to think you can live a happy life with tinnitus

[Guesswhosbacktellyourfriends]

The posts on here re: tinnitus have really got me through the last two months, so I'm just back to ask (pleadingly) - if you were really down about it in the beginning, and really fixated, did it change for you? I know it sounds so melodramatic but I just think it means I can't live the same life I did before. I guess I'm worried too that it could all get so much worse (quite mild in the day, no hearing loss, annoying at night)

Can you really learn to block it out? Do most people manage that? I read posts that say people can go for weeks or months forgetting they have it but it's on my mind all the time (and I know, I'm doing what I can to not have a stress response to it but it's so alien).

I've got ETD and fluid in my ears which also make it hard not to overthink it. And I'm a writer by trade, so I miss my silence. Sorry for the whingy post.

Thanks @TinyTigress. I actually can only hear it during the day in a super quiet room but at night, I think because of the ear pressure when I lie down, it really ramps up. And it’s still changing. Urgh.

@OneTC That’s so good. Have a good time!

Same @DrinkUpBabyDown - during the day. I think because I’ve got ear fluid it’s the lying down that really ruins it.

Hopefully it's not too late for him - he's mid 70s now but he's has* *tinnitus since late 50s and I suspect hearing loss steadily getting worse for about as long.

I do wonder if more emphasis should be put on hearing loss and age or more public awareness needed- as spec savers pushed for Dad to be tested - again he'd been in mental decline related to age though no tinnitus and again it was surprising how much hearing he'd lost and how hearing aids offered huge improvement.

Oh just to add if I'm not using the app at night I've normally got some sort of TV programme or audiobook on going through my headphones. Perhaps not the best option for chilling out and getting an early night but it distracts me long enough that I'm so tired I just fall asleep.

I randomly went deaf in one ear around two years ago at the age of 25. No cause was ever found and the hearing loss persists.

The tinnitus started at that point and has continued (constantly) since. I really struggled for the first 6 months and I’d say it had a big impact on my life, particularly my social life and my ability to sleep.

It irritates me sometimes now. I’ve mostly learnt to block it out. It’s much harder after I’ve been somewhere with loud music or echoey noises.

For the most part though I’ve acclimatised and accepted it.

One of my favourite things used to be going on a walk somewhere rural and basking in the silence and quietness. I miss that. I deal with it by trying not to think of it and distracting myself. I’m not sure of that’s a good way of dealing with the upset, but it’s what I do.

Sorry to be that person but that's not true. There's a lot of controversy over the research that tried to suggest hearing aids reduce the risk of dementia. Sadly it's no longer accepted that hearing aids reduce cognitive decline.

I've had it as long as I can remember and only think about it once in a blue moon when either it's very quiet around me (mostly at night) or the tinnitus dials right up for some reason (which is random but rare). I am thinking about it now you mentioned it though!

@Guesswhosbacktellyourfriends I'd say yes you can hear baby. They are really light weight, but of course it probably depends how loud your volume is. I have it on very low, just to mask the ringing. They are so light weight they feel quite flimsy tbh, but my first pair lasted years and it's the flattest I could find.

And yes most of the time i can zone out now; if I can't sleep, it's mostly peri insomnia arrrgh!

Edited to say this was to your question about the sleep phones

@WhatNext24 And when you do register it, can you zone it out again quite quickly?

Oh and I learnt this finger flicking trick that I find helpful when I get one of those sudden attacks of it sounding louder or changing pitch

https://youtube.com/shorts/YyT9ZwWy5Jc?si=xyviN58oP2JlpAu1

yes, usually. I think mine is actually quite bad and yet it features at about 1/10 on the richter scale of life problems, if that helps?!

Thanks @Applepencilplant - do you think it would have the same effect for someone with normal hearing?

@WhatNext24 Yep it’s exactly what I want to hear.

Honestly yes like it's just there now, I hear it if I try to hear it or someone tells me to listen, they've just heard something, can I hear it moments but I really don't give it a second thought except like I said before when it's 'louder' and I know I need to destress:-)

I hated it so much when it started, and like you was so upset when I thought about being stuck with it forever- but I’ve become accustomed to it now. I often don’t notice it for a day or so, and when I do I don’t really mind it.

In fact sometimes I tune into it on purpose if there is other noise/stress going on and it helps me block out other stuff.

Ive also grown to find it quite comforting in some ways- wherever I am and whatever is going on it’s always there if I want it… it’s sort of become my sound of calm.

I didn’t do anything to reach this point, it just happened over time (years).

Likewise. Sometimes the fact I'll never hear silence bugs me, but the rest of the time it just is what it is. I've had it for 20 years now so 🤷

DH also has it, and has hearing aids for unrelated upper pitch hearing loss. The hearing aids get rid of the tinnitus when they're in.

My dad suffers from tinnitus.

He says the only thing that has helped is wearing hearing aids.

Sympathies OP - it must be awful.

I also have tinnitus and ETD caused by damage from a medication. The first few months it really upset me and I had to have background noise on all the time, but now it barely bothers me at all. It's become like breathing, only conscious of it when I think about it.

Mine started a few months ago. It's a constant hiss. I only notice it when I'm at home or somewhere quiet, and it doesn't bother me. It's almost like internal white noise - just a pity it doesn't mask external noise the same way!

I only hear it when there’s no background noise and I’m not distracted by anything. I have the radio on a lot. It’s also louder if I’m ill with a temperature. And I can hear it now you’ve mentioned it! 😀

I’ve had it for 31 years you learn to tune it out

i've had it probably my entire adult life and im 57.. and only recently have i received a referral too ENT department to see if theres a cause for it? I assumed it was just something you have to live with.

i suffer chronic migraine, and its gets worse when i have a migraine coming, and its also worse when i am tired and stressed

I don’t hear mine very much unless I’m really stressed. The only time I ever think about it now is when I read posts on here about it.

I have tinnitus. It started when I had my first child and is still here 13+ years later.

Sometimes it is less than other times. Recently I spent quiet time in the same place two days running and was astounded to be able to hear a clock ticking the first day but not the second due to tinnitus noise.

I think it is something you learn to live with. Never please f or normal, but hopefully bearable and manageable.