Tinnitus...I cant cope

[LittlestMouse]

This post is mainly to get things off my chest. I dont know what im asking for.

I am late 20s, and randomly developed tinnitus around 2 weeks ago overnight.
Ive seen the GP....No hearing loss, no wax, no signs of infection. Ive been referred to an ENT but otherwise nothing they can do.

It manifests as a high pitched ringing 24/7, sometimes switching ears. It runs in my family and i dreaded this day.

As dramatic as this sounds, I feel like my life is ruined.

I am autistic and very sensitive to noise. I NEED silence. I cant cope.

Nothing i do helps. I can hear it over everything...the tv, music, the fan, masking sounds, white noise, brown noise, EVERYTHING. I cant sleep. Im so tired.

I have been having panic attacks every day since it started. I just want the noise to stop I cant live like this. I am already on antidepresants and I dont want to up the dose as they are on the list of drugs that make it worse.

Does anyone have any advice? Tales of solidarity?

Please help me

Hi @LittlestMouse I am really sorry to read all of this. I only experience Tinnitus sporadically. My son has it consistently,rather as you describe. He has had it for years. He first described it to us when he was around 6 and he is 19 now. I am sharing a link with you and there is a number on there you can call too.
https://tinnitus.org.uk/
I hope someone will be along with how they manage it.
I think it is understandable to be focusing on it . My son has long periods of time where he dosen't notice it but am not sure how he does that! He was told by Consultant when he was a young teen that anxiety can make it more noticeable too.
I hope you feel able to give Tinnitus uk a call and that someone will be along with their own experience.

I really feel you're pain 😢. I have tinnitus and suffered now for about 5 years. Its always there, I just try and block it out as much as I can. ❤️

Would you be willing to speak to an audiologist?
GPs don’t really know much about this.

First treatment for tinnitus is hearing aids.
I’m in my mid 30s and diagnosed with tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss and when I put my hearing aids in it almost disappears. On a night time it does come back when I take them out mind!

I, and some of my colleagues, have had success working with tinnitus. At the moment you are high alert for this sound, which makes your brain think that it's important and that you need to be aware of it. When the subconscious knows it can safely be ignored – because it has no use or value – it will fade into the background. It's similar to living close to a busy road, railway line or airport, you simply stop hearing the noises.

OP you are in the hardest stage now. I have had it for thirty years and remember my horror when it started. What I did was never allow silence - which I had loved - my new silence was music or audio books and I have retrained my brain to focus on everything but the noise. Mine is also high pitched - work with an audiologist and see what strategies work for you.

I fully sympathise.

I developed tinnitus 10 years ago after a sudden bout of vertigo that left me bed bound. The vertigo eventually subsided by the tinnitus has remained ever since.

I have both a high pitched ringing and a separate low hum to contend with every day.

One thing I have noticed is that the more I stress about it and the more anxious I am the worse the tinnitus is.

I have had no choice but to learn to 'make friends' with mine. It is now part of me and I have had to learn to live with it because stressing about it just makes it 10 times worse.

I now live comfortably with mine and barely notice it most days. I sleep well and we just live alongside each other.

I have no advice really but just wanted to say that I get how distressing it is when you first develop it.

I hope you find answers and also find a way to cope with it and live with it.

I like brown noise rather than white noise to cope with mine. So listening to low grumbling thunder storms. I have a favourite podcast that is called Relaxing white noise- thunderstorm for sleep in mystical forest. It lasts 8 hrs without breaks for ads (I think there’s an ad at the start but I just forward thru that)

I developed it last year. Like another post above I have a ringing and a (louder) low pulsing hum sound which is much worse than the ringing.

You have my sympathies. I hate it and am still working out how to live with it.

Have you had luck treating tinnitus for people that have moderate or severe hearing loss? Mine is really quite bad and I can't imagine it ever fading into the background - I understand that those who have sudden significant hearing loss have much louder tinnitus than those who get is slowly over time.

Do you drink alcohol? I've noticed that when I have a few drinks or drink over a few days, low level tinnitus develops. It's only in the ear which had an ear infection and perforation a few years ago, and it does disappear.

Good luck, you have my sympathies. I also need silence.

Consider too if you might be dehydrated. From a quick Google it isn't a cause but can be a trigger. Also high blood pressure.

neuromedcare.com/dehydration-and-tinnitus/