Tinnitus experience

[Dynamics]

I sympathise as I suffer eustacian tube disfunction where I get clicking noise occasionally. I think I got it gliding and going up in height quickly, about 1200 feet in around a minute. But due to ill health I don't do gliding much any more. My mental health is much more tricky for me.

[Puffin]

Ah yes, fucked ears and brain......welcome to the club

[Dynamics]

I can hear very well though as etd doesn't really effect my ability to hear my hi fi, it's just where I think the eustacian tube gets blocked. It's akin to the bass reflex port and venting the air in the middle ear, but the ear drum is still vibrating and stimulating my ossicles!

[farflungstar]

I got hyperacusis and an increase in my existing tinnitus following a gig in 2010. The OP correctly describes hyperacusis as "evil". Even silence becomes scratchy, never mind the pinprick pain from the slightest innocuous sounds. It's like having a permanent hangover where everything is harsh and too loud and means that you can end up shutting out the world. That's not illogical, since if you burned your hand you'd keep away from flame. But constantly snapping at your family for laughing, talking loudly or coughing spreads the misery. At my worst I couldn't listen to the news on TV never mind listen to music at all, and a trip to the supermarket was a torture cacophany.

However the philosophy on treatment, which I ultimately bought into, is to expose your ears to normal sound even though it's grating and after a while your threshold resets to a degree as your hearing becomes retrained. I was helped by getting a referral to a consultant who arranged white noise generators. They look like hearing aids to the unfamiliar eye and crank up a smooth air conditioner type background noise that you get used to. I notice quite a few people with them now. After a couple of years I could listen to music at a moderate domestic volume and although I still can't take sound levels above normal street noise (eg the cinema is off limits without earplugs) I'm grateful for it having improved to a point where it no longer dominates. The only medication that made a slight difference was Serc on prescription.

Tinnitus is a battle with yourself to reach a "cure". Mine gets worse with a cold or tiredness, but other than that I control it - I'm the one who makes it loud when I'm down or who makes it disappear when I'm busy living life.

I was panicked when I couldn't find the solution to H and T early on, and the internet is full of all the worst case stories and quack remedies, but if you hang in there and keep yourself occupied you do get to a better place.

Pete

There is so much I recognise in this. The barking at people for making a sound lol imagine working in classrooms! Life has been hell. But luckily music hasn't been a problem with the H, only the reactive T.

Right now things are going topsy turvy being on the neurontin and tegretol. The tegretol works like a silver bullet for the T - seriously it has changed from a two tone to only one tone and at such a low level im not aware of it. So good is it that I can even smoke marijuana and there is no difference whereas before my T went crazy.

The H has also changed - now life in the street etc isn't a problem at all, nor classrooms which crucified me before and had me running out more often than not - but listening to music is a problem - go figure - the reverse of before. It's ok under a certain level thank God and right now im listening to Malia and the sofa is vibrating so it's not so bad.

I read a similar experience of a guy who was on both meds and cut to Tegretol only so that's my plan. I'm hoping i can keep the benefits and lose the downside.....

[Adam D]

I have had tinnitus for over 20 years now.

I blame it on listening to Sigue Sigue Sputnik on my friend's Sony Walkman many years ago. However, both my mum and late grandfather suffer/suffered from it, so it may be hereditary as well.

My tinnitus sounds like the flash on a camera charging up. It has become louder over the years.