Tinnitus driving me nuts

IrishHomer

I had scans and saw an ear specialist 6 months ago and was told I have tinnitus and medium hearing loss in my right ear.

Recently the tinnitus is worsening and driving me insane.

I actually listened to sound therapy a few nights ago on YouTube and ever since it's actually worse.

Any advice please what I can do I'm desperate

TomOnBoard

IrishHomer wrote: »

I had scans and saw an ear specialist 6 months ago and was told I have tinnitus and medium hearing loss in my right ear.

Recently the tinnitus is worsening and driving me insane.

I actually listened to sound therapy a few nights ago on YouTube and ever since it's actually worse.

Any advice please what I can do I'm desperate

Was the ear specialist a specialist in dealing with tinnitus? I ask because I've been to a few ENT docs and they weren't hugely helpful. What was diagnosed as causing the tinnitus and hearing loss?

Have you PRSI? I ask because a hearing aid that has a tinnitus mask built into its programme may help and PRSI covers part of the cost of an advanced device.

Stuff in Youtube and the like are unlikely to help much, as the sound you're 'hearing' will almost always be at a different frequency that what they're pushing out through speakers.

IrishHomer

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Was the ear specialist a specialist in dealing with tinnitus? I ask because I've been to a few ENT docs and they weren't hugely helpful. What was diagnosed as causing the tinnitus and hearing loss?

Have you PRSI? I ask because a hearing aid that has a tinnitus mask built into its programme may help and PRSI covers part of the cost of an advanced device.

Stuff in Youtube and the like are unlikely to help much, as the sound you're 'hearing' will almost always be at a different frequency that what they're pushing out through speakers.

It was just a general ear specialist.

He just mentioned Menards disease but I got the impression he was disinterested and just rattling off the same old line over and over.

A few years ago I had a bout of very severe vertigo. I also have severe sinus issues and I firmly believe its all linked.

I have PRSI and health insurance.

I think I'll return to GP and ask him for a hearing aid for tinnitus I really can't stick this it's beginning to affect my sleep big time and my mental health

TomOnBoard

IrishHomer wrote: »

It was just a general ear specialist.

He just mentioned Menards disease but I got the impression he was disinterested and just rattling off the same old line over and over.

A few years ago I had a bout of very severe vertigo. I also have severe sinus issues and I firmly believe its all linked.

I have PRSI and health insurance.

I think I'll return to GP and ask him for a hearing aid for tinnitus I really can't stick this it's beginning to affect my sleep big time and my mental health

Your GP probably won't be much help other than being able to help you figure out next steps.

Based on what you've said, I suspect the specialist reckoned that you have Meniere's syndrome. My advice at this point is to try and get to an Audiologist who specialises in Tinnitus therapies. There are a number of approaches, and a good Audiilogist will be able to help. In the meantime do you have access to relaxation music/sounds. From my experience (18 years with bilateral Menieres) the more you stress about it, the more you hear. And yes, I certainly understand how debilitating it is and how it can impact your sleep. I had to cut out anything that might make it worse, incl. Coffee and totally silent situations. A pair of top quality headphones are a must.

Hope this helps. Don't despair, it does get better.

the_syco

IrishHomer wrote: »

I think I'll return to GP and ask him for a hearing aid for tinnitus I really can't stick this it's beginning to affect my sleep big time and my mental health

If going to the GP, ask for a referral letter to the Eye and Ear hospital (I think walk-ins are charged €100?).

no.8

Have a look at tinnitustalk (the forum)...but a word of warning: try not to get bogged down in checking it all the time, it's not the best thing to do (can actually stunt your progression/recovery despite being a good source of info.)

IrishHomer

Just a quick update.

My right ear tinnitus is even worse now than ever.

My GP has referred my to the Eye and Ear hospital for a 2nd opinion and he has also forwarded on all my scans to them for analysis.

I'm very happy to be getting another opinion.

Appointment is for September 20th.

no.8

V sorry to hear that OP. I hope it's a case of getting worse before it gets better. Keep us posted

TomOnBoard

IrishHomer wrote: »

Just a quick update.

My right ear tinnitus is even worse now than ever.

My GP has referred my to the Eye and Ear hospital for a 2nd opinion and he has also forwarded on all my scans to them for analysis.

I'm very happy to be getting another opinion.

Appointment is for September 20th.

Did you get any benefit/progress from the referral?

Terminator

I'm 44 and have worn a hearing aid since I was 6. A month ago my aid broke and I'm waiting to get a new one. In that time I've developed mild tinnitus which I hope will go away once I have the new aid. I figure my brain is struggling to work out why I can't hear anything anymore and the strain / stress of this is causing the issue.

@ OP, if you have hearing loss then the tinnitus could be solved by getting a hearing aid.

IrishHomer

Terminator wrote: »

I'm 44 and have worn a hearing aid since I was 6. A month ago my aid broke and I'm waiting to get a new one. In that time I've developed mild tinnitus which I hope will go away once I have the new aid. I figure my brain is struggling to work out why I can't hear anything anymore and the strain / stress of this is causing the issue.

