visual snow and tinnitus
Posted , 14 users are following.
I've been seeing really really tiny dots (?) not really sure how to explain it but its like there are millions of them everywhere and you cant really identify just one dot. It's white when i see black or when it's dark and it's a dark colour when i see white (like white walls, or other light coloured objects). I've done some searching and I think I do have visual snow, and it's really depressing for me because I've already experienced the horrors of tinnitus and now I'll have to go through visual snow too? I'm a very cautious person and I tend to worry too much when it comes to anything really and having these kind of health problems is really taking its toll on me. I never feel like eating and all i really want to do is curl up in bed and cry. What if one day I end up blind and deaf? There are no treatments or cures for these conditons and little knowledge on what even caused it in the first place. I'm only 13 years old and I feel like my whole life is going to be such a drag because I can't even read things properly without getting so mad at myself for not being able to concentrate on the words (my vision makes it hard for me to do so). I have tried searching things up about visual snow but I've only found that I only get more scared as I read these things. No known cause, no treatment, NO CURE, nothing. I feel like nothing has a solid answer (its always maybe its that, maybe its not) and I'm just going to end up killing myself in the near future because even though i can't notice the ringing or the millions of dots most of the time during the day, i can still hear it everytime I lay down in bed and that really scares me. I'm always okay and then not okay. I don't know if I'll ever "get used" to these things or if I'll ever be mentally stable because it doesn't seem that way right now. However, I am quite lucky for my condition to not be as serious as many other sufferers and I am very, very thankful for that. But I don't know if being grateful is ever going to be enough.
Can anyone please help me or give me some advice?I really don't want to die because I love my family and my friends but I feel like one day I will kill myself because somedays I just get so tired of the constant non-stop ringing in my ears and the dots that i see everywhere, all the time (even when I close my eyes). It's just really scary and I really would appreciate some advice or news on researchers working on finding the treatment or atleast some interest in trying to understand these conditions.
Thank you to those who took the time to read this and please do answer if you have absolutely anything you know about visual snow or tinnitus.
0 likes, 41 replies
jonyboy56789 christine12580
Posted
Hey Christine,
My name is Jonathan and I will soon be 21 so I'm not so sure if I can totally consider myself young. But anyways, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I believe it all started when I had a pretty bad flu one day and took Advil daily hoping to cure the headache that came with it. Soon after, I suddenly started to have grainy vision (aka visual snow) and tinnitus in only my right ear. With it came overwhelming anxiety and painstaking migraines in the beginning. Soon after I also noticed an eye floater in my left eye which only caused me more anxiety and depression as it interfered with my college life. Like yourself, I started off by searching the internet all over for a possible cure and even to see if there was any holistic options or anything that will help. I soon came to the realization that I was suddenly stuck with a floater, visual snow, and tinnitus all at once for most likely the rest of my life and it came as a real hit for me.
Life has become really tough because of it and I often wish and pray that it would spontaneously go away. I'm now trying to work towards coping with it but as you may also know, it is a very tough thing to do. I have been to an eye doctor and as far as the visual snow goes, he did not see anything of such and suggested a neurologist which I have yet to see. Things are tough I know, but you have to be strong not just for yourselves but for those around you. I know that this is probably a silence suffering but I believe that you are strong and will be able to cope in time. I know it really sucks but I hope that you cheer up and try to live life to the fullest you can because I know that I am also trying.
I wish you the best and hope that you find at least in glimpse of happiness in the future. Though if you do indeed find something that helps, please don't hesitate to share! Thanks.
christine12580 jonyboy56789
Posted
Hello jonyboy56789!!
Thank you so much for leaving such a positive and reassuring message here. I really hope you too will find something that helps in the future too!
Having visual snow and tinnitus really sucks, although I must say I am coping very well compared to the first few stages with my tinnitus. I am very lucky it isn't as bad as other people have it but I'm scared I'll make it worse by going to dance classes. I wore ear plugs last time I went to class (I've also spoken to my dance teacher about the noise level, he said yeah I understand and I should tell him if it's too loud, but the noise level has not really changed at all) and sometimes I just get random bursts of loud ringing, and then it stops and I hear what I usually hear all the time (white noise). I am thinking of stopping my dance classes but my dad already paid until september, and I really don't want to waste that money or tell my dad (it'd just create too many problems). I really love dancing, but I've come to realise that I'd much rather be alive, happy, than dancing with ongoing, unpredictable, and worsening tinnitus. I'm not sure how to get out of this though. I still plan on dancing at home even though I wish to get proper classes, but it's came down to this and I need to make a decision. Dancing, or hearing.
