Medication induced Tinnitus 4 Months now-Going Insane as it wont go away !!!

[Remoteairplane46]

Hi Guys-I am beyond terrified-took some medications for just 20 days and ringing on my right ear got transferred slighlty to my left and now I hear it mostly on right ear and from my head-I can only sleep with a white noise machine and life is slowly becoming unbearable-my work now is greatly getting affected as I can not concentrate from the fear of this not going away I have seen countless doctors, done MRI's, nothing can be found or seen nothing NOTHING all seems normal... its devastating and so scary have had it since about 25th January but stopped all medication on 8th February as had no idea of such a possibility of side effect-HELP HELP.have done every treatment there is, acupuncture etc and there seems to be no improvement with anything. But its not that loud.i.e. in the office the noises from computers etc seem to mask it- I did audioloigical testing and they found It is at the 4KHz frequency-I have no hearing loss or hyperacusis-so could be worse obviously but for me this is too much-worst is in silent environments...will see another ENT tomorrow with my MRI and the only hope I have is when I continue to see doctors-yesterday slept 6 hours with the white noise machine so I can sleep. help guys

[ShakeelaBTA]

Hello and welcome to the British Tinnitus Association forum.

Do feel free to ask any questions, I hope that you find this a helpful and supportive place to help you manage your tinnitus.

We have some resources that you might like to check out in addition to our home here:

tinnitus.org.uk (information and support details)

takeontinnitus.co.uk (free tinnitus management programme)

Helpline 0800 018 0527 (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) (outside the UK you can call [phone])

Kind regards

Shakeela

[Jimmuck]

Hi there. I know exactly how you feel and probably all the regulars on the forum do as well, as we have all been in the same situation. The first thing you have to try and do is calm down a bit, as anxiety makes tinnitus worse! I have had severe high pitched tinnitus for two years now and believe you me, in the early days, I was in full panic mode and tried absolutely everything I could think of and then some! I wanted something, anything, to try and reduce the volume which most days, was driving me to the point of insanity, but to be honest, nothing really worked. However, after many visits to my GP i was finally referred to ENT for testing and then to audiology. It was discovered that I had age related hearing loss and was eventually provided with two NHS hearing aids. I hated wearing them at first but they really helped to mask the racket going on in my head 24/7, by amplifying all the other sounds around me. You mentioned the sounds in the office helped to mask the tinnitus, so hearing aids might be one way forward for you. As far as sleeping goes, I can now manage a full eight hours most nights, without any masking. When the tinnitus spikes, I usually take 10mg of Amitriptyline an hour or so before bedtime, which helps calm down the central nervous system. If it's just at the "normal" level, I simply close my eyes, let my mind go blank and concentrate only on my breathing. It sounds a bit woo woo but it works for me and I can usually nod off in just a few minutes. Avoid watching late night TV or using computers, phones etc after 10pm and above all else, try and stay calm. There are some great videos online by a therapist called Julian Cowan Hill which are a mine of information about dealing with tinnitus and they are well worth watching. Stay positive, calm down, avoid quiet places and keep your mind distracted with hobbies or leisure activities and eventually you will begin to habituate to the sounds. It's a long hard road sometimes but we're all walking on the same one, so you're not alone. I hope you find some peace soon.

Best wishes

Jimmuck

[Remoteairplane46 in reply to Jimmuck]

How old are you? I'm just 31 and yesterday I tried to sleep without masking but was impossible- do you think one day ill be able to sleep without masking? I really think it is impossible! I'm just so sad and I just whine and complain all the time and rush to doctors-the ENT said to go to a psychologist, here in Greece they know nothing about tinnitus or how to approach the issue which is so devastating. you think I should mask it or not? how will I ever habituate to this constant ringing? is it good that the ringing slightly changes sometimes? some times it just comes so loud and goes away quickly and goes to the same usual level- how will I habituate this nightmare??!! I am taking st.johns worth which is a herbal antidepressant in tea form... last week I had a kidney stone which apparentl hurts like child birth-crazy pain-went to emergency admission in hospital etc but all of that pain is NOTHING compared to tinnitus and nobody can understand here what T feels like... like now in the office I can even hear it but just knowing it is there it drives me INSANE-like it never goes away-youll tell me to enjoy the time I cant hear it and that other people have much worse things- I know but I am in despair. now tomorrow if I have something else I might be thinking how well I was off at this moment now which I'm complaining... please tell me about habituation. eg when I am in the car do I have to put music? or a/C or put the window down or keep silence to habituate????

[Jimmuck in reply to Remoteairplane46]

Hello again. I am 67 years old and today, my tinnitus is on a massive spike. Above all the other sounds around me right now, I hear a very loud hissing, high pitched noise, like a dentist's drill in both ears and awful as it is, I am not in a panic like I used to be, as I know it will calm down eventually and I will have a few quieter days soon. You have to try and get out of the panic mode you are currently in, as all the stress and anxiety makes things worse. I've been where you are right now and it was awful, but trust me, things will improve with time. In the UK, we are bluntly told by the medical profession that there is no cure for tinnitus, so most of us find our own ways of coping. If it helps, this is what I do and you might find some of it useful....

Get outside as often as possible and listen to the sounds around you

Avoid very quiet places

Avoid any situations where there is loud noise

Always have soft background music playing in the room you are in

Don't listen to loud music on headphones or anything else for that matter!

I use a mild antidepressant to aid sleep and keep me calm during the day

Very often in my case, a very hot steamy bath can help reduce the volume

Try not to get stressed or anxious about anything

Use hearing aids if you can (some models have built in maskers)

Listen to calming sounds on headphones...many are available on line

You might consider joining a local support group if you can find one!

You will get loads of good advice from other forum members in due course so keep in touch and remember....you're not alone in your battle with tinnitus.

I hope this helps and best wishes to you.

[Remoteairplane46 in reply to Jimmuck]

Thank you Jimmuck I don't know how I will be able to proceed in life-this has cut my life my silence and I'm so young to have this suffering from now... I am speechless. I just got married and was planning to have a child-now I cant even get intimate with my wife because of the ringing and depression/devastation it has caused. I will follow your advice as much as possible. thank you and ill be in touch. you are a brave man to have this attitude towards this horrific illness (it makes me angry where some people say its not an illness that it is a symptom)

[CamperT25]

youtu.be/4LZv3ta13Ws(Not working as expected?) Try this sound therapy, may help. Hxx

[alfabetter1]

Yet another person with Tinnitus as a result of medication. Mine started after taking off the shelf sleepease from Boots the chemist. Only one other person has confirmed the same on a USA online group. Perhaps BTA would be in a better position to carry out a survey to establish a link.

[Eabxj28 in reply to alfabetter1]

Hello my tinnitus was also medication from hospital pregablin nasty pills left me with this nightmare