Please help, I don’t know what to do.

[BlueCricketer08]

I’ve been suffering from severe tinnitus for about 8 weeks following an ear infection in the left ear. It has steadily got worse until the point that I feel I can’t even follow conversations properly anymore, such is the volume of the buzzing and ringing in my ears - I can hear it over the tv as well.

I have tried my very best to stay positive but I feel myself slipping into complete and utter despair. I just can’t imagine suffering from this for much longer. I honestly don’t know what to do, how to habituate, etc. I have rung the BTA helpline several times in moments of panic but despite their best efforts, all they really say is try relaxation techniques, etc. It’s virtually impossible for me to see a way through this. I feel like I have no quality of life anymore. Anyone who has been as low as this, how did you get through it?

[Felldweller]

Hey BC, good morning. I have just read your plea for help and am shooting straight from the hip here in an instant reply to you. I too was in the very same dreadful, unimaginably (to those without having to live with tinnitus) unbearable and terrifying place you are in now. Terrifying because you can neither turn the noise off or runaway from it. It was that aspect which I found the worst thing about it all. Black despair was my constant companion. Fear of where the black despair might push me. It was truly horrific BUT...here I am now. The T is now at a manageable level AND my life is my own again. I KNOW how you are feeling just now and I KNOW the depth of panic you are experiencing. If I was able to jot down in detail how I overcame my own desperate time of clinging onto my sanity, then I would gladly do so. But I can't. Because I feel that my survival instinct took hold, kicked in and slowly but surely steered me to where I am now. The more power we give the T tyrant, the more it will take and thence the deeper into it's clutches we are held. I have a feeling that I perhaps made some sort of subconscious decision that just a bloody minute, this is MY life, not YOURS, you parasitic monster, so back off. Maybe I agreed to somehow allow the T to accompany me for a while, in all its hissing and squeaking pomp, so BECAUSE of that acceptance, the survival kit popped the end of a finger on the steering wheel and a new chapter began. I went for walks in the lovely countryside surrounding my home. I cared for my fab garden. I quit being scared of having a coffee, a glass of wine or a host of other day to day stuff which some say would worsen the T. It wasn't easy at first, because the fear, terror and abject horror of my T had taken a firm grip. But I stuck to it and I gradually began to enter the real world again and, without warning, I suddenly started to think, "Hey, the noise isn't as loud now". That was last summer, and the T is now barely noticeable in my right ear and a bit of a hissing in my left. I'm sure you have been to your doc and the ENT people, etc. Right, I gotta go. But listen, know that everyone on in this forum is right behind you, thinking of you and sending you love and hugs. Be stronger and louder than the T, because it's a bully. And like any other bully, it will rejoice and take every opportunity to beat you down if it knows of your fear and sees your (to the T) frailty. Make the bastard step back and blink a bit. Look it squarely in the eye, tell it that it's only there because you are allowing it to be there...for NOW. You'll get there, lady, you'll get there. Huge hugs to you. Xxxx

[HayleyStephens]

What a fabulous reply from felldweller. I couldn't agree more. T thrives on fear! If you follow the advice in felldwellers reply and other similar posts your symptoms will settle. As I've said when my T came on I was terrified, often waking up in blind panic. That was 3 or so months ago, and now the only time I think about my T, really, is when I get a message from here. x

[Felldweller in reply to HayleyStephens]

Good stuff, Hayley. If the combined power of positivity from us all on this forum could be harnessed and pointed straight at everyone's T.....BOOM....bye bye, you wimpy bully!! Xx

[Ruud1boy]

One day at a time my friend. Get through the day as best you can, have a good old cry if you need to and then do it again the next day. It's horrific, I've been there, but at some point in the future, if you can stick it out, you'll wake up one morning and your first thought will be about something other than your T. Or you'll find yourself engaged in some activity and realise 'I haven't noticed it for the last 10mins'. It'll still be there and as soon as you have that thought, it'll leap back into your awareness, but you'll be able to demonstrate to yourself, and eventually convince your mutinous brain, that you can ignore it.

Keep fighting.

[jmallordturner51]

Tinnitus came into my life when I was 15. I am now 67. I can tell you I was just as desperate for relief as you are now. I got used it eventually but in the last 3 months it again has ramped tremendously. So begins my search again for relief. I would definitely get JASTREBOFF'S book on TRT. He is world renown expert on tinnitus and as of today the best and most successful solution. Remember that this only a sound you are hearing. Not a threat to your health.

[rohit71gera]

U need to do Steam Inhalation 3 times a day, and put the Nasal Steroid in your nostrils twice a day in the direction of ear lobes. You had ASOM ( Otitis Media). This is a condition in which fluid gets accumulated in the ear and creates this Temporary Noise, You don't have Tinnitus. Drink a lot of water and hot Soups. Hot Bath will help. It takes 3 months to dry the Liquid that gets accumulated in the Middle ear. Don't listen to loud music. Dont put head phones. Dont expose your self to Cold weather. Dont attend Rock Concerts. You dont have Tinnitus. You have Objective Tinnitus which is self limiting. Once your mucus dries up in 12-16 weeks you will be cured. Dont pay too much attention to this temporary noise. If you are feeling anxious you can take 1 mg anti depressant every day to keep your anxiety in control. Talk to a Psychiatrists before you start any SSRI if you are getting depressed. People take 40 mg in a day and for you 1 mg for next 40 days means Noise gone and no side effects of Anti Depressant

[NicTinnitus]

Hello and a belated welcome to our forum

There’s a lot of good information on our website tinnitus.org.uk - try to avoid sites which promise “tinnitus miracles” or “tinnitus cures” as there’s no such panacea - but with time, you will learn to manage your tinnitus well.

We have a free tinnitus management e-programme as well takeontinnitus.co.uk which you may like to try.

Our Helpline 0800 018 0527 (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) (outside the UK you can call [phone]) can also answer your questions and give you support.

I hope this is helpful, and we are here to answer any questions you might have, or offer support.

Warmest wishes

Nic (BTA Communications Manager and Forum Administrator)