
Ask HN: Any tinnitus success stories? - discardity
I&#x27;ve had tinnitus for 3 weeks and it&#x27;s starting to drive me mad. Reading online is one of the worst things I can do, what with all the talk of suicidal ideation, which is starting to be suggestive to me. I&#x27;ve seen a couple of ENTs - one has prescribed cortisone, the other has said that&#x27;s nonsense. She also said the only way to deal with it is to distract myself, and that sleeping pills will not help my brain learn to do that. The problem is that I&#x27;ve had 7 hours sleep in the last 2 days and I&#x27;m at the end of my tether. So I&#x27;m looking for any encouragement here to keep me going. I&#x27;m aware there&#x27;s no cure, but simply stories that suggest it becomes more tolerable could be helpful. Thanks.
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dinofizzotti
I’ve had tinnitus for about 9 months now after getting a viral infection. My
advice is stop reading too much about it on the internet, there are too many
severe and scary stories. Yours may go away, or it may not. If it sticks, I
guarantee you will find it easier to live with over time.

The first 3 months of my experience was terrible. It was constantly on my
mind. I was convinced I could not live with this damn ringing in my head.
However, just as others have said, you get used to it, and I don’t really
think too much about it anymore. It’s definitely there, and it’s loud at some
times and other times days go by before I think about it. For me being tired
and lack of sleep definitely makes it worse.

I’m definitely more concerned about my hearing now, and take my Etymotic ear
plugs wherever I go. I’ve also stopped listening to music with headphones. I’m
ok with background office noise so my work is unaffected.

Hang in there. It seems horrible and life changing right now, but I bet if you
wait it out a few more weeks/months you will be fine :)

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discardity
Thank you. Yes reading about it is so incredibly tempting and 99% of the time
a terrible idea, not only because so many of the stories are the worst-case
scenarios, but also because as you say it's better not to think of it. For me
now sleep is the main problem...

But every word of encouragement that it is possible to adapt to it is super
helpful. Thank you.

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kwaldman
I have had it for ten years. Eventually you don't hear it until you think
about it. Mine is very loud at the moment. Just another sign of aging.
Nature's own memento mori.

~~~
discardity
Yes I notice if I'm distracted it seems to go away. But unfortunately this
only happens if I happen to be outside, surrounded by traffic. As soon as I'm
indoors (esp. at home, in the evenings) it comes back & it's hard to think
about anything else.

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architect
Make sure your ears get rest!

If you are lucky this problem can be fixed, but unfortunately most of the
"advise" you'll get is the opposite of what you should be doing. For example
some "doctors" recommend to have some white noise, background music or other
distractions playing while you are trying to fall asleep. Absolutely do NOT do
this!

The following observation can be made when it comes to hearing damage/loss: \-
Constant low-level noise is much more damaging than short exposure to loud
noises. Driving by a construction site is less bad than falling asleep with
headphones playing. \- Ears need recovery like every other body part,
depriving them of recovery can lead to long term hearing problems. \- As long
as there is still some sensation the damage is not yet complete, as long as
you still hear something there is a hope for recovery.

Order of damaging, most > least: Loud over long period > quiet over long
period > loud in short burst > short, quiet noise

concert/construction > aircon/fan in bedroom > airplane flyby > phone
ringing/insect flyby

If there is only one suggestion I can make, it would be to make sure the room
you sleep in is absolutely dead silent!! Even if the ringing drives you crazy
at night, make sure you can hear it! Do not cover it up!!!

Also try to avoid any kind of constant exposure to noise in your daily life -
fans, cars, aircon etc. should all be avoided/switched off until your hearing
has recovered sufficiently so that you don't notice the ringing any more. This
can take months, your ears don't recover nearly as fast as an injury to your
skin for example. Consider wearing earplugs even in you everyday life, when
you are out in the street, at work, etc. It might look stupid but who cares?
It's about your ears/sanity!!! Do whatever you can to protect them!! As a
second option try taking vitaming B12 in high dosage together with vinpocetine
(google: vinpocetine tinnitus). Attn: this will only work if you follow the
advise above, make sure you live in a quite place, vinpocetine could make
things even worse because your ears will be MORE sensitive!

And as always: Disclaimer: This is just a suggestion from personal experience,
not medical advise, always consult a health professional if a medical
condition persists!

~~~
discardity
Thank you. According to the doctors I've been to I don't actually have any
hearing loss or damage, so I'm not sure if we have the same problems.

BUT I have spent most of the time trying to mask the sound - mostly by being
outside among traffic most of the day, though it always comes back in the
evenings / mornings. Then last night I decided to try to stop avoiding it,
since without actually confronting it I'm not sure how my brain can get used
to it. It was maddening, it does drive me crazy still, but somehow it's less
exhausting than the constant fight against it. So I think your advice could
still be valid in my case. We'll see. Thanks again for your response.

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meri_dian
I don't have tinnitus but I do know that not getting enough sleep can make you
feel emotionally distraught and incredibly negative about everything.

So I'd say focus on getting a good sleep before anything else.

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humbleMouse
Honestly just stay away from loud noises as much as you can. It makes it much
worse. In my experience the tinnitus lessens the more you stay away from loud
noises.

I have just embraced it. I like listening to music and that won't change
anytime soon.

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LinuxBender
Mine increases to the point of "hard to ignore" if I take L-Glutamine, or have
foods with MSG. Eventually it goes back to a state where I can ignore it.

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justherefortart
Try ear plugs but the tapping on the back of the head trick works temporarily
(shorter based on how bad your tinnitus is).

Take your hands and put them facing backward on the back of your head covering
your ears completely, tap your fingers on the back of your skull (while
keeping your ears covered) like you're playing drums.

Do this for I dunno, 30 seconds or so. It temporarily takes away the issue.

I use white noise (or brown noise) to help with it. I sleep with a fan, but
have since I was a kid.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuJ9L5aBvio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuJ9L5aBvio)

I prefer the above (brown). Helps me ignore outside noises and covers (at low
volume) my tinnitus.

