My Tinnitus is Making me Suicidal

Hi,

I have tinnitus too, almost 4 years now. My dr referred me to ENT I had to have an MRI as at that time it was only one side of the head. They did not find anything wrong but did refer me on to the tinnitus clinic at the hospital.

There I had a hearing test and found to have lower capacity in my left ear than right. I was fitted with a hearing aid for this. You might want to go down this route as it makes the tinnitus all but disappear in the day time.

I was also given a relaxation disk to use daily which helped me to relax but has not made the noise dissapear as they thought it would.

I have since been diagnosed as having an under active thyroid, tinnitus is a symptom, as is hearing loss. I've started treatment for this but I'm not yet at a point where symptoms are relieved. I also have started an additional supplement, nutri adrenal extra. This is due to adrenal fatigue, but this is not recognised by the NHS as a condition, I have already noticed popping in my ear and it feels like its clearing, I've even had to turn the tv down. I'm only on day 3 with the nutri adrenal extra. They do have vit b12 in which does help tinnitus in some cases.

Now I would recommend any one with tinnitus to get your thyroid blood tested including the antibodies, it's how mine was found and get vit B12 tested. There are probably more tests you can get as well that I've not mentioned.

I hope it helps in some way, you are not alone and there are things to get checked.

Thank you very much for that information and I feel amazed to know that there are many things that can cause tinnitus, not just being exposed to loud noise. Both my ears hear the noise and the ENT had it checked and cleaned up, he said it's caused by impacted earwax. Thankfully, I feel a bit better than before and he told me that the ringing will just eventually subside. Do you also have issues sleeping? I've been using masking noises like white noise and other nature noise but it seems to keep me staying up. Do you have any routine or are you taking any medications for sleep?

Yes I do have problems sleeping. But this started before the tinnitus, it's more to do with the underactive thyroid and adrenals for me. I use the sea/beach noise disk that the hospital gave me to help me get to sleep. I am also on medication for sciatica which side effect is makes you drowsy, it did help a lot but is less and less effective as time goes on. The tinnitus is annoying at night but I try and block it out by covering both ears as though I'm trying not to listen to an external noise.I have also put the sea noise back on. If its annoying for hours and hours at night I have resorted o putting my hearing aid back in but this is rare.

If you have an iPad/iPhone/iPod there are apps available of different noises to help. I was told not to use music as you know when to expect the end of it and therefore anticipate the tinnitus, whereas if you use nature noises there is no end it on going so you don't anticipate the end of the recording.

You could also ring the ENT department to see if there is a tinnitus clinic you could attend to help you too. Or ring the audiology department direct.

Hope it helps

Hi ..I too have this horrible condition after a head injury, it seems to make life better when really busy doing something constructive but every morning when waking up the symptoms are at there worse .nobody understands that hasn't experienced it and sometimes the thought of ending it all does occur ,I was hoping it would recede but it has been worse lately.,I suppose it comes in all levels from just occasionally noticeable to mind blowing. And no real treatment in this day and age of technology. I once was prescribed a sleeping pill called zolpidem and like a miracle it made the noise all but disappear,wich made me feel immediately better but was highly addictive and managed to avoid taking more..Just a day at a time and who knows it may just fade or disappear one morning you have to believe.

Hi there, not sure you have this anymore? I've had ringing in my ear for around 10 years, started at the age of 30, only ever notice it when I'm stressed, all other times I've leant to ignore it, so don't hear it, this really does work, just focus on other things and your brain learns to ignore it the sound

Hello,

2 weeks ago I developed tinnitus and I have struggled so much with dealing with it. It began one night whilst I was lying in bed and I could hear a very annoying beeping sound (which I thought was coming from an external source) I started frantically looking around the room to find out where this sound was coming from. I was expecting to find an old alarm clock or something... It was driving me crazy and I asked my husband how he was not being affected by it (he is usally very sensitive towards sounds) he then told me he could not hear anything and that was when I realised it was coming from inside my head which was extremely terrifying and made me very uncomfortable. I dont know how but I managed to sleep that night and woke up the next morning to that horrible depressing sound inside my head. The thing is, people do not realise how psychologically this affects a person unless you experience it yourself (which I hope you never have to) but it made me extremely tense and I felt as though i was losing my mind. After 3 days and with no improvement I visited a Walk in centre as my doctors surgery had no appointments. The nurse examined my ears and found everything looked fine, she pushed my face with her thumbs to see if there was any swelling or signs of a sinus infection and found nothing, she looked into my ears and told me everything looked fine. I was sent away being told to deal with the tinnitus and play white noise when trying to sleep. After a week had passed I managed to get an appointment with my doctor. I arrived for my appointment and explained that I had a ringing noise coming from inside my head which was distracting, upsetting, alarming (excuse the pun) and was causing me to have no energy or motivation due to being phsyically exhausted from sleep deprivation. The doctor examined my ears, told me my glands were "up" and made me stand up then sit down to check my balance, he then checked my blood pressure... Everything was fine. He prescribed me with a sinus spray and I was told to buy decongestant tablets. I used the spray twice a day as instructed and took decongestants for the following 5 days.... Still no improvement! I couldnt cope anymore with this awful sound and I was crying myself to sleep everynight which was very upsetting for my husband to see and he tried his hardest to console me. I began having suicidal thoughts and giving myself a 'time limit' on how much longer I was willing to put up with this horrible disease for before ending my life. I looked online for help and found stories about tinnitus cures which were mostly scams, I read on forums that antidepressents may help with tinnitus sufferers and how coffee and tea can aggravate the ringing. I cut down on my caffeine intake and started drinking camomile tea and peppermint tea before sleeoing. Tinnitus was having a huge effect on the quality of my life and I was at an extreme low. I made an emergency appointment at my doctors the following morning. Whilst in the doctors office the following morning I mentioned how i had read online about people being given a Course of antibiotics for sinus infections and I basically demanded to be given antibiotics (the doctor told me that it would not harm me to take them but it may also have no effect whatsoever on helping tinnitus) it was worth a try though surely? I was also prescribed citalopram (antidepressant and anxiety medication) I had been suffering from depression for a year and had previosly tried sertraline which had no effect on my mood, I stopped taking sertraline 7 months ago and was on no medication or antidepressents when my tinnitus developed. I started taking the antibiotics (amoxycillin) 3 times a day and one citalopram as well as the sinus spray before bed. It has been 3 days now and although my mouth is extremely dry constantly and I unable to quench my thirst no matter how much I drink my tinnitus seems to be going!! If i concentrate hard enough in a quiet room i can notice a very quiet sound. I am hoping itw as a sinus infection and the antibiotics are clearning it up! I must also mention that I was reffered to ENT by my doctor and I will have an appointment in one months time. I purchased a speaker pillow in desperation to play white noise whilst trying to sleep and this seemed to help with dealing with tinnitus. I basically just wanted to inform everyone suffering with tinnitus on what I tried and what worked for me. Maybe it was the camomile tea? Or peppermint tea? Antidepressent? Antibiotic? White noise playing all night? Or all of them together? Or maybe none of them? I truly believe it may have been the antibiotics. I am 24 years old by the way and female and my tinnitus seemed to have came from no where. I really hope this post helps anyone out there suffering from tinnitus.

