Great news!!

Wonderful news. I hope the medication clears it entirely.

Had a second respite again last night, just like the first one two days ago. Around dinnertime the T dissipates to nothing (or almost nothing, at least not obviously there) and it's gone for hours. It came back in the middle of the night (when it is most objectionable, of course). Hard to get back to sleep at that point, but some Lorazepam helped. I'm on the fourth day of a 15-day Prednisone cycle, so hoping that the meds are having some effect.

I'm trying to find the most effective sleep aid. Ambien (which does wonders for my girlfriend) has no noticeable effect on me, nor does Trazodone. Benadryl seems to help, but it only last 3-4 hours. Hydroxizine is a bit better, lasting most (but not all) of the night. The best seems to be Lorazepam, but I need at least 2 mg, and perhaps more. Of course, this is all with a sound-masking device going as well.

What are others using?

Try the pillow. I also have white noise in the room, but I need a masking noise right next to my head at night. I would suggest stopping most of the prescription meds you are on. Sometimes they make T worse. I know from experience. Try over the counter Unisom.

I need to use an earbud with masking and I take an ambien every 3 or 4 hours as they don't last very long. It sounds like you are having some good luck with the prednisone, that's GREAT! I can't even imagine having hours of relief....keep it going:)

Another good night, hoping it becomes a pattern. After dinner, the ringing died down considerably (almost imperceptible), and then between 2 mg Lorazepam and 50 mg Benadryl (which is chemically identical to Unisom), I was able to sleep completely through the night, with no ringing AT ALL. It started up again around 7:30 am, and is now back to semi-normal, but I am starting to be hopeful that the Prednisone cycle is helping. I'm on day 4 of an 18 day cycle.

All the best to you that the prednisone helps diminish or eliminate the t. Thanks for keeping us posted.

Over time try and wean yourself off anxiety meds for sleep. A safe pill that does not have as much addictive effects for sleep, is Gabapentin.

I take 300 mg of Gabapentin, with 10 mg of melatonin for sleep.

I was on Lorazepam for a very long time, for sleep as well

Just following up. Things are deteriorating badly. I am no longer getting any respite from the sound during the evenings, and it is just loud and constant 24/7. My ENT doesn't think the prednisone will do anything, because according to him, if it was viral-related, the hearing loss would be much more pronounced than it is. As it is, it's a minor hearing loss at 6000Hz, with an ear-splitting whistle at that frequency.

I can sleep with lorazepam and diphenhydramine, but my doc doesn't want me on lorazepam long-term because of dependency effects. He is trying to migrate me to Amytriptyline, and I'll see how that goes.

It's just a constant struggle to do *anything*, I have no appetite (never a problem before), and no end in sight.

I'm sorry, but give it a chance, it still may work. Also Amtriptyline helps many people. I lost 40lbs when I first got the tinnitus so I do think that having no appetite is common too. Hang in there.

Yes, I agree with Sue--keep trying different things and don't give up. T is such an individual problem--medication that works for one person might do nothing for another, so you have to keep trying and trying. Steroids helped me in very high doses (60mg,) but of course I couldn't take that much for long so after a month I had to stop. Gabapentin and Klonopin together also worked for awhile but Gaba at the high doses as I was taking made me stupid. Again I had to stop. Nortryptaline (Amatryptaline's "sister" drug) and Klono worked for awhile, but eventually didn't.

Then I started trying pramipexole (I had a skin reaction to this med) and seizure meds. That is what I am on now (seizure meds). I know at least one other person on here on seizure meds for their T, but others on here have tried it and found it made them too drowsy.

I lost a lot of weight when I first got T. I felt too sick about my condition to eat. I even threw up over having T a few times when I first got it. It just makes you so anxious and fearful in the beginning.

My T is at about 10500Hz and I think Sueera's is at 12000Hz. SO SO SO SHRILL!! Mine changes tone from day to day, which is very hard to get used to--sometimes it's a whine, sometimes a sizzle, sometimes a hiss, sometime an electrical sound, sometimes the middle of my brain seems to buss. If your T is the same every day that is actually a blessing because it is easier to habituate to a constant sound than one that is constantly changing.

I believe my T started from a virus, too. Also, when I took allergy meds from an allergist who tried to help me. it made my T worse. I think that triggered my T becoming even louder than it was. I noticed eating processed sugar and anything with MSG (aka "natural flavors") made my T louder, too, so I try to avoid foods with those in them.

Please hang in there and don't give up looking for something to help you. Keep us posted, too. Sending a gentle *hug.*

Amytriptyline will help with your sleep, as well as depression.

I used it for a long time, and did very well on it. Give it a

shot, I think your doctor is giving you some good advice.

Interesting. Everyone is saying Amitryptalin will help with sleep, but it didn't do ANYTHING when I tried it last night. What dosages are we talking about? My doc prescribed 25 mg tabs, and I tried 2 (50 mg), with no effect, and another time4 (100 mg), same thing.

What IS helping is 2 mg Lorazepam plus 50 mg diphenhydramine (Unison/Benadryl). That puts me down for about 6 hours, maybe a bit more.

When I took amtriptyline it didn't put me to sleep but it helped me stay asleep without waking up throughout the night. I needed ambien to get me to sleep.

sueera, I have a question about your use of Ambien. Do you find that you have to be ready to get into bed when you take it? If I am not ready to go right to bed, I might do strange things that I don't recall the next day. My family reported one such event when I tried to cut my toenails!! I could not recall the name of "manicure scissors" and could not really cut my nails.but I kept trying. DId not remember it at all the next day. If I take it and try to read i bed, I will fall asleep with the light on and my book still in my hands! I take a small dose, hate to think what I might do on larger doses!