Hi everyone, I'm new to tinnitus, just 3 weeks in but have already been told my hearing is fine and there's no problems with my ears by an audiologist. I recently went through a stressful period at work followed by my mum being rushed into hospital and being told out of the blue that she only had days to live, her husband and I gave mum 24/7 end of life care at home for 8 days before she passed with us at her side. All this time I surpressed my emotions so as not to upset her. My stress and anxiety levels were through the roof and I'm told this is only making my T worse but it's a vicious cycle. I also get extreme bouts of shaking with the anxiety and can't stand to be without my white noise machine by my side. I did have a bad ear infection a couple of months ago which the doctor eventually prescribed a in ear antibiotic spray and nasal steroid spray but my inner ear has never seem to recover and still feels full. I'm waiting for an MRI scan but not expecting them to find anything. I'm sorry this seems really negative post but I'm really struggling to cope and accept, I'm not really sure how to do it 😞
New to tinnitus and frightened : Hi everyone, I... - Tinnitus UK
New to tinnitus and frightened
You are in the 'distress over the tinnitus' stage. It won't last long. Maybe a couple more weeks.
Mine came on from three bereavements in short order last year. But time is a great healer. A bit of good news is tinnitus that comes just from extreme stress and anxiety is non complicated. It shouldn't get any worse and will improve over time as mine has. That's what my on line research has given me. I too had special noises from a recorder, bus journeys, to drown the tinnitus for when reading in bed but after 3 months no longer bothered with it. There can be only one reason there, as I was so dependant on it, and that is acceptance.
Thank you Ray200, I feel like I haven't stopped reading to try and help myself. The doctor has increased my Sertraline to 100mg and has given me a short dose of sleeping tablets to try and help. Despite knowing that I need to relax and reduce my anxiety and stress levels I just can't seem to force myself to do it. I'm signed off work too at the moment as I just can't concentrate at all on anything. Any tips or suggestions be really appreciated. Sorry to hear that you went through such a difficult time too.
I never did get the 'relax to reduce stress and anxiety' business. Presumably given to us by professionals who don't have stress and anxiety issues. My way is to do things. Wash, scrub, clean the home if there's nothing else to do. Also walking. You need to work it off, not wallow in it. Go to bed tired at the end of the day. Not super relaxed. The idea is to have no time to devote to the thoughts. You are otherwise engaged.
I'm definitely doing the walking and keeping busy, guess I just need to wait for my nerves to settle down. Thanks 🙏
we are all different - personally I find a quiet walk in the countryside very beneficial, together with breathing exercises, when I’m stressed.
Sometimes one thinks “I KNOW how to breathe already, what’s the point? “. But I find them helpful. Start by going to the NHS website and input something like “anxiety” to their database of problems and look at the breathing exercises there.
Thank you... I will give anything and everything a try
Hi first of all am so sorry to hear about your mum, no wonder you are struggling, i still have bad anxiety from stress related anxiety and T creates challenges, please give yourself time to adjust to this, T is stress response and therefore you can recover....i encourage you to look up Julian Cowan Hill on You Tube, or he has a website, and an app 'Quieten' free month trial, he does regular question and answer zoom sessions, he had T for a long time but recovered and went on to help others, no matter what causes our T we can do things to help ourselves, i wish you all the best.
Thank you so much 🙏... I'll look up Julian Cowan Hill.
The zoom sessions help me, whilst its sad seeing others struggling like we all do, in a way its also beneficial, as people are also at different stages, many are recovering and can give very helpful positive comments, so can share positivity, and Julian is there to ask and get help straight away.
Thanks Seabob, I think it would help to speak to people who understand, my friends are trying to message me and help but they can't and to be honest I just don't want to try and explain the fact that I'm literally sat here shaking in fear and anxiety. I tried really hard yesterday for a few hours not to wear headphones and then broke down I just couldn't bear it. I'm aware logically that I just need to accept the noise and that it's just a noise and can't harm me but I can't seem to force myself to do that for some reason. I'm desperate
I completely understand!! ihave had ear pain five years now and T since last September, there has barely been one day where i haven't been in tears - just being honest!! i paid up for the 'quieten' app which means i can zoom into Julian's meetings, its kinda two edged sword as its sad to see people from all over the world dealing with this, but we are all on there for a reason, Julian is very very kind and totally understands as he had T for 20 years, if you ever decide to get the app its worth it just to do the zoom, he does them twice a month, and its so very helpful, you can also email him, friends and family can be kind and supportive but no one will ever know how hard this is u ntil they have it, i wouldnt wish it on anyone, it has turned me into quite a sad person, my quality of life has gone downhill but i have to keep positive, please feel free to private message me anytime for chat 😀
Hello and I’m sorry for your loss.
