Very Confused with All the Different Advice and Success Stories

[Swannys]

Afternoon everyone, thank you for all the advice and help on here I am in a really bad place at the moment and am struggling daily. I have mainly hissing in both ears but more so in my right ear, I have had a FEW good days in the 3 months I have had this but its mainly very loud/intrusive... I'm just so confused at the moment with all the different advice and success stories.

I am having acupuncture, taking apple cider vinegar, taking the ginkgo, doing mindfulness meditation, letting myself listen to my tinnitus so my brain knows its not a threat, doing the back to silence thing, exercising, taking anti depressants, sleeping pills... The only thing I haven't had, which my doctor offered is an MRI, but most if not all the people on here say they are a waste of time????

My ears have also recently started to hurt a little, I am soon confused with all the information I really don't know what to do....some have even said do nothing and I will eventually habituate @Michael Leigh I have read all of your threads on this nightmare condition but just so hopeless at the moment.

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Michael Leigh I have read all of your threads on this nightmare condition but just so hopeless at the moment.

@Swannys

I am sorry to know that you are going through a difficult time at the moment. Tinnitus can be difficult to manage when it is severe. The advice that people give in this forum including my threads can be helpful but only up to a point, because there comes a time when professional help is needed and it's probably best to see a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that is trained in the treatment and management of tinnitus. It would be a good idea to have an MRI scan and also a hearing test if your ENT doctor recommends it, just to make sure there is no underlying medical condition causing your tinnitus.

Once you get the all clear on this you should see the health professionals that I've mentioned. If it is stress and anxiety that is causing the tinnitus then a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist should be able to help you. There is only so much a person can do by themselves with tinnitus. Please talk to your family doctor/GP and get a referral to ENT and Audiology for treatment.

Hope you start to make improvement soon
Michael

 

[Bassplayer]

Afternoon everyone, thank you for all the advice and help on here I am in a really bad place at the moment and am struggling daily. I have mainly hissing in both ears but more so in my right ear, I have had a FEW good days in the 3 months I have had this but its mainly very loud/intrusive... I'm just so confused at the moment with all the different advice and success stories.

I am having acupuncture, taking apple cider vinegar, taking the ginkgo, doing mindfulness meditation, letting myself listen to my tinnitus so my brain knows its not a threat, doing the back to silence thing, exercising, taking anti depressants, sleeping pills... The only thing I haven't had, which my doctor offered is an MRI, but most if not all the people on here say they are a waste of time????

My ears have also recently started to hurt a little, I am soon confused with all the information I really don't know what to do....some have even said do nothing and I will eventually habituate @Michael Leigh I have read all of your threads on this nightmare condition but just so hopeless at the moment.
.

I personally would not recommend tuning into the T when you haven't noticed it for a period. The whole point is to forget about anything to do with tinnitus, even forums at a later stage. That way the brain can get on with the job of rewirung itself so you no longer hear it unless you choose to.

I certainly don't believe a MRI scan is a waste of time. As T is affected so much by anxiety and stress, anything which will put your mind at rest with regard to sinister fears will help,

At the very least try something different if what you are doing doesn't work.

 

[Swannys]

Thank you. @Michael Leigh I have seen audiologist and ENT, I have had mild hearing loss for years and recently got new hearing aids, but my hearing has improved! The ENT checked my ears but basically said you will get used to it and have an MRI scan to rule everything out........The audiologist that I see also has tinnitus but she just tells me it will get better and thats it......I need more help. @Bassplayer thank you. Im not worried about the MRI I just don't see the point as NO ONE on here has had one that has shown anything sinister but have reported it has made T worse.....as for the anxiety and stress, the main thing that is causing me anxiety and stress is T. Will I ever get out of this cycle???
I have two young boys and I want to live my life again and not be so SAD all the time. They are so loving and caring why can't I concentrate on the positive of their love instead of the negative of this b****rd noise!!
If I have had days where it has been quiet and I have felt hopeful is this a good sign?? This whistling kettle is all I hear most of the time and my doctor has told me that the sleeping pills don't have any effect if I take them all the time so Im scared to take them but need to sleep........

 

[GregCA]

Im not worried about the MRI I just don't see the point as NO ONE on here has had one that has shown anything sinister but have reported it has made T worse

That is expected: the MRI is meant to rule out very rare conditions (such as acoustic neuroma), so don't expect to see many people reporting that the MRI found something.
I know I felt better after the MRI, even though it was "clear". It's not like I was angry at having spent $$ on a test that yielded nothing: it yielded piece of mind!

Generally docs don't recommend an MRI unless the symptoms are unilateral, because bilateral acoustic neuromas are very very very rare... (I guess the odds are not zero and we have quite a few billion people on the planet... so there must be an unlucky person with bilateral AN) but perhaps the MRI is going to reveal something else.

