I have a horrific screeching ringing that's pulsating. It's so piercing, I'm feeling nauseous and so unwell. I've been taking ginger tablets, but not really sure it's helping.
Does anyone else have T this bad that you feel physically sick? What do you do? Has anything helped? This feels so unbearable, god help me!
Hi Deena,
I'm so sorry to hear this. Screeching Tinnitus is horrible and yes, it will make you nauseous. Part of the reason for that is when the Tinnitus is loud and high-pitched it will trigger our Limbic System (the part of the brain concerned with survival/ Flight or Fright, etc) and that leads to us being on edge constantly and in a state of high unrest. If that's rings true for you - take some moments to sit with that information and let it sink in and let your feelings calm as the explanation to why you are reacting the way you are is now explained. The feeling sick is the Limbic System triggering you. "I was sick with worry", etc,.
Part of the upsetting thing with T is the air of mystery - why us? what exactly is going on? why do I feel the way I do?, etc.
Part of the research we have to do as individual T sufferers is to reveal these answers to ourselves.
I find when my T is screeching (I, too have Pulsatile Tinnitus) I have to work hard on calming my Limbic System down (there is no tiger hiding behind the bush there), etc , and I do this by meditation, breathing exercises and mindful background sounds - either with Youtube streaming some live location stuff or perhaps some music - sounds of wind, waves, etc - whatever feels right.
In time all of these activites become second nature. Just stuff you do without thinking.
How are you sleeping? - sleep is the number one way of getting the other side of this stuff.
Hang in there, but in the mean time - if this is new to you - you could do with some help to calm things down. This is GP stuff - over the telephone try and get across the loudness of the T and what it is doing to you physically. Impress on them that this isn't just a mild ringing in the ears it is an un-ignorable, screeching racket and it is disturbing you to your core. They'll take it from there with perhaps some further diagnosis.
They might give you something to help you sleep, something to help relax you (and that Limbic System) and that will give you some clear air to start to deploy other coping methods and ideas.
Good luck, stay with us,
Best wishes,
Jimbob
Deena6 & Jimbob, I too have crazy screeching, pulsing, pounding PT. Also headaches & badly interrupted sleep. For 3 years. I also have A Fib that I hear as my heart beats irregularly & thumps sometimes. It's horrible. I've had just about every test that exists to find the cause here in the US, no luck yet. I had a cardiac ablation 6 months ago & my heart beat is still sometimes all over the place.
So, my deep empathy is with you
Hi PTtoolong , just a reply to your Afib bit. I too have Af , and yes irregular beats and that thumping is horrible. Cardiac ablation didn't work . I was back in hospital the following week(June 2021) Stayed overnight and fitted with a pace maker(my normal heart rate being 40 bpm and it needed to be 60 because of the Bisoprolol heart medication). I can honestly say that apart from 2 occasions when I did go into AF and had to go to hospital to sort it out. ( they upped my dose). My life is so much better. Hope you can get yours sorted.
Have you given Ginkgo a try? The way I take it. Especially dissolving in the mouth as the actual leaf would be when chewed?
I have tried Ginkgo (zero effect on T) but not the way you take it.
Same here. Zero effect otherwise. How it is delivered to your system is vital.
it’s a good idea to take ginger (in my case I like peppermint for my tum and dizziness) or whatever you think is a good idea - then exactly as Jimbob says.
Hi,
Please go to your GP for a full assessment as feeling nauseous could be connected. Both nausea and tinnitus can be symptoms of Ménière’s disease. You have nothing to lose, I hope you get on okay.
Yes to loudness at least twice a week. I have to take myself out of circulation even with my family and Grandchildren. Nothing helps and as far as I know nothing is being done. Welcome to the world of terror Tinnitus. You will have to get used to it most of the time but you don't all together It is the most unnatural situation to be in, locked in with a screaming noise. If you have Partners and family you will spend a lot of your time explaining it. Which makes it even more frustrating. Especially when you think you've got through and then you find that you haven't. Not their fault because they can't hear it. You will a habituate to it eventually mostly. Of course I don't know how long you've had this for mine is eight years some have had all their life or most of. I'm mostly keep myself busy with things I enjoy using the PS5 to keep my brain working and it helps me immensely to ignore it. I would say music but it's a shame to have lovely music and then a screeching noise across it. I'll stop there because this is not helping you at all is it. Lots of good people here, lean on them they know how to get the right words out and some of the little information and help there is. God bless ❤️
I have it like that too. Hearing aids and masking disguise it a bit.
Hi I too have screetching T , it wakes me every morning its so load . My hearing aid (just in my right ear) does help calm things down they really do help. After a while I can take out the HA and carry on with my day, its still there but not so load. I wake and wonder if I can continue with this pain/screetching and often think please take away the hearing from this ear!!!
All useless thoughts I know .
I hope you find relief.
Thank you to everyone who responded to my post which was written when I was feeling desperate and incredibly overwhelmed. A spike on top of a previous spike.
I have had tinnitus for many years (15) but my permanent worsening is relatively new. I also have hyperacusis, sorry, I should have mentioned that, so no masking. I am housebound.
I'm just horrified by what's happened. When I compare my initial tinnitus to what I have now, I absolutely cannot believe it. I was able to live my life as normal. I even went to a concert, the thought of which now sends a shiver down my spine. I have so many regrets and am constantly tortured by them.How much longer I can continue to live like this, I don't know.
Hey, that sounds tough. Stay here. It's especially difficult this time of year - there's a lot of noise going on. Hyperacusis is a drag but a lot of us have that around here.
Coping strategies - stay grounded, breathing exercises, background sounds on low volume - remember the power of visual stimulation - if one sense (in this case our Audio) is fighting for domination then let another sense (Visual, Touch, etc) get the floor for a while. It reminds our brains that they are not solely listening machines - they are percieving across an entire range of perception.
When I was new to this - a friend used to do CNS Shocking. When the T was absolutely winning - she'd make me stand in a bucket of really, really hot water - my feet would feel like they were burning. I could barely stand it. Then, out of that bucket and straight in to a bucket next to it of freezing cold, ice-filled water.
Honestly, at that point the Tinnitus looses. Your Central Nervous System goes in to shock asking WTF is going on down there. It 'forgets' the smaller problem of the ear/ noise/ Tinnitus/ altogether.
That's called Soma-Sensory Diversion.
And it works.
Remember - you are not just a listening machine - you've got all this other stuff going on - pay attention to that. Don't let the T sit there on top of the tree. It has no right to do so.
Most of your life has nothing to do with what you are hearing in your ears/ mind.
Take that forward.
And Happy New Year!
Stay in touch. Don't go quiet. We're all here for each other.
Hi Deena6
Please read my own T post, where I describe how I needed to take benzos to sleep for very many years.
Then, came my epiphany, helicoptering up and realising that others have far worse problems than T.
And that did it, and my T rating dropped from 50 to 0. So, it’s not the T but the rating you give it that is key.
And, no need for benzos for over 6 years now.
All the best
Persevere
I'm glad things worked out for you. I do have other issues. Makes everything so much worse. 😥
Hi ...I too experience a very high pitched screeching 'sensation'. I use the word sensation because for me I don't perceive my T as something I hear -its more of an excruciating sensation emanating from the centre of my head and not in my ears. It sometimes feels so intense that it's also a physical sensation as well as audible...Anyone else experience something similar?
It often changes pitch, intensity and volume... habitualising something that changes is a real challenge.
Hang in there everyone...
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