Hi everyone. I've had Tinnitus for 9 weeks - confirmed by ENT - no point talking about the cause as I'm working hard on acceptance. I'm 37 and feel a bit sad about the diagnosis; the hissing sound is moderately intrusive but the effect on my body through what I believe to be stress is quite frustrating (feel a bit weak and I'm normally very very energetic); and my mood and thoughts are quite low. I have signed up for a 12 module online CBT for tinnitus course, and have an in-ear masker on its way to me. So my questions aren't 'what can I do' as I truly believe I'm doing all I can; I'm sleeping well 95% of the time, but my question is 'please can people tell me they have come through the other side of the anxiety and depression'. I know living with this is possible. Thanks so much for taking the time to read!! Maybe one day I'll be helping others.
9 weeks in - doing OK but looking for some pos... - Tinnitus UK
9 weeks in - doing OK but looking for some positive vibes!
Hello smatkin,You are a very positive person and that helps enormously. You are doing all the right things. What helps me the most is going out for walks in the fresh air with my poodles. Listening to trees rustling and the birds twittering etc. look just remember that acceptance takes a bit of time, I’m only half way there. Try to keep your anxieties low key as tinnitus loves stress and anxiety. Keep busy all the time. You will get much better in about 6 months I should think . You will get lots of replies on here . Big support here too.
Thank you. I find the fresh air and sunshine helps my mood too. Whilst 6 months (possibly more I guess) feels a long time, I do know this is a time consuming process. It's the shock and anxiety held within body that is having the most impact on me, so even if I can't hear my tinnitus I can feel it in my muscles! I'm hopeful that will ease off in time. Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Whatever you do or don’t do , “ DO NOT” get roped into these magical cures you see and find advertised . They are expensive rubbish and they know people are very vulnerable and likely to try absolutely anything . I wish you very well . Do you know what , “ you are not alone” 😂 😂 😂. Go down the long road/path telling yourself you will get some success. xxx
Thanks rabbits! No wild 'cures' for me, just the ongoing natural process of acceptance with whatever I can do to help (that's endorsed /well researcher by the BTA) along the way. Thanks for taking the time to chat!
What rabbits says is on the nail! And what you’re doing is also the right thing.You might want to scroll through some posts on here too, and if you’ve not browsed the website of the British Tinnitus Association that’s another source of info.
Thank you Happyrosie. I am well plugged into the BTA resources - I've recently joined as a member, I currently have a BTA befriender and I use the webchat quite a lot! As a naturally impatient, proactive and very driven person; I maybe need to dial down the impatience. I struggle to undersdtand that what I am experiencing is a 'natural' part of the process. Your encouragement means a lot, thank you!
Woohoo smatkin you are SO doing the right things. You know it will take time and thankfully you’re not going to try out dragons blood or snake oil - both well-marketed as cures.
Ha haa thankfully no! I know where my energy should lie for sure! At the start I was misdiagnosed with a few things (Eustachian Tube disfunction, ear drum inversion, chronic rhinitus, you name it....), so spent 6 weeks on steroid nasal spray (I can't believe that was only 3 weeks ago that I stopped that actually....) so had a bit of a frantic start to it all through excessive googling, now stopped, but replaced by reassurance seeking. But you know, these conversations help surely?! Thanks again
Hi Hidden Wow. I'm impressed. At nine weeks I was still lying on the sofa. You've done everything you can to help yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back. Now it's just a matter of waiting patiently. Your brain will adapt & adjust to the sound(s) in time. The anxiety & depression will hopefully pass. I don't know what else to say. Keep up the good work 🙂
Thank you doglover. Patience must be a virtue 
I'm so glad to hear that the anxiety and depression will pass. I don't expect silence, but I would like a bit of 'normality'! Thanks so much for your message it's so helpful x
The road to recovery can be a bit up & down so don't worry if you take two steps forward and one step back. I still feel rather flat sometimes but much better overall . The sound(s) will become your new normal. Surprisingly so .
I know its really early days for me, and I think I must be experiencing that first step back. Does the flatness pass when you do experience it now, and how long have you had Tinnitus? I genuinely think I can become accustomed to the sound eventually.
Yes. I think you can too. The early days are tough because it's all new . I had tinnitus for several years but it didn't trouble me until July 2020 when it got much louder . I feel flat from time to time but this may not be entirely down to T .
I guess that's one of my current fears, that it gets louder then I'm back to square 1! (Or am I?!) It's such a confusing world!!!! Sorry yours got louder
Mine got louder due to hearing loss so there's no reason yours will get any louder than it is now. If anything tinnitus usually settles . And I believe once you've got to grips with it the first time you can do it again so - in a way - there's nothing to fear 🙂
Ahh I see. Definitely hoping it settles - not even so much the sound as just my emotions and feelings around it. Thanks for the chat
When was the last time you had your vitamin levels checked? Especially vitamin d? I get very tired and depressed when mine is low. Mine was 34!!
Hi Hookie! I had a full set of blood tests last week, which all came back normal! It's less fatigue and more muscle weakness/shaking, which started with the onset of the tinnitus. But a good reminder for me as my multi vitamins run out today so need some more!Was yours 34 and low as a result of tinnitus? Or just one of those things?
