unbelief

[thisisajourney]

Yesterday I was reading the different post and found the post that listed a site that has the different sounds of tinnitus, I was excited because I wanted my daughters and what few friends I have hear what I hear... Well I played it for one friend and they told me that I was making it up and there was NO way that I was hearing that in my head all day long.  I wanted to cry because I m not lying and I hear the sound until I close my eyes to go to bed or hold my eyes closed and I get a brief break. Its hurtful. Even tho I have ringing in my ear I still function and don't bother others with it.

[CHD63]

That is the frustrating thing about tinnitus ..... no one else can hear what we hear.  Those of us with severe tinnitus believe you and fully understand the agony it causes.

A couple of things that have helped me ..... 1) cutting back on caffeine (you may even need to cut it out entirely)  2) working on reducing stress as much as possible 3) purchased under the pillow flat speakers and listen to a babbling brook all night (that helps me refocus my attention to something besides the screaming tinnitus, especially when first going to sleep)

I am closely watching the research on tinnitus treatment and ever hopeful that something will be found for me during my lifetime!

Thoughts and prayers.

Clarice

[thisisajourney]

Thank you.  Please keep me in mind if anything breaks on the tinnitus my email is listed thank you once again:-) 
It just hurt me so cause I dared to speak up and bam.

[skipg]

Im with you. It is 2:30 in the morning and it is so bad I could not get to sleep. Hi pitched piercing scream is how I describe it at its worst. I can understand how, if this were to keep going, a person could be driven to the edge of insanity. I can find no rhyme or reason why it comes on at times this bad. It is frustrating due to the fact that everything appears normal yet in your head is this raging storm of noise. I think people believe that I use this as an excuse to opt of some functions that I would normally do. This only leads to more frustration. Oh well, I do know this will pass and the noise will subside to a bearable level. I am discovering more and more friends with this problem and no one knows what it is like until they suffer with this. I used to sympathize with them but now I can associate with them.
Skip

[Alison]

Hi,
yes, I've been initiated into the world of tinnitus in the past couple of months. I describe mine to my son, as like having been to a loud rock concert and stood in front of the speakers the night before. (I used to be a singer in a rock band in the 90's and remember the sensation! I used to know musicians with tinnitus back then).  I'd also describe it as like when you've taken a large dose of paracetamol and you get a whooshing in your head.

I've also had a continuous buzz added to the mix on recent nights, along with the constant whoosh. I wonder what other additional sounds lie ahead! Good job we can share our experiences on here.

Interesting to know Clarice, that you can get flat speakers for under the pillow, what a good idea.

Alison

[Suu]

Hi all
I'm with you on this one.  I'd love for them to find a cure too in my life-time just to give me one day. Is that too much to ask  I played the sounds to my family and they finally understood why sometimes I can't hear them even if they're on my good side.
Letting it take over my life isn't gonna happen that's for sure.

I wonder if anyone has a build up of wax in their deaf ear? Although my ear canal only goes in a short way I find that the tinnitus is worse after a shower or if I have a lot of wax. I use cotton buds carefully and I really think it's slightly less noisy after I've cleaned my ear.
I also put my hand over my ear, hard, or lie down on that side and I'm sure it lessens sometimes but then again it could all be a mind game.

Just a thought.

Suu xxoo

[CHD63]

Since tinnitus is a brain thing and not caused by anything in the ears, I don't think wax buildup causes tinnitus ..... except the wax can reduce hearing (in a hearing ear) and the brain tries to replace the missing sounds with its own noise.  I am deaf in my left ear and still have perceived screaming tinnitus from that side ..... often mixed with clanging triangles and roaring.  Even though I have above normal hearing in my "good" ear, I still have mild tinnitus on that side.

Some of the most recent studies are working on how the brain actually creates this noise and whether anything can stop it from creating it ..... without undesirable side effects.

Clarice

[geexploitation]

Sounds like your friend needs a smack upside the head. Why would you make something like that up? Oy.

I don't have tinnitus from an AN, but from a concert when I was a teenager. It's not a bad case, but I can imagine what it must be like to have one.

In any case, keep your head up. There are lots of people here and in life who know what you're going through, even if some people refuse to understand.

