On November 23, I developed mild tinnitus. I’ve been hearing a constant sound in my head. The sound is a mid-pitched whistle or whine similar to what you hear through the wall when your neighbor is vacuuming. The principal frequency seems to be about 1.1 kHz. Here’s the closest I could get when trying to generate the sound in my tone generator.
The volume is not high – the sound is overpowered by the refrigerator in my kitchen, the sound of water flowing in the pipes in the bathroom. I can often hear it over my PC (several very quiet fans + quiet 7200 rpm hard drive) or during a conversation in a quiet room when nobody is talking.
As I’ve spent a lot of time reading and thinking about tinnitus, I want to share some tips that helped me get over the initial shock and go back to living normally. Much of the advice in this FAQ is based on what I’ve read about Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), the leading clinically proven tinnitus treatment.
What causes tinnitus?
Sometimes tinnitus is a side-effect of taking certain drugs, or of another condition, such as earwax buildup, ear infection, hypertension or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
Most commonly, tinnitus is experienced after exposure to loud noise. The basic mechanism seems to be that noise knocks out some of your hair cells (temporarily or permanently). This shuts off the signal to auditory neurons in your brain, causing them to go haywire. As with most brain-related things, the details of how this happens are poorly understood.
Tinnitus caused by exposure to loud noise usually goes away in a few days. However, it could also become a long-term problem. Long-term tinnitus is associated with hearing loss. Between 60 and 90% (depending on the source) of tinnitus patients have some degree of hearing loss. This is, however, not a true explanation of tinnitus, because the majority of hearing-impaired people don’t have tinnitus, and a significant percentage of tinnitus patients have normal hearing (especially among younger people).
Here’s a good overview of possible tinnitus causes from the American Tinnitus Association.
When will my tinnitus go away?
If you were recently exposed to loud noise (for example, you went to a concert), you may just have temporary tinnitus that will go away in a few days. (By the way, if you have acute noise-induced hearing loss, it may be a good idea to rush to an ENT and ask for immediate steroid therapy to prevent permanent hearing damage.)
In many other cases, tinnitus goes away on its own within 2-3 months. In still others, it takes 2-3 years. On the other hand, there are people who have had tinnitus for over 20 years. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any reliable statistics that would show what percentage of cases resolve within a few months. The best I could find was this informal survey.
What can I do about my tinnitus?
You can go to a doctor in case your tinnitus is due to something that can be fixed or treated easily.
You can try one or more remedies recommended by tinnitus patients – vitamin B12, magnesium, ginkgo biloba, caffeine withdrawal and paracetamol – for each of these, you will find people who swear it reduces their tinnitus. And you can certainly avoid wasting your money on the countless “tinnitus cure” scams ran by unscrupulous assholes all over the Web.
Other than that, there is currently no proven method of rewiring your brain to make tinnitus disappear completely and permanently. There are therapies that can lessen tinnitus or even make it disappear (e.g. notched music therapy), but their effect is temporary, i.e. they must be continued indefinitely if the effect is to be maintained.
However, you can do two very important things:
- You can stop the noise from bothering you.
- You can learn not to notice the noise.
If you achieve these two goals, tinnitus will be no more of a problem for you than the color of the walls in your apartment. It will still be noticeable, if you choose to notice it, but it will not be an issue.
Dr Stephen M. Nagler described this beautifully in his introduction to Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (the page I’m quoting is no longer available online; here’s the closest I could find):
TRT is not a cure for tinnitus. It is a treatment approach designed with the goal of tinnitus ceasing to be an issue in the patient’s life. It is designed with the goal of making tinnitus into a pair of pants. Ninety percent of the time, people are unaware of their pants. The 10% of the time they are aware, they do not “cope” with their pants, they do not “deal” with their pants, they do not “learn to live” with their pants, and they most certainly do not spend any time worrying whether the following day will be a “good pants day” or a “bad pants day.” They simply wear their pants; and when the goal of TRT has been met, tinnitus should be just like that!
How do I stop the noise from bothering me?
The first thing you must realize is that the sound itself is not that much of a problem. Unless your tinnitus is uncommonly severe, the noise in your head probably does not interfere with your hearing in a significant way.
The real problem is that (1) you are paying attention to the noise and (2) you are reacting to it in an emotional way. In neurological terms, the auditory stimulus leads to a stress response. You find the sound disturbing, you can’t think about anything else, your heart is racing, you can’t fall asleep at night – all these problems are not due to tinnitus; they are due to your emotional reaction to tinnitus.
Does it have to be this way? No. You are probably surrounded by many sounds that are objectively louder than your tinnitus, yet you don’t give them a second thought. Every day, you sit in front of a computer that has noisy fans and hard drives, but you don’t obsess over it. While driving, you’re exposed to the sound of traffic and your own car, sometimes for hours, but that does not make you miserable. Airline pilots spend half their lives in the noise of jet engines, but they don’t make a big deal out of it. The only difference between tinnitus and those “everyday sounds” is that you interpret those other sounds as “normal background noise”.
As I sit in front of my computer writing this post, I am surrounded by potentially annoying stimuli. I hear the drone of the washing machine that’s running in the bathroom, the whirr of the hard drives in my computer, and some sounds of traffic outside the window. I am wearing eyeglasses that put constant pressure on my nose and ears; worse still, their rims impose themselves on my field of vision, putting a useless blurry border around whatever I’m looking at. To the right of my screen, there is a network router with bright LEDs blinking at irregular intervals. And whenever I move in my chair, it makes a fairly loud squeak. All of these things can be seen as irritating, yet none of them bothers me in the least bit.
There is no objective reason why I should be completely indifferent to all these stimuli, yet be disturbed by tinnitus. After all, tinnitus is just another sound I can’t do anything about.
Your emotional reaction to tinnitus is a matter of attitude. And attitudes to stimuli can change. I remember very clearly that I used to be annoyed by the ticking of the wall clock in my room, to the point that I had to take it down. Guess what? I recently hung it again and now I kind of like it. To take another example, there are people who are annoyed by the noise made by children playing in the playground. Often, the same people will find it much less annoying (or even pleasant) once they have their own children and begin to associate the sound with something pleasant.
It is helpful to realize that most of your negative attitude to tinnitus comes from the initial shock. If you had been born with tinnitus, would you worry about it? Certainly not. For you, it would be the way the world works – much like the fact that you have to blink every 20 seconds or so. Some people who have had tinnitus since childhood are indifferent to it to the point that they believe it is completely normal.
Finally, here are some positive thinking tricks to “make friends” with your tinnitus:
- think of it as the “dial tone of the universe” (not everyone can hear it, you’re among the chosen ones!)
