New to Tinnitus

[Fraggle17]

Hi, I've had Tinnitus for 6 weeks now and as you can imagine it's driving me crazy. I've had a hearing check and it's no cause for concern and will be referred to ENT. With regards to white noise/distraction noise is it best to listen to it as often as possible? At the moment it takes something loud to drown it out so sleeping is very difficult. But during the day if I have the chance is it good to listen to other noise to forget about the tinnitus? I'm watching TV now and I can head the TV and the tinnitus... That's how loud it is. I've got some noise cancelling earphones coming, I'm hoping they'll help somehow. Thanks in advance

[Happyrosie]

There’s some good advice about this on the British Tinnitus Association website.

[Fraggle17 in reply to Happyrosie]

Thankyou 😊

[doglover1973]

Hello Fraggle17 A warm welcome 🙂 I'm sorry you're having a tough time. Sound therapy comes down to personal preference. There's no right or wrong. I often have soothing sounds on quietly in the background. My favourite is water. Set the sound just below the tinnitus not above it. Sound is useful in the early days to reduce the stress and help you relax . Hope you feel better soon.

[Fraggle17 in reply to doglover1973]

Thankyou so much. I do quite like the water ones and bird song, I use waves to try and get to sleep too but it's so difficult. The stress and anxiety definitely isn't helping but as it's early days I'm finding it hard to relax. I'll get there 🤞🤞 thanks again 😊

[doglover1973 in reply to Fraggle17]

Sleep is a challenge in the early days. I wondered if I've ever sleep again .. but I did and so will you. There are various options to help you sleep. Prescription meds, over the counter meds, natural supplements. Have you tried anything?

[Fraggle17 in reply to doglover1973]

The only think I've tried so far is the calm app sleep sounds and some lavender oil. Maybe a natural supplement might be the next step... I think I could cope with the tinnitus if the nights weren't so hard... It's so stressful. You've given me hope though 🤗 thankyou

[doglover1973 in reply to Fraggle17]

You're right. It's easier to cope with T if you can sleep. Firstly because you get a break overnight and second because you're not worn out by day. I started with over the counter med Phenergan. It helped me get back into a sleep routine. Then I moved onto natural supplement 5HTP . I still take it. Good for anxiety too.

[sun_1234 in reply to doglover1973]

what’s kind of natural supplements Doglover please tell me.

[doglover1973 in reply to sun_1234]

Hi sun_1234 I take 5HTP (50mg) It's good for sleep and anxiety. You can buy it in health food shops or online. I get mine from Higher Nature . It's on special offer at the moment.

[sun_1234 in reply to doglover1973]

momey doesn’t meter. we need little peace.

[Yogachamp]

Hi I am just over a year in now & like everyone says you will learn to sleep again , your doing the right thing with the calm app & try drinking chamomile tea before bed it helped me I didn’t like the taste but you get used to it .

[mrsnosleep]

Really sympathise as I too am fairly new to experiencing this (16 weeks in) and have had no usual triggers such as loss of hearing etc. I find general multiple background noises such as clock ticking, fridge humming, computer fan etc all helpful during the day to distract from the tinnitus. As with you, I found sleeping all but impossible (unless I took meds for the first couple of months) but I have been using a free online CBT course (Debbie Featherstone) which has helped me to dial down the anxiety and stress that goes with tinnitus, as well as something called Nidra mediation and that has definitely improved my ability to sleep. I was very, very sceptical about the CBT/relaxation techniques at first but persevered with them and find they have helped. Hopefully they will also work for you.

[7164]

I am year into T as well.I hear mine above the tv etc and it is really hard to live with. I am getting better at sleeping by accepting it and listening to my breathing. Concentrate on the breathing and accept it.

Sadly the NHS were no help. My hearing is degenerating with age and nothing else. I waited 9 months to tell me I had tinnitus.

I find it really hard but people on here will tell you that you become acclimatised to it after a few years. Good luck.

Rod

[daverussell]

You should not try to drown it out. In my experience, you need to preference of sounds and volume that you can focus on - even if it seems louder than you tinnitus. The more you try to ignore it the more counteractive masking becomes.

Acceptance is key and the more anxiety and stress in your life, then the more difficult it becomes to live with. So tackle other stresses in your life to help cope/live with tinnitus.

All easier said than done, As advised above, use the BTA website (tinnitus.org.uk). Good luck with it all.

[amelirom]

Did you try any of white noise to play at night for sleep ? I found that brown noise is helpful to me . Depending on what you actually hear , some people found the noise of a fan is helpful to neutralize your sound. I had a humidifier that was the best for me , but it stopped working, had a smooth electric noise very subtle but was the best .

[PopcornLover1971]

I am sorry to hear that you have joined this club. Please try earbuds or a bluetooth headband at night to help you sleep - pipe in whatever works, audio books, podcasts, sounds from YouTube (some of them run for 10 hours), sleep stories, white noise, cicadas or fan sounds (or an actual fan). v

Meditation helps (Insight Timer has lots of free ones).

Have you been checked for hearing loss? Crucial.

Knowing how ridiculous this sounds, stress and anxiety really exacerbate tinnitus. The tinnitus thrives on both of these.

I have many apps that help me (I wear hearing aids, tho) to help with my tinnitus which is actually very loud.

Keep coming back here and asking questions. I know that this forum was very helpful to me when I started dealing with intrusive tinnitus last June.

[Crystal-moon]

Hi Fraggle17 I’m quite new to the tinnitus too. I’m a bit in front of you I think. I have had my ENT appt and now had an MRI done but had no results yet. I’ve had a referral come through for hearing therapy although I’ve had my hearing tested by an audiologist and nothing wrong there. I’m looking for support and understanding. Like you I feel completely stressed with it and feel my life has changed forever as drastic as that sounds.