tinnitus help

[Kayla143scott]

I’m Kayla,

I am very new to this, November I realized that I had a sound in my ears particularly in my left. Like a hissing sound with a high pitch ring that kind of reacts to some outside sound . But now I have fixated so much on the sound that I feel like it’s filling my head. I have developed anxiety from it which it feels like it’s taking over everything. I can’t eat properly I have lost my appetite and I just don’t feel happy at all. My friends and family notice this in me

I’m not sure how long I have had it, maybe it’s been years but I didn’t realize. I can’t help but blame myself for it. I can’t think of another reason apart from going to a few clubs and never wore hearing protection. But I’m only 21 and have hardly been a party person at all. Never been to concert or festival or even worn headphones or ear buds for music. The last time I went to a loud venue must have been a year and a half ago

I have been referred to ENT but waiting on an appointment. I guess I can’t assume the cause of it untill a medical professional tells me.

I need advice on how to cope with the anxiety of it all

[Happyrosie]

Kayla, don’t blame yourself. Youve been living a normal life just like everyone else. It’s. It your fault.

Looking for a cause isn’t going to help you very much, Yes, once you see a professional they might want to exclude some physical cause but most, well, tinnitus just happens.

Please have a read of some posts and especially the responses over the last few days, and you will see you are not alone with anxiety and there are always ways to cope.

[Kayla143scott in reply to Happyrosie]

thank you so much for your help it’s really reassuring ❤️just knowing there is other people out here to help and understand

[Notreve7766]

Hi Kayla

Your describing how I was when I first heard my Tinnitus. Your nervous system is in fight/flight mode and when you get this settled down I think you will find the intrusiveness reduce significantly.

How we calm our nervous systems is different for everyone but some common things work for all.

Our thoughts feed our nervous systems quite a lot so being positive is one the most beneficial things you can do. I do this by being kind to myself and not trying to blame me for something i should or shouldn't have done. Remind yourself that you will be fine, you can live well even if the Tinnitus sticks around.

Being around my family and laughing, cuddling and doing activities also really helps our nervous systems.

Anything to relax or hobbies. Try and avoid avoiding things. Even if you don't feel like doing them - do them anyway and celebrate the fact that even though you weren't feeling well you still achieved it.

Celebrating any kind of progress is really beneficial to our nervous systems.

Tinnitus feeds off attention so find things that work for you. Sometimes trying to get your attention off it can put attention on it so don't try too hard! I would put films on and even though at the beginning I was still listening to my Tinnitus I would notice periods of the film where my attention was on the film.

I did lots of walking. Our nervous systems love gentle exercise, especially if out in nature.

Finally managing anxiety is important not just our anxiety towards Tinnitus but in general. Speak to people about how you are feeling, family and councilor us on the forum. Keep talking and dont bottle things in

I hope this helps

[Kayla143scott in reply to Notreve7766]

thank you I will take your advice,

I realised I was starting to not do the things I loved or enjoyed. I’m just trying to keep my body moving and make sure I keep in a routine x

[Tlyna]

Sorry to hear you have developed tinnitus. It is annoying, I have had it for 32 years now and at times it bugs me but I have gotten to where I ignore it a lot by finding things to do to distract from it. For me it gets worse at night sometimes so I put on a soundtrack of ocean waves or a forest stream at low volume, just high enough to hear. It doesn't work for everyone but it is my way to settle it down so I can sleep. Don't ever blame yourself, it isn't your fault, it just happens for some people, for others like me there is a physical reason it happened. Don't concentrate on it as that will just increase your anxiety and make it worse. When you get distracted it tends to ease up so doing things you like and not thinking about it can help a lot.

[Kayla143scott in reply to Tlyna]

was you really young when you first got it ? X

[Kayla143scott in reply to Tlyna]

and thank you for your advice xxxx

[Tlyna]

No, I was 40 and beaten into unconsciousness then stabbed in the head by a new psych patient. Fortunately I have strong bones and his homemade shank just bounced off it but did give me a minor (thankfully) closed head injury. I had to go through 10 months of neuro rehap with that and on medication for about the same length of time. I still have a problem with short term memory so write a lot of notes and use the alarm on my phone so I can remember appointments or other things I have to do. The tinnitus started a couple of days after the head injury and has never gone away. Once in a while it gets seriously annoying but I force myself to do something to break my concentration on it. A pain to learn to do but it helps eventually.