Im a 53 year old male .A few days ago I started getting ringing in the ears . This has gotten progressively worst and I went to the GP yesterday to get my ears checked out. He saw there was some ear wax blocking the ear and did a tuning fork test which seemed to suggest some blockage . I have been wearing ear buds for music/ podcasts fors number of years which may not have helped My main issue is mental health . I've recently had a breakdown since June and am really struggling with stress anxiety and depression and been signed off work. I have insomnia because I didn't really take to the anti depressant SSRIs (escitaloprám ) which exacerbated the insomnia and was prescribed zopiclone then valium in short term
I'm really struggling and now with the tinnitus now and this is making sleeping a real issue. I don't whether an ear wash will help or if the mental health or meds has triggered the tinnitus. I'm really panicked now and am constantly aware of the ringing. I'm at my wits end . Thd ringing becomes more pronounced when I turn my neck or stick out my jaw
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Nunners01
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Having ear wax removed where it is blocking the ear is a good idea, and this should be carried out by a qualified practitioner. It can allow more sound into the ear with greater ease, which can be helpful in allowing you to hear sounds which may distract you from the tinnitus you're experiencing.
just, Nunners, to reinforce what Pat has said. Try to distract your brain by walking in nature if you are near a park or open land. Listen to birds, wind in the trees, rain even!
I am sorry to read how much you are suffering. Certainly all this stress you are suffering will be adding to your possible tinnitus , my head and ear issues all started from the stress of losing my mother and other family member back in 2020. I now find it a great relief to walk out in the fresh air with my two poodles. . There are many many posts written on people’s experiences with tinnitus on here and you might find it helpful to read some of these . You will get better soon.
Hi Nunners, I am a similar age and have had tinnitus for a few years. You may notice after receiving comments on here going forward that everyones tinnitus is different and everyone finds a way to manage theirs. There are however fundamental similarities to what can make tinnitus worse and one of the major ones being stress anxiety. With some people, this is actually the root cause of their tinnitus in the first place but almost everyone I have communicated with would agree that stress and anxiety will make your tinnitus seem louder and more intrusive, leading to more stress and anxiety. It is a viscous circle that is hard to break but once broken can lead to a path of recovery.
There is a high chance that you will have tinnitus for a very long time. This is hard to grasp but is needed to be able to overcome some of the anxiety. This is acceptance and can be challenging. But do know that there are a lot of things you can do to help with your situation and if your tinnitus is here for the long run then you will be looking to get to a place called 'habituation'. This is where you dont notice the ringing any more unless you listen for it. This will probably seem impossible for you now where your brain cant unfocus on it but if you can imagine a time where you are around certain noises that you dont notice such as a noisy fridge, air con, road and even other peoples conversations. Your mind defocuses them to a point that you dont hear them unless you listen for it. Your body will also not have the anxiety caused by the sound any more. Its accepted and sits in the background.
For me it the hardest thing I had ever been through but with determination and information I managed to get through to a point where it doesnt affect me anymore. Its there but i dont hear it. I hope you manage to find your way through also.
There is a lot of experience on this forum, please continue to post with questions and progress.
I am also sorry to hear about your story. Darren6 has explained it fully however it interested me to hear about your insomnia. I was struck by tinnitus about 4 years ago after a year of shift work when I didn't get enough sleep. I feel like the two things may be linked. Of course having tinnitus then makes it harder to get to sleep (and dose in the morning) exacerbating the condition. The sooner you accept you may have it for life the better. It's not nice but there are much worse cards you could be dealt. Good luck with handling your stress and anxiety.
Hi having just started with Tinnitus myself no doubt through stress from my job going then aura migraines i totally understand how you feel..one minute i am feeling positive then extremely low - please i do recommemd having a look at Julian Cowan Hill on You Tube a long time Tinnitus sufferer who has helped many to cope with it - he explains all about our nervous system and Tinnitus can be a sign that we need to focus on our whole system and train our brain to focus less on the noise..he has an app which i may try - i have an MRI scan soon for my ear - i have had chronic ear pain for over three years now ENT was absolutely no help apart from doing hearing tests and getting my hearing aids...please reach out for help there are a lot of kind people trying to help us out there..do hope you find some way of coping 😌
Hi Nunners, sorry to hear that you’re struggling right now. Tinnitus is a bit of a brute and sometimes it feels like it’s hard to get understanding from people who don’t suffer from it.
It might sound a bit woo woo but honestly doing some breathing exercises and/or meditation genuinely does help. It might not help with the noise per se but we can control our reaction to it to a point and if we can calm our nervous system down a bit the noise can be much less upsetting.
Also, have you tried any tinnitus masking sounds? I can understand if you feel reluctant to play them through ear phones right now but if you’ve got an Alexa or similar you should be able to find some podcasts that will play through that. There are some really excellent ones for high pitched ringing that have chirpy cricket style sounds which can sometime wipe my ringing out for a good couple of hours so I can get to sleep. You can also get a little speaker that goes under your pillow so you can hear the sound when you’re lying down. There are also sleep masks available that have built in ear phones so that you’re not having anything directly in your ear.
I struggled a lot with my sleep when I first got tinnitus but it’s much better now. Either I don’t notice it as much or it doesn’t bother me as much. Breathing exercises were definitely beneficial for this.
Hi there, apart from the fact I'm a lady I could almost have written your post word for word about myself. I'm 52 this year has been rather crap, lots of dental problems, antibiotics, nervous breakdown and never realised I had tinnitus I think probably for a while but just thought I could hear electrics more easily. Then citalopram which turned up the volume on it considerably, then having to come off that as the T caused more anxiety and then a cold which gave me noises in the other ear from the T one. Waiting to see ENT, meantime have been reading tons. Anxiety definitely doesn't help tinnitus but difficult to get out of when it causes anxiety, distraction of any kind is good, whether that's normal every day stuff or specific sounds etc from apps. I've found withdrawing from caffeine has helped, plus limiting sugar etc. Also my ears felt very full, so my GP recommended Otovent, a balloon you blow up with your nose to readjust the ear pressure and clear the tubes in your ears (there's several YouTube videos of people doing massage to help drain them), this was a game changer my full ears are definitely draining, still weird noises in one and T in the other, but getting quieter🤞 that carries on, but got dentist again in few weeks and must admit I'm freaking about that a bit, but have been told to ask him to drill for 5 seconds, stop for 10 and so on, apparently that helps a bit. I totally get where your coming from re the anxiety, both my husband and daughter have suffered for years from T and say to me oh your looking into it too much, paying too much attention to it, just get on with your life. But it's hard to get out of the spiral. Try some of the suggestions for relief,I found emailing Tinnitus UK very helpful and supportive. Just keep distracted and definitely make sure you get enough sleep, eat properly, drink plenty and do all those things that you should be doing to look after yourself, get out in nature and lean on your family and friends. You will get used to it and the more you ignore it the better it gets I promise xx
Hi. It could be your meds or ETD. I have the same. Ie when I push my jaw out or pinch the bridge of my nose it amplifies 100%. I know what your going through. My ent have been no help , just because I have no fluid in the ears they are not convinced that is ETD. So I’m in limbo with no answers . Horrible condition to have
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