway. I tried nortiptyline and amitriptyline which I have had before but couldn't tolerate and haven't been able to this time around either. I have tried many over the counter sleep aids. I have had reflexology and 8 cranio sacral therapy sessions as I read that a system locked in fight or flight can effect tinnitus and calming the nervous system can have a positive effect on tinnitus?. I have done yoga, gone for walks, tried to keep myself focused on different things but nothing has changed.
I am starting CBT over the phone in a couple of weeks and after 5 months of waiting I finally have an appointment to see an audiovestibular medicine specialist in February.
I am trying hard but not able to cope with this intruder, does anybody have any advice on how I can help myself. Does habituation happen naturally or is it something that you have to work at. What can I do to help myself with this and even though I understand it would be very hard to say, is there a chance the level may go down again? I could deal with it if the tone wasn't so high pitched.
Thanking anyone in advance for any replies I might get.
I'm Jo and I have had tinnitus for nearly 11 years now. It first started 3 months after I had spinal surgery, there was a lot stress in my life at the time and I was grinding my teeth at night and heard a snapping noise in my jaw in the middle of the night. I ended up with a permanent facial and head migraine that has lasted 11 years, this in itself has ruined my life and is the source of severe daily pain. At the same time that this happened a low level mid range humming started in my left ear. It was the least of my worries and didn't really bother me.
Over the years I have been on many medications for the refractory migraine and went through years of side effects and withdrawal symptoms. This was after 6 years of being misdiagnosed and being fobbed off on the NHS. I only got the correct diagnosis when my partner got private healthcare through work.
Last year after spending 2 years weening myself off sodium valproate I ended up with another problem which sent me to the hospital and I ended up having another major surgery in July last year. My body went into shock after the surgery as they couldn't get the pain under control. I was pumped full of strong pain killers which was concerning to me as I haven't taken any in years as my neurologist explained it keeps the cycle of chronic migraine going.
10 days after the surgery I realised that my tinnitus had become more bothersome, I could hear it over the telly and it was irritating me. A financial stress happened which sent me into a melt down and the tinnitus became even more bothersome. Then I had a knock in my car and this set off anxiety in me. My partner has had tinnitus for 20 years and suggested we do ear syringing. I was unsure about this and should have followed my instincts but I didn't and we got a home kit. My partner did the water syringe on me and the next morning it all went to hell. The mid range hum turned into a high pitched whistling that made me want to cut my head off.
I have been sensitive to noise my whole life and having this noise in my head 24/7 has been an absolute nightmare. I have suffered from extreme anxiety for the past 5 months now. I can't sleep, if I do it's only for 2 hours at most and when I wake I am covered head to toe in pins and needles that get so strong that my legs and arms go numb. I have lost 20lbs in weight and can't eat. I retch in the morning, have been shaking and crying, have a dry mouth with excessive thirst. I feel terrified most of the time, have panic attacks but more than anything else I feel completely exhausted. Dealing with a permanent migraine on top of this has been challenging to say the least.
I have been to the doctors multiple times. I got an antihistamine for sleep which quickly lost it's effect and had a bad effect on me anyway. I tried nortiptyline and amitriptyline which I have had before but couldn't tolerate and haven't been able to this time around either. I have tried many over the counter sleep aids. I have had reflexology and 8 cranio sacral therapy sessions as I read that a system locked in fight or flight can effect tinnitus and calming the nervous system can have a positive effect on tinnitus?. I have done yoga, gone for walks, tried to keep myself focused on different things but nothing has changed.
I am starting CBT over the phone in a couple of weeks and after 5 months of waiting I finally have an appointment to see an audiovestibular medicine specialist in February.
I am trying hard but not able to cope with this intruder, does anybody have any advice on how I can help myself. Does habituation happen naturally or is it something that you have to work at. What can I do to help myself with this and even though I understand it would be very hard to say, is there a chance the level may go down again? I could deal with it if the tone wasn't so high pitched.
Thanking anyone in advance for any replies I might get.
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