Hello. I'm new to the forum and been on a bit of a journey so far. My mum died suddenly in New year's day. Had to give her cpr so quite traumatic. Handled things ok initially until a fortnight later when I got awful flu. Went to doc and told him symptoms included ringing in ears and total stuffy head and felt the need to pop my ears. Was given antidepressants and told I didn't have ear infection and my sinus issues would go and "it was all grief and I should go home and think positive" !!! Was like this for few weeks went back to GP which was different but same practice to be told that if I had bilateral tinnitus there was nothing anyone could do! Gave me beconase for congestion!!! Went to audiologist who said I may be very lucky if tinnitus went away but said I had fluid in my ears! Gave me hearing test said I had hearing loss. The test was done when tinnitus was screeching I was not in soundproof booth and could hear traffic outside and girls laughing in reception!! He then sent me info to purchase hearing aids and told me I MUST have been struggling at work. I hadn't and able to chair meetings quite comfortably etc. he said he didn't believe me and male voices were easier I said my team were all women! Again he wasn't convinced. GP gave me antibiotics given fluid diagnosis but no change. The ringing continues so went back to doc who said she'd refer me to ent only because of hearing result not tinnitus but it's over 20 week wait and said nothing could be done but given hearing result she'd reluctantly refer. Then went to private ent given the wait. He told me I didn't have fluid in ears. Each audiologist gp and ent have said I've got tiny ear canals too with build up of wax. The private ent just said my brain would get used to noise! This seems to be the answer all the time. I then went to another audiologist who gave me proper hearing test however wasn't convinced on result given tinnitus and said ent would be best as they have different sounds to accommodate. So I'm just trying to manage as best I can with a white noise mask on a night to sleep and keeping busy! The noise has changed a lot since January and more like a static noise but ok when I'm busy using other senses and talking whereas beforehand it didn't matter what I was doing it would be screaming! Sorry for the long post but I took the decision to engage with this platform to learn more about habituation, see if I'm doing it right and to avoid the constant negative comments on the internet about how this will stay with me for the rest of my life!!
Got tinnitus 24/7 all of a sudden : Hello. I'm... - Tinnitus UK
Got tinnitus 24/7 all of a sudden
Dear Rossi50,
I'm sorry for your loss, the trauma must have been immense. Welcome to the forum and credit to you for taking positive steps to help yourself. The severe tinnitus you describe may be part of the response to the bereavement stress and may have occurred regardless of whether you had flu or not. Your hearing loss may not be apparent to you, as yet, but it has been picked up and may only be with sounds at a certain pitch, regardless of volume. I imagine it would be difficult to perform a hearing test whilst not experiencing the T as these times are few and far between in my experience. Given that you have had mixed test results I would advise that you request a referral to NHS ENT for a full assessment. That your T is now more like static, I would take to be an indicator that you are now somewhat less stressed and that habituation has commenced; the use of the white noise mask is likely to be working for you. There are also T apps that you could consider, I like MindEar but others are available. Like everyone else, there will be good and bad days, but do as much as you can to look after yourself, be it exercise, increased rest, avoiding stimulants, etc. It's your journey and what works for one person may not work for another.
Thanks for replying. Yes it was a tough time. My husband was in hospital at the time too after being ill with chemotherapy so I was dealing with things on my own. I'm certainly less stressed now. Back to normality in a way and doing things I enjoy. Always been a positive person but maybe I'm trying too hard or being impatient. Just being pushed from pillar to post with no answers is frustrating. I was also told I had TMD so dentist gave me a mouth guard as she said that too could have been causing tinnitus. I still have the NHS referring waiting for so will ask questions then. My husband is a bit of a guide with my hearing as I keep asking him if things are now too loud but he says it's the opposite so who knows! I did have wax removal too in January and read negative things about microsuction so concerned I've brought this in by having that? I've read a lot about it I just find it disappointing that when you reach out to the medical professionals you get hit with one line "nothing can be done you'll get used to it," and be on your way!
Just rang ent apparently it's not 20 weeks, waiting times are well over a year!!
That’s not good but sadly, I think it might be typical. I recently rang to ask when I would have my HA fitting, they are currently working on December referrals😕
My tinnitus walked in after 3 bereavements in 7 weeks. That was 12 months ago. The thing is definitely on the improve these days, as early on I invested in audio kit some of which I no longer need to use. A combination of habituation to the condition and some definite improvement. Though at the moment it is singing loud, I expect it to lessen in a hour or two.
I've found this site so supportive, and I'm sure you will too.
