Hi, I'm new here. I'm female, 56 yrs, healthy lifestyle, exercised everyday, had no problems at all sleeping then out of the blue about 3 weeks ago I noticed a humming noise in my right ear. I quickly realised it was tinnitus and my life has changed. I now cannot get to sleep and the humming in my right ear is all the time.
I have been on the British Tinnitus Website and they have been invaluable. I realise that over time I will adjust, and that my brain will eventually tune out the tinnitus. I do have a sound machine to help at night, however my brain does not seem to switch off when I get to bed.
Can anyone tell me, does your sleep pattern adjust the way your brain does with the tinnitus noise? I mean do you eventually get your level of sleep back?
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isobel6
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Hi isobel. We all experience T in different ways. It’s very early days for you. Your brain is the one making the noise AND it’s the brain that’s worried about it. I’m glad you’ve viewed the BTA website, an invaluable source of info. Please give your brain a chance to get used to the T and post back to us in, say, four weeks with your progress - we’re rooting for you!
Hi isobel6 A warm welcome. In my experience sleep patterns do return to normal but it can take time. It took me about a year . The early days are the worst because you can't switch off - as you say. You've got a sound box which is a good start. You might like to try relaxation techniques too. As Rosie says - the brain creates the problem but also tries to solve it. Keep us posted .
Hi to you and welcome, I too have the humming and low tones too . Even like a fan oven going . I find when I lay my head down my noise is less. I think the thing to try and do is wait until your really tired before you lay your head down . Eventually you will adjust. It’s a case of having to adjust because there is no cure. Be rest assured that you are not alone with tinnitus. We are all here for you, we are all surviving and things do get a bit better as the brain does adjust eventually. Some good books have been written too.
I am 9 months into my T journey and I was exactly in your position at the beginning. I couldn’t sleep at all. I would have babbling brook, birds and thunder and lightning in the background, but I found my T was just fighting against it all the time. I then decided to turn all that background noise off and settled for my fan instead. It works!! My T doesn’t try to fight it and the low humming noise of the fan sends me off to sleep. That’s the way it’s been for months now. If you have a fan, give it a go. It may work, it may not. Anything is worth a try.
Everyone’s journey is different and what might work for one person, may not work for the next. It’s hard and it’s tiring, but you will adjust to it. You just have to give it time.
Hello Isobel6. The first few months are definitely the worst and it is so annoying and frustrating to know that although the humming is there in your head it doesn’t listen to you when you tell it to go away!! I find reading helps me at night - I always have a good book that I get absorbed in and usually drop off whilst reading. I also find the quietness in my bedroom helps and even better if I’ve had a relaxing warm bath. I have learnt from this forum that we are all different but I do think acceptance is key to helping yourself. At the moment (until we get a magic cure) tinnitus rules and the more you fight it the harder it retaliates. Have you had your ears/hearing checked out? I believe it is worth having a hearing test. Best wishes.
I had my hearing checked at Boots. The audiologist said my hearing was fine, however I'm awaiting my ENT referral as I believe the hearing test there may be a little more comprehensive.
Hello and welcome as much as I dislike saying that to anyone here but hopefully you’ll know what I mean
When my T started my sleep was really messed up. I would instantly fall asleep due to the fatigue of this noise and wake in the early hours not being tired enough to fall asleep with my noise. Mine is very loud and I understand each person has maybe a different level and response to it.
Eventually my audiologist recommended the Oasis bedside sound machine and a pillow with small speakers in the middle of it. He suggested the rain setting was the best. That took a little while and when I woke up I could initially try some slow breathing exercises and listen to the rain. After a few months I could just wake and use the pillow as a comfort against the silence of the bedroom at nighttime.
It took me a long time to understand my sleeping rhythms as, for me, I would be woken by my noise when in periods of lighter sleep (in the cycle) when I had ‘sufficient’ sleep. I would say some years before I could be less worried about it and not see bedtime as something to be fearful of as it was in the start of my T journey.
Exercise is a good thing and you are doing that. Next is trying to reduce stress, anxiety and worry that is still something I am rubbish at doing.
Be kind to yourself and keep talking, I came to this site only recently myself and should have done it earlier. I still have no real idea what the BTA does apart from the shop and this forum.
I ended up taking 7.5 mg mertazapine to make me sleep because of TI am incrementally weaning myself of it after 6 weeks ,even although it is a baby doze
I dissolve it in 30ml water then reduce the drinkable volume by using a syringe to drop the doze .
I am on 25ml now having disposed to 5ml
Shortly I will go to 20ml in 1 ml reductions and see if I still sleep
I use a 5ml syringe so can reduce by 1ml at a time to fine tune if need be
Hi, I've had tinnitus for around 2 years. At the start, I used to have trouble "nodding off", I would turn the clock radio on (very low) so that my brain would have something else to focus on. I now find that I would rather hear the sound of the tinnitus, and I sleep like a baby .
Hi, this sounds very similar to my experience, my T started suddenly 5 months ago when I was 56. Initially it really distressed me & I dreaded going to bed. I have taken up yoga & swimming & trying to relax more. I tried everything at night, radio, sound machine, sleep headphones but not for me, now I have a ticking clock next to me & it works for me. I have seen ENT & also been referred to audiology but I do not have any significant hearing loss. Stress & anxiety definitely exacerbate the condition. The BTA run on line support groups which are very good, you can talk to other sufferers & get some helpful advice in a controlled environment. Things do improve/settle down over time, and the brain naturally adjusts/accepts it, however if you are really struggling with sleep there is nothing wrong with talking to your GP to help you through initially, my GP prescribed me Amitriptyline & it has helped my sleep enormously, I am now cutting down the dosage. Everyone is different & some may respond to this with a different experience. Keep exercising as it will help.
Hi I find it hard to drop off to sleep too. I listen to a body scan meditation which I find really helpful. There are lots on you tube if you search under body scan or sleep meditation. My favourite is John Kabbat Zinn but there are plenty to choose from.
We are all different so it's trial and error for everyone to find what's the best approach.
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