Hi Courtney, Sorry to hear you have t. As you do your research, you will find many stories. I have had it since late 90's and I have done everything that i would hear about. First you should see ENT dr and maybe he will do MRI to rule out anything else. If it is on your nerves really bad, go to dr and get something for your nerves. there are studies going on now but there is nothing to cure this. TRT helps some people but it is expensive. Good luck and just try to get your mind off of it.
Brenda

HI Courtney,
A lot of experts seem to think that our reaction plays a major part in how we are effected by the noises. I agree to a cetain extent that if we react Big Style and make this into something really terrible in our mind then the brain will percieve it as a "Threat" and continually "Check" the noise. This is then played over and over in the brain in a loop system. Tell yourself it's nothing. Tell yourself that it will just go away. Don't focus on it and monitor the sound if you can help it. Keep busy, keep occupied and gradually it will fade into insignificance. I wish someone had warned me at the begining as I reacted in a big negative way when T first hit.
Hope this helps a little. Stay relaxed and calm. Let us know how you get on.
Regards
Mandy

If you go to the hyperacusis network online they sell a pink cd for 15 dollars it is the same as trt but you need to listen to the cd directions it comes with good luck

Thanks for the info and encouragement everyone. It's been bothering me lately how frequent the subtle changes in my T can be. My right ear will have a high pitched noise that will be pretty constant but it'll suddenly get a little louder then go back to it's normal loudness again. It's really annoying and distracting. Especially when I'm trying to concentrate in a quiet classroom setting. I could probably get somewhat use to it if the pitches didn't always change.

Courtney, I find it truly amazing that you don't seem to "suffer" with tinnitus.....I am debilitated by it. You will be just fine...Just keep living your life as you have been. The only thing I would do is preach awareness to your friends and family. Don't feel bad about talking about tinnitus. If we don't start talking, we will never see a cure.

Hi Courtney...Please, go see a doctor before you give up on living a normal life. It is never a good idea to self diagnose. It could simply be an ear infection, ear wax impaction, or sinus related. Keep the good attitude though and by the way you are smokin hot!!

Noise constant noise. Always seems misunderstood by doctors. What is noise to our brain but electrical signals generated somewhere. IT sources not understood. Since its is an electrical signal the problem with doctors are thay they dont have it and dont know how bad it can be. If i were to assume how people would react to tinnitus then i would be a fool and some doctors are foolish in assumming and making a lot of us feel that we are somewhat weak. Untrue. They dont know what is affected.

Hello,

I joined the group just to reply to you. I found the board during a search for an abcnews report.

Please go to tinnitus.org. I got a reply from Dr. Hazell that was life saving. I got T a few days after a car accident. It's been 6 months for me, so obviously I have a long way to go. Yes, TRT is expensive, that's why I am doing it on my own. I bought the books online. I recommed that you do.

I don't talk about it with my family either. Depending on the person, it might not be helpful at all. Tell them when it is no longer a big deal.

Good luck. The first few months are really hard... but now, not so much. It is annoying sometimes, but most of the time it does not bother me.

Madre: What books? Share with us the title of the books. Most of us are days driving away from a TRT clinic and even if it were down the street, we don't have $5000.00 laying around - Thanks for posting -

Courtney, we are rooting for you - let us know how you are doing. I really wish young people were educated about the level of sound they put in their ears - you guys need to know - you still have a chance to heal - young bodies are really good at that. Best wishes and God bless, Mandie

Hello, I'd like to add a few things to this thread:
richannamae: If the pink CD is a CD of pink noise for 15 dollars, it's not worth it. Courtney, you have an iPod, TRT uses sound enrichment and wearable noise generators. The wearable noise generators are NOT always necessary for TRT, though different dr's who practice it may tell you differently. generators are expensive. You can get the same result in several ways:
1) Go to an audiologist to have your tinnitus matched. Using that he should be able to make a customized "white" or other color noise for you. (This is how I got it done here in france for free, I would ask your audiologist if they do this first) He can give you an mp3 track to listen to of this noise on your iPod. Just *under* the volume of your T.
2) Do a search for iTunes on white noise. You will find a CD in which you can choose by track whichever white, purple,pink or brown etc. noise suits you best (brown for me!) For 99 cents a track, its truely a DEAL!! Put it on loop on your headphones and Voila!! your own noise gens for 99cents.

MadreFeliz, you got it right to do TRT on your own. and my best wishes to you. Unless any of y'all have different experiences, please do add to this but here is my story:

Just about everything you need to know for TRT can be found on tinnitus.org. BUT you MUST really read the WHOLE site and listen to the example session. Read and understand. THEN go to Google books. and do a search for TRT and/ or Jasterboff (sp) You will find large segments of THE TRT book to read online for free!! If you must read more, I think you can order it from Amazon but it is PRICEY! If you still feel you need more help, then TRT *may* be usefull. but yes, expensive and there is no saying your practictioner is very good. I went a guy here in France. Please don't hate me all for saying this but, yes, TRT is FREE here (plus cost of generators). The ENT that does it simply bills it to the national health care plan as a regular visit. In one hour he explained to me the basics of TRT, said I did not need generators and asked me to follow up in a couple months by email.... Darn good thing I didn;t pay 5000 euros for that... HE DIDN"T TELL ME A THING I DIDNT ALREADY KNOW!! So, maybe he was a bad practitioner, maybe I shoulda made the trip to London instead. But if you ask me, reading all the available info online should be plenty!! And its free!
Is anyone elses TRT just a one hour session and some tiny follow ups???
IMHO, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works just as good, and I can post some examples from Dr Naglers website if anyone is interested.

Hey everyone, thanks again for the information and encouragement. I've heard a lot about "colored" noises to help cope with tinnitus and looked into it more.
I went to a doctor on my school's campus last Thursday and explained my situation to him. Sometimes (particularly earlier in the day, especially right after I wake up) it's quiet and then later in the day it'll be more noticeable. He checked my ears and said they looked okay but thought maybe their may be inflammation contributing to the ringing. He prescribed me 500 mg of Naproxen (an anti-inflammatory medication) and told me to take it twice a day for two weeks. I looked it up on http://www.drugs.com/naproxen.html to see if there were side effects and one of the side effects listed was "ringing in your ears."
I felt so unbelievably frustrated when I read that. Why would he prescribe me something that may cause more ringing? I feel hopeless. Sometimes when it's really quiet in the morning I'll wonder if today will be a day where I can just forget about it. It's something that's on my mind everyday and when I'm around certain noises (like the shower or listening to music from another room) the ringing seems to become more intense (depending on the sound). I'm tired of it.

Courtney,

It is a sad but true fact that most all docs, including ENT's know little about Tinnitus treatment, or causes for that matter. The thing with medications is that so many of them--over the counter or prescription may have a side-effect of Tinnitus, though, can also treat an underlying condition at the same time. So, you have a "double-edged" sword. The doc is trying to be helpful, but, either doesn't know about T as a side-effect (most probably) or, feels the potential benefit from the med is greater then the risk.

Each of us discovers what situations and factors either lessons the severity (or perceived severity) or makes it more intense. For me, thankfully, music is still good, yet, at lower volumes.

There is no question that in the early stages of this condition, and I do hope it is a short-lived one for you, that there is a tendency to obsess almost constantly about it--is it there, how bad is it now, etc, etc.? Coping becomes a central element in all of this. So, whatever will distract, mask, and/or lessen the phenomena is really necessary.

I like your chances, and do keep your spirits up!

I meant to write that in terms of medications, both prescription and over the counter medications often are ototoxic or have T as side-effects either rarely or even less so.

Steve