- think of it as a noise that your brain makes when it’s working (it’s good to know your brain is working, isn’t it?)
- think “my invisible force field is on and is protecting me” (this one was suggested by Thomas Tang in the comments here, I think it’s great)
What is partial masking?
Partial masking is a good technique that can help you stop reacting emotionally to tinnitus. Surround yourself with some sort of noise that blends with the sound of tinnitus without obscuring it completely. Good sources of noise include computer-generated noise, recordings with sounds of nature (rain, ocean, mountain stream, etc.), fans, radio static, air humidifiers, etc. There is a good free online noise generator over at myNoise.net. Remember that if your goal is to reduce your emotional response to tinnitus, the tinnitus should still be partially audible over the masking noise. The reason is that you cannot get used to something you don’t hear. You can then gradually decrease the volume of the masking noise until your tinnitus becomes as boring and unworthy of attention as the buzz of the refrigerator in your kitchen.
Does tinnitus deprive you of silence?
Among tinnitus patients, there is a tendency to think “I will never hear silence again”, but it is worth noting that humans are incapable of hearing complete silence anyway. In a well-known study by Heller and Bergman (1953), out of 100 tinnitus-free university students placed in an anechoic chamber, 93% reported hearing a buzzing, pulsing or whistling sound.
How do I learn not to notice the noise?
At the core of tinnitus is The Loop. The Loop is my own term for the positive feedback loop created by the following two mechanisms:
- The more attention you give to your tinnitus, the louder it gets. (What happens is, you are telling your brain “This sound is important/threatening, I need to hear it more clearly”.)
- The louder your tinnitus is, the more it attracts your attention, which in turn makes it even louder, and so on.
This is a vicious circle that can be extremely hard to break out of. In the first few days after my tinnitus appeared, I gave it so much of my attention that eventually I could hear it even while watching TV.
The loop starts when you focus your attention on the noise. Once you let yourself do that, the noise will get louder, making it much harder to get your mind off it. So Rule Number One is: don’t start The Loop. Whenever you find your attention wandering towards the noise, use your will to immediately focus on something else. Get busy. Slap yourself on the face. If you’re trying to fall asleep, try counting. Remember how miserable you felt the last time you let yourself focus on the noise. Do whatever it takes to take your mind off the tinnitus. If all else fails, mask it with music or some noise. Use the “Reddit maneuver” for short-term relief. But whatever you do, don’t start The Loop.
Learning to take your attention away from tinnitus takes training. One technique that helps with this is having a loud ticking clock in your room. The moment your attention wanders towards the tinnitus, focus on the tick-tock instead. Counting tick-tocks is also a good way to fall asleep.
Tinnitus gets louder when you are anxious about it, so anything that reduces your overall anxiety level is helpful. There are drugs that are known to help, but exercise works great, too. If you make yourself feel so tired that you can barely move, it’s really hard to think about tinnitus – when your body is aching, all you can think of is how good it feels to lie down and rest. I would also recommend experimenting with cold showers or cold baths. In general, anything that causes (safe) pain is good because once the pain is gone, you experience the opposite feeling: bliss, warmth, energy.
Note: an earlier version of this post mentioned Xanax as a possible remedy for tinnitus-related anxiety. However, Xanax (and other benzodiazepines) produce dependence and can be very difficult to quit. If I were to take the medication route, I’d look into other anxiolytic drugs first.
If you haven’t heard your tinnitus for some time, don’t listen for it. Don’t ask yourself: “Do I hear the noise now?” or “Has it really gone away or is it just temporarily masked by ambient noise?”. In the first weeks after I got tinnitus, whenever it stopped being noticeable, I would go to a quiet room and put on my isolating headphones to see if it really went away. I did this many times a day and all it did was make me notice my tinnitus again. In the end, I had to set a rule: I am allowed one “tinnitus test” per day, when I get up in the morning. For the rest of the day, no checking.
Remember: If you listen for tinnitus, you are just training your brain to hear it better. Don’t do it. Focus on other things in your surroundings and your life.
What if I’m already in The Loop?
Ah, yes. When you’re in The Loop, your tinnitus seems so loud that it’s like a tiger in your room – it seems damn near impossible not to pay attention to it. In addition, the stress you are probably experiencing does not make it any easier to exercise mental control.
Still, you have to help yourself. You have to get out of The Loop somehow. Here’s a method that worked for me: Mask the hell out of it and go to sleep. When you wake up the next morning, use every ounce of self-control you have to focus your attention on things other than the tinnitus. Keep telling yourself: if I let myself focus on it, it will just get bigger and even harder to ignore. Whenever your thoughts start wandering toward the tinnitus, slap yourself on the face or pinch the back of your forearm (this serves as negative reinforcement). The goal is to develop a mental habit to distract yourself every time you start thinking about your tinnitus. As time passes, it will get easier and easier to distract yourself when tinnitus becomes noticeable.
It can be hard to keep this up for the whole day, especially in the beginning, so use masking liberally. (Full masking is not recommended in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy because it removes the noise completely rather than letting you get comfortable with it, but my experience is that when you’re going crazy from listening to your tinnitus, masking it partially doesn’t make you any calmer. There are times when you need emergency measures.)
When you cannot help but pay attention to your tinnitus and it’s beginning to stress you out, you can try the following mental technique that I’ve found very effective. I call it the Refrigerator Trick. The trick is to imagine that the sound of tinnitus is made by an actual device in the room, perhaps a small refrigerator. It’s amazing that simply having that thought brings about instant stress relief. As soon as the sound is associated with an everyday object, it seems the brain no longer has any reason for alarm. Once the tinnitus is classified as an “everyday noise”, it is much easier to take your mind off it. To make this visualization more convincing, you can picture what the refrigerator looks like, where it’s standing, etc.
Useful resources on tinnitus
- Dr. Nagler’s Tinnitus Site – a very well-written site with tinnitus information and support, by Dr Stephen Nagler, who is a tinnitus patient himself. His advice is based on Pawel Jastreboff’s Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) model. Make sure to check out the Articles section.
- Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) page by Pawel Jastreboff. TRT “uses a combination of low level, broad-band noise and counseling to achieve the habituation of tinnitus, that is the patient is no longer aware of their tinnitus, except when they focus their attention on it, and even then tinnitus is not annoying or bothersome”.
