Update April 18-19, 2022

 

Reporting in again. April 18 & 19, 2022 I am blessed with quiet again. Yesterday was quiet, today, I hear little rings now and then, but mostly quiet.

Thank the Lord. I can't tell you any miracle cure, only prayer, my protocols, and good sleep. 

Hang on to hope. Tinnitus can calm down for some people some of the time, I'm proof. 

Tinnitus Update April 15, 2022

Update April 15, 2022

I added a post April 9 saying my head was quiet. The tinnitus was gone. It was a blessing. I awoke with it quiet the 8th and again on the 9th. 

The next four days, however, the tinnitus was back--even if I slept later. I tolerated it. I followed my protocols whether they're connected or not.  

Yesterday and today, I have quiet again--almost nonexistent buzz. Probably what it was before mine ever spiked. A little chime but practically nothing. I am thankful. Again, I slept as long as I wanted and awoke with a calm head. 

The type of tinnitus I have is not hearing-related. It is something my brain is picking up. I discuss possible connections in my online Kindle book. 

Tinnitus, God, and You: Walk Through Tinnitus with Faith 

Wishing you all the best on your own tinnitus journey. 

Let Me Encourge you on Your Tinnitus Journey

I am here to encourage you. My head is quiet. 

My tinnitus is nearly non-existent. 

It disappears every few days. 

It does return. 

Sometimes it is louder than it is on other days. But on days like this when it is quiet, I am thankful. 

So if you are in the midst of dealing with new tinnitus, I want to encourage you.

I want to encourage because when I first had it at screaming levels, it brought on general anxiety disorder. I was frustrated to learn there didn't seem to be anything I could do to get rid of it. Worse, idiots TOLD ME that I was stuck with it. Doomsdayers gave me the low-down that I might as well accept it. 

For the most part, I do accept it, but that doesn't mean that I don't look after myself, hope for a cure, and pray it heals.  

WHY IS IT QUIET?

You probably want me to get to the point of the magic cure I'm using. I cannot say there is a magic cure. The biggest factor seems to be related to sleep. I have no clue what is going on while I sleep that is affecting it but today, for example, I awoke at a normal wakeup time for most people, but because I had no job to get to, had the opportunity to sleep more if I chose to. And I did choose to go back to sleep partly because I enjoy sleep once I'm able to and because there was tinnitus at the first waking. I know from experience, that sometimes when I sleep longer, I awake with a quieter head. 

So today I fell back asleep for almost 4 more hours and awoke with a quiet head. I did sleep for around 10 hours. 

WHAT IS MY PROTOCOL?

I take vitamins and supplements like many of you for multiple reasons.  

I take 3 magnesium with taurine supplements before bed. I also take GABA at bedtime if my mind won't stop thinking. 

I sometimes sleep with a humidifier in the bedroom, an air cleaner, and gave a fan running as these help me cope with tinnitus sounds. I keep the room  dark. 

I take a Escitalopram, sold under the brand names Cipralex and Lexapro as a treatment for anxiety & depression.  This was prescribed when tinnitus peaked and threw me into general anxiety disorder.

I also take a multivitamin, Vitamin D and a few other supplements. These supplements I hope reduce inflammation, balance cortisol and help my body deal with stress. It is hard to prove if supplements do anything, so you either take them or you don't. 

The type of tinnitus I have is not hearing-related as far as I'm concerned. It is something my brain is picking up. I discuss possible connections in my online Kindle book. 

Tinnitus, God, and You: Walk Through Tinnitus with Faith 

My Update April 2021

I awoke today, earlier than usual, and had no tinnitus. I knew it because it was so peaceful. This is how my tinnitus tends to go lately.

Then, about mid-afternoon, I decided I wanted a nap. I slept for hours. I've been doing that a lot since the Covid-19 shutdowns--sleeping a lot. But when I woke, the tinnitus was blaring. But I handle it because I've habituated (I believe is the term). I've learned to overcome or ignore it as much as possible.

I still take 5 mg of an anti-anxiety pill daily. I purposely don't try to fight the tinnitus because I know I've tried it all. I still pray for God to intervene. 

The good news is that mine, at times, is non-existent. I get to have quiet periods or a quiet day. I feel it may be connected to sleep rhythms because it's usually on or off after sleeping. Nothing else I do during the day seems to calm it once it's begun. 

I still wonder about foods and drink--like fuzzy beverages. That would mean it is stomach-related, would it not? Or blood sugar related. I wonder about circulation and posture. I wonder if it's connected to thinking--the kind I do at the computer, after all it is a brain disorder. 

