I have had tinnitus for 6 weeks 5 days now, and three doctors have told me it will go one hundred percent. Has anyone else been told this before? They say minimum 6-8 weeks, no longer than a year. I'm really struggling to live with this, and I will never accept it if it is permanent. If it is still here in 5 years time I won't be here anymore. It is noise induced by the way: I was listening to music pretty loud with new headphones, FLAC format which means lossless audio, for just under an hour, when the fire alarm went off. I am in uni halls so I have a fire alarm in my room. I could hear the fire alarm whilst the music was still playing directly in my ears. I took off the headphones and went outside. When I came back in I didn't notice the ringing in my ears if it was there. So, I continued to listen to music through my headphones for 20 minutes or so. When I finally decided to go to bed I took the headphones off and straight away noticed the ringing. Having heard it before for a few seconds/minutes after music, I thought nothing of it and assumed it would go in the morning. I woke up, and it was there. I was incredibly anxious and all the rest of it, here I am today, having been told it will go one hundred percent and will last no longer than a year. I should be positive right? but I am not - I can't stop worrying that this is permeant and will be one of those people that has to learn to accept it will be there for life and get on with it. Well, I am not prepared to live with this for the rest of my life, and yes, people do live with MUCH worse i.e. no legs, arms, sight, hearing, etc, but I simply will not live with this if it is permanent. Therefore, I have decided to give it 5 years. The doctors say no longer than 1 year so I shouldn't even consider that but I am just that anxious and it is bothering me that much that this is what is has come to. I know about white noise and trying to keep your mind off of it by keeping busy, I have to sleep with a fan on and the TV and the sound of rain and leave the window open so I can hear the cars on the motorway faintly and not sleeping with my ears against the pillow and trying to get to sleep itself, I'm tired of it. Anyone else been told it will go or anything similar? I'm due at the ENT in 2 months. I'm 19.
Hello John,
I know just how you feel. Three weeks ago I had a myringotomy for pressure in one of my ears. Immediately following I have had this screaming tinnitus in that ear. Ent doesn't know what to think. I didn't have it before the procedure. I would have thought that it would have left by now if it was just temporary. I do know that eardrums take 6 weeks to heal and close. I don't know if that caused it or if the anesthetic topical got down in my inner ear and damaged it. Does anybody know anything about this? Has anyone had it happen to them before? It's bad enough having the muffled hearing in the ear from the cut eardrum let alone this tinnitus. I cannot tell if it has gotten any better or not. Is it both your ears or just one? Where did you get info about tinnitus being temporary? I don't know who to ask or what to do. I don't want to live like this.
Hi Marie!
Looks like we are gonna have to cope for the long term but I am sure both of ours will go. A doctor said to me permanent tinnitus is caused by exposure to loud noises for years. As I said before a doctor (I say a doctor as I've seen three) said it will last no longer than a year, if it is still here in a years time I don't have a clue what I am going to do. I think people underestimate tinnitus, I feel with technology etc today we should have a simple cure for it, because I bet in 20 years time there will be a cure and it will be so simple to carry out and stop the ringing but 'they' haven't looked into it enough, almost putting it aside. I have the ringing in both of my ears although seems to be more on the left. All of the three doctors I have seen have told me it is temporary and I have not caused any permanent damage. Life has suddenly become ridiculously hard, I just wish I had never listened to music that loud, but then again, i wish that false fire alarm was not set off by a drunken student at 3am in the morning!
I've read on other websites that it is suppose to occur when there has been damage to the cochlea. I don't understand that in my case because the myringotomy caused this tinnitus. I can't prove it but I know as it started immediately after he perforated my eardrum. How could he have done damage to my cochlea by doing that? What about the anesthetic that he put on my eardrum? I wonder if I am having a reaction to that? Why do you think that mine is temporary? If that doctor didn't damage my cochlea then it has to be the eardrum causing the tinnitus because of the perforation. It won't be healed for several more weeks. Is your tinnitus in one ear or both? Is it very loud? Mine is a buzzing noise. God, I hope this ■■■■ goes away? I feel like this doctor did something wrong because this is happening. It scares me.