- Tinnitus Support Message Board – the largest and best forum for tinnitus patients
- Tinnitus success stories from real people
- myNoise.net – a free online noise generator
- Plasticity – I made a free brain training game that may change your perception of tinnitus – see below
Update (Sep 2011)
I still have tinnitus, but have become indifferent to it to a degree I would never have thought possible. Basically, now it’s like the sound of the hard drive in my laptop. Sure, I notice it sometimes, but I don’t focus on it; I just go back to whatever I was doing. I’m certainly not sitting there writing an e-mail on my laptop and thinking “OMG, here’s the damn hard drive noise again, why won’t it stop?”. Needless to say, I don’t check the intensity of my tinnitus every day anymore. In fact, I’ve gone weeks without noticing it.
I used to be scared of going to sleep without masking sounds, as the silence at night brings the tinnitus out. Now it’s no big deal: I don’t pay attention to it, and on the rare occasion that I do, it doesn’t bother me; it’s just “that familiar sound” to me.
Update – Plasticity (Aug 2012)
In April 2011, I wrote an HTML5 game called Plasticity with the objective of rewiring my auditory cortex and thus reducing my tinnitus. The idea was simple:
- Some neurons are firing in my auditory cortex (since I hear the tinnitus).
- The cortex can reorganize in response to training.
- Conclusion: I’m going to train my auditory cortex and see how that changes the perception of tinnitus.
Did it work? It’s hard to say. I was of course hoping for a dramatic, unmistakable result – a total cure. That didn’t happen. I thought I noticed some improvement in the course of my training, but that could have easily been simple placebo effect. After a month of using Plasticity every day, I went on a short foreign trip. During that trip, I noticed that I was able to fall asleep without masking noise for the first time since I got tinnitus. When I got back home, I decided to stop using masking at home as well. I also stopped using Plasticity. In the following months, my tinnitus gradually became a non-issue for me. I would still hear it, but only if I tried to. It would no longer hijack my whole brain. Since the auditory training was effective (I did get better at recognizing sounds, as evidenced by better scores), I think it’s possible that the training somehow changed my brain’s neurological response to tinnitus. I wouldn’t bet money on it, though.
Anyway, I have now made Plasticity available to everyone on the Web, so you are free to try it if you wish. (Here’s some more information on the scientific justification and tips on how to use Plasticity.) It’s totally unproven, but, unlike the countless fake cures on the Internet, it’s also totally free (though I’d be really grateful for your donations if you can afford to spare some money).
Update – (Sep 2013)
Well, OK. The bad news is that my tinnitus got worse. The good news is that it didn’t really upset me. It only bothered me a bit for 2-3 days, then I quickly forgot about it.
How did it get worse? Well, there was a loud concert that I went to with a friend. My friend wanted to get closer to the stage, and, like an idiot, I followed her, even though the music was already uncomfortably loud where I was standing. In other words, there was a red light but I ignored it. Needless to say, I won’t be attending any loud concerts anytime soon. Which is fine with me, I’m more of a home listener anyway.
The concert left me with a threshold shift (reduced hearing) and a whistling sound in my left ear that persisted for about 3 days. My hearing came back to normal (for a while I was worried that it would stay that way), but the whistling never went away. It is much louder than the tinnitus I have in my right ear.
Now I am 90% sure that my original tinnitus was caused by noise as well (another super-loud concert). So here’s a public service announcement: If you have tinnitus, avoid loud noises, such as concerts in enclosed spaces like clubs.
How did I get over it? Same as before, only 100 times faster. (I’m getting good at this!) I used a bit of masking, Plasticity, plus exercise to relax, but mostly it was just the familiar “don’t let yourself think about it” technique. Initially, I felt pretty bad – mainly because I hated myself for making such a stupid mistake and because I was afraid my hearing would be permanently impaired. After a couple days, though, I started paying less and less attention to it, and now I don’t think about it as an issue anymore. Actually, I am quite proud of how quickly I stopped caring about it.
Good luck! Remember to post your comments here.
Thank you so much for this blog. This gives us all hope, you are the best, please keep writing. I’m just a few weeks into my T, so, occasionally a little panicky. But I’m trying my best to change my thinking on it. The reality of it is that I can still do everything if I relax: I can still work, concentrate, enjoy my wife and children, exercise, sing, laugh, etc. We can all help each other with positive messages like this blog.
Wonderful article. Your tinnitus is mild. What about people who have tinnitus that is as loud as a fire alarm? Do you have links to good crickets sounds?
And you may want to add Tinnitus Talk to your links, it’s my and many others go-to resource and tinnitus support site.
http://www.tinnitustalk.com
After 16 month’s my tinnitus is finally going down to the point where it doesn’t register very much anymore. It use to be really load but it doe’s go down with time, I just wanted to share that with you guys. Good luck to you all Steve
steve – i’m 16 months in as well (i’ve posted here before, about 8 months ago) and my T, like yours, is something i notice pretty infrequently now. for a few months, i was in a death spiral – sleepless, terrified. as everyone says, you brain works it out. i’ve stopped using the electronic noisemaker (just use a fan now) at night and i can easily go a week without noticing my T. when i do, i forget about it again in a few moments. the first few months were terrible. then everything started to go back to normal. to anyone who is new to T, it gets better pretty quickly…..