Stress is a big factor with T and our perception of it. It unfortunately doesn’t mean if you could remove all the stress T would be no more. It’s just slightly easier to cope with. When I first started night times were the worse because of how quiet the house it. Back in the day my audiologist gave me a sound machine and pillow. Then I could play rain through the tiny speakers which felt like a safety net.
I hope that helps with the night times.
Very best G
Thanks Graham, I have a fan, white noise machine and phone app all playing through the night to help. It's the only way I can escape the noise enough to sleep for sure. Other noises like the tv or radio don't mask it as it's so high pitched it just cuts through it.
Thanks very much for your message.
Hi, at the beginning i used bone conduction headphones,they sit above the ear, not the most comfortable in bed but preferable to in the ear..gradually i weaned off them, i try and use breathing meditation when in bed and often that helps too.
What a lot to be going through. No wonder you are stressed, but things will undoubtedly get better. Nearly everyone adjusts to tinnitus at their own pace and to their own level and find different ways to do it as many have described above. Impossible though it seems to believe you will also just get used to it to a certain extent; it will become part of who you are, but hopefully won't rule who you are. I try to keep busy with different things and they don't need to be 'loud' things. If I can get lost in a book I don't notice the tinnitus, if I'm sewing, cooking, doing housework, going for a walk it fades into the background. It's still there but it's no longer intrusive. At the moment the worst time for me is going to sleep as I've now got pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear, which is exacerbated when I lie on that side. So I try to go to sleep on the other side... You work out things that work for you over time and with patience and with hearing from others about what has been successful for them. Good luck.
Thank you pablr for your message, I'm just trying to get a handle on my nerves and anxiety but its proving a challenge. There are some lovely kind people on here though like yourself and it helps to hear from you.
At the moment its intrusive nearly all the time, apart from when I have all my white noise on at night. I'm trying so hard to control how I react to it but struggling with that quite a lot too.
Thanks again 🙏
Hello, can fully understand your fear, although my tinnitus wasnt brought on by stress more age i believe, when i first heard it, it was scary, didnt know how id manage with this whistling in both my ears 24/7, .. but ... as most on this forum will tell you, your brain adapts and filters out the noise once it realises its not a threat.
Its probably 5 years since i first heard my tinnitus and although im the first to admit its probably no where near as bad as some people have it, ive definately learned to live with it, i notice it more at night when im tired it definately seems louder, but during the day even in a quite room , its there but I can forget that it is.
Its eary days for you as a new sufferer but hopefully in a few months, if you still have it you will have adjusted and although its still there your brain will get used to tuning it out
all the best
Retro_bob thank you for your support, it's so good to hear positive news from people, I just need to get there... hopefully! Thank you
I've had T since I was 17, about 50 years ago. Long story short, what I wish somebody had told me back then, is not to get in the habit of reacting negatively when I noticed it. I let it depress me a lot over the years. No forums back then, it sounds like your taking the right steps in a sad and difficult situation.
Thank you...at the moment I can't escape the noise hardly at all but try to avoid being alone with it too long. I know I need to work on this and start the journey to accept, I keep trying and it can be manageable for say an hour or so n then I just can't deal with it. I keep trying to tell myself, it's just a noise...it can't hurt me but think I'm just faking it at the minute, my body is still tense and shaky so I know it's not fooled. I've had some great app recommendations from lovely people already and am going to spend time watching and reading to understand what I can. One hour and one day at a time.Thank you for taking the time out to help me 🙏
It will get better, my first experience was one of fear and uncertainty but with the help of a wonderful GP and some anti depressants to help my anxiety and lack of sleep I am in a much better place. It will ease for you so keep your spirits up. Depending on where you are there’s likely to be a monthly Tinnitus UK support meeting.
Thank you... I really hope it does. I'm trying everything I can and it helps to hear positive feedback from someone like yourself. I'm in the north west but not sure how to find out about the face to face meeting - I'll have a look though thanks 🙏
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