Does anyone have tinnitus?

[ILikeToBeBesideTheSea]

I 'acquired' tinnitus about three months ago. Unsure of cause, different noises in each ear and a general head noise. I'm struggling with my 'new normal' (sorry, hate that phrase) I've read it can improve/you can get used to it so you don't hear it so much anymore. Can't imagine me getting to that point. Getting sick of it being the first thing I hear or think about when I wake up to it being the last thing I think about. It's affecting my life big time but I don't want it to. I worry it will get worse.

I was referred to a hearing clinic with mine and I generally don't hear it now unless I think about it.

At the hearing clinic they told me I needed to train my brain to ignore it.

He used the analogy of your feet being on the ground. Your brain is constantly sent signals from your feet that they are happily planted on the ground - bet you can feel your feet now? 😄.

Your brain registers it, thinks, all is ok, propertyhelp hasn't gone arse over tit, so I'll ignore it. And so it happens continuously without your brain telling you every nanosecond that your feet are properly connected with the floor.

Should you stumble, your brain immediately doesn't pass on the 'ignore' signal but warns you to rearrange your feet and put your hands out to try and prevent a fall.

So, every time you hear the ringing (or however your tinnitus presents) you need to get your brain to think 'that noise is ok, I don't need to make you hear it/think about it'. So just like not constantly being told your feet are correctly connected with the ground.

When I can hear it (like now as I'm talking about it!) I try to just brush off and go and distract my brain by doing something else to occupy it. As I said, now I only hear it on occasion, usually when I read the word 'tinnitus' 😂. So it can def improve.

I hate white noise or background noise so this doesn't work as a distraction for me.

My tinnitus started mid teens and I'm now early 40s. The sound I hear is like the ringing in your ears you get after you've been to a concert, it's constant and differs in each ear. I only really hear it at night or when it's quiet, but sitting here now writing this I can 'feel' it in my ears.
I've sought medical help but as previous posters have said there isn't a lot that can be done ☹️

I love rain noise too!

Tinnitus is a processing error in your brain rather than an actual noise. So somewhere between your ear and your brain there's a malfunction that makes you think there is a noise when there isn't.

Learning to live with tinnitus is about training your brain to ignore the noise. It does sometimes go away but mine hasn't. I've learned to live with it now, like everyone else says it's worse when I'm stressed tired or ill. The more you think about it the louder it is, so as hard as it is you need to train your mind to not think about it. Ask family and friends to not mention it to you.

Mine developed in when I was about 50 (menopause: ears and skin went to hell...). Most of the time I don't notice it, but sometimes it changes pitch or my surroundings are very quiet and I notice it then. It goes through phases of being better or worse but most of the time I just ignore it. I think that's about all you can do, but I will look into the suggestions of brown noise and see if that helps.

Yes an ENT can refer you to a hearing clinic and masking techniques are considered effective.

@Fizzydrinks123 he just said I probably wouldn't notice it in a few months and left it there!

Thank you all for your input, some very helpful advice here. I really do appreciate it and I'm sorry you all have to cope with this too!

I'd asked to be referred to a clinic for masking techniques, as that isn't a useful response from the ENT.

[quote BumbleBeegu]@ElfIsAnAss actually it isn't as rare as you think. Between 15-30% of the population have some form of tinnitus. [/quote]
Sorry, it was meant to say 'is rarely treatable'. Not that tinnitus is rare.

I can't help but feel sad that I won't hear silence again.

My DH (40's) was left with tinnitus in one ear after having Bell's Palsy a year ago. It's not got any better over time I'm afraid, but also hasn't got any worse.

He was told there was nothing that could be done for him, he would eventually get used to it. He can ignore it for the majority of the time during the day as its less obvious with background noise. It's mainly worse if he wakes up during the night/early morning when it's otherwise quiet. He uses ear buds to listen to podcasts when he wakes to help him ignore it or just gets up and puts the TV on downstairs.

You have my sympathy, tinnitus is an awful thing to have, people don't realise how badly it can affect you.

I found the solution was to accept it as part of me (I call it my unwelcome lodger) and not fight it and looking for causes and cures gives it attention which is counter productive so get all that out of the way ASAP. I've managed to habituate and part of this process was sitting on my own in a quiet room and concentrating on the noise. It seems an impossible task but it can be done. Join Tinnitus Support UK on Facebook - we're a very supportive group and if you check the files section there's a WhatsApp group and different tips. Good luck.