Also you list stress as your cause for T, but you claim that you have hearing loss. That is more likely than stress to be the root cause for your T. Why do you have hearing loss?

 

[Swannys]

Hi @GregCA thanks. I have hearing loss due to performing in lots of loud venues for years a long time ago, I have had hearing loss for about 25 years but only very mild. Why?

 

[Michael Leigh]

........The audiologist that I see also has tinnitus but she just tells me it will get better and thats it......I need more help

In my opinion @Swannys you need help with your tinnitus. This can be counselling as well as taking medication such as an antidepressant. Try and find a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that specialises in counselling for tinnitus. If you are unable to find these health professionals, then a referral to a Psychotherapist or Psychiatrist may help as they do treat some people with tinnitus.

 

[Hazel]

Hi @Swannys , sorry to hear about your struggles. My T onset is only a month before yours, and though I definitely feel better than in the beginning, it's still a struggle with good days and bad. I can relate, and what you're feeling is totally normal. I just keep reminding myself that things will get better, and have faith that they will. The key factor here is time. Lots of time, patience, dedication and kindness towards yourself.

If you think back to the first few weeks with T, do you see any improvement, no matter how small? Perhaps by now you can go for a few minutes without hearing your T, when you're engaged in a certain task? Hold on to that improvement, no matter how small, and take it as a sign that your situation will continue to improve over time. I know it's frustrating because it goes sooooo slowly, but hang in there.

Regarding the coping mechanisms you mention, it sounds like you're doing all the right things, but perhaps you're trying a bit too hard or trying too many things at once? In the first 2-3 months, my one and only focus was to manage my anxiety (through yoga, baths, long walks, or whatever works for you). Only last week, once I felt the acute anxiety had passed, did I start mindfulness meditation, occasionally combined with meditating to my T (similar to the listening to T that you mention). But I would not combine this with also doing CBT or the back to silence method or anything else, because it's just too much. All of these methods can work but I think only if you do them consistently for a long time; so best to pick one method and stick to it for long enough to know whether it works for you, and then possibly move on to something else. Again, this takes a lot of time and patience.

Finally, I agree with Michael that some professional support could be very helpful. Don't feel that you have to do it all alone. Also enlist the help and support of your loved ones - don't keep all those emotions bottled up. Whatever you're feeling now, acknowledge it and let it be there, but know these feelings won't last forever.

I wish you all the best!

 

[glynis]

@Swannys ,
If you need help to sleep long term then a low antidepressant for sleep will help and below the therapeutic dose for depression.
My advice would be to set your hearing aids in the morning on maybe setting one and just forget they are in.
By the end of the night see if you got through the day with times you did not notice your sound.
You can increase the mini setting for the leval one with a light press .
They will help the anxiety also .
If you have mild hering loss they still can help.
Over time you might find out you dont need them on all day .
Give them ago again.
Love glynis x

 

[Hazel]

Oh by the way, regarding the hurting of your ears, if you've had them thoroughly checked out and they didn't find anything wrong, it could also be tension in the neck or jaw. I have the same thing, occasionally I feel a piercing pain in one or both ears. According to my ENT this is likely caused by tension in neck or jaw, which I do indeed have. It makes sense to me and reassured me that apart from my hearing loss and T there is no acute problem in my ears; I just try to loosen up neck and jaw as much as I can, and it has helped.

 

[Tex]

Swanny, About ten years ago when this set in on me a top rated ENT in TX prescribed 2 mg. of Diazepam three times a day for me. He showed a picture of the brain on the wall and pointed to where Diazepam has with some patients caused a breakdown between the inner ear and the brain. It didn't work for me, but might for you. Its sure worth a try.

Then on one of my return visits I told him that instead of taking it three times a day that I was taking anywhere from two and a half to three of them an hour before bedtime and it really helped me get a good night's sleep. He told me to continue that because sleep is very important to coping with this. He said that it was such a small dosage that for me not to worry about it "messing me up."

Even after ten years the same dosage works, and works well. I don't like pills, but I'm not worried about this. This is the only medication I take.

 

[fishbone]

Afternoon everyone, thank you for all the advice and help on here I am in a really bad place at the moment and am struggling daily. I have mainly hissing in both ears but more so in my right ear, I have had a FEW good days in the 3 months I have had this but its mainly very loud/intrusive... I'm just so confused at the moment with all the different advice and success stories.

I am having acupuncture, taking apple cider vinegar, taking the ginkgo, doing mindfulness meditation, letting myself listen to my tinnitus so my brain knows its not a threat, doing the back to silence thing, exercising, taking anti depressants, sleeping pills... The only thing I haven't had, which my doctor offered is an MRI, but most if not all the people on here say they are a waste of time????

My ears have also recently started to hurt a little, I am soon confused with all the information I really don't know what to do....some have even said do nothing and I will eventually habituate @Michael Leigh I have read all of your threads on this nightmare condition but just so hopeless at the moment.