Sorry I mean’t loud
October 2013 I was biting an apple. All of a sudden I got a very severe pain on right side of my face near to my ear. I could not shut my mouth and were holding still just to reduce the painful effects involved in movement of my lower jaw. I did not seek medical assistance because I knew what happened and reasoned it was less serious than a motor accidrnt and yet victims of motor acidents recover within three months most of the time. So I endured the pain for a couple of days and thought it was going to be fine in a while . But then some time I noticed a dual sound when I make sound. If you push number 6 and 8 of a piano chord simultaneously you get a dual sound. I told my daughter and laughed when it happened first time. It became quite disturbing…when we played a cd in the car..my right ear picked up the sound in a different tone than my left ear. So I thought what the hell is going on… It then started to notice a sound similar to waves of the sea. ..it later turned into a droning sound in my right ear. At that stage I was worried it could just be middle ear infection on top of all. Doctors could not confirm this but however started treating me with antibiotics and cortisone. But in fact the cortisone had an adversr effect. It affected my eyesight for the duration of the treatment. A couple of treatments followed. No difference. Then a doctor suggested I go for an MRI scan. Just then I decided no ways. I rather die than putting myself in that claustrophobic situation. So I just stopped medication end lived on. I got relief from filling my right ear up with cotton wool. It did not silence the noise…it just made me feel I am master over my ear and i shall cotton wool my ear as long as I want to. It really helped to reduce my sensitivity to loud noise…and I thought it was better for me to hear some real sound from blood circulation in my ear than the noise That I could not explain. …I had my hearing tested i the process…and the results were ” you hear better than a human being” . I liked to hear that!! So it is actually a fact that I have very sensitive ears to loud noise…and i push the cotton wool whenever I feel uncomfortable in this regard. …then there came 1 x day when I woke up realizing the noise is gone…it was 3rd January 2015. It felt weid but at the same time gave me so much hope. Later the same day the noise returned. I was ok with it. I lived on hoping for another noisefree day sooner or later. It happened. …. 23rd March 2015. Another noisefree day. About 12 hours. Noise back….Live on…28th March 2015. …during the night ….noise disappeared…29th March 2015…afternoon the noise returns… 30th March noise gone. …it ia gone for 2x Full days now….I live o without too high expectations….i case it returns. ..I am tellig my famile and co workers…the see the cotton wool on my desk…not in my ear currently… how appreciative can a person become !!! But as the author of this blog suggested…I shall remain realistic and jusy enjoy for now…tomorrow may be a different day ..how can any person tell what may come your way…I have started to figure out what did I do different lately… Firstly I have stopped using artificial sweeteners in my tea and caffeine free coffees. I drink it with one teaspoon of honey or sugar or sometimes bitter and black just to clean my tongue and mouth from milky stuff. I recently purchased glucosamine soluble tabs…and I have taken half a tab Three times per week. Could this have had an effect?? Tonight I am going to fall asleep in peace… and I shall appreciate every noiseless moment for as long as it is with me….maybe my damaged TMJ joint or whatever possible damaged nerves had at last been fully healed over the past 17 months?? I WISH all of you the best attitude and outcomes ….sooner or later…if nou such outcome, then at least the attitude…I shall keep myself updated with your inspirational ideas in case I need it in future… be a blessed person.
Hi Tomasz, your blog, especially this post, was very helpful and reassuring to read, thank you. Apologies in advance for the lengthy comment, but I just wanted to reach out to someone about what I’m going through presently. I’ve been a tinnitus sufferer ever since 2012, but have been having trouble dealing with a recent spike that occurred after attending a loud concert a few weeks ago. My initial onset of T was brought on by severe TMD (or TMJ as most call it) that I have suffered from ever since the first night I suddenly detected a loud, high-pitched ringing in both ears. The ringing was accompanied by ear stuffiness and pain, so naturally I looked to an ENT to see what was going on. Long story short and several medical specialists later, it was determined that I did in fact have TMD and that all of my ear issues, including the T, were a result of that. No hearing loss or anything. Initially I panicked and went through the entire range of emotions that previous posters here have outlined. I couldn’t eat for several weeks, my anxiety (already an issue) skyrocekted, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I was prescribed Xanax, a host of muscle relaxers for my jaw and neck (also severely affected by my jaw condition), sleep aids, etc. However, eventually I came to accept my ‘head noise’ as something that was part of me to stay, and that’s when I truly started to move on with my life – until the other week. Since my T initially began, I have been protective over my hearing simply because my ears became super sensitive to sound after it started. I’ve been to 2-3 concerts over the years but have always worn earplugs and made sure to stay far away from the stage and amps. This last concert, I thought that was being responsible in following the same protocol, but… well, I don’t know what happened. I wore earplugs, regularly stepped outside to give my ears a break, and literally found the farthest place from which to watch the show from. Afterwards, I took my earplugs out and had no noticeable ringing or ear stuffiness, so I thought all was good. Went to bed but then woke up the next morning with a very subtle but *definitely there* ringing in my left ear – my sensitive ear since developing T. Initially I didn’t give it much attention. I thought it could be my TMD causing issues again, or that it was referred pain from preexisting neck dysfunction, as it changes volume depending on how I hold my head and/or bend my neck. But over the past several days, my anxiety over the noise has increased and therefore my perception of the noise has increased as well. Sleeping has been next to impossible, despite using a dream machine, having the windows open, and a loudly ticking clock on my bedside table. I have resisted the urge to use Xanax, as I know that is only a short term solution. I have also not yet gone to the ENT because I am dreading finding out that this time, the T is irreversible ear trauma from the concert (I keep beating myself up for going to that show!) I am leaps and bounds beyond where I was when I first developed T, but this setback has certainly hit me hard and is depressing to say the least. It’s possible that it could be related to my TMD but the fact that it developed the very next day after the concert leads me to think it’s some kind of acoustic trauma. The 2 people I went with, who also suffer from low-level T and wore earplugs (one of which is my fiancé) emerged totally fine.
I am sleep deprived and starting to feel that panic mode come back – or as you mentioned above, I am in the loop. During the day it’s actually mostly imperceptible, but nighttime and trying to sleep is what really has me down. It’s such a high pitch frequency that it almost hurts my ear. I just lie there in the dark, feeling like my head is going to pop off from the pressure. Is there any chance the T will die down or that I will habituate again? It seems so much louder at night that my original level. Sorry again for the lengthy post… I’m just rather worried right now. 🙁
hi I just want you to know that it’s going to be ok the loop is no fun. time passes before you know it and things are different it gets better when you know it’s getting bad again you know its getting bad and you deal with it but then there’s the days where its way back there somewhere and you hardly notice it yes is probably for my lifetime I’ve had it for almost 3 years but you know what God is good my life is good life is good I love my life and this is just a small uncomfortable part of it that is unnoticeable most of the time god bless you
Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Cherie. I appreciate it a lot. I am doing okay with it all, I guess, but am just feeling really down right now. When I first developed T, I was suicidal for weeks, wondering how I would ever come to terms with this noise in my head that no one else but me could hear. Then, as most folks here have mentioned, I guess my brain became used to the noise and started to filter it out to the point that I stopped paying attention to it. And when I did, i was just another noise in my day that didn’t really bother me anymore, even when I slept. I used to dread putting my ear to the pillow because then it was just me and the T, but as Tomasz has mentioned, somewhere along the way it became nonthreatening. I guess that’s the whole acceptance thing. 🙂 I think the issue this time is the guilt I have for going to the concert in the first place. Even though I was responsible about it, I knew this band was loud and the venue small and it likely wasn’t a place someone with preexisting T and eustachian tube dysfunction (from my TMD) should be. I was also drinking, so I my discomfort level was probably dulled. I never thought it felt too loud from where I was standing, but who knows. For all I know, the earplugs I wore shoved some wax down in my left ear and that’s what’s going on. I just wish I had never gone. I think that’s bothering me as much as the new level of T. Anyways, thanks again for the reply. I do know it gets better over time, I just need to be strong and hold out. And get some sleep. 🙂
Hi how you doing now ? My story is exactly the same as yours , I lay here now week 2 in a flare up caused by ETD and went to 1D concert woth my daughter last night and led here exhausted as where my tinnitus is alot louder than usual my anxiety levels etc are through the roof and I am mentally exhausted from constantly thinking about it , wish I could rewind to 2 weeks ago when in the day my T was so low it wasnt noticeable at all and at night just a fan on low was enough , scared to death this is permanent and beating myself up for homing in on it so much !! But finding your thread has helped as I dont know anyone with T ; which always makes me think , why me ?? Hope yours is getting better
I have quite a high pitched T and it’s noticeable. I hear it in quiet rooms and at night in bed. However, it never bothered me. I have had many nights with loud temporary T after clubbing or concerts and it had never kept me from falling asleep – when I first developed T I asked myself why it should now keep me from sleeping. There was no reason other than the fact that I gave it attention. I am 26 yr old and have had high pitched T now for 6 months – I habituated to the first bout after a week with this state of mind. after a month my T yanked up in volume and since then it has always been audible for me but it doesn’t bother me very much. I can easily sleep without masking though the noise is loud, however, I kind of like nature sounds to fall asleep. It is perfectly possible to habituate to high pitched tinnitus and the more attention you give the higher and louder it sounds
I’m lucky –my T comes and goes with stress! I heard it after taking a beat down in the ocean and it freaked me out! I had a 7 year gap where didn’t notice it. I find most ENT’s worthless – even when they’re looking at my nose, much less ears! It does seem (unless it’s REALLY bad — thank God mines not) it’s just kinda annoying. But if you ask most people — in a silent room can then hear T — bet most of them would say yes! they can hear something! Thanks for the article — ignore it and (unless really bad) it’ll go away or at least not be so bad. Oh this is interesting — I did meet with a young, smart ENT who said MOST people have the T go from the front of the brain to the back (like putting something in a closes you really don’t notice.) I have TMJ -which makes it worse but thank God not too bad — our vets are who need help!!
