Readers Mail
I look forward to coming home everyday to reading my emails from you. Today at work was a good day. I hear the noise and it’s bothersome, but I tell myself “DONT FEED IT DONT FEED IT” and I try to get other things done.
This is going to be a slow process, but I’m ready to attack it I’m going to play golf this weekend and go to this banquet regardless of how bad I feel because I want to prove to myself that I can do the things I want to do. I know I have to teach myself to ignore the Tinnitus and left it drift away into oblivion.
Trying to think about it brings it back though. This means the noise is dependant on me and not vice versa. Anyway, this is gonna take time to get all this into my thick skull but it’s gonna happen.
I wish you can come to America and be here… So I can see how you’ve over come. I’ll take you to a basketball game : Hell, i’ll buy you a new car if i can fight this tinnitus. take care
B.K, Atlanta, USA
Again, thanks for the quick and very useful response. Extremely good advice. I am going to follow your example and embark on a self-improvement project, beginning with better, diet, exercise, less alcohol. Amazing how close your list of issues is to mine.I don’t know what set off the tinnitus. I had never experienced any ringing in the ears. I had never gone to loud concerts or clubs.
One day one month ago I awoke with a feeling of congestion in both ears and the ringing was there. Just like that. Later in the day my right ear became painful. I went to the doctor and he said he thought I had a middle ear infection and gave me an antibiotic. When it did not clear up in a week, I went to an ear specialist. His theory was that either an infection or virus had caused inflammation in my inner ear, “knocking out” some of the hair cells responsible for hearing.
He tested my hearing and told me I had a slight loss at the high frequencies. He put me on prednisone (a steroid) to reduce the inflammation. He told me if the theory was correct and the inflammation went down, the hair cells might come back and the tinnitus would go away. The idea is that in the absence of signals from the high frequencies from my ears, my brain was manufacturing the high-pitched noise (mine sounds like a noisy computer monitor). Well, I’m done with the course of steroids, and there has not been an improvement.
It is true that for the past few years I have been under a lot of stress — job stress, a bad relationship, and financial worries. So perhaps I need to do what you suggest and turn this meaningless signal into a signal to fix up my life.
Bob, Salt Lake City, UT
I was wondering the link on your site to Xanax and Co, I seem to get at least a little help from it, I usually take a small dose before I go to bed . It not a cure sadly and I agree with you the little help we get from the medical community it is up to ourselves, I guess I may be a little lucky in that my doctor is a osteopath and more open minded. I showed him Kevin Hogans book and he was o.k. with prescribing the Xanax.
Like you at first my tinnitus started out small and gradually got louder and in both ears, I went to specialists and here in the Los Angeles area there is a ear clinic called the House ear clinic , all they did was check me out and tried some bioflavanoids , which did not help. I mentioned to them about the lidocaine treatments from the clinic tests In Memphis Tennessee but they told me the results were not that good and it was short lived and the problem came back on most of the patients. All we can do is try. I never smoked cigarettes and have a pretty physical job although it would not hurt to lose ten or fifteen pounds. I can sure relate to the stress part. That is one of the things I am trying to work on is not to stress out on everything. I will keep on trying . and talk to you later . thanks
Don L, 47, Vermont USA
Today is a good day… Right now it’s loud but I’m not letting it bother me. I”m trying something new.. I can actually ignore it and make it go away. Its the really bad days that are worrying me. I know they will come and I suppose that will be the big test. My mission is to habituate this sound. I’m not ever gonna get rid of it but to make it go to the back of my mind where I cant hear it. I’m trying hard to stay tough… it can wear off any minute but I’m gonna come right back. You’ve motivated me to try this. What have I to lose ? Ok Buddy keep in touch. Check in on me every! so often.
Chris.J, 44 Canada