Tinnitus - how long did it take you to stop being annoyed by it?

[Pinkpowderpuff]

Had it 8 months, was doing better, now doing worse again. I just can't imagine living with this 'forever' now. It's just so bloody annoying and intrusive. I want quiet again! Does it ever stop being annoying?!

I've had it for years, and it does get worse with stress. The best that you can do, is to take evasive action. I find that if I'm more rested, it's less intrusive.

Probably a year to 18 months before I could easily go a full day without thinking about it/being annoyed by it at all. I've had it for three and a half years now and for the vast majority of the time I hardly notice it, it gets worse when I focus on it (or write about it on mn!)and when I'm tired, thirsty, hungover or generally under the weather.

@InDubiousBattle Did you do anything specific to help? Do you do anything to 'accommodate' it now?

I get it off and on

Made worse by the fact I can only hear out of one ear and it distorts what I can hear with my hearing aid

I end up having to take my hearing aid out because every little noise sends pain through my head

It wears off eventually. Have you seen a doctor about it?

Yes, they couldn't find any reason for it. On a waiting list for MRI but goodness knows when that'll happen! Unlikely to show anything anyway.

Mine is relatively mild, thank goodness. But my hospital has a tinnitus therapist, and she was very helpful with regard to relaxation exercises which help when it's bad. She also provided me with a machine that helps mask the sounds in my head.

Mine is I think relatively easy to ignore compared to some people's, but stress definitely increases it, as does ibuprofen. I now carefully read side effect leaflets for everything. It's surprising how many drugs etc can cause or exacerbate it.

I've had it for nearly 3 years. I'd say it took about 18 months before I wasn't bothered by it every single day, but I got less and less bothered within that time. Now, I probably notice every day but I'm not bothered by it. Realising my brain could and did filter it out made it easier to filter it out, because I was less anxious; I knew if I just moved my thoughts on it wouldn't bother me. That just took time and gradual acceptance.

At first I was panic stricken, and for at least 6 months I was very bothered by it and couldn't bear the thought of it forever. Then I found out how many people have it, and somehow that made it seem easier to cope with. I also remind myself that it doesn't do any "harm" - as in, it doesn't inherently hurt or stop me doing anything. You are in control of how much of an impact it has, but that can be hard to get your head around for a long time.

Can genuinely say I'm not bothered by it now, whereas I used to say to my partner that if I won the lottery I'd give it all away to someone who could get rid of my tinnitus!

Does anyone have more than one 'sound'? I'm worried that the menagerie of sounds I have will make it harder to get used to.

Thanks for you post @MsFrog, that's reassuring. I'm presuming if you won the lottery now you would keep the money?!

I most certainly would!!!! 😜

If it helps, I have one constant sound, and another that comes and goes

I was told that the MRI isn't actually to find the cause, it's to rule out other issues that may/may not cause it.

They can' t actually 'see' what's causing it.

I've had it for years (15+). It varies - there are periods where it is really annoying and others where I go for weeks not really noticing it much. Right now it's been mildly irritating for months.

Definitely more noticeable when I'm anxious, tired or worried or been drinking alcohol. Worst at nights when I go to bed in those minutes before I go to sleep, or in any room which is really deadly quiet and I have nothing to do/distract me. I can't do silent meditation or quiet breathing type yoga for this reason as I can't switch my brain off enough and the tinnitus just prevents me relaxing. Some relaxation techniques do work but I need background noise.

I too have a menagerie of sounds. Today it's loud high pitched fuzzy white noise with the occasional even higher pitched whistle sound (like a old fashioned kettle on a stovetop). Sometimes I just get the whistling but continuous. That's probably the worst as it's usually at the same monotonous high pitch and very loud. I also sometimes get electronic door bell buzzing, and 'drilling in the wall' noises and intermittent beeping. Oh and chirping sounds similar to birds at dawn chorus.

If I start thinking about the tinnitus it gets louder and more intrusive. Distraction is the best technique for me, keeping my mind or hands busy with something else. When I am focused on a task it fades in the background a lot more. I don't usually hear it outdoors, when running, in a park, talking to friends etc. Indoors I need constant low level background noise, TV/Radio/audio books/music unless I am so absorbed in a task I've gone into a trance state.

