Advice on keeping positive

[Doffy222]

Just down in the dumps with vertigo tinnitus and deafness, waiting for a referral to the ENT consultant x

[Happyrosie]

Owww all three at once - nasty If you are having to wait a long time for referral, can I suggest a couple of things for your vertigo? If you’re really dizzy, likely to vomit etc then your doc ought to prescribe something to help.

Or, ask your pharmacist.

There are exercises to train your brain to believe what your eyes are telling you, not what your balance mechanism is telling you. One of these you can find on the NHS website, search for “exercises for older people” and choose the balance one.

Then google Brandt Darroff exercises, just do the ones where you sit down. If after seven to ten days you find they help, move on to the other exercises as well. It’s only ten minutes out of your day, three times a day.

As far as T is concerned, there is a lot of helpful information on the British tinnitus Association website.

Deafness - some people find it useful to put drops in their ears to help dissolve wax. You get them from the pharmacy. They are not for everyone though. And indeed your deafness might be nothing to do with wax.

Hope this helps!

[Doffy222 in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks for the advice I will try that

[Suz_2]

hello Doffy - Has this all just started recently ? yes its along wait on NHS - I was lucky to have a BMI private hospital close to where i live - and i developed a severe tinnitus on a Sat 14th Aug then called BMI healthcare and saw ENT consultant on the Thurs ( 6 days later) it cost me £150 for initial consultation then under £80 for any other apps - if u can get a private app quickly its worth it to get the answers u need.

[Doffy222 in reply to Suz_2]

Thanks Suz I will look into it

[Spurdog1 in reply to Suz_2]

Suz, can you tell me more about BMI, a link or something, it sounds money well spent.

[Suz_2 in reply to Spurdog1]

bmihealthcare.co.uk/

[Suz_2 in reply to Spurdog1]

most of the Consultants spread their time between the local NHS hospital and the BMI hospital

[doglover1973]

Hi Doffy . How long have you been waiting? I was referred to ENT in January and I'm going to see them in November . My GP gave them a nudge several weeks ago. It might be worth asking your GP to do the same. In the meantime my advice would be try and do things you enjoy - as and when you can. One thing I've learned in the last year or so - T is tough but we're tougher 🙂

[Doffy222 in reply to doglover1973]

I think I am going to go private if I can . Sorry its taken so long for you x

[doglover1973 in reply to Doffy222]

All the best Doffy. Whatever you decide to do xx

[surreycccfan]

Hi Doffy, Sorry to hear you are having it tough, I can empathise as I have T, vertigo and hearing loss.

I would recommend when you see a clinician make sure you leave with a plan for all 3 conditions.

If you have been waiting long for your ENT appointment please ask your GP to make an urgent referral Clinicians including your GP should be following the National Institute for Care & Excellence (NICE) guidelines on Tinnitus (nice.org.uk/guidance/NG155), it’s a rather lengthy document so I suggest you look at this flow diargram in the supporting information (nice.org.uk/guidance/ng155/... which shows the treatment options but also most importantly on the second page that you should have a management plan in place and that an urgent referral should be open to you.

As Happyrosie says there are exercises you can do to help reduce they effects of vertigo, they worked for me. I mainly used Brandt Daroff google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q... the other one is the Eply Manouvere google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q... (both these links are to NHS documents),

For hearing loss your local Audiology Dept should be able to help and see if you qualify for a hearing aid, you may be able to do this in parallel with the ENT appointment.

One thing that really helped me was CBT. I did a course of CBT and I found it gave me some excellent tools to help me look at my thoughts and feelings in relation to my T. As those with the condition I think we have all experience the stress/anxiety our T causes from our fight/flight reaction. There are some specific CBTs counsellors for T but the counsellor I saw was just general CBT counsellor. The counsellor helped me explore how negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle. You learn tools to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts. Your shown how to change these negative patterns to improve the way you feel. Unlike some other talking treatments, CBT deals with your current problems, rather than focusing on issues from your past. It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis. I found the APPLE model particularly useful in helping how I felt about my T. This tool allowed me to pause, step back, reflect on what I was feeling about my T and reframe in a more positive manner (sounds mad thinking positively about my T but it did help me). CBT really helped me moved forward in managing my emotional (fight/flight) response to my T. I would recommend it especially as you can get this free on NHS if your T is causing you stress, anxiety and/or depressive behaviours (plus you can self refer). nhs.uk/mental-health/talkin...

