I am really suffering with an escalation in my tinnitus. Following a hearing test (only mild to moderate impairment), the Audiologist doctor and lovely support worker at Tinnitus uk, all agree that it’s been caused by a series of stress related issues. I have never had anything like this before. I have a high pitched whistle that is present almost every waking moment and I’m so stressed by it and don’t know what to do. I have a machine to help with sounds when I go to sleep but the constant barrage is unbearable. I have heard that it does generally improve over time but how long does this take? I know it may not go back to silence ever but up until 6 weeks ago it was totally livable with but now it’s not. Any help is great fully received, either self help ( that’s a minefield at times) or specialist support or treatments.
Sorry for going on but I’m at my wits end.
Thank you for reading.
xx
Written by
Lilliecat
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Were you offered hearing aids?I wear hearing aids and when I first had them a number of years ago my hearing loss was mild to moderate. I found they helped my tinnitus during the day May be worth considering
I’ve had liveable tinnitus for years. Then stress caused it to go ballistic earlier this year. It took months to go back to what it was and only when most of the stress had been eliminated.
Wearing hearing aids has not made any difference to my tinnitus that I am aware of. It helped my hearing, which is impaired. Generally being busy, puts tinitus into the background for me or makes me less aware of it.
I have been told that there are particular hearing aids that can help, but I would need referring and my tinnitus has to be so bad that I can’t function.
Thank you, this has been very useful. My stress is definitely work related and I am leaving my job in a couple of weeks (I’m a nurse working on a casual contract and only work sporadically). A friend of mine died a couple of weeks ago under tragic circumstances and this obviously hasn’t helped either.
I’m someone who wants to get better ASAP, so knowing that it may take quite some time after the stress lessens before I get some relief, is very useful to know. I think for me it’s a difficult balance between keeping myself occupied and giving myself time out to decompress and start the healing process.
I have had occasional days when the T is not so bad but they are few and far between and it seems like the more I want them, the more elusive they become.
I think we’ve all been there. Mines the same with a similar diagnosis. I’m finding focusing my mind on anything else is a must to ease it. Plus hearing aids have made a difference. Hang on in there, you’ll find your own way to manage it
Thank you for your reply. I’m doing my best to hang on and hoping for some relief in the future. As I’m sure you can imagine, sleep is hard to come by and this doesn’t help either. Trying to keep going when I’m knackered is difficult. It’s a fine line between doing too much and not doing enough. Knowing that it will calm a little in the future helps to keep me going.
I’ve had stress and anxiety for a lot of my adult life but when it’s with added tinnitus, boy it’s hard blimmin work.
It looks like you've been right up against it recently - what with the loss of a friend, forthcoming change of work circumstances, and now an escalation in the T sounds and volume. That is a lot to be dealing with. Sometimes people like us have to just sit back and have a think about that --just those things there are a lot to be dealing with - particularly if you don't have people close in who you can talk to, cry on shoulder, etc. Now add to that that we have Tinnitus - and maybe other things - there anyway. It's a lot.
When I first found myself in Tinnitus World I didn't really believe that stress can be a factor in how intense the T is - now, I know different and that it can and does greatly influence both the intensity of the T AND my perception of it. By that same token One would hope that as you come to terms with the loss of your friend, your work situation is resolved (you leave and de-stress, etc) so the T will retreat back somewhat to levels it was before - or indeed, go altogether.
When people come along here in highly stressed state I always ask; how are you sleeping? Why? - because, I think, it's a make or break thing. Sleep is soooo damn important to us managing our conditions.
Healthy, restful good-duration sleep allows us to get up fighting every morning - ready to take on the challenges of our lives. Challenges that other people really do not undertsand. When newcomers come here they can be wanting to explore breathing, mediatation, CBT and all the spectrum of methods and management techniques that we use to live but - the first thing that goes with Tinnitus is interupted sleep. And if you aern't sleeping right - nothing else stands a chance of being right either. If you are not sleeping right this must be addressed first.
On the subject of T changes - I have three principle types of T that seem to either be jostling for domination or, worse, they all work together to make my life hell. I have very, very loud hissing, crickets (sometimes referrred to as Type-writer T) and blips and chirrups. Which one is being the most dominant doesn't really seem to follow much of a pattern. They all come and go seemingly randomly.
Like the rest of us here I think your stressful life circumstances are having a big influence on your T and your perception of it. As these events resolve, so will it.
I also think you should re-visit Audiology to explore that "moderate" loss - because my hearing loss has resulted in me getting hearing Aids that - no, they don't "cancel" the T but they do shove it to the background - and that's good enough for me.
I cannot thank you enough for your lovely, thoughtful and insightful message. It really means a lot when people like you and the others who have replied, take the time to reply.
