Hi my names Jane am 39 and from Liverpool. I have been suffering with constant Tinnitus for the last 12 months. It really is an awful condition to live with. I just keep thinking thats me for life now. It affects everything i do, am too frightened to do certain things for fear of making worse. I have joined up to this because i need to talk to people who are going through this aswell, as my family dont really understand. Do things really get better with time my audiologist has told me to carry on as normal (easy said than done). Do we really learn to live with these horrendous noises constantly bouncing round are ears and brains.
Kind Regards Jane
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jabs37
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19 Replies
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Hi Jane mine started 3 months ago - and like you i had all these questions and it was like no one was really listening - but you do intime connect with similar people experiencing the same. Yeh its the pits really but there is hope and ways around this condition and you do find moments where you triumph. I know ur looking at this www group and thinking here i am again posted and no ones listening but for sure this is a great group and people really do support one another around here so its a great find. Heres what i learnt so far - sleep is the most important factor in my opinion or you become drained and thats when it starts to go wrong when you cant think your way out of the situation as thats what humans do - here are a few triumphs i found along the way so far - ocean noise you tube in headphones when working eleminates the noise or tone or buzz that i hear thats a plus its a relief - a fan near to me when i sleep is the best move i got - the air around me and the noise take away the hum i hear but takes getting used too also on the move helps instead of being in one place, I think in the future wireless headphones and some background noise playing will be a big plus around the house as i seem to focus in one room - i know this when you ask around here anything you will get a reply eventually so keep the faith things will get better .. and your not alone esp around here .. oh and btw i find some olive oil organic placed in the ear at night helps a lots to rest the ears too - but please these are just my takes on my journey they may not be right with you but i thought another opinion might help oh and i got stuck on the silicone ear plugs big time a big NO in my world as the ENT took one hour twenty to get one of them out ..
Many thanks for your reply, it has helped alot. I have had a look through this site and the comments and replies that people write are so helpful and they seem really friendly.
I use an app on my phone of a night that plays forest sounds its great. The problem is i work nights so i know i dont get enough sleep during the day. Its a catch 22 as we have to work dont we 😥.
I am going to take up a few hobbies to try and take my mind off the T. Anything is worth a try. I will definetly give the olive oil a try.
Tinnitus what you said rings bells (sorry about the pun) but nearly all of us went through the same as you it’s not very nice when others can’t comprehend what you are going through and don’t understand how I feels but you have to do what’s right for you and how to cope with Tinnitus
The things you mentioned about what you are doing is great and will help a lot the problem with Tinnitus it tries to control your life and at first this can become an issue and upsetting if you let it so don’t let it you dominate it if you carry on enjoying your life your brain will start to push the noise you’re hearing into the background as you concentrate on others things there maybe days when it gets loud my advice is to tell it to go away pick a fight with it and just carry on with your life
Tinnitus likes a quiet room if there’s no noise you will start to hear it more always make sure there’s noise of some sought as your brain will lose start to lose interest in the Tinnitus noise and once again be pushed into the back ground. Jane these steps will help it may take time but you will win in the end Tinnitus likes a fight keep knocking it back down again and laugh at it.
Hi Jane, I'm 38 and I've had tinnitus for 10 months, mine started due to hearing loss and I've been diagnosed with otosclerosis.
Anyway got hearing aids 3 weeks ago and they've honestly changed my life with the tinnitus! You don't say how your hearing is but I presume you've had a test if you're seeing an audiologist? Correcting even a mild hearing loss can be a massive benefit to tinnitus.
I was in despair with mine for a long time, especially being so young and thinking this is it for the rest of my life. I've young children too, it does feel like family just don't get it.
I find keeping busy and always having sound around helps enormously. Working nights must be an extra challenge for you but you can and will overcome-Bev x
Hi Mrshanson thankyou for your reply. My hearing isnt too bad to be fair, they have said i have slight high frequency hearing loss. Am just hoping its not going to get any worse 🤔.
We must all try are best to live as normal a life as possible 🤗 heres hoping.
Thankyou Jane x
I'd say welcome, but the fact that you're here means like the rest of us you're afflicted with the monster that is Tinnitus.
I've had it 5 years, constant, but I do get the odd day relief. True, nobody but a fellow sufferer understands what it's like to live with.
What I would say is try to do the things you've always done. If you're worried anything may make it worse, still do it but use plugs. I got mine from Specsavers. They are good.
Hi thankyou for your reply i have invested in a pair of earplugs from the BTA website i have yet to use them as i have put off that many parties etc for fearing the worst. I am going to push myself tho and make an effort to carry on as normal as possible.
Hi Jane, welcome, you're on the best forum and the BTA are friendly, informative and helpful. T happened to me just over 2 years ago and I descended into a very deep dark hole. My T was ver painful and the worst thing I have ever known and I have had a few medical episodes during my then 62 years, including a fractured skull after being knocked down by a motorcycle whilst on a pedestrian crossing! The head pain I suffered then was nothing compared to the T.
So, the ENT consultant referred me to audiology who saved my life, well not literally. I was found to have very slight hearing loss in right ear for which I was given hearing aid and a masker for my left ear. The hearing aid made a difference and the T became more quiet. I wasn't sleeping at all so I was given zopliclone sleeping pills. I bought the sound oasis machine from the BTA which I have on each night, all night. I was prescribed Mirtazapine anti-anxiety pills which calmed me down. I joined the BTA and receive their "Quiet" magazine which helps as not only are you able to read the latest news on treatment for T, it has the lives of real people and how they are living normal lives with their T. Fortunately too I found the BTA forum early on and to know that I wasn't alone and the great advice and friendly support was another life-saver it all sounds dramatic doesn't it, but that is how tinnitus is and non-sufferers cannot understand. We are in this together love, Angela xx
Hi Angela thankyou so much for the reply. I am also on mitazaphine and diazapam for my anxiety and my ocd which at times is hard to control. I am also a member of the BTA i am glad i have come across this forum because it really is good to talk to people who understand.
You havnt had it easy yourself life can be rubbish sometimes, we just have to plod on as best we know how i suppose.
Hi Jane, I understand the invasiveness of OCD too as my dear daughter suffered badly during her teenage years. (Thank goodness medication has made it much better but it is always lurking in times of extreme stress). Well, you're on the right forum to deal with your T. Love Angela xx
Hi i feel for your daughter its a terrible thing to battle, and yes medication definetly helps.
Jane xx
Hi jabs, not much I can say really everyone else have already said it, you are pretty much alone when it comes to T apart from us lot that is, you must try and beat it, do not lay down it will run right over you.
The answer to your last sentence in your first post is most definitely yes, strange as it may seem right now but we do cope. As time goes on we do manage better and so the T is pushed to the back of our thoughts, try to lead a normal day to day life as you can and don't give T the excuse it needs not do the things you want to do as this will only make you feel second best and this is not what you want, so show who's the boss.
Not much else I can add really, but to take note of the advice you've been given, it's all good stuff,
HI JANE, sadly we have to live with it as theres no cure but some things help especially when you distract our brain from the sounds by focusing on things your doing, well that helps me abit but my lifes changed completely as i played in bands every week for3 nightas, now i only play occasionally losing my lifelong love of playing, musical interest and social meetings! but hang in there it gets better eventually ,ive had mine foir 4 years now and itsstill there every morning i open my eyes, i also take pills to help me sleep
Hi drumcraw thank you for your reply am so sorry to hear your T has impacted so much on your social life and hobbies. Its a terrible thing to have to live with. Stay positive and hopefully one day they will find a cure heres wishing.
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