Hi I'm new to this and hoping someone can help.
I've been diagnosed just this week with SSHL, severe hearing loss on right ear around 90db mark. On massive dose of steroids to see if some of hearing will come back but unlikely.
I know I'll cope with the hearing loss in time, it's the tinnitus that is killing me. It's insanely loud, like a crazy washing machine/hairdryer on max/ radio not tuned in but turned up to max volume. I can hear it over everything - even trains, car noise, if I turn the TV or radio on, it competes with the noise rather than take my attention of it. Everything I've read tells you to distract yourself but it's just too loud!!
Can anyone give me any advice?? I know it's a long haul but just need some pointers re coping mechanisms and hope that something this severe can get better.
I'm 39 and no stranger to health problems (have had 4 hip replacements with last 6
Months ago) so I know how to battle issues but am really struggling to stay positive on this one as there's just no respite. Snoozing and reading are my go-to relaxation tips but it's impossible to do either.
Thanks for any help, much appreciated.
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
I can't really give you much advice as my tinnutus is nowhere near your level. The only thing i can say is for sleep White noise is the best thing to drown out the tinnitus you can buy a noise master from ebay/Amazon with different sounds which will hopefully help. For the day then really there isn't much you can do apart from try and ignore it because the brain will learn to ignore it over time and it will get better, because of the hearing loss your brain has been automatically turned up to try and hear things because it's not getting the normal frequencies. It will relearn over time and your tinnitis will get quiter, I doubt it will go away now but will get better. Can't give you a time scale.
Also look into what you eat and also smoking and drinking makes tinnitus worse.
Good luck
Steve
My next door neighbour has a hearing aid for exactly what you are describing. Go and ask, I think that spec savers do them now otherwise your nearest hospital should have a drop in clinic during the week
Can't agree with Stevev on his "it will get better in time"" comment. Mine has got
worse and now affects both ears. The brain has no regard for soft and loud ,but
will react to stress ,and in my case ,more stress, more noise .
Sleeping, or actually being able to drop off, was a major problem with me .
My G.P suggestes a low dose sleeping tab, which works like a charm .thankfully
because I am not a nice person if I don't get any sleep
I cope and help to calm the noise , by using a Walkman ,and use Talking Books
I scour the charity shops for them," because they are cheaper ""
The hearing clinic may supply you with a noise machine but you have to ask
So ,Ollie, that's my offering to you. Just remember ,it's NOT terminal,
but very annoying ..and seemingly incurable.
I suffer with tinnitus also but a lot quieter than others so for night sleeping I use a sound pillow, this allows me to play meditation sounds or music from my phone. It works really well as I can hear it but my wife is lay next to me and can't hear it at all.
Basically it's a pillow with a speaker in it.
White noise is really good for it also.
If you have a smart phone you can download all kinds of noise, chants , water and even traffic sounds and it honestly works for me. ( except for the monk chants )
If my tinnitus ever gets this loud and no device can fix it, i'm planning on asking surgeons to make me deaf.
Sorry to hear this,but its always the onset loudness, eventually it will get better and getting used to it may be a struggle, Habituation will eventually kick in, i gotten 3 onsets and struggle at times but things got better for me, and they will for you, try taking some ginko biloba and motion sickness and vertigo pills, i take 2 ginko a day and 1/2 a bonine motion sickness since it contains meclizine, help you sleep and wont hurt you at all, i been taking them and both help a great deal, it takes time but it willl get better, took me months to habituate but i managed
Thanks to everyone for all your advice and suggestions. Will definitely try white noise to help me sleep and some motion sickness pills to help me drop off. Relaxing music like they play in a spa has always helped in the past so could try that again at night.
Think its a case of staying positive and hoping for the best, hopefully there will be an easing in time or my brain will get used to it. Worst thing is that I'm struggling to ignore it, I don't really know how. I feel like I'm fighting my brain all the time trying to ignore a crazy loud sound.
My husband has just bought me some ginko Biloba so that's good - are there any other supplements I should try?
I'm also struggling with my ENT surgeon so if anyone knows of a sympathetic one in London or Kent that would be great.
Thanks again for your help, nice to know I'm not alone
We a struggle at first, it takes time my friend, trust me, it will vet better, mine was noise induced and its forever, habituation comes naturally, IT WILL GET BETTER! Just to make you feel better, look at david letterman in youtube talking to william shatner about their problem with tinnitus, look at all the people that got it in youtube, the famous like the cold play singer, sting, silvester stallone and an infinete number of famous people not to mention bethoven,, its gonna be ok, i have it real loud and yet i have learned to ignore it naturally, habituation comes to us all with T, try to have low pitch noises,fans,water running sounds, the brain will learn to mix in with T regardless of loud T! God bless you and help you recover quick, remember....HABITUATION! it willl come to you.
