Newbie reaching out

[Peppemint24]

Hi, I've had T for all my adult life. For me 3 or 4 simultaneous hums or buzzing at different tones. It came on usually when I was tired in the evening but wd be gone in the morning. It didn't really bother me so I haven't ever seen a doctor about it.Moving house 2 months ago it has become unbearable at night. My sleep was disrupted by noisy neighbors and I've become anxious and worried about being able to get up and function, work etc as the T keeps me awake. Any suggestions for a starting point please? I'm not on medication apart from for high blood pressure (losartan), many thanks.

[PimplePopperfan]

Sorry to read this. Neighbours can be a nightmare. Try to get some meds from GP or boots (sleepez, nightol etc) short term and see if things settle. If you can't sleep that would make you feel a lot worse and the T a lot worse too. I use a fan to block out the T. I try to focus on the humming of the fan and imagine the T is part of the fan humming. Not sure what else to suggest for the night sleep.

[Peppemint24 in reply to PimplePopperfan]

Thanks some other noise to focus on is a good idea 💡

[Spinach123]

Hi...my hubby who has severe tinnitus takes Mirtazapine prescribed by GP to help with sleep, also uses at times a soundbox obtained from Tinnitus uk, options of background noise ie rain, birds, seashore, and plays a relaxing continuous CD through night. Just some ideas for you.

[Peppemint24 in reply to Spinach123]

Yes, I think I'll see my gp as I'm getting T all day now. I think I could use a blue tooth speaker with ocean sounds cd I have. Thanks!

[Stubble in reply to Peppemint24]

Check out this YouTube channel

youtube.com/channel/UCg9AX3...

Dale is a sound engineer with tinnitus. He has produced a lot of different frequency sound recordings to help try to mask the sounds of T

They are all ten hours long so can be left playing all night..

[777john]

some good advice from spinach123

[Philip6]

A Sound Oasis machine would help, or a Bluetooth speaker, there are very many tinnitus relief videos on YouTube that help to mask it, some play for 10 hours. You could also try Kirkland Sleep Aid pills, just half a pill before bed. They are antihistamine based, so safe and non addictive. You can get them from eBay or Costco.

[Peppemint24]

Thanks Philip6, really helpful!

[Happyrosie]

don’t hold out too much hope from your doc. I’ve seen from many posts here that some docs are dismissive of T (because they know there’s no cure as such) and just say “get on with it”. Which, whilst essentially true,,isn’t very helpful. Your doc might be different.

The best source of information is Tinnitus UK and if you are not familiar with this charity’s website, have a read. And do NOT believe anything that entails you spending money unless advocated here or by that charity.

[Destructor]

I use amazon echo playing white noise loud all night. If at first hard to deal with tell yourself it's a waterfall you're sleeping next to and paint (imagine) a safe space.

[WildIris]

Another option (though it took me 50 years to figure this out) is to befriend the T. It is such a relief NOT to use it as a signal to clench up and turn up the distracting pleasant sounds. Though for sleep, I do use nature sounds to focus on, I don't feel like I have to block out the T.

[Peppemint24 in reply to WildIris]

Hi Wildiris, I know what you mean. I didn't until recently find my T unpleasant or disturbing. It was just there. It's when it didn't disappear once I woke I've struggled and it's been extra loud since all this house move stress.

[Peppemint24]

Thanks for all the great replies, really helpful 👍