A beer, a clonopin, goodnight!
Oh I really stay away from the HORROR storries on Google! Very bad to read them — and lets be honest we don’t know what they did to cause the damage….not that anyone deseves T! Good night! Reading too much is not good
I developed a very sudden onset T almost 2 years ago, when I woke up with this roaring loud ringing noise in both of my ears. The sound drove me absolutely crazy! After seeing an audiologist and an ears, nose, throat specialist, I discovered there was nothing wrong with my hearing, although I had some problems with the pressure in my eustachian tubes. Eventually I discovered that the cause was from TMJ dysfunction (I have orthodontic braces which have changed my bite) and my jaw puts some pressure on my eustachian tubes. When I first developed T, it drove me mad for months and months and months. I started eventually noticing it less and less. Then it eventually got to the point that I just didn’t notice it unless I was in a completely silent room, and even then the noise didn’t bother me. About a month ago my TMJ dysfunction started playing up again, and now the ringing noise has come back, louder than ever. It’s now a high pitched ringing. There have been times that I haven’t noticed it much, I can occasionally go an hour or so without really noticing it but once I am aware of it, I can’t stop noticing it. That’s when I put my headphones in and listen to classical music (which I don’t even like, but it masks the noise). Now I’m scared that I won’t be able to go back to how I was, not noticing the noise at all. I’m scared that I won’t be able to stop the anxiety. I get my braces off soon and I’m hoping that will relieve the pressure off my jaw, which will hopefully relieve the T. I have accepted that I will most likely have T forever and that thought doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that I will always be able to notice the T because it’s so high pitched now. Although it does seem to get better when my jaw doesn’t feel as tight. It’s still scary :(. Reading blogs like this help a lot.
Yesterday I read an interesting article in the newspaper, school children in Italy participated in a trial, whereby they were asked to listen to Mozart’s “K. 448 Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos in D major” for 1 hour everyday, their IQ improved dramatically. 78-90 years also participated in the trial, their memory improved considerably. The reason for this is that Mozart’s music helps the brain’s neurons and also helps calm the body. I researched this on the internet and couldn’t believe there are so many articles on this subject matter in relation to tinnitus. I then listened to the ‘K488’ and then the ‘best of Mozart’s’ music on youtube. God what a relief, I felt good, the tinnitus was a tad tame. I am going to pursue listening to Mozart’s music for the next 3 months. Interestingly Mozart also suffered from tinnitus and was eventually helped by his own music. Do give this a try, its free and there is no harm.
The UK British Tinnitus Association (BTA) would like as many people to help complete a survey before 22nd Jun’15.
http://britishtinnitusassociation.cmail1.com/t/r-l-adjitx-drjldkdhdj-j/
Who knows one day, we may all benefit from the survey and the on-going research. Thank you.
Good article and agree ‘buyer be aware’. I recently got duped with buying the Thomas Coleman package after my tinnitus got worse and in my desperate search for a “”cure””, I bought the package which has useless information in it.
I was so happy to find this blog. I developed tinnitus about 3 weeks ago after trying to restart an antidepressant I had previously taken for 12 years. I never had tinnitus as a side effect of the medication in the 12 years I had taken it; however, after restarting it, and perhaps increasing the dose too quickly, I developed a “hissing” in my left ear. The psychiatrist thought it may go away if I lowered the dose and tapered back up more slowly, but that did not work. I have since stopped the medication all together 2 weeks ago, but am still hissing. I read some promising things online, and some discouraging. They say in some cases after antidepressant therapy, it takes a few months for the inner ear and the neurotransmitters to resume normal functioning. I sure hope this is the case with me. Or perhaps I damaged my inner ear for good. Trying to remain calm as you blog states, so that is helping keep the anxiety at bay.
Marla,
I am in a similar boat. I restarted an SSRI 3 weeks ago after being off it 3 months from about 17 years of taking it. A week into the restart, I had a high pitched distant sound in my left ear. It last 20 min. A couple days ago a constant sound started in that same ear and has not let up. It sounds like a summer night with the windows open and crickets in full force mostly. I also have an ache in that ear. Have always had sensitivity in that ear where I could not put a phone up to that ear. High pitched noises also bother it a lot. The other ear is fine. This might be from hearing loss from loud music. Almost 3 months ago I was in an indoor club with loud music. Had ringing in both ears when got home. Lasted about 24 hours. I wonder if the ringing I have now is related even though so much time has passed. I have an ENT appt tomorrow. Not expecting much to come from it, but hoping for small possibility it’s ear wax or maybe fluid in the ear. Apparently the ringing can go away with those two getting remedied.
