Dave I have been to many doctors with mine. One of the worst ones was a ENT that had some kind of a degree dealing with the neck, that a neurologist sent me to. We traveled 100 miles to see him. My Family and I were so excited, thought we were finally going to get some answers. He came in the room and asked, what is wrong with you. I told him my ears ring, it follows my heartbeat. ( I had more problems, but no need to go into that) He said what did the neurologist say was wrong with you. I told him that he said you woud tell me. He said, I'm very disapointed with him, come back in a month. I paid and left for nothing. That is a true story, got a few more also. No ENT ever even tried to help me. Guess they figgured I would take more then 10 minutes of there time. There was a Nurse Pratisoner that worked for one did try, but not the doctor. By the way welcome to the group. Frank

Welcome Bay City Dave,

Everyone here knows how hard this can be, especially in the beginning.

I have found that distraction, and watching your diet, like Lorie has stated is the way to go. And I might add no stimulants like alcohol, and I have also found some cold meds, act as stimulants.

You found the best site you could have found, this is like a big family here, and we all care and support each other.

God bless,
Kasandra

Welcome to the group Dave. I am fairly new to t (a little over 3 months) and have found this site and group of people absolutely amazing. They have helped me through many tough times when I did not know what was going on! Like everyone here - I had two visits to ENT's - worthless. One actually told me that if anyone asked what was wrong I could tell them it was all in my head. Heck of an introduction to this beast. I do wish you the best and it sounds like you have gotten wonderful advice and are doing the right things. We are all here to support you and there are many here quite wiser that I about t and I have found many suggestions and friendships which have helped me more than anything. My hope is that you are feeling better and know that you are not alone with this.

Having this group is wonderful. My family is supportive, but I really try to keep the T talk at a minimum. I don't want them to worry, and I don't want it to affect their lives. Even though some things we do are harder to enjoy now, I do my best to put on a nice act. I actually do find that keeping active makes me stop thinking about it. I also enjoy talking to people that understand. Its hard to explain, that its an affliction you can't relieve. I've done good controlling it to a point, but when it wants, it can be evil. Glad to be a part of this group.

I read an article the other day, that the DNR in Michigan has perfected a contraceptive for deer. All I could think of was all of us suffering with this, and the government spend money on deer contraceptive.

This sure has changed me as a person. I don't like the 'T', but I like the changes it has made in me as a person.

This site let's me know that I am not alone. Somehow knowing that their are others that understand, just makes me feel better. Course it would even be better if we didn't have anything to be understanding about. Maybe it just being new, as you are Debbie, but I sure wish there was more positive results out here. I have had now for 4 months, today was one of my best day. I was not bothered until mid afternoon. I'm confident that it can be controlled, or at least lived with reasonably. I will keep trying, until there is nothing left to try.

I would like to suggest a website www.hearinglosshelp.com. It is a great heap of info for the tinnitus suffererer. Neil Bauman, Ph.D. of the Center for Hearing Loss Help developed this website and it is full of information that you might want to look into. You can contact him as well via email and he will answer a LOT of your questions in detail. Good luck!

My best advice is to not focus on it. Do you ever notice when you are driving along there might be a moment when you didnt hear it because you werent paying attention to or focusing on it? I have. My best advice is that doctors only want to throw pills at it, they are doing research on it such as vagus nerve stimulation, but nothing definitive. I find focusing on it less, adopting a healthy lifestyle of exercise, healthy food, some quality vitamins such as pharmaceutical grade or USP verified vitamins are better than just any OTC vitamin, and to eat right. I try to keep my T word to a minimum because it wears on my family, they know I have it, I know I have it, and I honestly get tired from focusing on it. But that doesnt work for everyone. If we could only look at it like "its just a noise" which that is truly all it is, it's just that our brain doesnt recognize the sound and tries to figure out what it is but since it doesnt know it puts you in that "fight or flight" mode" which makes it worse. Habituating to the sounds you hear comes with time and the less I focus on it the better it is. Some days its easier said than others. I suffer with ringing that I hear in my brain, a high hissing noise, along with hyperacusis (sound sensitivity). Been to doctors, no results. Just keep going on...

