Hi Dr. Nagler
I live in a rural city in Australia about a 2 hour trip from Melbourne, I first got tinnitus about 10 years ago, when it started i would rate the volume at about a 5- 6, it was 24/7 and i could hear it all the time, i employed tactics like sound enrichment and guided relaxation which eventually lead to the tinnitus getting to the point where it no longer bothered me too much.
For years the tinnitus was at a point where i could go for days without noticing it and the volume seemed to have reduced from a 5-6 to about a 3-4, it could still be a minor annoyance at times.
Move to late Feb 2017 and my tinnitus got excruciatingly loud while on oral and topical antbiotics for an ear infection which it turns out was a misdiagnosis by my GP, i found out it was a misdiagnosis because i insisted on a referral to an ENT who told me i did not have an ear infection, my GP had once again that same day told me that i still had an ear infection in both ears.
My tinnitus at the start of march i rated 10/10 when seen by an audiologist who told me to give it 3 or 4 months and you'll hardly notice it, move forward 4 months to now and i realise that rating of 10 was wrong because it has gotten even louder now, it is so loud and distressing that i am having immense trouble sleeping and the tinnitus is causing a massive ammount of anxiety.
My hearing has also deteriorated and the ENT said the audiogram i recently had done showed i have nerve damage most likely caused by the antibiotics.
I have some hearing aids that i got from the audiologist that also work as tinnitus maskers, when i started using them 3 months ago they did a good job of reducing the tinnitus distress when i wore them with the level set just below the tinnitus, but now they don't work well anymore because the tinnitus has gotten louder and the pitch has increased enough that the sound they make just doesn't do anything to reduce the perception of the tinnitus, it's basicaly just adding more noise.
The maskers also make my right ear ache after about 15 minutes now, and when i remove them the right ear feels sort of dull and muffled.
The audiologist has told me that the maskers can't do any damage but i'm now scared to wear them since my hearing is still deteriorating and the tinnitus getting ever louder.
I kept telling my audiologist how loud it is and she asked if i could hear it under the shower and when i told her i could easily hear it under the shower she was shocked.
I have seen a psychologist who said that she had experience working with tinnitus sufferers but that did not work out, i felt i was getting no benefit from her therapy which entailed her advising me to play some golf or go to a movie or go for a walk and say hello to 10 people.
She also wanted me to believe that my tinnitus was being caused by not doing enough things that i enjoy, and not the antibiotics and hearing damage, she told me if i believe the tinnitus is caused by damage to my auditory system then her CBT wont be able to help me.
I am realy struggling to cope with this tinnitus it is so much worse than the tinnitus that i lived with for 10 years, it moves around in my ears and head somedays louder in the head and some days louder in the ears.
it is so loud, high pitched and intrusive, nothing blocks the sound out anymore, i never used to be able to hear my tinnitus in the shower but now i can clearly hear it in the shower with the exhaust fan and the radio going, i was mowing the lawn the other day and i took my ear muffs off just for a few seconds and yep i could hear it over the lawn mower too.
I would appreciate any advice, i never thought after 10 years of living with and for the most part being on top of my tinnitus that i would ever be in this constant state of distress, only sleeping 1 to 5 hours per night and waking multiple times, unable to relax or even enjoy watching a movie, i never thought my tinnitus could get this loud, after about 8 years of no change in volume or pitch i was so unprepared for such an enormous change from a 3-4 to where it is now maybe a 10, i certainly hope it can't get any louder.
Scott.
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