Hi everyone,
I’ve been dealing with tinnitus for a while now, and it’s starting to take a toll on my daily life. I’m reaching out to see if anyone here has experience with tinnitus and could share some advice or personal stories on how you manage it.
A bit about my situation:
- I first noticed the ringing in my ears 5 years ago.
- It seems to be worse at night and in quiet environments
- I’ve tried white noise, antidepressants, but nothing seems to provide long-term relief.
What I’m looking for:
- Personal experiences: How has tinnitus affected your life, and what has helped you cope?
- Management strategies: Are there any specific techniques or lifestyle changes that have made a difference for you?
- Have you seen a specialist or tried any treatments that you found effective?
I appreciate any insights or advice.
I have tinnitus primarily in my left ear. After seeing the audiologist I was given a noise generator, basically a hearing aid that make a constant noise but doesn’t amplify sound. - I go with white noise but other options are available.
The idea is that it trains the brain to ignore the tinnitus noise. Note it doesn’t cure the cause but mitigates the symptom. It works very well for me, so much so that I’m getting a second unit for my other ear. The unit also streams from my phone which is very useful in and of itself.
This is in the uk where they’re provided free on the NHS. I guess if you’re in the us, then you’ll have to sell the house, car and kids too afford the initial consultation.
trains the brain to ignore the tinnitus noise.
I think this is key. Easier said than done, but it helps. I use meditation techniques. Yep there is the noise nothing I can do about it and move on.
I have had tinnitus as long as I can remember. About 14.9kHz.
It is worse with stress, bad eating, and lack of exercise for some weird reason. It has gotten a bit worse as I have gotten older. As a child my mother always said I was lying.
I try to have music or other sound on at a lower volume for a lot of my life. Podcasts, music, TV shows, etc… Sadly this method has affected my ability to focus on one thing at a time…
You can, for temporary relief if it gets bad, cover your ears with your hands with your fingers towards the back of your head and drum on the muscles on the back of your head. That gives a minute or so of relief.
Honestly I have just lived with it, but my management is probably not the best for most people and I think it would be a lot worse developing it after you have lived your whole life with actual silence.
Taking a magnesium supplement is the only thing I’ve personally found that makes my tinnitus more bearable.
I would consider seeing an audiologist. Generally they deal with people with hearing loss but I’ve seen mention of tinnitus at mine and I think some hearing aids come with tinnitus suppression, so I’d be surprised if it isn’t something they can help with.
The last exercise with the fingers here was popular in reddit for a quick tinnitus relief back in the day.
Sadly, didn’t work for me
I had mild tinnitus, an audible high pitch constantly, and what worked for me was
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Wearing foam in-ear earplugs whenever I was in a loud situation(traffic, construction) I basically always have earplugs in while I’m outside.
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Switching to bone-conduction headphones rather than in-ear or over-ear, which I had used for years previously and I’m sure contributed to my tinnitus.
I actually haven’t thought about my tinnitus in months until seeing this post and keeping my eardrums protected/insulated made a difference.
Now that I’m thinking about it I can hear a slight ringing, but that’s the game, and it’s definitely still better than it was.
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relaxed as others mention.
i imagined auditory experiences which mimic the “sound” of the tinnitus - that went well until gucking this weekend when my right ear got worse while on karaoke. fuck karaoke. it was so easy to go into. i have immense regrets
keeping cotton balls in ears while showering to reduce ear-ecsema if you have that.
eating drinking sleeping excercising well. maybe CBT helps rewiring the brain to not be bothered, the active ingredient exists in black cummin and oregano and basil in that amount & order too.
massages, skin-to-skin relaxation.
i hear & read ear candles are a dangerous fraud.
interesting paragraph from the wikipedia article on Dorsal Cochlear Nucles where tinnitus apparently “sits”
Somatosensory inputs inhibit type IV cell activity, possibly silencing their activity during head and pinna movements.[6] While this has not been studied extensively, it may play an important role in sound source localization in elevation. A similar effect is seen in the visual system in an effect known as change blindness
imo meaning somatosensory inputs debuff spatial awareness however relieve that issue. now i wonder what somatosensory inputs are.
also the devices mentioned here: one decreasing the activity in braincells related to tinnitus, another increasing sensitivity to EVERY sound to idk why. somehow level tone sensitivity. three devices in total: one around neck/jaw, one on tongue, one around wrist.
apparently tongue is related to change in brain. so idk wag your tongue while downplaying tinnitus sounds/imagining pleasant sounds in the same sound range. like an orchestra or reciting a speech by someperson you enjoy to hear speaking. also CBT drops while doing this. not all CBT is healthy though: depends on the soil where the plant was grown being non-toxic. check out “Florida Orange” from KokuaVida on CosmoTrade. i met the lead scientist for that, she told me to always ask for the toxins analysis of oil.