Enjoyed reading some of the comments from readers. So much truth – the big T for me came about 4 years ago. Bought one machine from audio people for $700.00+. Broke in just a couple of months. Like most, noise is terrible but I have been blessed by God to concentrate on other things more than the T. Jack.
What’s up to every one, for the reason that
I am in fact eager of reading this web site’s post to be updated daily.
It consists of good stuff.
I have had T for almost a year now. I read a excerpt from a self help book that went something like..T suffers are giving too much energy to other people, and are not giving themselves enough energy? T forces you to look inwards instead of outwards, and care more about yourself and your energy? Obviously no scientific basis to this..but interesting…
Dear Tomasz,
first of all, i would like to thank you for all your supporting information,in this precious blog.This blog has been for me a real aid for a positive perspective for tinnitus.Since the last two months, i have developed high-pitched tinnitus due to loud noise exposure, that was produced from my bell’s saxophone.I overpracticed my sax this year,and i was exposed to high frequencies that triggered my tinnitus.I went to many docs,had many tests,and my hearing was almost superb.Just a 10 db hearing loss on my right ear.But i guess that, as an amateur musician and a music lover all these years (been in really many gigs and performances), that was really nothing special.Many friends of mine, have already much hearing loss and damaged acoustic nerves.They are all pro musicians.Some of them have tinnitus,other don’t have the symptom.Very few musicians in Greece wear hearing protection.Still in my country,few people are aware of such dangers.Not even my sax tutor, told me anything about such situations!! When the symptom kickstarted i was very distressed and pitiful.Thank God my buddies and my family,boosted my emotional state.After these 2 months,i am happy to say that my T has changed pitch (it’s higher now), and the volume has dramatically decreased.Some times my brain surveys the signal,other times it doesn’t.I have read many articles,patient cases over tinnitus,and i want to say that even the most hard T cases can dramatically improve! Time is a healer! At this point of my life i feel much more confident and positive,that things will get better! With the appropriate counceling and with showing respect to your auditory system,you can help very much the situation.Doc said that all people have T,but some are more susceptible to it.He also said, that hearing protection is to prevail hearing losses.Don’t know if this has a connection to the T.In any case we must protect our ears. Folks remember a very precious quote that my buddy told me: “Hard times don’t last long-Hard guys last forever” !!!
I wish you all health and happiness!!
Billy from Greece
Alto Sax student
Thanks for sharing. I like that quote. 🙂
Billy (the Alto Sax student) – loved your comments re: T. Recently I have been saying to myself that my T is my friend..in the good and bad times. Let’s befriend it so that it can make living easier.
@Kate thanks so much!! Be strong!! A fellow sax player told me,that if he won’t detect his T in the morning,he will probably freak out!! Hehehehe!! I don’t want to diminish of the severity of T in some cases,but still these also have been treated.T exist in all people,but some just detect.Keep calm and enjoy life.It’s not that bad.Soon we will forgot the T…Blessings and strenght!! Peace!
-Billy-
Excellent essay! Best I have seen on this subject. 100% common sense applied to a real life issue.
I started hearing the ringing sound (like that of the central heating) a few years ago, didn’t know then it was called tinnitus. Since I became interested in natural healing therapies I started a quest in order to find a solution.
Applying Quantum-Touch by a colleague helped me for two days. Then it came back and I haven’t had the discipline to apply it to myself every day.
Now I am treated by a chinese acupuncturist, she says that according to TCM the kidney energy is not right. It seems that the loudness of the ringing has decreased, but I’m still in treatment (and I still find it annoying).
In my case it might be linked to bruxism as well (TMJ) as my molars have detoriated by pressing too much (subconsciously in my sleep?).
Or clubbing which I did in my twenties/thirties (am now 40).
I read that Qi Gong might bring relieve or eliminate tinnitus as well.
Thanks for sharing including your updates, Tomas, very helpful to read.
Great article, yeah, I heard about vitamin b12, but I never thought that caffeine withdrawal can reduce tinnitus. I might try it.
Thanks again.
I have had tinnitus for 3 weeks… Very worried as keep hearing high pitch noise.. I have children 6 and 12…and wife. Went doctors he has Refferd me to ent. just can’t concentrate. Not eaten in days.. Keep reading it may never go away… Please help
This isn’t advice about how to get rid of tinnitus, but I do have advice about reading about tinnitus on the web: don’t do it! This one is the ONLY site I ever read that was thoroughly upbeat, and I needed an upbeat site at the beginning when I was so freaked out and afraid.
I absolutely agree. Other websites do nothing to help. This website is, in my opinion, the best to read.
Your in the right place. Watch info on what your eating and loud noises.
I wanted to say a bit more. I don’t want to sound flippant, because my life absolutely fell apart when I first got tinnitus. They told me it would never go away also. But it actually *has* gotten softer over time, and even sometimes disappears, not just because I’ve gotten used to it, but (I believe) in reality. My husband’s tinnitus never changed, but he also adapted and now never notices it unless he listens for it. I want you to know you have friends here who have been through what you are going through. We are all hoping for the best outcome possible. The reason I said not to read, is that some sites capitalize on the initial panic tinnitus often causes to scare and scam people. Tinnitus turns one’s world upside down, but I encourage you to re-read the helpful information at the top of this site and be very careful about visiting any sites not listed here.
Thanks for the advice marie.. Feel a lot better.. Will stick to this site for defo
Hi Ricky.
I’m 19 and have had tinnitus for two years. I was so traumatised that, like you, I didn’t eat and I was consistently worried for at least a year. I went to the ENT and everything was fine, and I eveI had a MRI scan which proved everything was fine. Scientifically, it was good to know. What wasn’t was not understanding where it had come from and why. I still don’t know. However, it takes time to forget about it, to ignore it and know it normally isn’t a problem. After your ENT appointment, you will have an idea of what the issue is. If there is nothing wrong, then you know it’s nothing to worry about. It’s the worst sound ever but being terrified of it makes things worse. I can hear mine and it’s just something I know will remain. God I hope this doesn’t panic you.
Hearing it was horrific. The depression and anxiety and the effect on my life was huge. But I’m here now, accepting that it’s there, knowing I’m not alone. It’s hardto deal with.
What might help in places like pubs or movoe theatres or concerts are musical earplugs. Cutting caffeine helps. This may just be me but almonds and pineapple help, too. White noise may help you sleep. Know that eating will help you cope, even if you have a bite of toast to help you get your appetite back.
And it’s most likely that you’re not going deaf, if that helps.
I really don’t know if this was helpful to you, but I at least hope you know you are not alone as much as you feel you might be.
