Tinnitus is driving me insane.

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stephaniep

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I'm mostly all deaf and you would think I would be grateful to hear, but not the tinnitus sound going on in my head, it's like a factory running in full blast, and it's getting louder. Please someone help. I put on other sound to distract this sound, but I can't hear music so that is no help, I can't hear speech clearly so that doesn't help, all I can hear is the odd screech sound of what use to be music. I am not coping well with this? I have told my Audiologist about it before, and she mentioned the HA's for those with this condition. I told my husband and think he may think it's all in my head which in a way it is, because it's not coming from my hearing? I'm scared to say anything to anyone else, because unless they have it, they won't understand and think I'm losing it. . I can hear it in the morning when I get up, in the daytime and at night when I go to sleep. I can't run away from it. Can hear it with my hearing Aids, and the sound is the same when I take them out. My doctor prescribed Legal Medicinal CBD oil for another condition, and I think since then, the tinnitus is worse, not while I'm using it but after, but how can that be?
 
Tinnitus is common, and where I live most people will have heard of it, especially HoH will know about it. If you try to explain how it works, it might be something like phantom pains, like when a toe hurts even though the leg has been amputated. The nerve system and brain are tricked into detecting signals, even though there actually is no outer stimulus.

There is not really a cure for Tinnitus. However, the most efficient treatment is Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), where you learn how to deal with the constant noise. Talk to your audiologist again or better talk to your ENT, and ask if they can find any CBT treatments focused on Tinnitus. It will also benifit you to meet others with similar experiences. Tinnitus comes in all sorts of degrees. Many who have Tinnitus are only disturbed by it in quiet environments while some have a severe Tinnitus noise. So you need to explain to your doctor how much it is affecting you.

I’m sure there are CBT based self-help books for Tinnitus as well, that you can find.
 
There are masking hearing aids now that supposedly help with tinnitus. You should be able to trial a pair to see if it helps you.

As to your husband, find info online about tinnitus & share it with him.
 
I have tinnitus. When I am anxious, stress, or tired it is awful. It is like a roaring in my head when I'm anxious. Sometimes it is a ringing or swooshing. I do deep breathing, and mediation. If you can hear at all you can mask it out. That is the preferred method I think to mask.
 
Thank you for understanding.. It helps to know that stress can worsen it. Maybe that is why it's been worse lately. I have been under a lot of stress lately.
Since I cannot make out words or songs anymore because I can't hear, I find the only thing that does help is distraction, but at night when I'm going to bed and in the morning when I get up it's the hardest.
 
stephaniep said:
What is white noise? If I don't have my hearing, will I benefit from this?
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Probably not. Tinnitus bothered me a lot in my 40s, but it backed off as I got healthier. Health problems and nutrition that is not appropriate to YOUR body and health are stressors. It is worth thinking about and experimenting with.
 
I've had 3 major surgeries in a year, several hospitalizations in between, for dehydration and blood transfusions. as well, problems at home with one of my children, so can't say exactly whether it was the stress or medication or trauma of having all those surgeries, that was the cause of my worsening hearing loss and worsening of tinnitus, whether it was the anesthetic, the different medicines for pain, the weight loss, dehydration and loss of blood (anemia) Guess none of these things helped, and it is a slow recovery but I'm starting to come around so maybe God willing, my hearing loss and tinnitus will improve along with my health.
 
Stress or tiredness are known to be major factors, as well as many other factors.

I very rarely get tinnitus, but when I do, it’s very annoying, so I feel for those who have it often or regularly. I do have some hearing (with my HAs, that is) so I purposely will play music or turn the TV up louder to mask out the tinnitus. It generally helps for me.
 
As the late Dr. Smith (of Lost in Space) would say, "Oh, the pain, the pain." I understand. I am too have Tinnitus. I understand. I use my own treatment which is to lay down on bed, turn your head and count up to a minute each side. When laying down, turn your head 90 degrees to the side where your tinnitus is. Mine is on left, so I turn to left and count. do not move. then turn slowly then do other side, same thing. Do more than 30 seconds each actually. For a good 5 times each. there is another way, sit up straight and do not move.

Another is to play music that has certain sound that can drowse the noise. Prayer is another way to do it too. :)
 
My tinnitus isn't so terrible now, I can barely notice it when theres white noise(which there always is in my house), but I'm worried it will get worse the more my hearing degrades.
 
My tinnitus roars, rings, and swooshes depending on what I am doing. If I am stressed or anxious it roars and is overwhelming making it hard to concentrate. I do deep breathing and meditation. I also try to distract myself from it which can be hard to do when it seems so loud.
 
Yes, thank you everyone, it almost does seem worse when tired or stress levels are high. For me, it sure seems to worsen. I have mainly the loud factory sound, or like a snow plow running right beside my ears.? It's annoying. Some mention that they only have it on one side, but as far as I can tell I have the noise in both ears? The Audiologist told me the other day that they are doing some research on it being connected to the thyroid (think she said hypothyroidism) and told me to get my doctor to check my thyroid levels to make sure they were normal?. She also mentioned another cause could be Gut problems. She said one of her patient's has Celiac disease and when she got it treated, then her tinnitus went away completely. Lucky her. Some say tinnitus is caused by hearing loss, while others say it causes the hearing loss, like what came first, the hearing loss or the tinnitus? Think my hearing loss was first?

Mark will have to try your self help method and see if it helps me.
 
Tinnitus does not cause hearing loss. It is the brain’s way of compensating (usually negatively) for lack of or diminished sound. It is not a physical phenomenon, it does not cause the actual hearing loss. Your hearing loss came first.
 
Yes, thank you, I heard that but why do they say that tinnitus can worsen your hearing, if it's a perceived sound by our brains, then how can that worsen hearing?
 
As AC posted, tinnitus does not cause hearing loss. It's a symptom of hearing loss. The reason you will have difficulty hearing when you have tinnitus is because your brain will focus on that sound in your head and will have difficulty focusing on external stimulus. Hearing happens in the brain. It's mechanical waves in air that cause electrical signals sent from a mechanism in the ears to the brain that your brain interprets as sound. Your brain is "hearing" the tinnitus but your ears aren't sending those signals anymore. So now the signals your ears are sending are weaker than the interpretation your brain is doing. So it seems like you can't hear as well with the tinnitus because your brain is focusing on that.
 
Thank you for your explanation, kind of sounds complicated, but it all makes sense.
 
stephaniep said:
I'm mostly all deaf and you would think I would be grateful to hear, but not the tinnitus sound going on in my head, it's like a factory running in full blast, and it's getting louder. Please someone help. I put on other sound to distract this sound, but I can't hear music so that is no help, I can't hear speech clearly so that doesn't help, all I can hear is the odd screech sound of what use to be music. I am not coping well with this? I have told my Audiologist about it before, and she mentioned the HA's for those with this condition. I told my husband and think he may think it's all in my head which in a way it is, because it's not coming from my hearing? I'm scared to say anything to anyone else, because unless they have it, they won't understand and think I'm losing it. . I can hear it in the morning when I get up, in the daytime and at night when I go to sleep. I can't run away from it. Can hear it with my hearing Aids, and the sound is the same when I take them out. My doctor prescribed Legal Medicinal CBD oil for another condition, and I think since then, the tinnitus is worse, not while I'm using it but after, but how can that be?
Click to expand...
I cut way back on salt, coffee, especially late day. Alchoholcause too. I was treated for sinus infection and it stopped mostly.
 
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