[thisisajourney]

  ha ha that made me smile.

[Jim Scott]

Yesterday I was reading the different post and found the post that listed a site that has the different sounds of tinnitus, I was excited because I wanted my daughters and what few friends I have hear what I hear... Well I played it for one friend and they told me that I was making it up and there was NO way that I was hearing that in my head all day long.  I wanted to cry because I m not lying and I hear the sound until I close my eyes to go to bed or hold my eyes closed and I get a brief break. Its hurtful. Even tho I have ringing in my ear I still function and don't bother others with it.

Michelle ~

Your frustration is perfectly understandable.  It it easy for others to dismiss something only we can hear - tinnitus - as 'imaginary' because, not being a physical and thus observable problem, it can be misunderstood as 'psychological' which, as we all know, to most people, doctors included, usually means that you're either imagining it or just making it up.  This is insulting and aggravating to any tinnitus sufferer.  Unfortunately, there is little any of us can do about that kind of insensitivity except to not expect those without tinnitus to be understanding about something they cannot experience.  Frankly, I don't think it's worth talking about to those family and friends who don't understand what it is and how debilitating tinnitus can be.  It seems as if they simply lack compassion for a burden - tinnitus - they don't have to carry.   That being the case, talking to them about it would appear to be more frustrating that its worth. 

Fortunately, the ANA discussion forums are populated with understanding folks who either share the burden of tinnitus - or, at least, have compassion for those dealing with it.

Jim 

[thisisajourney]

Thank you.

[MDemisay]

Thisisajourney,

Truly sad, but it is what it is! I agree with Jim and others here. Trying to talk to others about it and the monontonous characteristic of living with it is a bit much for the normal person to endure. Living with it as I have for the past 8 years, I have learned to tone it out or at least not to exacerbate it.

Knowing what I do about tinnitus I would run screaming away from it,(if I had my druthers)  it is unfortunately, that annoying!

Perhaps this is what the general public fears, if they don't examine it too closely, they can pretend it's not there!

The general public avoids aging and death in the same way! It catches up to you, or those of us lucky to live long enough!

In my view, it is just a normal part of aging, some of us will get it, some won't.

You are fortunate to have an understanding community here. You can come here and rail about it, we will listen and comiserate with you. We will even comfort you if need be.

Suffice it to say, that even William Shatner has it not an AN but tinnitus. How's that for boldly going?

Don't look for the uneffected to comiserate any time soon, as with aging they are looking to avoid it....

Mike

[thisisajourney]

Thank you. I tend to hold in and I dared to speak out and bam just as I had thought keep it in so no one is bothered and life goes on:-)  I ll be OK.

[MDemisay]

Dear thisisajourney,

Have you tried noise cancelling earphones yet? They broadcast different levels of white noise, they are available through Best Buy or another electronics store in your area. For limited periods of time, you can use these, they become uncomfortable when sleeping, however. I usually wear an ear bud at night when it becomes unbearable.

Please feel free and comfortable to vent, we all do.   Issues such as tinnitus are best aired in a supportive environment such as this. It is not healthy to keep it bottled up, we will not be bothered by it, as many of us have it or are bearing it ourselves newly. We can help each other look for solutions to adapt (as I have suggested above), life is changed because of it, but it does go on.

My prayers go out to you! You do not need to keep it "held in".

Mike

[Chances3]

Hi thisisajourney,

I think brain surgery was the easy part, living with Tinnitus is just unbearable at times.  People don't understand what we are suffering, from friends to love ones, they just don't get it.  I went to that web site and played those sounds at work looking for my sound, when a colleague a few seats away said out loud " what is that sound?"  I told him, and he asked me to stop, he couldn't appreciate what we suffer through.

Here is what I have found can help a little, or as I say, keep me from the really roaring days.
Clarice spoke of some already, but I always like to run through them all.  Stay away from, caffeine, alcohol, sulphides, nitrates, salty foods like potato chips, beacon, cold cuts etc., aspirin.  Try and get quality sleep.  They sell this cute little device that produces sounds, you can chose from the beach, rain forest etc.  I keep it on my night stand and use it when I am in the ugly phase.  I pray and hope they can find a way to cure us.

God Bless.

Bob