Hi again everyone. I’m now into my 5th week off work and although I have had a couple of better days , this week is again proving to be very difficult.
I am again considering a private tinnitus clinic out of sheer desperation but the cost of treatment is a big gamble.
Has anyone been treated but a Tinnitus Clinic?
I currently have a combination hearing aid with white pink/ red noise which is very pleasant but my tinnitus seems to react to it although the level is low and has been set by the NHS audiologist. Unfortunately they is no support from them as the hearing therapist is very booked up.
I am looking into tinnitus desensitisation therapy at the Bristol Tinnitus Clinic as it appears this now not involve white noise .
It would be helpful to hear of anyone’s experiences .
Best wishes
Written by
Dean1405
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You must be having a tough time of it right now especially having been off work for a while which must be stressing you out even more. The only time I have gone private was for acute back pain as I was in agony at the time and to be honest, the treatment was very expensive and did nothing to help my condition. It did have quite an effect on my bank balance though! After the initial consultation fee which is also expensive, all these places seem to be able to predict that a course of at least ten treatments will be required...really? Save your hard earned cash and stick with the NHS would be my advice. I know getting appointments can take forever but at least your wallet won't suffer! I hope your T slackens off soon and you finally get a break from it. All the best to you.
Thanks Jim. I think my Tinnitus is stress related and not working has helped however I am worrying about the return . I’m in a new job , only 3 months in!
I’m seeing what combi hearing aids the private clinic have to offer as the pink noise aggravated my tinnitus.
This condition has really sucked the life from me🙁
I'd be really interested to hear about your experience of this provider Heather if you feel able to share this information on the forum? I'm sure other users would also appreciate any insight you could offer?
It sounds like you're having a really tough time at the moment and I do understand some of the trauma you're experiencing. It can and usually does get easier as time goes by. I'm 16mths into my journey with distressing T and it's only now that I'm starting to see some glimmers of hope.
Re the Tinnitus Clinic, they have an office here in Leeds and I've looked wistfully at their website and wondered is it worth the (extremely high) cost. When I've had bad T days I've even gone over to the building where they're based just to have a look - I felt very forlorn, like a lovesick teenager hanging about outside somebody's house. I've resisted the temptation to take the plunge until now because a) I haven't got the kind of money they want; b) everyone was telling me my T will get better / easier to manage in time (and it is doing); and c) the services they charge a fortune for are probably available elsewhere either at a much lower cost or without any cost.
You've mentioned their desensitisation therapy, which I think they ask c.£1500 for. I would imagine the program available via this website - tinnituseprogram.org/index.... - would probably be much the same sort of thing, but it's free.
Hi , I have been to the clinic in Bristol today who quoted between 2500 to 3k for combination aids with fractural tones for the desensitisation. He explained that my nhs ones with pink noise do not have a wide spectrum on sound which is why it must have agrivated my tinnitus and changed the low drone sound in my left to a buzz and the sound of the wind , which replicated the sound my nhs hearing aids made!
I am tempted to purchase as th audiologist seemed most conifdent I would be benefit and they are much smaller and technology advanced to help my moderate low frequency loss.
I woke up this morning though with hardly any noise however it’s now all back but my right ear hiss seems to be a little broken up so less agreessive... is this a good sign ?!
Many thanks for your response. Coincidentally the I have just signed up to the link you sent, it looks very good and with a very reasonable cost. I will be embarking on the course , if accepted.
Still unsure about the private tinnitus clinic but the hearing aids seem good and I understand the concept of how the different sounds they will make in turn help my brain refocus .. still 3k is a big ask and I already have private aids and nhs aids which have pink noise which sounds like crashing waves - it’s a shame my tinnitus reacts to it
Leeds (or Leeds area) person? Please contact Colette Bunker at the British Tinnitus Association for the contact details of a new Tinnitus Support Group currently being formed in Leeds.
I have also been to Harley Street ...where I forked out £4,500 (from my mother's estate!) and my hearing aids, with white sound masking are small and efficient ....but I think you have to be lucky in who you see at the Clinic. The last audiologist was very thorough and even tested possible hyperacusis levels to which the aids were adjusted. Having said all that I have also got NHS hearing aids, with maskers, and they are much larger but again help and are free!
My type of T would not respond to audio-mondulation therapy, I'm told.
In the latest edition of "Quiet" reference is made to "Levo" which apparently works through an iPod - has anyone tried that?
Hi , thanks for responding. I have now been to the Bristol Tinnnitus clinic and awaiting their quote but have been recommended for their tinnitus desensitisation therapy. I already have nhs combi hearing aids with red noise which sounds like waves but unfortunately my tinnitus was aggravated by it!
I’m stilll not sure whether the new aids I am looking to purchase are any betterment but apparently they play different frequency of sound so differently to white noise / red noise so keen to discuss further. My new right ear tinnnitus is like electric fuzz and static and my left ear historical tinnitus has now changed ,which I account the changes because of the white noise generators...
Hi Dean, I am sorry that you have joined the T club and are suffering in these early stages. You are on the best forum for advice and help.
Three years ago, tinnitus made an unexpected and unwelcome intrusion into my quiet life. I was in despair and really struggling - as the old timers on this forum may remember from my early posts on the old forum. The noises and acute pain were so unbearable that i didn’t want to be here anymore.
I still have tinnitus, though there are periods when I don’ t hear it at all. Today I can hear it but it isn’ t bothering me. Keep the faith Dean, read the advice given by the BTA and other posters, and your T will quieten over time. Don’t be tempted to read negative posts as trust me, they do not help.