Thanks Sugaboog. Sounds like you and I are close to being in the same boat. Some days its a ring, some days it a buzz. I wake up in the middle of the night to nothing. When I wake in the morning I usually have nothing or very little, then as I hear more, especially load, it grow worse. Usually by the end of the day its at its peak. Fortunately, after being asleep a few hours it is gone. I cannot use the masking technique, because I am sound sensitive. If I run a fan at night, I wake up to the ringing. If I keep it quiet, I wake up fine. Like you said, it just getting used to this change in my life. Learn what I can and cannot do. Thanks for the advice, good luck.

You might consider going to an audiologist and getting fitted for what are sometimes called musician's earplugs. The difference between those and regular over-the-counter plugs is they reduce noise levels in a more realistic way, across all frequencies (flat attenuation), as opposed to the way the world just sounds muffled with regular earplugs. They've allowed me to play fiddle again with a group...and I can still carry on normal conversations with these in. They've been a god-send.

Anyway, since it is daily noise that's bothering you, you'll likely be using earplugs quite a bit, and you might find these as helpful as I have. The only problem is, they're too expensive to have multiple pairs lying around (around $145 for my first pair, but future one would be cheaper since I've been fitted already).

Thanks for the suggestion Worm. I made an appointment today. I do use earplugs, generally when I drive. Thats what I like about this site. Finding people with the same problem I have, seeing what they have done to help it. Do you play professionally. What city?

I'm in Corpus Christi. I play weekly with friends and whenever there's a festival within striking distance, but there isn't really a call for "professional" old-time musicians, with rare exceptions (The Carolina Chocolate Drops, who just won a grammy). Mostly, it's just a devoted group of people around the world who love old fiddle tunes, usually associated with Appalachia, but certainly not limited to that region.

A bit about the experience: you'll be fitted for the plugs themselves, which are molded specifically for your ear (and that mold can be reused if you need them replaced down the road). There are several companies who make the molds, but there seems to be only one company that makes the filters themselves, which come in -9db, -15db, and -25db. You'll choose one of those, and you'll also get an actual "plug" that comes with it if you want to use them like traditional earplugs. I bring all this up so you'll be prepared - you'll have to choose one of the three. I got the -15db and I was afraid they were a bit too much so I went back and purchased the -9db and I think they're about right for my needs. I don't think you'll need the -25db filters...if you need to cut out that much noise, use the plugs.

That's my 2 cents anyway, but I did just see these hunter's plugs at the bottom of this page which might be of interest to you: http://www.westone.com/hearing/what-is-a-custom-earpiece

Sorry to hear about your bouts with T. Join the rest of us who are bedaffled and bewildered by this pariah of peace. And that is what it really is "Loss of those quiet and peaceful moments" no more. The things that have helped me most are:
Get a T masker that works best for you. Make sure it is a boring sound (fan or airconditioner). Most T's find a steady waterfall with volume increased to just cover your T works fine. You can get the little clock radios with rain, waterfalls, and other nature sounds. But stick with the most boring one Don't fret you will get used to it and your T will begone for sleeping.
When yard working, on your car or other tasks wear a headset (a good one) get a MP3 player (again a good one with NO STATIC). Play it just so your T is masked, It's amazing how your T will disappear. I like oldies and they work fine. NO LOUDNESS ALLOWED.
THIS IS A BIG ONE. Don't let the T get to you. Don't let it mess with your time or energy. Let it go completely. The more attention and energy you give the more it will bother you. In most cases T is not painful, dangerous, or in any way hurtful unless you give it the power. FORGET ABOUT IT push it out of your consciousness. It's gone, let it go, and soon it will have no control over you rather it'll become a minor nuisance.
If you can't sleep see your doctor for some help. Ambien and lunesta do the job well as both are hypnotics and work in a short time. No sleep is a bad thing. Can ruin your day and you're health. Plus it adds a lot of fuel for our old friend T.
That's about it for now. As always there is no perfect solutions for everyone. But keep trying till you find the one that fits. Stay away from the thousands of miracle cures out there from horse tablets to a silver cap on your head.

God bless,

Paul