Who here has tinnitus?

[Squiddy]

Maybe i misunderstood you when you say you try to ignore it. It didn't take that as blocking it. My bad.
Like i mentioned earlier.. it makes doing phone support interesting when it it goes nuclear LOL
But thank you for the reply

Occasionally, I'll get fleeting tinnitus which is really annoying and I can't ignore, but luckily it only lasts for up to a minute.

 

[TimeToBiteTheDust]

I'm so sorry you are suffering from this. I'm musician and I can't imagine living with this. I have chronic pain and I know how it feels your body annoying you sometimes or all the time. The fact of knowing you can't get back to your normal life again makes think in ctb when the only thing you have left to do is just accept. People with chronic illnesses like us are at more risk of ctb.

 

[voyager]

Mmh, have it too. Ever since 1997. First on one ear, a few months later on the other. Feels better in stereo. Could more or less handle it for 20+ years. Sometimes it would act up for no apparent reason, even after sleep. The day was usually ruined if it happened. Unfortunately, in 2018 it got worse. It's about speaking volume now and sometimes it'll change frequency like those old radios when seeking through stations. Have again gotten used to it, but ya, definitely more annoying.

What helped me a little; Keep sound as quiet as possible. Avoid stress (hehe, oh well). Try not to focus on the noise and distract yourself if you can. Sometimes I'd put cold water on a kleenex and massage the shell, or rub my ear. And ya, try an ENT doc to see if they can maybe counter it with white noise.

As for going deaf, it's pointless. Tinitus, in most cases, is an imitation sound fabricated by the brain to compensate for loss of hearing on certain frequencies. It serves no purpose at all afaik and is pretty much an evolutionary error.

*Hugs*

 

[1DayItWillBover]

Drinking Caffeine works for me. I sometimes goes days without noticing it.

 

[thx1138]

I've had it for 5 years and the only thing that helps is 24/7 white noise. I usually fall asleep listening to podcasts or music. Have the TV running during the day. Loud sounds make it worse, so I wear earplugs or just avoid them.

It was hard to come to terms with the fact that I will probably never hear silence again.

 

[SleepyTime]

I have had a high pitched sound for the last 4 years. I woke up one morning and had this loud noise in my left (and only left) ear. When I went to the doctor they told me that my symptoms (sudden, high pitch, one side, constant, no external source) fit into a diagnosis of acoustic neuroma. Basically a very slow growing tumor along my auditory canal that destroys the nerve endings as it goes. But the only way to confirm it was with an MRI. After talking with my doctors and researching it myself I decided not to even bother with the MRI. Even if they confirm it is acoustic neuroma, there is no treatment and no cure. If it progresses, and I live long enough, it would grow along the auditory canal until it reached my brain. But that could be 20 years. Also, even if they performed horrific surgery to remove it - the damage to the nerves has already been done. And get this - the tinnitus does not go away, even if total hearing loss results.

As others have said, it drives me crazy. The constant loud sound, that no one else can hear, keeps me on edge. When I hear a similar high pitched sound on TV it makes me jump and hurts. Sometimes if it gets really bad during the day I end up with a horrific headache. No white noise helps to mask it. And as someone mentioned, I have thought about driving an ice pick in my ear. It really does drive us crazy - kinda like hearing voices in our heads that no one else can hear.

I guess that is why my doctors have prescribed a tricyclic antidepressant (yeah!!!) It helps deal with it, helps with the "going insane" thoughts, and helps with sleep. So I have decided to stockpile the TCA's since it is discussed as a method of ctb. And having different methods available is always a good thing.

 

[qwerty32]

I've heard of this method for people with tinnitus. For those who tried it does it work?

 

[Depressedtoolong]

I got tinnitus from sertraline. It was quite bad while I was taking it, but after stopping it progressively got a lot better over the years (although never fully went away).

 

[134340]

I have permanent tinnitus after several massive aspirin overdoses. It's a constant hum? (not really the right word but close enough) that sometimes gets very shrill and loud. I've had it since I was 14, when I took the first OD.

 

[lifeisbutadream]

I had it so bad years ago that i couldn't sleep at all and like many others with it i wanted to kill myself (my problem now is different). Here is how I defeated it. I came to terms with it and told myself that I liked it. When I lay in bed at night trying to fall asleep I pretended that I was on a spaceship going at an incredibly fast speed like near the speed of light and the hissing sound was the sound of electrons or space dust brushing past the walls of the spaceship just inches away from me. Or I might have been in some other kind of craft, a submarine or even a time machine. Then I found the sounds actually comforting. Once I did that the sound disappeared from my consciousness and I was no longer troubled with it. Initially, though, lorazepam saved my life because when it first started - and it started abruptly - I could not sleep at all.

 

[acute]

I have tinnitus for more than one year and it is my reason to want cbt. I hope stop suffering soon.

 

[pete_x]

I deal with it by always having some type of audio playing, and oddly enough playing my cello also helps. I think it's that my focus shifts.

 

[Tharik77]

Do not feel bad. I also live with this hell, I am 23 years old

 

[Fedrea]

I have tinnitus for more than one year and it is my reason to want cbt. I hope stop suffering soon.

I've heard stories of it going after four years. If not it can get much quieter

 

[kaz]

I have this, it's very annoying because I really like the silence

 

[TheRaul95]

Seems like everything is messed up inside...

 

[lifeisbutadream]

I have tinnitus for more than one year and it is my reason to want cbt. I hope stop suffering soon.

Read my post anove please. I too wanted to ctb at that time for that reason (now it is entirely different) and so do many others with that maddening affliction. I have so much sympathy for people who have it because i know what it is like.

 

[Iwanttogo]

I need to talk to someone else who has tinnitus. I feel like I'm going crazy. I can't ctb right now because I can't risk going to the hospital. I want to die so badly. It really feels like I'm in a nightmare.

I'm here. Suffering from tinnitus. I would like to talk with you.

I do but it comes and goes so I don't think I can be of any help to you. All I know is that when its bad I drown it out by listening to music with earbuds. Not sure if that will work for you at all. I hope you find something that makes it easier <3

Earbuds can be dangerous

 

[unknownperson]

I have a swirling electrical noise in my left ear. It is very loud. I had a barotrauma in that ear. Also grade 5 internal derangement in left TMJ.