Well I have Graves disease which means I don't absorb vitamins very well, but since having my thyroid removed vitamin d supplements actually causes the tinnitus lol. So it's been a bit of a catch 22. But someone on here suggested sunbeds, I don't really like them but I was desperate. It actually seems to be working, so I'm happy with that. Did they check your thyroid? as muscle weakness, shaking etc was first signs of my graves and that causes an over active thyroid which can cause tinnitus. I would ask for a print out of your blood results as there "ok" results can still be very borderline rather than optimal.
Hi Hookie - sorry to hear about your Graves disease. So my Serum TSH level is 1.1 mlU/L with a range of [0.27 - 4.2] with advice saying that primary hypo or hyper thyroidism is very unlikely.....always good to check these things though! I suspect there might be other symptoms too if I had over active thyroid - and the tinnitus came before the muscle weakness so I think it's a shock / trauma response.
Oh really do you? I'm starting to think mine is due to stress and tight muscles or trigger points I think they call it but when I take vit d or increase my thyroid meds i think it increases my blood flow and that's what I can hear. I've had a very stressful life over the last 6 or 7 years so it would make sense really. Need to look into it all.
Ahh I see. I mean that the tinnitus is causing anxiety which is causing the shaking in body. So my shaking is a shock/trauma response. I don't look into the cause of my tinnitus at all as I can't control that now! But, that said, stress does contribute to tinnitus. Viscious cycle.
Is yours pulsatile?
It's all very complicated isn't it. I don't really know. I used to have that as a teenager, but it just disappeared. Only thing I can think of being the reason was cos I lost a lot of weight. This is different. It sounds a bit like pulsatile when it's really quiet, but when its loud it sounds like a fog horn lol
HiRead through your post and replies as everyone says you are doing positive things to get through the initial shock and help yourself. You will learn to live with it in time. It is very annoying and can be quite debilitating but everyone is different and you will find your own way to cope. I go for walks with my dog keep busy and do some meditation/body scan apps which I find relaxing. So all the best just explore anything that might help you practically except the crazy lotions and potions on the internet as already stated. Take care and be kind to yourself.
Thank you Beagleears - yes definitely staying away from crazy lotions and potions. It's the bodily sensations I am very much hoping improve and I am hoping that the 'learning to live with it' involves my body feeling normal again, rather than me just getting used to having a body that seems to shake when I try and bend/lift! Thanks so much for reading through and replying
My sleep Is 95% bad. Think how lucky you are... Buy it's not your fault. I'm Happy for you!!!
Hi yes you will come through the other end im 4 years in and starting to feel more like myself i to was there felt like black whole i have hearing loss got t from this also ear infection you will adapt habuiate takes time keep positive .
Hi Hidden, as others have said you are doing all the right things. Having a forward looking attitude and not mourning the past and/or searching for cures is (in my opinion) one of the key things to moving forward to living well with your T.
So glad to see you are looking at the natural path to acceptance and avoiding the 'lotions & potions' as you say . I see you talk about your impatience and I think this is only natural when you are looking towards the future, one thing I would say is 'Be Kind to Yourself' living with T is hard and while you are working out your 'plan' to move forward make sure you show compassion to yourself and allow yourself to just 'be' and breath. I say this (from my experience) as I know I go so focused on working all the good things I learnt from the BTA I probably caused some residual stress/anxiety, by being kind to myself I found I progressed more quickly as I was helping my mental and physcial health.
Another thing to help with the 'impatience' is that it takes time for our brains to adjust (brain plasticity) to not just the T but the positive techniques we put in place to try to manage our T. As I am sure you know most of us are in a heighten emotional state when we get T (fight/flight response) and being able to manage this takes time , practice and determination (all of which it seems you have which is great).
You said ' I guess that's one of my current fears, that it gets louder then I'm back to square 1!' again this is only natural, as when we first get T we have to work out what are new world looks like, how (if) we manage spikes and what we are putting in place to manage our T (and wider mental health). When I had these worries I always looked at it like 'is this a 1st', what I found is if I experienced something for the first time I pretty much went to our natural negative bias and somewhat thought the worst. Through CBT I reframed how I looked at these thoughts/feelings and gave myself some 'distance' from them. In the case of 'will it get louder', I would say (in the spirit of being kind to myself and science') I will deal with the facts when it happens and whatever happens I know someone else would have gone through something similar so I may have to add something to my plan to manage my T, although if it doesn't get louder then there is no need waste this energy on worrying.
One thing that really helped me was attending a BTA support group as I got to learn about the condition, learnt distraction and behaviroal techniques and gained emotional support from the shared empathy.
Stay safe
Hi Hidden,I know how you feel, I developed T back in June 2021. I suffered tremendous depression for the first few weeks, even to the point where I wasn't sure I could carry on. During those first few weeks, there was not a single minute of the day where I was not focused on my T....
The good news is that this is perfectly normal. Everbody goes through it, in their own way, and come out the otherside. I told myself early on that if I don't listen to it, it's not there! That is true but also much easier said than done.
9 months later and things are so much better. For the most part, I forget I have T. I don't hear it that often, it is still there and if I listen to it it gets louder, but I am able to ignore it now. Don't get me wrong, I have bad days, and me a lack of sleep and some medications seem to make my T worse, but in general the bad days are a lot less frequent.
I keep a dedicated diary where I mark my days either Green (good), Blue (meh) and Red (bad). I have been doing this for 5 months now so I can see my progress and also correlate bad days with certain things.
Hope that helps. It does get better. There is a lot of hope. You will adjust, it just takes time (and I appreciate that is not always the answer people want to hear, I didn't!)
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