How common is Tinnitus?

[Mcoco]

I developed tinnitus in December in one ear after an ear infection. I am habituating now, slowly but I am getting there. My question is how common is tinnitus? Does anyone else have it too? Do you find you can just block it out?

Thanks for your reply. Up and down with it. It comes and goes which I find strange as my other tinnitus in my deaf ear is loud and always there. I think that's why I find it tough cause at times I don't hear it and feel relief and then it will ramp up again for a few days. The days it ramps up.i find myself listening for it and hearing it more and getting me down and my sleep is worse. But I have health anxiety and my brain always finds something to fixate and worry about. When I'm busy both sets of tinnitus don't bother me but then i'll have some down time and a spike and it's horrible again. The bass rumble is harder to bare than my higher buzzing. How is yours?

I feel the exact same way. Mine is there most of the time (maybe 90%?), but I do have the odd hour or two where it isn't.

The random morse code like rumbling is just so distracting and annoying. At least I can sleep, but if I"m honest it drives me to despair at times during the day. I always have large fan going now to help drown it out - which is depressing. Maybe we will feel better about it by xmas...

Yes, it can be very distressing at times and then other times when I'm busy and distracted I don't notice it. I don't use any masking which is maybe my downfall. My other tinnitus in my deaf ear is pretty loud and can't really be masked, in fact it's reactive to noise and noisy environments make it roar so from the start I was like, this is me now, this is my 'silence' so I'm going to have to get used to it and to be fair it rarely affected my sleep. Whereas this rhythmic bass tinnitus in my hearing ear for some reason really annoys me in the middle of the night but I think I'm going through perimenopause so maybe that's wakening me up and the tinnitus then takes hold. It's a rollercoaster. I know what I have to do, accept it, let the noises come and go. They can't hurt me. It's just noise. Make friends/peace with it. Don't fight it. Keep busy, be positive etc etc. It's just hard sometimes.

I know what I have to do, accept it, let the noises come and go. They can't hurt me. It's just noise. Make friends/peace with it. Don't fight it. Keep busy, be positive etc etc. It's just hard sometimes.
Agree with all of this. The only bit of info I'll add to my pp is that a lot of doctors (and some specialists) are convinced that tinnitus goes hand-in-hand with hearing loss and this can mould their treatment suggestions. My hearing has proved to be spot on, perfect, tickety-boo and I can hear noises that I'd sooner not. I cannot be the only one so, if at all unsure of this diagnosis, please question it robustly! It does limit treatment options however 😒

Ah that's a shame it is affecting your sleep. Does the masking sounds not cover it enough to drown it out? I find mine is rhymic when around any noise, but if it's totally silent it is just a steady tone. I've actually moved bedrooms away from a busy road to cope, and as it is now a steady tone in my new bedroom, this is much easier for me.

I think I'm finding it extra hard as I had 41 years of silence. Plus I'm not good at 'staying busy'.......my MO is relaxing and peace and quiet! Sigh.

I’ve had it since my early teens and I’m now 35. The majority of the time I don’t notice it but there are times it’s louder than others and harder to ignore.

What does yours sound like?
I have high pitched EEE/static which I don't care about even though I can always hear it.
But I have a rhythmic droning hum which is horrible and is really intrusive. I find this much harder to live with tbh. Its been 6 months so far..

😂 Me too! I like nothing better than relaxing on the sofa with a cup of tea and chocolate. There are weeks when I sleep through and then there are times when I wake up and it annoys me, it's loud, intrusive, other times I wake up and it's there but low and I go back to sleep quite quickly. It's similar to house noises too. The heating coming on, car motors, the noise after the toilet has been flushed (but I never noticed those before). I guess because it is more of a low rhythmic hum but sometimes it has a boom sound. 🙈 Hard to describe. It's definitely a strange confusing type of tinnitus whereas the tinnitus in my other ear is more common (I think - at least it sounds like some of the examples on YouTube). I did find a type of white noise that kind of masks it but I think I'll habituate quicker if I just get used to it, if that makes sense.

I’m so sorry! That must be horrendous for you to deal with.
Mine is high pitched ringing and static. Sometimes it can be extremely loud and difficult to ignore but at the moment it isn’t bothering me too much.

Can I ask - have you habituated to this noise? I have a low frequency vibrating noise and it is really hard to get used to.

As to habituating, the best advice I was given was to spend time listening to the noise and not masking it. I sat in a quiet room with no distractions and concentrated on it, not exactly welcoming it but accepting it as being friend not foe. It took some practice but my tinnitus is now part of me. The only time I've struggled recently was coming round from surgery and a GA when my little friend ramped up the volume! Soon back to normal though. Good luck everyone x

Just wondering how you're doing now Mcoco? You had your infection about 6 months before mine so wondering if you've managed to get to habituation yet? (looking for hope!)

Hi MJF981. I have definitely reached habituation. It took me just under a year but I finally got there! I honestly barely notice the tinnitus unless of course I am in a quiet room. Even then I am able to ignore it and forget about it. Its strange really but your brain honestly gets used to it and stops seeing it as a threat. I do worry it may get worse or I get a new sound that I have to habituate to again but for now all is good. I hope you are OK with yours? I really wanted to let you know that there is hope I thought it would be impossible to habituate and yet here I am barely thinking about tinnitus anymore. You too will get there!

Thats brilliant news. Well done.
I'm still up and down, 9 months in. I have 3-5 noises depending on the day so suspect it may take me longer than a year. I've heard 6-18 months is normal, and I'd happy if I get there at the 18 month mark.

I don't notice my tinnitus at all if there's a tap running. Or if I'm cycling very fast . Like most people, when I'm tired it's worst. Like an aircraft taking off. But anything is better than the vertigo and nausea which accompanied its first sudden onset!