God bless
Aah… Thank you for your advice.. It has kind of helped. I just worry about my family as they are also suffering because of me. I just can’t concentrate taking my mind off this high pitch noise… Called in sick at work today.. Will go back tomorrow as just been googling all day and getting stressed
Thanks
Ah yes Google is the enemy at times like this. Okay, hopefully this might help you:
We Googe things becausw we don’t know something. We expect answers. When we can’t find the “cure” or reassurance we need, or read anything that reads as: “deaf”, “never going away”, “no cure”, I believe our minds go into a panic mode. We fear the unknown and more so when we can’t understand something happening to our own bodies. This leads us to believe there is no hope and that tinnitus is completely devastating. This can affect you and by extension anyone who sees someone who is suffering from something that almost seems to be ignored in science, something even unreal yet terrifying. It’s a horrible experience and know that your family aren’t suffering; they want to help but without knowing what you can do is hard, too. Your family are with you to take it one step at a time.
Stay away from Google, as a conclusion.YYou’ve already found the best website that helps.
Know also that taking a day off work is the best thing you could’ve done. Take your time to come to terms with that evil high pitched ring.
I swear to you that in time, your brain learns to ignore it. I promise no easy ride, but always know you’re not alone. It can be isolating as others can’t hear it.
I am no expert, can I add. I talk from experience.
(I must apologise for the misspelled words. I’m still not amazing at typing on phones…)
Ricky – if sleep is your problem try using a sleep band. You can buy the wired and the wireless versions. Its just a matter of plugging to your mobile or laptop and listening to soft, calming music or white noise to help you sleep.
Thanks for the advice marie.. Feel a lot better.. Will stick to this site for defo.. Thanks sandy and Kate….sleep band sounds good will try… Will do going on Google….
Hi Ricky,
The only thing what you MUST remember is: Never give up! It will be defenitely better in time!!!! Many of us here was on the same road as you’re now. I know how do you feel. I know that you think that the voices and sounds in your head are unbearable and it is impossible to live with this. For almost a year I have felt the same. I have Tinnitus for almost 2 years now and it took about 8-10 months to be able to tolerate and accept that this sounds will stay wit me probably for the rest of my life. I have 2-3 different sounds with changing intensity and volume. So beleive me when I am saying that it will be better. Just take all the advices of this blog and try to follow the “instructions” . Maybe it will take weeks or months but you’ll be noticing that you don’t listen to that anymore. First you’ll be able to forget it for minutes, later hours and than you won’t pay attention to it anymore. During this period there will be better and worse days and periods. I have some periods still when I notice it more but I know now that it is going to be better again so I don’t get panic. The more attention you pay for that the
louder sound you’ll here. I know this from experience. I had to take pills for this for a long period. I know what do you feel and I feel sorry about you because I also wasn’t able to sleep for more than a months, I was so lost and hopless thinking that my life was ended. My husband could tell you terrible stories about my attitude, my panic attacks, anxiety and crazy behaviour. It was a real nightmare. This can be understood only by the ones was going through this, but If you show this to your wife maybe she will be able to see how big stress is this for you and how difficult to fight with this and maybe she will have more patient for you because I know that it is very difficult to live with this as a relative of someone having Tinnitus. Finally a good advice. Download some nature sound application with your devices and put it on for the night. I am sleeping with nature sounds still and it makes me relaxed and my it doesn’t bother my husband at all since it is so relaxing. Take care and don’t forget that: IT WILL BE BETTER SOON.
If you feel down you can write me anytime at kontirda@gmail.com
Szilvia
Hi can ask if this blog is UK based as I live in Nottingham
My high pitch tinnitus had gone louder!. Been crying all day… It starts really faint then gets louder!… Can’t take this.. Don’t know what to do…
Watch what u eat no sugar or sugar subs no caffeine no stress or loud noises
Hey Ricky 🙂
We’ve all been through what you’re goijg through. I think there’s a reasonable explanation for it seeming to be louder.
1. Being anxious/depressed about it makes you hyper aware of it. Your brain is going to concentrate on it more. Know that the more anxious you are, the louder it seems. (And it’s okay to feel anxious until you have your check-ups. Just stay away from Google. You will be fine.
2. When you go into a fairly noisy room (e.g. watching tv) it’ll sound not too bad. However the moment you go to silence it sounds extremely loud. Know that it goes down slowly in silence to a constant level.
3. When I first realised I had ringing in my ear, I was so focused on it I could hear it over everything. This is normal. Even now, I’m more aware of it and can hear it over the sound of the tv. It’s due to being hyper aware of it.
I do recommend, however, going to the doctors and ask for CBT for what seems to be low mood and anxiety. It will help you cope.
The road is not easy but you will be fine. Never forget that you are not alone.
Would it help for you to say what made you realise you have tinnitus?
Hello,
Sorry for my bad English, it’s not mij first language, i am Dutch 🙂
I have T now for 3 months and i have tried a lot of things but there was no relief to lower the tone i have in my head/ear.
Also there are to many horror story’s on the internet so you get there quite depressed.
Only your blog is one of the best on the internet and thank you for this to give people with T hope.
But i have found just a other site with a possitive message on reddit from a fellow T sufferer with the headline : Cured My Own Tinnitus and Wanted to Share.
So i read it and had tried what he was saying and for me if gives me 2 nights of not hearing my T, it’s much lower at day time to but i have tried it just 2 times so i am just beginning :-).
So i want to share this message to and i hope it will give some people with T there life back without that sound in there head.
I cannot tell if it’s helping all T sufferers but i think it will help some because this men is T free and for me it’s getting much better now.
If you do what he is saying don’t overdo it please, but for the rest i wish you all good luck.
Here is the link : https://www.reddit.com/r/tinnitus/comments/3d294k/cured_my_own_tinnitus_and_wanted_to_share/
There is also a video on youtube to carry out this exercise, it’s in the same thread.
Theo
Interesting. Let us know how it goes.
I developed mine about 8-9 weeks ago now. Docs think it was an inner ear infection that I had as I had some visual issues as well (felt like I was on the deck of a boat for a split second a few times a day). I was mostly over that when the tinnitus started up. Why, exactly, is a mystery. Could be a side effect of the healing and coping my brain has been doing, could be some sort of hearing damage, or perhaps even stress related as the vestibular issue came at one of the most stressful points in my life.
For the most part, I can deal with it. I notice it every day with some days being worse, especially at the moment with a head cold. Other days I was sure it was gone and nearly wept at the relief. It’s gotten much quieter since the beginning and though it isn’t gone I have to hope that it will either go away completely or at least my brain will adapt and I’ll just ignore it.