I'd prefer to not have it. I'm glad when I am given a quiet day. 

Update February 15, 2021

Hey there tinnitus sufferer. Hold on to faith. 

I've thought of updating now and then but put it aside. What I wanted to say is I have quiet. That's right, today is a day of quiet. The tinnitus issue lingers somewhere there in my brain because it comes back in doses from day-to-day. But I have many days of quiet now. SO IT IS POSSIBLE.

There is little to identify in cause and affect. I'm pretty sure my solution lies in sleep. But I can't pin point just what. Is it the amount of deep sleep? Is it the amount of REM sleep? I have a fitbit that has recorded such and I have been unable to make a connection. 

Has it to do with the position I've slept in? Is it something in my shoulder or neck?

It certainly isn't quiet from a specific supplement, special tea, or food item that I know of. 

So I write this today to suggest you let yourself sleep in if you can. See if sleep helps your tinnitus. Hold on to hope. Quiet days are possible. 

Update December 2019

Well, it's been a couple of years now since my tinnitus spike. Just the dead of winter reminds me of that horrible season. 

Since then, I've waded through lots of articles, seen professionals, interacted on forums, tried things, and come to a few conclusions. 

I indeed do think I may have had the spike due to a mild concussion I'd suffered. Anxiety, tinnitus, neck and head pain are symptoms. But I didn't make the connection to the hit in the head early enough to at least see a possible cause and don't we all feel better if we can connect a cause?

My hearing test had been normal. Nothing I did was lowering the intensity. But over time, I started to get one, maybe 2, sometimes 3 days in a row with no tinnitus! If it was an ear problem, I doubt it would be like that. 

My conclusions are only that--nothing specific, nothing scientifically proven. I'm sure it is a brain disorder. 

Now, some on a forum got angry when I suggested diet was involved. I noticed spikes after certain beverages. They closed my post at such a ridiculous assumption. But if it is in the brain, it could very well have a connection to the nerves that travel to the brain. The vagus nerve is the main one that runs from the stomach to the brain.

Fascia is fascinating. It is fibrous spiderweb-like tissue that surrounds organs, glands, neurovascular bundles, and are a passageway for lymph, nerve and blood vessels. Adhesions and problems with fascia cannot be diagnosed as it is not seen on an MRI, x-ray, or CT scan. There is no obvious way to see adhesions but scientists are not investigating fascia issues as being a contributor to chronic pain. Could it also be a contributor to tinnitus? If tinnitus is described as the brain picking up sound vibrations from somewhere other than the auditory nerve, could it be from fascia?

I also learned that fascial adhesions may not be in the exact spot one feels pain. While we tend to work on the painful area, something further down in our body even across the other side could be the real bound up location. 

I heard from other tinnitus sufferers that they also had trapezius pain. I thought I did but was diagnosed with scapular spine arthritis. The pain isn't in my trapezius after all. 

I don't know if the tinnitus is related to that issue or not. I did several physio sessions to address my posture and dowager's hump as well as this scapular pain. I also more regularly used an Ashley Black fascia blaster adding the face blaster to work areas, especially in the upper body. I feel all seemed to contribute to less intense tinnitus. 

Most of all that is important to any person who is new to this is to not make the tinnitus your focus. I know, that sounds absurd. The more you focus on it and trying to cure it, the more power it has in your life. The more inward-focused you become the more anxiety you may have.  

Anti-anxiety pills (non-habit forming type) helped me deal with this new dilemma and I saw a psychotherapist to talk it over with.  

At the same time, I had to quiet voices that would say there is nothing you can do about it. I still refuse to believe it. As a Christ-follower, I know God can still do miracles. 

So my advice for new sufferers is to try an anti-anxiety pill, counseling, to try not to focus on it, to try fascia blasting with a face blaster, or get a massage and physiotherapy. 

Others have said you will habituate. I guess that means learn to live with it. That is true. It eventually will lessen and you will cope better in time. 

What I had tried to do that evil winter was attempt to calm my PTSD and amygdala-hijack myself. My son even bought me a weighted blanket which I love to help me be less anxious. But I spent lots of time lying on my back (gaining weight) as I thought calming myself might rid me of the tinnitus. It didn't.  

Tip April 2019

I've been faithfully using a neck support gel pillow when sleeping. It keeps the head fairly neutral. I believe this is helping minimize the tinnitus. 

I recently had Bowen Therapy  and I'm not sure there has been any correlation of it and my tinnitus. It does oddly seem to have helped a sore knee though. 

Do shoulder shrugs, use neck support, and do arm circles. See if it helps.