@ OP, if you have hearing loss then the tinnitus could be solved by getting a hearing aid.

Funny just tonight I'm feeling totally wasted, massive headache, stressed and fit for nothing I feel like I'm losing the will to live.

I have an update.

I went to Eye and Ear hospital last month. Prior to going I called my GP and they assured me that all my medical reports scans etc were sent on to the hospital. So after taking a day off work travelled all way to Dublin and it was a total waste of time. The doctor was frustrated and immediately said he received no files for me.

He then reluctantly carried out inspection on my ears and did some hearing tests.

He then told me my hearing loss is average for my age and to learn to cope with the tinnitus.

He even stated my hearing loss did not warrant use for a hearing aid.

So now one month laster I think my deafness and T is worse!

I've recently been driking a few freshly ground coffess per day and I'm wondering is this making my T a lot worse.

IrishHomer

Terminator wrote: »

I'm 44 and have worn a hearing aid since I was 6. A month ago my aid broke and I'm waiting to get a new one. In that time I've developed mild tinnitus which I hope will go away once I have the new aid. I figure my brain is struggling to work out why I can't hear anything anymore and the strain / stress of this is causing the issue.

@ OP, if you have hearing loss then the tinnitus could be solved by getting a hearing aid.

Funny just tonight I'm feeling totally wasted, massive headache, stressed and fit for nothing I feel like I'm losing the will to live.

I have an update.

I went to Eye and Ear hospital last month. Prior to going I called my GP and they assured me that all my medical reports scans etc were sent on to the hospital. So after taking a day off work travelled all way to Dublin and it was a total waste of time. The doctor was frustrated and immediately said he received no files for me.

He then reluctantly carried out inspection on my ears and did some hearing tests.

He then told me my hearing loss is average for my age and to learn to cope with the tinnitus.

He even stated my hearing loss did not warrant use for a hearing aid.

So now one month laster I think my deafness and T is worse!

I've recently been driking a few freshly ground coffess per day and I'm wondering is this making my T a lot worse.

TomOnBoard

IrishHomer wrote: »

I've recently been driking a few freshly ground coffess per day and I'm wondering is this making my T a lot worse.

I cut out coffee completely after the Tinnitus hit me, on the advice of an American specialist I know. I also had to avoid aspirin as that made things worse. There's a lot to get used to when you get it first. However, while it doesn't lessen, you do get used to it and plan strategies to mitigate against the worst effects. As I type this, because I'm aware of it both of my ears are whining like jet engines. However, while its there all the time, I'm not 18 years in and don't particularly obsess about it most of the time. I did get used to it over time, but the first few months into years were tough alright.

My best purchase EVER as a means of dealing with it? A pair of Bose headphones, a great CD player (at that time) and stacks of good music and audiobooks. You're not going to get rid of it, so the only option is to manage it.

pauldavis123

Check your entire diet, loads of things set it off, Girlfriends mother had it, cut out gluten and used Calm app on her phone and it went down 80%

pauldavis123

Check your entire diet, loads of things set it off, Girlfriends mother had it, cut out gluten and used Calm app on her phone and it went down 80%

IrishHomer

pauldavis123 wrote: »

Check your entire diet, loads of things set it off, Girlfriends mother had it, cut out gluten and used Calm app on her phone and it went down 80%

Wow very stressful busy week at work now I have a nuclear bomb going off in my ear

Metalhead Fred

Stress definitely makes my tinnitus worse 100%

I've had mine for over 7 years and the first year was horiffic. Playing sports helped me big time. At first I'd go a few hours without noticing it, but now it's 7 years later and I can go days, or even a couple of weeks without it really bothering me.

Talking about it, or reading about it really triggers it for me - it's going wild right now, but I know that when I finish posting this and go ahead with the rest of my evening, my brain will pay less attention to it.

I second the headphone recommendation, especially listening to a good podcast. I've been listening to the Blindboy Podcast lately and it's fantastic.

The struggle at the beginning is ****ing tough, but the general consensus for people who've had it for a while is that IT DOES GET EASIER.

Having tinitus made me incredibly depressed for a while, but now it's just (mostly) background noise that I've come to accept.

looksee

I do agree that it is only as bad as you allow it to be. For long enough I was under the impression (without really paying attention) that I was hearing the water tank in the house filling. Then I moved house, no watertank but still filling noises. It was another variation on tinnitus. Its still there and shshshshsh's away but I can largely ignore it.

_Brian

It doesn’t help directly but there are a couple of websites where you can tune the sound they generate to match your ear horror, it’s an eye opener for those you show it to, my family were horrified.

I’ve been suffering for a few years and it’s there all the time, sometimes so distracting it’s hard to work.

IrishHomer

I flew from Spain to Dublin last night and it seems that the pressure change from a quick descent has now doubled my Tinnitus volume.