At night I used to have a sound machine, to help me get to sleep. I no longer really need this as I've trained my mind to think of 'happy place' type visuals and go to sleep quickly. You can get apps for sounds now, I hate anything with tinkling water as it makes me need the loo but waves on the shore were OK.

One thing I have found - it gets worse immediately after I have exposed myself to anything high decibel, e.g. a music concert, sound of jackhammers in roadworks Ears will ring for days after that before calming down.

It's not great to have but it's liveable with.

I’ve never thought about going to the doctors about it. I’ve had mine since I was little.

The only time it annoys me is when it does a two tone “siren” noise.

The loud hiss is constant and I think I would miss it if it wasn’t there.

It's funny you should say that, @Hen2018 - I don't know that I'd miss it, but I did start to frame it as an indicator that I was stressed or tired or dehydrated, because that's when I gets worse. That's helped me feel much less negatively about it, sometimes I feel almost fondly towards it, like my tinnitus is telling me I'm tired lol. It sounds daft and it likely a coping mechanism, but it works for me

Just further to @Gerwurtztraminer , I've had fairly bad (I guess, how do you quantify these things?) since treatment for cancer twice 24 years ago.

It still catches me out suddenly sometimes when I randomly have a massive increase in pitch. No apparent reason, it just does it. Throws you a bit to be honest. Kind of like ducking when a shadow catches you unaware and you think you're about to bang your head.

Otherwise it is a constant. Never goes, just forget about it sometimes. Usually varies in pitch but it is quite similar to a recording of crickets played at full volume. I tried these ear things called Flare (no help at all) but I find the best way to manage it is to have background noise all of the time. Music, usually. Works for me anyhow.

Best of luck with it and I hope you get lucky and it abates.

@Bumblefeet

I've had it for years, and it does get worse with stress. The best that you can do, is to take evasive action. I find that if I'm more rested, it's less intrusive.

Exactly the same for me. It developed at a very difficult time for me and has never gone, but now I only notice at night and can just zone out. When I become less stressed, it improves in a twofold way: 1. the 'sound' itself is less intense, and 2. I care a lot less, so am able to make peace with it and go to sleep.

I feel a bit overwhelmed by it really, it seems to taint everything. Even if I'm having a nice time it's still there, sucking the joy out. I hope I learn to live with it better in the future.

PinkPowderPuff - it really does it get better. When it first started I remember being aware of it all the time and getting quite distressed some nights in bed, but now it's just "there".

Having just got back from the dentist today I realised that the increase in the severity of my bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching) is probably why mine has been more noticeable. There is some evidence bruxism & tinnitus are linked. I wear a night guard to prevent pain & damage to my teeth (I've actually worn a hole in it in just on year which my dentist says is fairly unusual and a sign of how bad it is!).

So if you think you might grind or clench your teeth talk to your dentist about a nightguard, maybe that will help lessen the tinnitus as well.

But believe me, you will adapt and get used to the tinnitus over time.

And @DW76, yes the host of chirping crickets is another sound I get. In fact the white noise from earlier has segued into that now, but I wonder if it's the power of suggestion! Luckily I like crickets.

I've had it for just over a year, I think mines fairly mild and is made worse by anything blocked in my ears (water etc)

DS started getting it about 9 months, his very much comes and goes (literally ringing for a couple of mins then goes away for several days). He also has hearing loss. The ENT specialist feels he just needs to get used to it

I'm 8 years in. After 2 years, it stopped ruining my life. After 4 years I stopped letting it dictate how I lived my life. After 6 years it maybe only bothered me 30% of the time. 8 years in and I can honestly say I barely give it a moments thought. It's always there, I hear it, but I don't care about it. Hence my brain has filed it under "boring things" instead of "IMMEDIATE THREAT!!!" Like the first couple of years. It does get better, hang in there

@Gerwurtztraminer @gerbilfur Thank you both, your posts have really encouraged me.