Tinnitus Support Group

Hi Wendy!
I'm one of the newer members of this group only having T since the beginning of July. I remember the first couple of weeks after being diagnosed. I tried to find what would work to mask that dreaded ringing...seemed like running water did it. I researched on-line possible triggers and what I could do to help tone down the loudness of the ringing. I found that what I was eating had a lot to do with how loud my T was, so I began eliminating lots and lots of things from my diet. I think I did it the hard way, though, because I went cold turkey on everything pretty much at once. After four months I now am able to pin point my triggers with good accuracy. Unlike other people, I have to stay away from sleep aids because that is one of my triggers. If I take Ambien I wake up with my T roaring, so I just sleep with a fan at night and occasionally a 3 mg tablet of Melatonin if absolutely necessary.

You will soon find what your triggers are...i.e. diet, lack of sleep, medicines, etc. and you can avoid those triggers and incorporate other things into your lifestyle that help in reducing the noise level of the T.

You will receive lots of good advice from a super group of people! Hang in there because it will get easier as time goes on! I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will. Try to keep busy somehow so that you aren't always thinking about it...distractions do seem to help quite a bit.

Best wishes and many blessings!

Lots of great people here Wendy. I am glad you found us to help you get through this rough patch. It does get better. When I heard those words 18 months ago I took them on blind faith. Sure enough it did get better. The t remains but you learn to live with it and it becomes less intrusive.

I find tinnitus to be utterly mysterious. People get it for different reasons. I'm a hearing impaired (high frequencies) sufferer. Everything is theory with t. There are no conclusive reasons why we hear phantom noises. MandieGrace mentioned the ear connection. But as you know there is tinnitus that doesn't relate to hearing loss. What about people with high frequency hearing loss that don't have tinnitus. Go figure.

It does get better Wendy. Just hang in there and trust in the advise of everyone here, which will be more valuable than what you get from ENT and PCP doctors.

-Mark

Wendy I'm so sorry that this has happened to you, but the silver lining to this is that you found us. We all sort of congratulated ourselves for being supportive and understanding; and it is well deserved. I would like to thank each and everyone past/present members for the time and insight demonstrated during my time of trial. Before this group, my life was debilitating at best. Wendy, please stick with us, and over a peroid of time you will begin to feel better. For some life is almost better with Tinnutus(T), as one can get a better understanding and appreciation of things, they never realized.

Not long ago, I felt similar to you and on occasions I still do. The best advise I offer is to begin to feel positive. This is done with the understanding that it will get better, you'll begin to cope with the noise(its only noise) and you'll begin to distract yourself from it.

I found any exercise(walking, workout, cycle, hobby, discover a new hobby, etc) to not only be wonderful distractions, but alleviates the anxiety which alleviates the worst T symptoms. Do something fun yourself, you're suffered enough.

A trigger for me is too much sodium. "Only Believe" has this low sodium cook book which is not only reducing T, but is making the overall health better. I actually found some foods beneficial, fruits and veggies. Recently I went apple picking. After indulging with apples, I had a real good tummy ache with low T.

I also protect ears with ear plugs at events that may be louder. It has worked well at movies etc.

Sleep habits are so important to finding relief. I have intermittent T, and the way I feel at the beginning of the day, is exactly what I'm in for. A short nap may take a low hissing day and make it a sceaming-meany day. (No naps for me-ever)

I handle the sleep situation naturally by exercising or just having a busy day and if necessary utilize a sleep pillow which offers either nice gentle sounds or white noise. I don't like the side effects from sleep aids, but if you think you need this please obtain the assistance of a an MD.

Hope you are feeling better soon. Message me anytime if you want to discuss anything. Be well!

Thank you Thank you Thank you all. I can't believe all this response and kindness. I've been completely on my own alone with this so far.

OnlyBelieve: Can you tell me how you researched triggers, especially FOOD. I am already salt free and eat a high veggie/fruit, lo-fat, no junk/prepared stuff diet (when I eat, which isn't much lately) to keep my blood pressure normal Would you please be willing to tell me what foods you found to be bad, maybe they apply to other people. (I think I read somewhere someone saying cheese which I do eat a lot of instead of meat.) How did you do it, how did you choose what to try not eating? I also accidentally found that running water helped, but can't spend my life standing by the kitchen sink. But there is some unknown mystery to this because I have had a few scattered days of lower volume for no apparent reason. My diet doesn't change much. Can you help me learn how to discover the reasons/possible triggers for it getting lower and it getting horrendous food/diet-wise? Four months seems a very short time to have been able to help yourself. I am in my third month and am nowhere. Keeping busy is part of the problem and was before the T being recently "retired" due to the economy and my age.

Attester: Again thank you. I do a two mile walk most days for blood pressure which I have successfully controlled. Maybe I should add more. When I found my blood pressure rising, I did something about it. When I found my cholesterol rising. I did something about it. But this is so far utterly beyond my control and understanding I really really want some guidance on how to test out the food thing. I also don't like the side effects of sleep med. The sleep pillow sounds like a good idea.

When you say I can message you, how do I do that?

Mark: I want to believe you, that it gets better, but right now I don't see how. The only thing I know is I have had three or four single lower volume days but don't know why or how or when.

You are all wonderful.

Hi Wendy, definetly I can tell you t is very unpredictable. There is no way to know who is going to get it or not. My boss is in a rock band pumping up the volume. He is around 50 and no signs of t. I am 38 now, got it 2 years ago. I was probably like you. Prayers and time are good healers but you can always try to do easy non cost things to down low your anxiety. Exercise is a great help for anxiety and also helps you sleep. Breathing and relaxation exercises are also awesome. There is a post about it but you can google it like Tinnitus Eprogramme.org. The caffeine for many rises the intensity of the T. Stay away if you can, it will help you to be relaxed. Also drink looots of water. You see, this things are NON COST, but they require time and effort from your part. I hope this helps you. Trust me, you will get better.

Blessings

Thank you Michangel. I am off caffeine -- ironically that's what indirectly caused this affliction. I do exercise but think it's time to do more. I'll definitely start drinking more water. How do I search a specific post, like the one you mentioned?