My friend I understand, I was an Electrician for 35 years until this day because of my Employer Neglicence I had an Unsafe Work Accident up a ladder The ladder started to slide my left foot went between a rung my Head hit the side of the ladder and my jaw hit the metal extension bracket when I came off the ladder and was walking on the cement floor I became dizzy and fell to the floor I woke up and a friend was holding my head with his arm under my neck I was taken to Hospital by Ambulance and was told I had the first Epileptic fit in my life, Fractured Jaw and Neck injury 4 weeks after I returned to work  injuries Fractured Jaw, on med for Epileptsy when I fell on the cement floor it hit the left side of my Hean caused ear injury Tinnitus and loss of hearing in my left ear started I ost my work capactiy and had to leave I was an in and out Hospital patient for 12 years, because of the Tinnitus I had treatment by Ear Specialists Hospitals and other, With Tinnitus, Epilepsy and Fractured Jaw I lost interest in living because the noise of Tinnitus it is now 26 years I have tried everything I now wear a Masker in my left ear that gives a noise to relax I do not wear it all the time only when need to I have found that nothing will cure Tinnitus the Masker cost to buy is approx $2500-00 that works on batteries and the old saying Mind over Matter can help I would like to hear of a better way please for Tinnitus I would not have an opperation to me such could leave me in a wheel-chair

Hi Judy...I hope you are well and tinnitus free by now I also have this nuisance, I got tinnitus one night out of no apparent reason....my left ear was the wost, it felt inflated and noicy ...to get to the point quick I when to the doctor, and hearing specialist and bla bla the same...nothing wrong with the ears, however the noice persisted...Recently my ear was so bloated and noicy that I felt the urge to turn upside down...like a hand stand...and I tried it against the wall several times...but too hard by my self so I went back to my sitting position...next day the tinitus was gone!!...since I did not make the connection yet...next day I had Tinnito again..all day...I did not turn upside down, so I thought my quiet ear was short lived. Next day with my husband at home I asked him if he could help me do a hand stand...boy it was hard, so I ended up laying over the back of the sofa with my head touching the floor and my feet up on the back of the sofa....nothing changed then...but next morning tinnito was gone again!!! So I have been doing this exercise of putting my head down and my feet higher...and it has diminushed so significantly ever since. I do the upside down thing several times during the day. Sounds a little crazy but maybe it works for yoy too!!

I had a really bad cold last month and it caused my tubes in my ears to become very blocked the doctor prescribed me nasal spray now my tinitus is virtually gone. So to who ever says that it can't go ( maybe yours wont) but it can and I'm pretty confident yours will

Hi..I have sent years with tinnitus and loss of hearing in my left ear, been to a ENT, dozens of hearing tests, The Doctors say the hearing loss and T comes high fevers I had as an infant.

The T was always there but the intensity would go from mild to extreme and back, but recently it has been on high volume 24-7 it is so loud that it interfers with my heariing and much of the time it actually hurts my ear.

Oh I bought state of the art hearing aid..which did absolutely nothing for the T and worked as a ear plug, had to take it out to hear the little that I can out of that ear.

I am willing to try anything that could help..Even stand on my head..lol..btw I do use an inversion table daily for my sciatic.

I may go to the Dr. I have had some sinus issues.

For all reading this (posting or not) who are having suicidal thoughts, there is help available. Look up the Samaritans (UK) or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (US), these are 24/7, toll free services that will connect you to a counselor. If you are outside the US and UK, more hotlines, sorted by country, can be found on the wikipedia page entitled "List of suicide crisis lines".