Do not listen to the tinnitus or for the tinnitus, by doing this you can simply build fixation on it and that can further annoy you......

 

[GregCA]

Hi @GregCA thanks. I have hearing loss due to performing in lots of loud venues for years a long time ago, I have had hearing loss for about 25 years but only very mild. Why?

Because that's most likely the cause for your T, not stress. I wouldn't be surprised if your recent onset was "the straw that broke the camel's back". When you say "lots of loud venues for years", it means "lots of damage accumulated over the years".

So if I were in your shoes, I'd look into treatments that relate to noise-induced hearing loss rather than stress (not that dealing with stress is a bad idea, but it can be a red herring). MRI is probably not going to show anything (that's what I wish you), but that alone is useful (ironically, to your stress levels).

 

[Bill Bauer]

I think it's time to banish from the forum that phrase that is repeated frequently about "tinnitus is not a threat."

The idea is that if you convince yourself that it is not a threat, it will be easier for you to bear it and to live with it. In other words, if you are getting beaten up every day, and you convince yourself that it is not a big deal, then you won't have mental anguish in addition to the physical pain. Normally you shouldn't do the above, as this way you won't do anything to stop getting beaten up. However, if you will get beaten up no matter what you do, might as well try to get to a better "mental space."

 

[Bill Bauer]

I have mainly hissing in both ears but more so in my right ear, I have had a FEW good days in the 3 months I have had this but its mainly very loud/intrusive...

Take comfort in the fact that hissing is easier to ignore than the high pitch tone that many people here have to deal with.

The only thing I haven't had, which my doctor offered is an MRI

If you don't know what caused your T, then you might consider getting an MRI to rule possible causes out.

 

[Swannys]

Thank you everyone for your support and advice

 

[Bill Bauer]

If you are so convinced of your theory that noise is not a threat

It sounds like you haven't read my post very carefully. We can do something about the noise pollution, and so I hope the authorities do as much as they can to curb it. But when there is nothing that could be done about T, one could try to convince oneself that it is not a big deal. Personally, I can't do that, but others have more self-control than me (or noise bothers them less than me) and so if they Can do it, it will certainly be good for them if they go ahead and do it.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Have not you thought that they may be lying for some reason, all those who supposedly have that self-control?

It is impossible to know what another person is feeling or not feeling. For all I know, none of you exist.

I know that when I try to fool myself, sometimes it works (and sometimes it doesn't).

Also, you have got to admit that if T is quiet enough it ought to be possible to completely ignore it most of the time.

 

[Tex]

Have not you thought that they may be lying for some reason, all those who supposedly have that self-control?

In the case of Craig Gill, his suicide was something totally unexpected and inexplicable for most, since it seems that he hid his suffering with lies.

So it is our duty to establish a pattern here that allows us to put as a dogma that those who say that it does not bother them are lying, and it will be built with the following formula: to you and my tinnitus affects a lot, like those who have committed suicide but they lied all the time about your situation. As two things equal to third thing, are equal to each other, then: you = me = the sick who lie = all suffer the unspeakable with tinnitus without exception.

I can't agree with any of that. The reason being, is that after ten years of this I cannot count the number of people that when I mention my Tinnitus they will say that they too have it, and have had it for possibly for a long time. And they act like it is not big deal. That tells me that theirs is quite mild. Nobody could have T with the volume I have and act like it is no big deal.

I think we all have heard the stats. Tinnitus is very prevalent. A very high percentage of people have it. However, it is also quite obvious that the volume can vary a lot from one person to the next.

Mine just spiked reading that nonsense!!!

 

[Benedict16]

If you haven't tried it, cutting out gluten cold turkey worked for me. Tinnitus is a symptom of gluten intolerance. I urge anyone who hasn't tried it yet to do so. It is worth a shot. I ate gluten all my life (I'm 30) and never had ringing like what came on recently. It took a few weeks to see improvement. But you have to eliminate it completely, It is hidden in a lot of foods. If I eat gluten the ringing comes back within 20 minutes or so, no lie. I hope it helps you, I was also in a very bad place before I saw improvement.

 

[Mad maggot]

An MRI is not a waste of time if the cause of your tinnitus is something like a tumour which can and does happen. One hundred people could have T and every one of them could have a different cause from a tight neck or ear damage to a brain tumour. So you will get overwhelmed with advice because what will help one person may be of no use at all to another and something completely different could help them. But what will be of use to everybody is learning to relax and not panic which is exactly what T makes us all want to do - panic! Most medical things will overwhelm anybody and T is not alone in that. Step back, take some deep breaths and do not rush to act on every piece of advice or you will end up like a chicken with its head chopped off, running all round while getting no place. Take it slowly. Accept that this may be something you will have to live with for the rest of your life but don't give up hope either because after eight years I finally have a cure for mine. But I found that I needed times of stepping back and not looking for answers and just getting on with things for a while then taking another look.