Another thing that really helped was going to BTA support groups (online) as helped to listen to others with condition and share how I felt with folks who knew exactly how I felt. I also learnt some excellent coping techniques tinnitus.org.uk/online-supp...

[Doffy222 in reply to surreycccfan]

Thanks for the info its very helpful x

[surreycccfan in reply to Doffy222]

Most importantly, Be Kind to Yourself. Having all three conditions can really have a negative impact on our mental health and quality of life. You are allowed to feel how you feel, I would encourage you to try not to shrink your world and work on a plan to how to manage your mood and emotional reaction to your T.

[Sparklylady67]

Hi Doffy, sorry to hear you are down in the dumps. It's ok to feel like that, tinnitus does get to us like that. I know it gets to me at times. I'm not sure where you are or what your situation is but could you try to do something uplifting like going for a walk in the woods, by the coast, just somewhere to lift your spirits. If you can't, have you thought about trying mindfulness- doing a full-body scan so that it takes your mind away from the tinnitus and relaxes you. If you are still feeling down, the BTA has a helpline/ webchat that you can access 9-5 Mon to Fri. Here are some links that might be useful- some are explanations others are music - sounds to take your mind off tinnitus. I just googled tinnitus and mindfulness music

tinnitus.org.uk/mindfulness...

youtube.com/watch?v=KHhQEL1...(Not working as expected?)

youtube.com/watch?v=rAVqdyD...(Not working as expected?)

youtube.com/watch?v=stexnrX...(Not working as expected?)

Hugs sent.

[Linley]

Totally understand how u r feeling. Going through the same myself after vertigo attack. It freaked me out and my confidence is rock bottom. The wait for a referral is too much so as I have more history than future I have used some of our rainy day savings to go private seeing a consultant in 7 days. In the meantime I going for a walk every day and trying some of my yoga breathing excerises to calm me down. Hugs and best wishes to u x

[Doffy222 in reply to Linley]

I think I am going to go private x

[Linley in reply to Doffy222]

👍🌹Good luck

[Hidden]

Sorry to hear what you're going through. I also have vertigo, tinnitus, inner ear pressure attacks and wear a hearing aid.

I waited 16 months to see ENT on NHS from my GPs initial referral but the ENT consultant simply described my symptoms back to me, gave me betahistine which made me feel dreadful.

I saw another ENT 3 mnths later who referred me to neurology because the betahistine didn't work. The neurology appointment was a chat over the phone. I felt like I was simply a bother to them and am no further forward, still experiencing menieres symptoms every fortnight or so.

I'm also considering going private to see an otolaryngologist (I think that's right)... One near me is charging £200 for first consultation. I think I will need to try this as I'm no further forward and been having these attacks for 2 years.

Take care. It is horrible. Just know that the attacks do pass and try to minimise stress and commitments e.g. maybe tiredness and noisy environments are triggers. Diet wise I've been cutting down on sugar, salt, processed food, and trying to eat healthy and go for walks whenever possible. Thanks those who posted sites to try for tinnitus.

[Doffy222 in reply to Hidden]

I am waiting for a phone call from the private hospital xx

[Happyrosie in reply to Hidden]

I’ve just read your post, Fuzzywuzzy, in reply to Doffy. Betahistine isn’t now recommended for T so no wonder it did nothing for you.If you haven’t already, have a look at the NICE website and input ‘tinnitus’ into their search box. It’s for doctors but it might help you to guide your doctor on the right path.

[Hidden in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks. I'll take a look.

👍🙂

[Hidden]

That's great. Hope you get some help and support. Best wishes.