Yes when I compare to how it was it's certainly improved in 6 months. Before I couldn't even have a conversation without hearing it now when I'm engaged in conversation I don't or the fan in the shower wouldn't even mask it but now it does.
Your fightback is underway. A phrase I don't expect you'll get coming from the medical profession.
In the early weeks, two paracetamol could give me relief. That time didn't last long and thereafter they became ineffective. That could be because the intensity they were able to suppress was no longer there at that stage.
Can I ask is there a best way to try to habituate? When I'm talking to someone now I don't hear it whereas I did before. When I'm in the shower again beforehand the fan didn't mask it but now I don't hear it. When I really listen to other sounds I can understand how that would mask it but I just can't see how without a sound you're not going to hear it??
You don't have to do anything to habituate. It just happens. I found doing things, even walking, would take T away. It's there, but it is background. I live next to an A road. I don't hear the traffic (though on Christmas day, lack of that noise does impress!)
I would say yours is mild T as mine. You don't have to be on this site long to appreciate how fortunate those of us with mild are compared to some.
Because the only people I know who have it say they just bear a bit when they go to sleep I don't know how to measure mine! So for example I'm sorting in the garden now chatting to my. Brother in law and hubby. We have a water feature so can hear that and I feel my tinnitus is a bit like static. But when I go inside to complete quiet it's very much there !
Hi,I am really sorry for your loss,I have not been on here for awhile,same thing happened to me but it was my husband and my son did the CPR. It was three weeks after I had the same symptoms as you, I am now deaf in my left ear and still struggle with my sinuses but I have learnt to cope which has helped tremendously but it did take time and therapy.Hope you can feel better soon.
Sorry for your loss too. I'm coping. I'm the type of person who researches and always proactive but have to accept there's not always solutions or should I say quick solutions! When I first went back to work I thought I was going to lose my job as I couldn't even have a teams call without my tinnitus screaming in my ear. Now my teams meetings are fine and I don't hear it. Same when I'm talking. So when I compare to how things were then I would say it's better just maybe need to be more patient with myself!
you’ve had a bad experience and I’m sorry for what you’ve gone through. Sadly, I’ve seen from many posts here that some doctors are dismissive. Whilst it’s true there’s no actual “cure” there are ways of coping and the medical profession should be guiding you.
If you go to the website of NICE (National Institute for Clinical Evidence) and input “tinnitus” to their search box, at the top, you will read the pathways that gp’s are supposed to follow.
Have you gone to the website of Tinnitis UK? Lots of helpful advice there.
Just to share some thought from my perspective. I got T from Covid and also had a lot of bad news around that time that compounded the problem. I still have T now in one ear. I also developed anxiety from covid and tinnitus which I've never had before.
Honestly- I HAD to stop reading the negative forms and researching because it was causing me to go into a panic and worry so so much, I felt like my life was over and I was trapped in my own body with this torture. I reached out to Tinnitus uk a few times who were a good at listening and giving some advice, no magic bullet though.
Now? I have gotten used to my T but I recognise it is very much affected by what is going on in my life. Some days I don't hear it at all, some days my jaw hurts from being anxious (I guess) and I hear my T. I've just spent a week abroad and I can't remember hearing it once! Sat here now, I could hear it, now its disappeared, and now I hear it again, all in the space of 5 minutes because I'm writing this post.
If im worried, stressed etc I'll hear it more.
But the best advice I could give myself again (and something that I wanted people shut up saying and I didn't believe) is try to relax and don't work myself into a panic or worry with it. Obviously do all the due diligence with your health and ears but the thing that made it so much worse for me is working myself into a massive panic. I envy these people who are able not to care about stuff and just 'get on with it' but that wasn't me and I drove myself into a much worse place by letting everything negative get to me.
Thanks for your reply. To be honest I'm getting on with my life as much as I can without mum and I really do consider myself as 'not thinking about it' but as it's still there maybe I'm not doing as well as I thought or I'm trying too hard! The thing is you never hear from anyone who has habituated or any positive stories of success. I have stopped reading some of the forums as it makes it worse. Don't get me wrong those sounds that didn't mask it a couple of months ago are actually masking it so makes me think it's not as loud and there's progress. I certainly don't consider myself stressed any more but listening is tiring isn't it!! Perhaps I'm just too tuned into it now who knows there's just nobody with any progress feedback that I can find for any habituation advice.
I should probably also say I also got dizziness and vertigo from COVID and diagnosed myself with Meniere's disease with the help of an audiologist (he wasn't qualified to do that!!) which caused massive panic, stress and worry my life was over with.
