Sorry Kim, I have found no \"magic bullet\" for tinnitus. The thing I find difficult to understand is when I'm with other people and they don't hear the same constant ringing drone that I hear. I mean, it cuts in suddenly, and leaves just as suddenly. Sometimes.
I also find that I can hear some registers that other people cannot, yet I cannot hear some registers that, (it seems) most people can. eg, I can tell you for certain whether a truck on the highway has a Caterpillar, Detroit or Cummins engine. And I'm right, every time I've been put to the test, almost as if I'm looking at it. Yet I cannot discern what someone is saying to me from across a room if there is a television or radio on. And if I'm on the phone, and somebody calls out to me, I immediately lose the thread of what's happening in my phone call.
I can tell you whether a lead guitar is a Gibson or a Fender, yet I cannot hear the lyrics in a song. ie, I hear them but they don't sink in. I played a number of musical instruments when I was younger, and I suppose my ear became accustomed to seeking out the key and pitch and rhythm, rather than the lyrics.
I have tried to drown what I call \"the bloody row\", in whiskey, and while I do get to sleep, I think the cure is worse than the complaint. Did any of your family suffer with this? My maternal grandmother and my mother did, which I only found out recently. In my own case the Tinnitus seems more acute when I'm feeling under stress, but then everything seems more acute when you're stressed out.
The only thing that I have found which allows me to sleep when affected by this problem is Valium. I take one tablet every night for three nights in a row, and I seem to get by for about six months before it becomes a sleep deprivation problem again. I am not suggesting this as prescriptive, but Valium, speaking only for myself now, allows me to sleep and wake up reasonably refreshed, whereas Mogadon leaves me feeling like I've been backed over twice by a T34 tank driven by a man with a grudge against me.
I'm sorry that I cannot be more helpful Kim. I really do wish there was a way to live with Tinnitus such that we could hide the problem, or at least not insult people because we simply do not hear them. I do hope you find a way to cope with it. I believe there are millions of people who suffer with this, but I am yet to find a medico who can help. Or is even interested in trying to help.
Still, there are many other things we could have to put up with which are worse. Imagine being a parent in the middle east, knowing that your 15 year old child is starting to entertain notions of martyrdom! I feel much better just now.
Good luck with this problem Kim. I'd love to hear from anybody who has suffered with Tinnitus and found a way to repel it, get rid of it, or simply swallow something to not feel it.
Breezman