In answer to your question, no, sleep is not my friend right now. Because I feel so low, I actually asked to have some antidepressants prescribed, a) I’m hoping they will help with my low mood and b) I know they have sedative effect. I’m not going to be able to take the prescribed dose immediately because I’m knocked off the next day and I need to be able to function. However, I definitely agree that lack of sleep makes everything a lot worse. I tried to get a telephone appointment with my GP but the receptionist was so obstructive that I did end up saying a swear word, not at her but whilst I was explaining how much I was actually trying to help myself by seeing people privately as opposed to on the NHS. Upshot was that her senior came on the phone and said that the Practice Manager was going to ring me. That was at 9.00 this morning and I’m still waiting. I’ll see what she has to say.
Sorry that’s going off point but relevant in some ways as to the lack of understanding about how T affects our mental health.
Like someone else has posted, initially I got an occasional day of relief but as time has gone on, they have become more elusive. Some people in this group seem to advocate that every time we get some respite it should be embraced. But for me it seems almost counterproductive as the relief is transitory and then I get all disappointed again when it all comes roaring back. Perhaps I do need to celebrate the little wins more than I have done.??
Just one other question that you or someone else might be able to give me some help with. Once I start to get back on track, which may take some time in itself, how long do you think it might take for me to get some relief? I’m guessing that’s a bit of a ‘how longs a piece of string’ kind of question but it would may help me to get my head around it. I don’t even mind if people think it could be months, especially as I don’t want my hopes dashed.
I will go back to the Audiologist and discuss hearing aids because a few people have said they may help, although I do have hypercusis and apparently they may not be so useful for me.
Once again, I really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.
I've had severe T for the last 7/ 8 months and I would say the T went from causing panic and anxiety daily to being tolerable (mostly) after about 6 months. Getting my hearing aids has been a massive good because they just push the T back in my concentration. It's like they're a firewall between the T and I. I strongly urge you to explore what they can offer.
On the subject of sleep I'm going to advocate for Phenergan again - it's over-the-counter sleep-aid. I take 25mg-50mg now and again when I know I'm not just going to go to sleep but need some assistance. Please research whether it will interact with any other meds you might be taking and if it's good to go; give it a go. I found it a really good ally in my early T journey - why? because it allowed me to sleep properly!! It's that simple.
And lastly, on the subject of hypercusis - wear earbuds. I also have hyper and I had an MRI yesterday - a long one - 1 hour in the tube! With earbuds it didn't bother me and I suffered zero backlash afterwards. The soft foam ones are best.
Thank you for such an in-depth reply, I really do appreciate how helpful everyone has been. I sincerely hope that I can return the favour sometime in the future.
Your MI scan sounds pretty hideous, great to know that the ear buds did the trick and you were able to tolerate it well. I bought some loop earbuds and they seem to be pretty good. I’m also trying not to block out too much noise as from what I’ve read, it seems a good idea to tolerate noise ;within reason as much as possible.
I will definitely let you know how things go.
PS. Had a phone cal to today for NHS tinnitus assessment on 23/12. Hurrah 🤞
Hi Lilliecat: I’ve had T since April, 2023. I use several meditations on “Insight Timer”. These can be very helpful when T is particularly annoying. They help you recognize that T, while making you feel bad, is not dangerous or suggesting of something dire. You’ll get better. Some days are better than others. A friend of mine has had T for over 30 years. He says that T is annoying but doesn’t make him crazy. I think that is the goal
That’s useful to know. I must admit that at the moment I’m overwhelmed by it, and not sleeping well at all.
Your friend is right that the goal of it being annoying rather than overwhelming is what I’d love to achieve. Let’s hope I can get there in the future.
I went to the gym today for the first time in a couple of weeks. I used to love going but recently the music the instructors play was getting quite loud and my perception was that it was upping the distressingness of it all. I’m lucky, the gym class sizes are quite small and the instructor turned the music down to a more manageable level. From what I understand this is probably a good way forward, not ruling out the music altogether and at the same time not allowing it to be a possible cause of T , or perception of it, getting worse.
Sorry, once again I’ve gone a bit off piste.
I have insightimer on my phone so I will look into your suggestions.
Dear Lilliecat: Like you, sometimes music or even conversations with loved ones cause my T to be especially bad. I take some, slow deep breaths, and remember this is a natural sound of my body. It is annoying but I stay engaged in my activities.
No I don’t think you can (you can in the USA) you can probably get it delivered from the USA too. Call your surgery tomorrow and tell them you need an urgent appointment. They HAVE to respond. If you tell your doctor you have insomnia they should prescribe. If they don’t message me and I’ll call them for you!
Thank you Aesop. It looks like hearing aids are recommended by many.
Can I just ask, how do people manage at night? My T is always worse as soon as my head hits the pillow. I do listen to a soundtrack on my T machine but wondering if there’s anything specific if you have HAs?
Yes of course I wear them at night as well . I have learned to sleep on my back . It took several months tho. I used pillows down my sides which kept me from turning . I also use a sleep band with the mindear app that which plays colored noise . Both work quite excellently .
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Tinnitus Sufferer
Tinnitus
Sudden Tinnitus
Tinnitus and hearing aids 