Anyway, thank you again for taking the time out to tell me about your condition as well (it helped in letting me know that I'm not alone) and has comforted me greatly. I hope you stay healthy and happy, I also hope we'll find a cure for these conditions soon!
riley46986 jonyboy56789
Posted
Hi Jonathan, you sound a lot like me. I'm a 22 year old male suffering with tinnitus (mainly left ear, but it's both) and visual snow. I too find it extremely difficult to cope with and am hoping to find a way to cure myself of these symptoms. I used to have serious panic attacks between ages 17-19, but no longer do.
I just have constant anxiety due to these symptoms. No one I know can relate to what I have, and it makes socializing difficult because I'm constantly battling the ringing in my ears and the visual snow. I've been struggling with these things for about 18 months now. Anyway, feel free to send me a message/reply.
-Riley
j94688 christine12580
Posted
Hi Christine, visual snow can Be very frustrating, but You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. That's really good. Many people have so many struggles in their life, and what gets you through is faith in Gods mercy, being thankful for the good things you have, and being around good people. Seek good care from doctors and if you are struggling with anxiety or depression make sure to see a therapist and talk with your friends and family. Good luck.
gabriel22128 christine12580
Posted
I am only 14 and I believe what I am experiencing is visual snow as well, I experience tinnitus and I see afterimages, floaters and entoptic phenomenon, and the truth is there isnt much you can do, it gets very scary and you lose it sometimes and just break down, but you cant give up, ive heard stories of people just ignoring it and it disappeared for them, but ignoring it seems almost impossible, it haunts you every waking moment, but we just cant give up, they are very close to finding a cure for this, just hold out hope. So yeah I know what it is like to be experiencing something so scary at such a young age, and thinking that we will have to deal with this for the rest of our lives is horrible. but we can be apart of something, we can fight this thing together, all of us. you are not allowed to kill yourself xD, just remember you are not alone, life will get better and you will forget about it and when you are feeling down, seek one of us out, have a discussion and you will feel better again. Take care of yourself and keep being able to see!
riley46986 christine12580
Posted
Hi Christine,
I have the exact same symptoms as you have, tinnitus (mainly left ear) and visual snow. I've probably been experiencing these symptoms for 18 months. Can you give us an update on how things are going for you? I find it really difficult to cope sometimes. I'm 22.
-Riley
christine12580 riley46986
Posted
Hi Riley!
I can assure you, things really did get better for me (atleast with my ears) I accept and acknowledge that the noise in my ears will probably always be there, and I just had to learn to live with it. Perhaps, it's because my tinnitus is very mild now (or I just don't spend so much of my energy focused on it), but things have been great recently. I still hope for the day there could be some sort of treatment for these conditions, but as of now, hang in there. I advise you to protect your ears at all times, and if you wear earphones, I think it'd be best to not wear them anymore. I stopped wearing my earphones ever since I had noticed the ringing and after ups and downs (hearing hissing and whistling, and many other sounds), my ears are almost silent (except for when I get stressed, or if I focus on the noise).
As for my eyes, I'm currently very anxious about them. They're a grey colour most of the time and I dont know if it's because I've been stressing out a lot lately, but I feel like my eyes flicker to black for a second and its really scary because I dont know if it was just a shadow or something. I'm scared I have retinal detachment but I'm not sure if it's just my anxiety and I don't want to ask my parents to go to the doctors to get my eyes checked because I already did before (for the visual snow, which the optometrist told me was from migraines). I've also been seeing a lot of floaters lately ?? (do you see floaters?). I think it costs like $60+ dollars to check behind the eye (?) but I also really do not want to go blind. I have faith in god, however, and I believe whatever happens, happens for a reason.
I hope you're doing fine now (sorry for the really late reply), and if not, I believe you will be one day.
josh97089 christine12580
Posted
Christine,
I dont know if youre still looking to this post, but i want you to know youre not alone. Ive had tinnitus and visual snow for the past 10 years. I just woke up one morning and had an ear infection and had a ringing that never went away. Then all of a suddent i started seeing millions of dots everywhere, its much more noticable in the night in my experiance. Anyways I was actually a little younger than you when i first got it and i had the same thought process if im being honest. A lot of people just dont understand these symptoms and it sucks. But in the last 10 years ive been able to tune out the ringing and look past the dots. It might sound crazy, but overtime your brain will adapt. Now i can't promise you that these symptoms will go away because im still waiting for that to happen. But don't think your life isn't worth living. In the last 10 years ive done so much. Ive lived a perfectly normal life with these symptoms. When i was your age, i thought it was the end too. But i promise you it gets better. It may take sometime, but you'll become a stronger person in time. Actually a lot of universities, including my own are reasearching timmitus and visual snow. So i think its very possible that we could have a cure in our lifetime. But two things you can do right now is yoga and meditation. I don't know the science behind it, but it defiantly helps ease the mind. If you have anymore questions just shoot me a reply and ill get back to you as soon as I have time.