Turned out it wasn't that at all and just residual infection.
I also think mine is somewhat worse when I have jaw tension.
I tried masking it at first but then just decided to let it be.
Luckily I've never had any issues getting to sleep but I do remember at the beginning enjoying going to sleep because I couldn't hear it
You're doing great. Sounds like you're in a good mindset. Well done.
Thank you. Well I'm wearing a mouth guard as the ent thought I was clenching. I'm still using it even though it's 7 months since mum died and no idea if I'm still doing it or not! Strange how all the info says it's a symptom of something so if you sort the route cause it should go but that really doesn't seem to be the case.
Hi Rossi50, most of us will eventually habituate. Maybe not complete silence, but having faded away to hardly noticeable. This takes time , sometimes months , sometimes a few years. Being busy is the best way to take your mind away from it. Habituation as I understand it , starts when there are times of the day when you don't notice it. Of course night time is when you hear it most, because it is usually silent in the room and you are not doing other stuff. So it looks like you are doing all the right things. I mostly use masking but especially at night . As for masking/ coping, we are all different and its not one size fits all. Sounds like you are doing all the right things and getting to a better place .
You're the first person to talk about habituation. After much research I'm trying all the things I believe that will help. I'm 6 months down the line so perhaps it takes longer and I need to be patient. My positivity is being pushed though I must say lol x
Hi again Rossi50, I'm about16 months into my current T , thanks to a certain statin! .The first time I got it was 20 + years ago. It did fade eventually to were I didn't hear it, took years. However I think "Habituation" is usually not that it disappears completely, although it may get quieter, but its when you don't notice it. I reckon I'm half way there 
I don't notice it all the time. Also I'm not as devastated, desperate or depressed as I was the first time . I think that is helping. It never did get any worse, which was my initial panic. Did you try Gingko Biloba. I took one a day for years, cant prove it helped, maybe it did, but it certainly didnt make it worse. I cant take it now as am on blood thinners, pity because I would take it again.
It's strange as some sounds now do mask it whereas it didn't before so I'm hoping that I'm starting to perhaps habituate. It would be good to hear from people who did this successfully. What is Gingko biloba?? I think one of my poems is I think about it all the time checking if it's there or not. People say don't mask it completely others say don't mask listen to it. It's just hard to know what's best x
Gingko biloba is a natural herb, comes in tablet form. Ray200 recently did his own trial with it and reported his results. See if you can find his chats. There is a lot of advice on masking some yes , some say just let your brain eventually tune it out. Some say masking doesn't help to habituate or it takes longer. I masked for over a year, day and night. I couldn't bear to listen to 24hr hissing. Now quite often I forget to use my earphones. Like today , just realised I can hear the hissing now on here, but didn't notice while I've been busy all day. Okay so it might have taken longer, but I've survived the last 18 months pretty well . You have to decide which works best for you . Just remember masking should be at a volume just lower than the T. If the masking is higher/ louder , Mr T will want to compete with it . In the past I had found advice which said listen to Mr T for a few minutes , then concentrate on the TV. Keep switching back and forth. If I remember correctly that did sort of work.
Thanks for the advice. I've turned down the white noise so perhaps it's getting better or should I say perhaps I'm not noticing it as much. As I say when there's sound I can concentrate on that but when there isn't I really don't know how you 'tune out' I see what you mean about how it competes! Couldn't believe the louder a radio was the louder tinnitus became which I just couldn't understand. I sat eating before and didn't really hear it much while the TV was on. Driving today want too bad either as I didn't have the radio on but the noise from the motorway helped. Sometimes I listen to it and try to say to myself I don't care hoping my brain will realise it's unimportant but like I say I may be trying too hard!
I dont think "tuning out" is something you can switch on or off. . Its more that the brain gets so used to a constant sound , that it stops listening to it .I used to work at an airport in the main departure area. I hardly ever heard the announcements over the tannoy. I do have the radio on in the car , just LBC. Volume just enough for me to hear. We each have different "triggers" that can make T worse and others that help lower it . It can be a long road, I took months looking for a "cure". Maybe a year before I gave up researching etc. Guess thats when I started to ignore it , there was nothing else left to try ! Sounds to me as if you are on the right track, but its not a fast road ! Good luck.
Old Musician With Tinnitus. 
MRI and Tinnitus 
strategies 
Spinal Stenosis
tinnitus and altered hearing (kazoo/robotic)