I suffered sudden hearing loss and am profoundly deaf in one ear as a result, and this is the ear I have masisvely loud tinnitus in, pretty much all the time, and ironically it gets louder in response to noise, and in response to my own voice. Being deaf in that ear certainly hasn't helped but has caused the tinnitus for me.
HI Debbie,
I feel in a very similar situation to what you were in having experienced acute vertigo, nausea and SSHL in my right ear to the over -90dB mark, had masisve steroides including injections through my eardrum and into my inner ear as well as intravenous to try and save the hearing - to no avail. My tinnitus is so distracting from the hearingin my good ear, and is pretty much as you describe. It also gets worse when I'm talking, and especially so when I sing (I do a lot of singing semi-pro , or should I say I did a lot of singing). I wondered how you'd got on, and which suggestions have worked for you.
Thanks,
Gill
Hi and sorry to hear that you have tinnitus...Perhaps you can try what has worked wonders for me and see if it works for you as well...I discovered the by doing an inverted position...head lover than the rest of my body...and holding it for a minute or so...tinnitus quiets down. The noice stops. This is what I do...by laying over the arm rest of my sofa, and carfully bringing my head down to the floor...Allow my ear to feel the pressure for a moment...(minute) when I come back the tinnitus is more or less gone. And allows me several hours of quiet relief...hope it works for you
Hi, I might give this a try too.
I'm so sorry to hear about your struggles with tinnitus...hope it is gone by now or that it has lowered the volume so you can rest. In my case I got it out of the blue...so the doctor had no clue either..so I got no words of confort from him but youll get used to it. My ear felt so bad that while sitting at home I felt the urge to turn upside down and to my surprise after the inverted position tinnitus subsided, quiet down. It is not permanent, but it brings me relief....maybe you can try it...I lay from the waist down on my bed and bring my head to the floor and hold it there for a minute or so. My husband says it brings blood and oxigen to my bad ear...I dont know if it so but...once I come back...tinnitus quiets down and it last several beautiful hours....maybe you can try it and see how it goes...hope it works
Hi Ollieboo
I suffer with moderate to severe hearing loss around the 70db level with annoying tinnitus, I did ask the audio department at my local hospital about the white noise sounds, and they explained it’s basically the brain filling in the missing frequencies that you can no longer hear, which made sense to me. They also said the hearing aids they were fitting would help which to be true they have during the day when I wear them.
I did read somewhere if you think about the noise you "tune in" to it and it’s very hard to make it go away, so I no longer listen for it and its gone better as daft as it sounds...
The audiology nurse told me hypnotherapy can help tinnitus, if you can’t tune out of the noise, but since mines faded to nearly no noise for 80% of the time I haven’t perused this route but I’m sure she was right.
The NHS hearing aids by the way are totally fantastic, and I love hearing again. They are slim and light and you can’t notice them when I’m wearing them they are that good.
HI Dragon Test,
This response to Ollieboo is really reassuring as I have similar problems to Ollieboo. My hearing loss was -90dB but I think may have settled to between 70 and 80. I have been "measured up" for a NHS hearing aid, so I'm hopeful it will give me the same benefits that yours has given.
Thanks,
Hi Razouski
I thought the NHS ones would be at best outdated devices that are not a patch on the latest high street devices but I was wrong. I do not think spending £2000/£3000 in a high street outlet would give me any better hearing but it would empty the wallet.
The NHS type I have are very light and I forget that I am wearing them, they fit behind my ears and a thin pipe goes to an inner ear dome that is in the “ear hole” so it’s very invisible. The batteries last about 10 days, to 2 weeks and are provided by the NHS free of charge, where the cost for the hearing aid batteries for the ones bought on the high street are not supplied “free” and will cost the owner. Something that is worth considering.
Thanks Ollieboo, I'm now feeling more positive about my aid, and looking forward to trying it out once it arrives on March 5th. My one anxiety is that I have very short hair, so I tthink the bit behind my ear will be quite visible. But as you have pointed out, if it gets me hearing, and at no cost compared to going privately, it has to be a good thing. I will let you know how I get on.
I'm really glad I found this forum today. My tinnitus is driving me nuts! I have had Menieres with low level tinnitus for years but since November I've been getting sudden loud noises as well as all the other tinnitus sounds. I get the sound of Concord sitting on the runway revving up and this gets louder and louder until I feel my head is going to burst. I get the sound of a child's plastic trumpet blown right into my ear. I get the feeling of a bumble bee flying into my ear and buzzing. All very unpleasant, unnerving and distracting.
I've been to ENT and await results of MRI.
Meanwhile, I've been wondering if a hearing aid would help or not. The specialist said 'not' as I have good hearing in my left ear and very poor hearing in my right (tinnitus affected) ear, although he is willing to refer me for one if I want. He said that as my left ear is good, my brain would be confused if an aid is introduced to my right ear.
After reading your posts on here about NHS aids, I have decided to ask to try one, if the MRI doesn't show anything that can be treated.
THank you to all who have posted - I have found reading this a great help.