Thanks @lifestooshort123, unfortunately I'm not on Facebook. When you say you habituated, does that mean you don't hear it or that you hear it but it doesn't bother you? At bedtime I allow myself a few minutes to just lay an focus on the noise rather than distracting myself from it. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not - it's a kind of monitoring to see if it's got any worse through the course of the day!

@ILikeToBeBesideTheSea

Thanks *@lifestooshort123*, unfortunately I'm not on Facebook. When you say you habituated, does that mean you don't hear it or that you hear it but it doesn't bother you? At bedtime I allow myself a few minutes to just lay an focus on the noise rather than distracting myself from it. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not - it's a kind of monitoring to see if it's got any worse through the course of the day!

Did you see my post @ILikeToBeBesideTheSea?

A company called flare audio (I have bought from them but have no links.) one of their products is an ear plug called calm which may have a positive effect for tinnitus sufferers. I have bought some for my sister who suffers with it so will give updates.

@PropertyHelp, yes I did, thank you so much. Very helpful. The thing is I kind of find myself listening to it pretty much constantly and monitoring if it's better/worse. I'm not sure how to get out of that, maybe more distraction needed?! Or maybe give it time, it's not quite been three months since it started.

@PropertyHelp, how long did it take you to habituate?

[quote ILikeToBeBesideTheSea]@PropertyHelp, how long did it take you to habituate?[/quote]
I'm not sure really. I have a really manic full on job and 2 kids so there's always a lot to concentrate on rather than the tinnitus.

I found the foot analogy really helpful as I was thinking how annoying it would be to be constantly reminded my feet were on the ground 😂

I've had it about 4 years after a bad cold and it rarely bothers me. I know everyone's is different though 😖

I have two kids and a part time job, definitely the days when I'm at work are better as I'm obviously not focusing on it as much. Maybe I should go back full time!

@ILikeToBeBesideTheSea

I have two kids and a part time job, definitely the days when I'm at work are better as I'm obviously not focusing on it as much. Maybe I should go back full time!

😂

@ILikeToBeBesideTheSea
Habituating means living with it so it's still there but you don't let it bother you. You're the boss, keep it in its place and get on with your life - let it be a friend and not an enemy. My only concession is running a fan at night that is slightly quieter than my T.

@lifestooshort123 I can't ever imagine getting to the point where I can hear it but it doesn't bother me. I hope it will happen at some point though.

Hello @ILikeToBeBesideTheSea, sorry you are suffering from tinnitus. I do too - am 45 and have had it for about two years. Appeared after a cold but have always had ear issues - infections as a child and wax build up. My GP was very thorough and sent me for an MRI to rule out an acoustic neuroma and I had a hearing test.

I went to an audiologist to have my ears syringed - he said there was very little wax build up so he refused to syringe them or charge me. He had worked for the NHS as a tinnitus specialist and was very helpful. He said CBT could help, and that the people that did best were those who didn’t fight it, but who tried to relax and learn to live with it. I appreciate this is much easier said than done, especially in the first few months.

Mine is definitely worse when I am tired and stressed - evenings are the worst. I sympathise - it’s dispiriting thinking this is it, but I can and do tune it out for periods of time. If i think about it or talk about it I immediately tune into it again. It’s a frustrating thing to live with.

I’ve had tinnitus for 25 years now (since age 21) and it has dramatically improved since the early days. It’s started after a bad cold and ear infection and never stopped.

A couple of years later I was diagnosed with a TMJ disorder which can include tinnitus amongst its symptoms. It’s a jaw disorder and given your comments I’d recommend having a look at this condition to see if resonates with you. Despite having braces as a teenager it turned out that my bite wasn’t correct and was causing facial pain, neck and jaw aches and tinnitus. I had a night splint made for my mouth that I wore 24/7 for a year, and then for a further 6 months only at night. This caused my teeth to move and correct the bite. At the same time I also developed glue ear and ended up having grommets. This treatment combined caused a big improvement in my tinnitus.

Like pp have mentioned, just reading this thread has made me aware of my tinnitus. You need to re-train your brain to accept the noise as normal which in turn will help you not notice the noise. White noise apps can help at night time, but I found when I went to bed I would concentrate on my breathing, take slow deep breaths to calm myself from panicking against the noise. I would usually find that the noise would audibly start to drop until it was a hum, and I’d fall asleep.

Consider contacting a tinnitus charity for advice too.

Good luck and don’t give up hope x