Hi John,
Just wondering if your tinnitus has gotten any better in the last few days. Mine seems to have gotten alittle softer or not as loud. I don't know if that's typical of tinnitus in general or if it means that it will slowly fade. I wish someone would tell me. Do you know anything about that? Have any doctors ever told you that if it stops there is still permanent hearing damage? The buzzing is so bad for me that it makes my ear and the way I hear feel numb. Does it affect you that way? I had a myringotomy before and never had this tinnitus from it. I know the procedure caused it as it started immediately after. I'm just afraid that it won't stop. I have heard that if you have tinnitus for 6 months or more then it becomes chronic. What is the 6 month thing? Why did the doctors say a year for it to stop max?
Hi John;
I am also curious if your T has improved.
I've been fighting mine for just under 10 weeks. Whats crazy is the way mine started. I had 2-3 nights of restless sleep. I finally realized I had a slight ringing in my ears, some slight pressure under my eyes and my ears felt slightly stopped up. I began using a saline spray to clear my sinuses. 2 days later I was at the doctor because my ears were ringing too loudly to sleep. He said he didn't see any signs of infection, but he gave me a Z-pak and some Robitussin cough syrup. I don't believe the antibiotics did anything, but the Robitussin stopped the ringing immediately. I didn't realize it then, but it has guaifenesin in it. That is all I ever needed.
As I said, I didn't make that connection until too late. After the antibiotics were done, and the ringing was still comeing back, I went back to using the saline spray. That was January 12th. That is when my descent into hell began. I used it like crazy that night, along with antihistamines, steam and spray and oral decongestants.
I had no idea that your ears could make noises like that. I felt like I was being tortured. After 40 hours of this I found a friend with some Xanax and managed to sleep. I have seen my GP and an ENT. There is no sign of any infections. My GP prescribed Nasonex in case there was some Eustachian tube inflammation. I used it for a week. It made my ears ring something fierce and I just couldn't take it any longer. My ears/hearing are excellent. Both doctors and my pharmacist say it is a temporary thing, but it will take time to resolve. It is absolutely insane that saline spray can cause this.
I have had days where my ears were almost normal, followed by days that seemed like I had an alarm clock ringing in my brain for the entire day.
At this point the spikes are not nearly as severe, but the hissing/ringing has become pretty much non-stop. Sometimes louder, sometimes less loud. I don't know if this leveling out is a good sign or not though. I can not express how badly this sucks.
John,
Did this condition ever go away for you? I started having Tinnitus after a flight I took with an ear infection. Unfortunately every website that I go to is pretty bad news. I am hopping that I don't have to have this for the rest of my life. Just wondering if the Tinnitus ever go away for you. Thanks!
Sorry for the late reply. I still have the ringing so that's almost 6 months now. I had a hearing test at the ENT and they say I have perfect hearing, and referred me to the tinnitus clinic. The woman there said my ears have recovered but I'm still hearing the noise because my brain thinks it's important - everyone is able to hear the noise but the brain doesn't pick it up because it knows it isn't important. Excessively loud headphones is obviously the cause of mine and she said it will take time but eventually it should lessen and go. To 'kick start' this she said always have noise around you 24/7 so that the brain can learn to tune the ringing with the background noise so that it becomes background noise in time, so it lessens. She also said don't over protect them because their is a risk that can cause a big problem, so I can still go to clubs etc. but take breaks every 45m or so and don't stand next to the speakers.
The only thing I ask for in life is for this noise to either go completely or lessen significantly. If I knew that loud noises could cause constant ringing I never would have used headphones again and protected them at gigs etc. (even though I've only been to one, Oasis!)
Make sure you stress the importance and aware family and friends of how the ringing is caused so that they can avoid the mistakes we (I) have made.
Anyway, as Balotelli says, why always me?
It seems I can't spell oh well...
Hi John,
I hope your doctors know more than mine. I have been ringing since March 08, 2014. Believe it or not, mine
only happened a couple times at night before I went to sleep but was gone in the morning. Then one day I
was very upset and my head filled up with pressure then the ringing began. I have only had 15 seconds of
peace since. One night I was trying to sleep and the ringing went to unusual places then stopped for about 15 seconds. And just as I was about to get happy...it came back. That was in the first week. I am miserable and take one day at a time. My ENT say I have great hearing. Nothing wrong with ears. I am trying acupuncture
which my doctor recommended. Apparently it helps 40-50 % of tinnitus patients according to NIH. I have only had one treatment with no change. They also said mine could go away but the tone was as in anything is
possible. I am losing hope. Will try to learn to live with it. Let me know if you find anything that helps.