The key is to stop thinking about it, but some times that’s hard. I went to see an ENT yesterday who inadvertently threw me into the loop. My physio guy and my family doctor both maintain that it will go away or I’ll adapt to it and then the ENT tells me that it will gradually fade away. Then when I repeat this to him, hopefully, he says it will never fully go away and that I’ll hear it if I look for it or I’m in total silence. Crestfallen, I tell him that I was hoping he’d just say it was going to disappear completely and he says “oh, well, it might.”
So there you have it. An ENT who says it will totally fade away, be there for life but unnoticed, and also that it will completely go away. He said all of this within a three minute window.
So, what am I to do? I was hopeful, if not annoyed, for the past couple of months that I needed to ride it out and it was getting quieter and easier to deal with on a regular basis. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go back to that mentality, ignore the damn thing, and see what happens. One thing to be heartened of is that for many it goes away completely within the first six months, with many saying it only lasted them 2-3 months. Why are the boards not filled with these people telling us this? Well, probably because they aren’t dealing with it any more and aren’t dwelling on it.
This site helped me a lot today because I am in the middle of a minor panic/anxiety attack, yet nothing my ENT said contradicts anyone else. The truth is that neither he nor anyone else know how long it may take to go away or to get used to it. The consistent message, however, is that it will be much faster if you get out of the loop and don’t let it get you down.
So that’s what I’ll try to do.
Also, I promise that when it goes away (see what I did there?) I’ll write back here to let everyone know.
Thanks for this detailed entry. You are right that NO ONE KNOWS what will happen. I had a doctor tell me absolutely that it would be there *forever* and would not change, but it changed before I got home from his office. Tinnitus is frustrating for ENTs who want to help, and can’t. I still hear the tinnitus intermittently, but I have found that the course recommended here is the best advice, and I try to follow it.
What was really frustrating is that my head issue happened in mid-May and the tinnitus started two months into my recovery for that. A few places I’ve read say that tinnitus is sometimes part of the rewiring recovery and that it’ll go away. Hopefully that’s the case here.
I do not know whether it’s just me or if everybody else encountering problems with your site.
It appears like some of the text in your posts are running off the
screen. Can someone else please provide feedback and
let me know if this is happening to them too? This could be a issue with my internet
browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Thank you
Hi guys, thought I give an update since last time I was here. My t is still there however the high pitch has gone to just ringing. I have stopped worrying a little as advice from to guys was excellent.. Thanks
My ent appointment is not till mid January as my gp can’t help.. Need to know if I have a underlying condition…has anyone had to wait this long for ent appointment?
If it is an ENT who has a hope of figuring out an underlying condition it can be a very long wait. You can find an ENT in a heartbeat, but not one who will really go through the long diagnostic procedures necessary to find an underlying cause of this variable condition. One thing to keep in mind is that doctors can rarely help with tinnitus. Even if a cause is discovered, like hearing loss, it’s just a cause, not a cure. But, of course, there is the possibility of a correctable condition, so it’s always worth a thorough workup.
well and as far as going to a doctor about your ears I did. I felt it was a waste of money he said there’s nothing he could do about it it’s just part of what’s happening so its all on you. I have had this for 2 years and sometimes it’s loud and sometimes I don’t even notice it unless I think about it so I think that’s basically it is it something that sure mind gets used to and you learn to live with it and either that or it gets softer I don’t drink soda anymore I don’t have a lot of sugar anymore you’re certain things I don’t do to aggravate it because I know that after I’ve had that my head rings loud so that’s about it I wish you will miss and I hope that you find answers that you’ve come for this is a wonderful place for people that have tinnitus
Help…I feel like I’m going to going to lose my mind…….
Take courage and know that tinnitus gets better over time, either because its actually better or because of habituation. In the meantime, be very kind to yourself. I went a little crazy that first couple of weeks and actually knocked myself over the head with a book, which gave me a headache in addition to tinnitus. I advise against this technique.
i was right where you are last year – i was to of my mind and wondering how i’d be able to live. a year and a few months later, and what everyone here says comes true. T isn’t much a part of my life at all. you’ll adapt. hand tight – trust this board and the people who have been there, it gets better!
Thanks a lot. My thing was over as soon as I woke up one morning. I have perhabs just stopped noticing it. I have taken it to be silence. But guys just one advice I know its tough but just blindly believe one day it will be okay. Trust me it will be okay ! You just have to believe
I’ve had Tinnitus for nearly 3 months now. I went to an ENT and he said that there is nothing medically that he can do to stop it. How long will it take for this to end as it is driving me nuts. It gets louder every time I listen to soft music. Please help
As the comments here attest (well worth a read), tinnitus does get better over time (either through actual improvement or habituation), so there is a lot of hope. We have all been “nuts” from tinnitus, but many of us are now here to offer encouragement that your reaction to the tinnitus, if not the sound itself, will quiet down over time.
Thanks so much xxx
I have severe Tinnitus that started about three weeks ago. My ENT Doctor also told me that there is nothing medically that can stop it. I also noticed that it seems louder after listening to music, TV and the white sound machine that were recommended by the doctor. The doctor said it might get better after about 6 months. I hope so because it is also driving me crazy.
It almost certainly will get better, if only because you will get better at ignoring it and “adopting” it. Six months may not be long enough for habituation, however, just so you don’t get discouraged. It can take longer for the brain to adjust. And sometimes it really does get softer, but you can’t bank on that–although nice if it happens. Lots of people report that they almost never hear it unless they listen for it, but that takes time. This is not to minimize its impact on you, however. Tinnitus is something we’d all rather not have.
I’m sorry when you first get this is kind of tough I remember crying at night calling my brother and ask him just to pray with me on the phone but you’ll see I think I got used to it nor it calm down I think too there’s a lot worse things a lot worse just pray about it and ask for comfort don’t eat any sugar stuff stay away from caffeine and carbs juice
Glad I found this site! It’s been more helpful than the hundreds of others I’ve read. Recently turning 50 and some family turmoil in the last year or so created a great deal of anxiety for me and one morning I woke up with tinnitus for no explicable reason. I’ve read about miracle cures, changed my diet and medications, seen my GP and an ENT – nothing seemed to help and was beginning to wonder if the nightmare would ever end. The explanation given on this site for this condition fits me to a “T” (no pun intended) especially the emotional reaction to the noise. I’m already employing some of the suggestions and it seems to be helping. The mind is a powerful resource and hopefully I can utilize it to it’s potential. Thanks again for the helpful tips and I wish everyone on here success dealing with what can be a debilitating condition.