Severe Tinnitus

[FreesignerRichie]

Hi everyone, I have severe tinnitus which is constant, and just drives me bonkers. No management seems to work but just intensifies. I worked along side audiologists so have quite a bit of knowledge around tinnitus and as well with deafness. I wear hearing aids as I’m hard of hearing. Even with hearing hearing aids my tinnitus is bad, I just can’t find a good coping mechanism at present. With the tinnitus I get severe headaches, vertigo, nausea, balance problems and episodes of blacking out or fainting. My audiologist, neurologists, ENT specialists have never looked at the possibility of Ménière’s disease, of which this could explain what’s going on. Also i have tried to avoid the 3 S’s (Silence, Stress, and Sleep) but that just does not do anything. I wanted to see if anyone experiences an electric shock pain that goes across the back of head from ear to ear? During a bad tinnitus attack.

[avirata]

Hi,How long have you been suffering from? Because it takes some time to habituate with Tinnitus . Beginning days will be tough but after couple of months or years your mind starts adjusting to that thinking it's the only option left out when doctors cannot help us .

Couple of years ago I used to get electric shock kind of experiences in my ear when I was severely stressed out and had lack of sleep for some consecutive months.

Now no symptom of such.

I know it's hard that ENTs don't even listen to what we are trying to explain , they just shut their ears when we mention we are hard of hearing and complains about how severe our Tinnitus is.

I have lot of such blunt experiences so I stopped going to them I still have my bad days with Tinnitus but I am coping with it.

I could just wish you for positive journey in this . Be strong !

[FreesignerRichie in reply to avirata]

Thank you avirata,

That’s about right for the ENT’s to close their ears. When you have found a decent ENT please let me know lol.

[SueX]

Hi, I'm not a medical expert and you probably know more than many people on here, but as you'll know Meniere's is given as a diagnosis once everything else has been explored and discounted. Plus you need to meet quite a rigid set of symptoms for it to be Meniere's. I get occasionally dizzy along with my Tinnitus/hearing loss but I was told that as I have constant Tinnitus and not episodes as such, I likely don't have Meniere's. I've had T since September and find great comfort from reading about the experiences of others here. Good luck!

[FreesignerRichie in reply to SueX]

Hi SueX,

Really! are you not a medical expert, darn that’s where I’ve gone wrong lol.. from my background of working along side various audiologists and being in the deaf community I’ve learned a lot and understand a lot about tinnitus.

I don’t have a diagnosis of Ménière’s, but with my symptoms that does include feeling pressure in the ears (inner ear), I faint or have blackouts, vertigo as well has falls or (drop falls) along with extreme headaches. So Ménière’s is questionable, but I’m not diagnosing myself at all. Tbh I’ve never really heard in uk about Ménière’s disease.

Us hear has a community can share various experiences, advice and most of all a complete and full understanding of what severe tinnitus is like.

I’ve had severe T since 2009, so 16 years…

Thank you.

[WildIris]

Hi, sympathies for what you are going through. It sounds like a lot of pretty alarming issues to deal with.

I can tell you what has worked for me: 1. when you're feeling overwhelmed, take some time to breathe deeply, and if your brain is spinning, try some words and visualizations that are particular to you and make you feel better.

2. never hurts to look at your diet. Food and drink can be a great comfort, but they may be contributing to the problem.

3. Do whatever exercise you like and can do, every day.

4. When you're ready, listen to your ear noises, the quality of the sound. There can be other sounds in the room, so you can shift your focus back and forth without getting too upset. So you don't have to be afraid of how you'll feel when you hear it. You may be stuck with that sound for years, the sooner you get used to it the better off you'll be. Like a scar on your hearing. Let it be a source of pride, that you were able to face it.

Please don't avoid sleep, sleep helps. And you can't hear tinnitus in your sleep. And you can't avoid silence and stress all the time either.

Best to you

[cheapo]

Hi Richie,

If you're having any pain or nerve type stuff such as the "electric shock" feeling you described, your first port of call would surely be your doctor. Tinnitus is caused by either injury to the ears, neck, back. But it can also have emotional causes too, because it can be a defensive thing. But from what you're mentioned I'm sure you're aware of that. It's difficult to diagnose stuff when you're an ordinary bloke like me, but we're all here to read about your problems and to sympathise.

Bets wishes, Pete.

[Doglover1971]

This could be me writing this, mine came on after an episode of vertigo. What does your sound like? Mine is hard to describe, under water, washing machine going round and ringing x