Kdfdiva
Keep your spirits up! I know how devastating this condition is. Mine has lowered in volume with acupuncture. I have had it since flight I took with ear infection about 3 months ago. At least it's not as loud as it was in the beginning. I think our brain is quite a wonderful organ and it learns how to live with it. Give it time stay calm. The one thing that helped me is after being away from religion for most of my life I finally went back after many years. It helped me enjoy life and focus on the good things we have. You need to control your anxiety first and things will get better you will see.
Hi Hugo,
Thank you for your kind words. I am glad yours responded to the acupuncture. I am hopeful that mine will as well. I would however, give anything for a good night sleep. My doctor prescribed Hydroxyzine for anxiety but it made me sleepy for three days so I dont take it. I may have to give in this weekend just for a good night of sleep. I have started working out and doing yoga and I find it helps me relax.
Here's something funny that I tried. I tried visualizing a volume button and thinking of my ringing and turning the volume button down..... it didn't work :-)
I am glad you found your way back to religion. This has also brought me closer to my religion. It helps.
Hi,
I've had noise-induced tinnitus for 30 hours now, which isn't much compared to other people in thread, but it's the longest I've ever had it for. It's only in my right ear. I'm 31 and have been exposed to loud music for over half my life. I play drums, I play and go to concerts constantly, and I guess I knew it was only a matter of time before this happened. In the last few years I've tried to use hearing protection, but the fact of the matter is that I'm routinely exposed to sounds over 120db for long periods of time..
In the past, exposure to loud noise would leave me with tinnitus that would usually persist until about noon the following day and then go away, and my hearing has always been suprisingly good, and I believe it still is.
I have pretty good pitch and yesterday the ringing was hovering around an 'A' in the sixth octave (1760hz) , and has since gone up to about a double high C (2093hz). It's pretty quiet, but I can easily focus on the sound and make it present in just about any situation I'm in provided background noise is under about 60db. It woke me up a few times last night which was really irritating. I wonder if this gradual rise in tone is my brain trying to tune it out somehow?
In addition to being exposed to some really, really loud noise over the last four days, I've also been sick with a cold (still am) and my nose is blocked up and my head is stuffy, and I'm also pretty stressed out over a couple of unrelated things, which is another rare element in my life. I'm wondering if this is sort of a perfect storm for tinnitus to occur. I've read that stress can be a factor in persistent tinnitus.
I'm really encouraged to hear that some of the doctors John45611 spoke to said that it won't last for more than a year. I haven't seen an ENT yet; I'm going to give this a week or so and wait until my cold clears up before seeking professional advice, and I'll make sure to share any information that comes my way.
Hi John and everyone,
I had my tinnitus since I went to a disco in September 2013. The venue was smaller than usual and the music was louder than usual. I can hear a noise in my head, but also local noises inside my ears. Over time, the ear noise in my ears has changed, shifting toward higher pitches, especially in my left ears. A few months ago, two doctors told me that it will go away but at the moment I feel hopeless about my situation. If only I had known I would have gone out of that disvo immediately. I hope that there eventually will be a solution for noise induced tinnitus because it's a problem that has serious consequences: as soon as I dis overed it I started to not being able to sleep and needed medicines just to sleep. Now I rationalised it and the situation got better but I still hope that it will go away at so e point.
I no exactly how you feel I woke up march 1st of this year and I heard this weird ringing and Thot oh it's gonna go away and so I went back to sleep and woke up an I still had it and I was freaking out completely upset and every emotion.. I Thot to myself maybe it was from cipro (antibotic) but I stopped that February 23rd and I didn't think so so now I'm so confused if it's ever goig to go away. At first it was soooooo loud like ringing and musicical now it's low but I'm still upset .. I really hope it goes away(( today's two months with it to and I'm sad as hell.. It helps me talking with ppl that have it to though..
John. Until they develop implants or gene therapy to restore hearing OR interrup the feedback circuits deep in the brain, Tinnitus is almost always permanent.
