A case study of a Tinnitus sufferer.

LEARNING TO LIVE WITH MY TINNITUS.

                                                                          

My tinnitus started years ago.

After giving it some thought I realized that in fact my tinnitus started a long time ago. I may well have had a part to play in bringing Tinnitus into my life. When I was young,I am 58 now.I used to play a saxophone in bands. We would practice in a soundproof garage with amplifiers and drums all close to each other. We also played on stage next or near to amplifiers. We were young and crazy.

 When you are young you don't think about noise damage to your ears.

I was young and didn't think that my exposure to loud noise would damage my ears. It seems silly now thinking about it. I am sat writing this blog post with a high pitch noise like a microwave going through my head. And yet in my younger years I never thought I would have this problem.

I did notice I had a problem at times but it wasn't constant.

I noticed some times that I had a loud noise in my head but it wasn't some thing that seemed to happen all the time. I would wake up in the night and hear what was like a very high pitched frequency a continuous sound. I say frequency because its not like a whistle but like the noise you used to get from old television sets a very high pitched noise. Or like a microwave going through my head. Any way I started to notice this in my early forties.

Glutton for punishment.

Strangely enough in my late forties while a lot of my friends were wearing their slippers and nodding of to sleep by the fire. I got into the rave scene. I became a promoter and went to international festivals and parties. Here again I was exposed to loud music. I might add I am a very young 58 year old. And still a bit crazy.

So now at fifty eight years old my Tinnitus is the worst it has been.

So at fifty eight years old I went to ask for medical help. I was surprised because in the UK,it is not really there. I did get referred to an audiologist and consultant hearing specialist how ever he informed me that there was nothing he could do. He ruled out any nasties like a tumor in the inner ear. Or any disease associated with my Tinnitus. So that was good to know.

I did try acupuncture.

Desperate for a cure I tried Acupuncture but this too didn't help me. Although for some people this does help.

So it was up to me to find a solution for my Tinnitus condition.

So my quest for Tinnitus relief began. I did try some Tinnitus treatments,but although I know other people that these treatments have helped, with me I was not so lucky. My worst problem to do with my Tinnitus is not the constant high pitched noise in my ears. But the fact that at night when things are very quiet,then I can hear this sound extremely loud in my ears and head. And this can affect my sleep pattern.

Insomnia became the second problem.

So not only did I have the loud noises in my ears and head but now I was not sleeping properly which led to me feeling tired some time spaced out. And other times low in mood and miserable due to lack of sleep. 

The things that have helped me with my Tinnitus and Insomnia.

So here are the things that I have found that now help me live with my Tinnitus.

Firstly at night I listen to white noise via head phones and an MP3 player. I download YouTube videos via a YouTube grabber and then put them on my MP3 player or my phone.

This masks the sounds in my ears and head. I prefer to listen to jet sounds (white noise) these generally last for over ten hours and so there is plenty of time to fall asleep. Of course other people listen vacuum cleaners,hair dryers,fans and the list is endless. You may laugh but these Youtube videos get millions of hits. Just showing that Tinnitus and Insomnia are very common problems.

Other things that help me to cope with my Tinnitus.

I have found that taking Nature Sleep a natural sleep enhancer can help too. But not all the time. This gently eases me into a good gentle nights sleep. Some herbal teas too have helped. Valerian teas help me and some branded sleeping liquids sold in super markets. I find reading a book just before I go to sleep calms me too. I also have a sound pillow which if I don't want to wear my head phones,I can plug my MP3 into a sound pillow which plays the music and masks the high pitched sounds in my head. I also find that some essential oils can help a good quality Lavender oil put on my pillow can relax me as well.One last tip that I got from a friend of mine was to take up Yoga by doing a Yoga course,relax and get in shape at the same time.She has said this has really helped with her Tinnitus.

So I have had to learn to live with my Tinnitus condition.

So now I am resigned to having to live with my Tinnitus. It has got worse in my later life but I am determined for it not to ruin my life. Of course now I am a bit wiser I do advise younger people to take care of their hearing and prevent ear damage. Wearing a good set of ear plugs at raves or parties is essential to prevent hearing loss and Tinnitus,