Tinnitus & NHS

Here for advice as well. I have been suffering from tinnitus for well over 10 years.

@Alyssa so I never remember a time I didn’t have it I first saw a consultant at the hospital when I was 6 and then life happened and yeah it got ignored but I’d say the last 5 years it’s got worse! Like to the point the sound of potato’s boiling trigger it, it gets louder and I’m ready to lose my shit like it makes me so fucking angry! I cannot cope with it any more

So, there is unfortunately no sure “fix” as it seems you may already know. Hearing aids can help, as they give better access to the sounds you want to hear (like speech), which can naturally “mask” the tinnitus, or in other words, make it less noticeable. They also have “tinnitus therapy” technology in the hearing aids nowadays that can be more to help, so if you explore hearing aids, make sure it’s one that has these tools. Now, if you don’t have hearing loss, the hearing aids may seem like a big expense to be just a possible solution, because they can be quite pricey. So I would also make sure you know the trial period with whatever clinic and hearing aid manufacturer you choose to try if you take this route. There are things you can try before hearing aids. Introducing other sounds with a sound machine- many people do this at night especially since the tinnitus appears louder when it’s so quite. Meditation- work on calming your mind to break the cycle. Im going to explain more..

I should have done this first, but I’m going to give you an analogy. Imagine your tinnitus is a candle lit in a dark room, it’s very noticeable and “bright”, but if you “open a window” the candle is not near as bright. So this is the thought behind introducing other sounds to focus on, like white noise, or whatever noise you find helps you best. The key is to play these sounds at a level just below your tinnitus, where you can still hear your tinnitus, but over time you teach your brain to notice your tinnitus, but focus on other things (like the sound) and your tinnitus becomes less “bright” (like the candle when you open a window to let more light in). I will mention, the tinnitus therapies in hearing aids can include sounds like these. Frustration from tinnitus, often leads to worse tinnitus symptoms. It’s so tricky, and I know it is beyond frustrating. But these are some tips to explore. There are phone apps out there for tinnitus too. I’ll post some in another comment.

ReSound Tinnitus Relief is the app I know most, but looks like there are many in the App Store at this point.

Also, one more thing I want to mention, I am a doctor of audiology- that’s why I gave my input 😃

Ultimately, I suggest finding an audiologist (doctor of audiology) that specializes in tinnitus in your area. There are also audiologist that do tinnitus counseling and give you more tools to work with. I would make sure to go to someone who specializes in tinnitus rather than just any hearing aid clinic that may just try to “sell” you hearing aids and send you on your way.

@Maria Kelly I honestly can’t remember when mine started. I can’t pinpoint. I just kind of use certain things for reference hah so I really don’t know how long. You’re comes and goes? Mine is 24/7. CONSTANT! There is this exercise I have done that gives me relief for a few minutes which doesn’t seem like much but it’s so nice! I don’t know how to explain it but I’ll try to find a video to send to you. Maybe because yours isn’t as consistent as mine it would help.