Before you go off an kill yourself, let me say I was just like you 3-4 years ago. Here's what I did: NOTHING. Absolutely no supplements, no ear retraining, no xanax or other drugs, no changes in diet, no sound blockers, no white noise. NOTHING. And it got way better in 18 months? Or was it 2 years. I forget since after a year of trying everythign under the sun I decided to absolutely stop tracking the sound, stop trying to stop it, stop trying to cover it up, stop trying to "get over it". I mean stop doing *anything* at all about it.
That worked for me! Over many many months, my absolute non-trying made my brain just forget about it. It's still there, I can hear it right now, but the moment I'm the slightest bit distracted by anything, I won't hear it until evening when maybe I'll have another moment. It's there like the refrigerator or computer fan, but I just don't notice it anymore. Mine began to fluctuate in intensity. Less super high days (mine was incredibly high some times) and some days when it is not there anymore (this actually made it harder to get over it because it always restarted).
The problem is, I hardly notice which days it is on and off anymore since I almost never attend to the sound.
In sum, I thought my life was over too. Now it's so far down on my lists of minor annoyances that it doesn't even rate. I've gone on to start 2 companies, got rich, earned a lifetime achievement award, had great trips, hikes, new friendships. All to the sound of a jet engine that I can't even pay attention to if I try anymore.
hi john and eveyone,
My tinnitus started a week ago and i am not sure what exactly caused it. I was watching anime (one piece if anyone knows it) using the small headphones you put in your ears and the media i used on my laptop was VLC media player and i put the volume at 108 % where this player allows you to raise the volume up to 200%. for me the volume was not so high and in the past i used to listen to music using the same headphones with much louder volume and i never heard a ringing in my ears. only know i hear it and it is similar to a noise they show in the movies when a nearby bomb explodes and the guy cant hear anything but a ringing, this is the same sound i am hearing constantly. is mostly bothers me when i try to sleep. the funny thing is that my brother got it too two years ago while he was drilling into steel which was an exposure to a very loud noise and he says now that the sound has lessened after two years and he can live with it normally. when this happenned to my brother i was extra careful in everything regarding keeping my ears safe from loud noises but i really dont know why i have this tinnitus now since for me the sound i was exposed to from the cartoon wasn't loud at all but i let my wife listen to the same sounds of the cartoon with the same volume and headphones and she says that the screams of the anime characters are very loud and you were listening to it the whole day (loool, those of you who know anime would know that they indeed scream very loudly). i also went to an ENT and me made do all the tests and he says that my hearing is excellent and that he found exessive wax in my ears which he cleaned out and then he examined my ears again and found nothing wrong and said to me that the tinnitus would go away in a day or two which it didnt. i went to him back again and he checked me again and found nothing and said that it might be from my neck because i am suffering a bit from neck pain and prescribed me nootropil which is a blood thinning drug. i heard about this hyperbaric oxygen therapy which is a chamber you sit in for one hour under high pressure while breathing pure oxygen and with a number of specified sessions there are people who either have their tinnitus removed or lessened or no effect at all. i made an appointment for tomorrow and will give it a try although it is very expensive but its worth it. did anyone try out this HBO therapy ? did it help and after how many sessions did it show progress if any ? i hope all of you get better soon and from what i heard from my brother it will lessen with time if it did not go away in the first place. have faith in god and pray to him, he who can do everything.
Can I ask if it is one ear or both?
So did the therapy work for you or not?
Hi John, Has your condition got any better? Im 23 and 7 weeks ago i started getting ringing in my right ear and went compleatly deaf. for 2 weeks after that i was vomiting and had severe vertio. 7 weeks on i still have the rinigng and partial deafness in the right ear. it also feels full but the ENT has told me I have no fluid in my ear and I have bad hearing loss from my audio report (which is weird as i can hear certain things in my bad ear) The ENT told me id have this for life and its put me into utter dispair. Im not sleeping and i feel sick with worry all the time. I have an MRI today and im so nervous about it. I know i wont get my results for 2 weeks so its just more and more waiting and worrying. Has anyone had symptoms like this and got better? A friend has the same as me (labyrinthitus) and sais all her symptoms went within 3 months but i just cant see me getting any better. Any responce advise would be great.
Catherine