Hi Dean, i am about 3 months in, and like you struggling, I cry everyday at the moment, for me work is getting me sane as when I was off for a few weeks all I did was dwell on it, lay in bed thinking about is, I went to Harley street one , had a hearing test £185 same as the free one of the NHS, they then tried to sell me £3000 hearing aids and gave me a leaflet about 0% interest, in my opinion they just wanted my money, but that's is just my opinion, so please don't let that stop you as it may help you...... most experienced Tinnitus people say it can take 6 -18 months to habituate, so I try to live in hope it will get better or to a point where is does not distress. 2 blokes in my office have it and there not a bother on them, and they do not use any T forums at all... one told me it took him a year to feel ok with it....
things that are helping me cope at mo is swimming / running exercise, the exercise is helping me get a good nights sleep i am also on antidepressants and valum which I use when I really need it.
I constantly think about ending it at mo, but have a 2.5 old daughter, why is life so cruel ..... let hope further down the road we can both look back at these dark days and be happy once again
Many thanks for your reply, I’m sorry to hear of your distress. It’s now been almost 6 months of hell for me but yesterday and today seem a little better and some change in my awful hiss , however I find the sound of the wind in my hears most odd!
The private tinnitus clinic quoted me between 2500 to 3k for combination aids with noise additions but play many different tones which help more apparently to habituate. I so tempted to buy ....
I too have a daughter who is 11 and today we went shopping and I actually felt like my old self even with the nose, antidepressants depression help !
Oh gosh. I just read your post and want to tell you that I've had T since September, just after my dad died and I foolishly let my ear get blocked and mucked abt with it. Although I am normally very cheerful, I have occasionally been miserable and mopping, and did wonder, briefly, abt an escape. But believe me I've had lots of great days and I can get lost with my political campaigning on Twitter, and on a good volunteering day, or out with friends, or day dreaming...and just completely forget the buzzing/cicada noise. I find the Theatre is a great place too, as the quiet around you, good acoustics and some sound to concentrate on in the distance really helps! Another tip is to find just the right place for the radio and then be strategically near the fridge, or water heater, or something that hums at just the right masking noise, for good T-free listening. Same with your tablet, lap top or whatever. The TV is harder to move!! I'm sure you will improve tremendously and I wonder if you have ever seen the You-Tube video by a brilliant professor who promises: 'help is coming!!' I'll find it for you. All the best. Sue.
Hi, I don’t have experience with private clinics but I, like others, contemplated them. The NHS is helpful especially the initial counselling I received as it explained what was going in my brain. This helped me to adapt. While the T is still raging, I’m coping. You can too. All the best.
Hello, it is me again. I was a bit worried I could be identified if the Tinnitus Clinic care to look at this forum. I have been to the Cheltenham clinic which is the same audiologist as the Bristol Clinic. I have to say I have been a bit underwhelmed by the experience but I think I have been a bit too passive and phoned today to query my treatment. I was given one private hearing aid with a masker which seems totally ineffective. I thought perhaps it was only fair to phone the tinnitus clinic before I posted on here, and have now been offered a review of my treatment so far which is sounding more hopeful. There is the option as someone has said of 0% finance, plus there is a 6 week trial with the hearing aids when they can be returned and only £250 charged. I was determined to not get my hopes up about any kind of reduction in my tinnitus and I think silence is not achievable which is what we would all ultimately wish for. I would also say that going through any sort of treatment makes you focus more on the tinnitus which isn't good. I'm not sure if this helps any other sufferers but for me there doesn't seem to be any magic cure either private or NHS.
Thanks for this Heather . I am surprised you were prescribed one hearing aid . When you say masker , what sort of sounds are played by the hearig aid ... is it just white noise or various types of noise?
Just one noise, he said it was mixed frequencies, it is virtually the same frequency as my tinnitus which I think is totally random as nothing was asked about what I hear. I feel is not helping as I might as well listen to my own noise i.e. the tinnitus, than the same noise playing in a hearing aid!
Hmmm. He did seem a little dower to me also. He did ask what sounds I was listening to but wasn’t as attentive as the website led me to believe . Do you know for certain there are different frequencies? I did ask him how the aids were different to my nhs ones and told they play different tones . From what you have said makes me a little sceptical of the clinic . Hopefully you have success.
I am awaiting his quote which he promised today but not arrived .
He didn’t mention anything about their relaxation package which is on the website ..
Hello again, I don't think I asked enough questions but am hopefully returning next week to be reassessed and I will be more demanding. There are relaxation classes/techniques available apparently through skype but I only found that out today. I am still re-assured to have the opt out clause after 6 weeks so will persevere. Good luck and keep us posted.
Hi Heather , hope your assessment goes well. Hopefully I will receive my quote for the combined hearing aids next week. I am still a little uncertain if they are any different to my NHS ones albeit they will be smaller and sophisticated. I thought the noiser element was not a constant tone so I will need to query this.
I had habituated to my left ear tinnitus by use of private hearing aids many years ago and I rarely heard my tinnitus so it does happen! Unfortunately for me my new head and right tinnitus is more of a challenge and especially as my left ear tinnitus has changed to several sounds!
Unfortunately the NHS did not tell me to gradually build up the daily use of my new noise generators and I fear I have really confused the brain , hence I have so many sounds 🙁
It would be great to hear how you get on.
Best wishes
Dean
I also have the ringing in ny ears and just recently found that 2 meds im taking causes this, some days its not ringing, some days its faint and other days like today it crazy loud! So annoying
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