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Original poster

People with tinnitus, how long have you had it and does it bother you?

41 replies

Pinkpowderpuff · 10/05/2021 16:38

7 months in and although I'm coping better than I was each day is still pretty difficult. I'm hoping one day I'll reach the holy grail of hearing it but not being bothered by it. I feel I'm still a long way off that though!

OP posts:
Dementedswan · 10/05/2021 16:39

As long as I can remember. Its awful at the minute tho, no respite from it at all.

RatherBeInBed · 10/05/2021 16:46

17 years, and no it doesn't bother me at all. It is pretty loud at times but I only notice it if I think about it or when I have a migraine. Other than that, I'm used to it and it doesn't affect my life at all.

I don't remember doing any coping techniques, I just gradually got used to it. Sorry not much use in terms of how to deal with it, but i hope you reach this stage soon where you hardly notice it.

ginghamtablecloths · 10/05/2021 16:48

I've had moderate tinnitus for a while now and also hearing loss which is helped with hearing aids. It's bearable for most of the time. If you're UK based I assume that you've been given a leaflet from the NHS about how to cope with it. It mentions finding distractions which is helpful.

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General health
Comefromaway · 10/05/2021 16:54

For 18 months now since an ear infection led to a burst ear drum.

peridito · 10/05/2021 17:07

7 years .bothers me mostly when I'm tired ,so in the evenings .I have hearing aids and they do help with the tinnitus .

Billandben444 · 10/05/2021 17:15

Nearly ten years and I've habituated. It's a noise that is part of me (an unwelcome lodger) but it has no impact on my life apart from making me wary of loud noises (I use musician's earplugs in cinema etc). I can lie in bed and listen to my T.

Original poster
Pinkpowderpuff · 10/05/2021 17:23

@Billandben444 How long did it take you to habituate and did you do anything specific to help?

OP posts:
vampirethriller · 10/05/2021 17:26

Since I was very young, I can't remember not having it. It usually only bothers me when I'm somewhere really quiet.

fairgame84 · 10/05/2021 17:29

16 years. It doesn't bother me as I'm used to it. I went through a stage around 8 years ago where I bought a noise machine thing as it was stopping me from sleeping but it soon passed.

DuchessFerrara · 10/05/2021 17:30

OP - it's all down to how your brain reacts to the tinnitus and you can train it not to panic.

If you can just accept it's a part of you rather than an alien invading you that needs to be fought, you will start to habituate.

Don't try and drown it out . By all means have some music on or an audio book on so your brain can concentrate on that rather than the buzzing or ringing.

LadyCatStark · 10/05/2021 17:30

DH has had it for 12 years. He says he doesn’t really notice it unless he thinks about it but it does really affect his hearing.

Lou98 · 10/05/2021 17:33

I'm 22 and I've had it for 10/11 years now. I've also had multiple surgeries for problems in my ear/hearing loss - every time it was worse for a while after.

It does become more bearable, I hardly notice it the majority of the time now but there is always times when it seems to get louder/more irritating - usually when it's really quiet and when I'm feeling anxious/worked up. Not sure if there's a connection between the two but I always find it worse then.

It feels like a nightmare now but I promise it does get easier over time. There isn't really anything I think that helps (although I might just be unaware) but it does over time become something you're able to live with

iklboo · 10/05/2021 17:37

About 9 years. Sometimes it does bother me and it occasionally ramps up really loudly, especially if I'm ill or stressed.

Dementedswan · 10/05/2021 17:42

I've been deaf all my life, tinnitus has always been part of it because of multiple ear infections burst drums etc. Usually it is bearable and not constant, at the moment it's like listening to a constant loud concert. I have wondered if it's because of the jab but it's been a while and my second dose is this week.

MeanderingGently · 10/05/2021 17:46

I've had it since 2014, but in one ear only. I gets very loud and affects hearing in that ear, however, I happily live with it. If I stop and listen I can hear it all the time but I tend to concentrate on what's going on around me and so don't listen. I sleep with it with no problem, it doesn't keep me awake. Sometimes if I'm not very well it gets high pitched, I describe it as the tinnitus "screaming" today.
I'm not sure I would cope so well if it was in both ears though...

MintyMabel · 10/05/2021 17:46

20 years. Has anyone found any good ways to deal with it, mines pretty bad at the moment.

Original poster
Pinkpowderpuff · 10/05/2021 18:07

I've got different wavering tones in each ear and an ultra high pitched electrical hiss mainly from right side of head but can be both. It's the hiss I find the most distracting. I sometimes wake in the night and it's so loud but then sort of fades to being quieter after a few minutes. It makes me worry that it'll get worse Sad

OP posts:
OhTheIronyOfItAll · 10/05/2021 18:13

Since 2015.

I have to get Alexa to play rain sounds for me to be able to sleep. If it’s too quiet all I can hear is the ringing in my ears and it keeps me awake.

I always have to have the tv/radio on as background noise for the same reason. Mine is really loud at the minute, it’s driving me a bit mad, but I know it will go quieter again at some point so I don’t focus on it.

Mine was brought on, I think, with propranolol. It’s a side effect listed on the patient leaflet. It went really quiet when I stopped taking it for a couple of years but the pandemic had me starting it again. I’m taking more and more, and had quite a few doses the last few days, I assume that’s why it’s louder at the minute.

JadziaSnax · 10/05/2021 18:16

For as long as I can remember! It doesn't bother me because I've never known any different.

louloulemons · 10/05/2021 18:49

Mine started about 4 years ago and I was so upset at the time, wondering how I would ever get used to it. I can honestly say now though that I hardly notice it at all. I think a big part of it, was just accepting it as part of me as some people have said, rather than trying to fight it. The less worked up I was, the easier it was to try and forget about it. My husband has it too after a friend at school set off a party popper next to his ear, he says he only notices it when somebody asks him about it and reminds him.

Mine is a low rumbling in one ear like the washing machine. In fact when it first started, I used to lie in bed thinking we’d left the machine on. I was convinced it started when I started taking thyroxine as it started at the same time and got worse when I upped the dose. The GP didn’t seem to agree though.

If you are having trouble at night and have Alexa, ask her to play sleep sounds. That helped me so much. You will find the one that’s right for you. There’s one on there called Space Deck which used to mask mine completely.

Thisnamewasnttaken123 · 10/05/2021 18:55

I wondered how I would ever get used to it, it used to play up alot in the beginning like getting really loud and having lots of different pitches..
It took me about 2 years to get used to it.

FedUpAtHomeTroels · 10/05/2021 18:56

30 years for me. I can ignore it and usually keep some backgrownd noise on to help me stop litening to it.
It seems to have changed pitch in the last few years and I have noticed I can't hear as well on that side. I need to get a hearing test. If I sleep on my good ear I can sleep though anything.

Izzy24 · 10/05/2021 19:06

Years.
It got much worse after I had Covid but is beginning to settle again now.

Most of the time I can ignore it but just occasionally I wonder what it would be like to hear the sound of silence.

Dementedswan · 10/05/2021 19:37

I'd love the sound of silence! Do wonder if there's a link between covid vaccine or covid with aggravating existing tinnitus. I'm going to mention it on Wednesday when I go for my second jab. I have a symphony playing in my ears constantly now and it's very hard to ignore. I've grown up with tinnitus so used to it, but this is loud and invasive. Also I'm getting sort of electrocution pains in my ears and temples since the jab.

Dementedswan · 10/05/2021 19:38

I'm profoundly deaf, worn aids since 4 year old and I'm now 45 and on list for cochlear implant.