Pages

Me

Me

Sunday 19 May 2013

Ringing in my ears...Tinatus & Fibromyalgia

A little known symptom of Fibromyalgia is Tinatus (ringing in your ears) Ive had tinatus for close to 20 years from mild backlground noise to distracting and in my face!

So why am I calling it a symptom if I already had it, simply because its got worse and more persistent since I got Fibro. In my experience Fibro amplifies other pre-exisisting conditions if you have any. 

We know that as a suspected Auto-Immune system that I wrote about Lets look for a cure  it stands to reason that anything you had before will be exacerbated by fibro because of the way it distorts signals to the brain instead of interupting them, they turn the volume up if you like. So what was mild before over time becomes louder and louder.

NHS choices - symptoms Fibromyalgia

Tinatus - Symptoms

Im typing today with the high pitch squeal in both my ears this morning that is distracting to say the least, I have the TV on the same settings as ever - but today its isn't sending the Tinatus to the background. I manage usually with enough day to day noise I can "ignore" it.

Tinatus is a little understood or recognised condition. Imagine never ever ever being able to lie down in silence, lying in the sunshine, looking at the clouds, miles from anywhere and relaxing in the silence..wow Id love that except for me the ever present high pitched squeal kicks in.

I have learned to ignore it and never went to the docs thinking nothing can be done and no point in bothering, self management is often only thing you can do. I always have background noise on the radio very often,  mostly Radio 4 simply because I find talking radio allows my brain to tune in - where the unpredictability of music stations where high pitched songs can trigger a sensation so painful I have to turn it off.

What can help?

Medication CDs etc at bed time - when its really bad and i cant switch my brain off because of the noise - a talking mediation CD, or sound of the rain in my case can help tune my brain into the noise and i drift off.

Not focusing on it - when its mild and im not having an attack - yes titnuatus can and does ebb and flow having background noise on again helps to calm it down. When its bad like today I just try and get through it as best I can.

Got any tips? 
please leave comments or pop me a message if you ahve any good ideas for coping or reducing it because its an abolute swine  

Most of all dont ignore it and if it persisits for more than a few days go see your doctor


4 comments:

  1. I have the same problem, although luckily for me it's not constant. I did see my GP and she said there isn't anything much they can do to help. I use the same distractions, I think background noise is the key and I find a sound machine helpful, the ones that play different background noises e.g. white noise, waves, rain, birdsong, etc. I've had mine for years but I don't think they are very expensive. Hope it eases soon for you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kat,

      See my reply below about meditation podcasts & white noise videos on YouTube....

      Love 'n' hugs,
      Stephie ♥ xXx ♥

      Delete
  2. Beth, there is a site called "Meditation Oasis" (http://www.meditationoasis.com/podcast/) which has some wonderful podcasts to download & listen to (the podcast direct link is: http://meditationoasis.libsyn.com/rss)

    They may not just help distract you from the tinnitus, but may well help you with other symptoms too!

    Plus, apropos what Kat is saying above about sound machines, there are loads of videos on YouTube of white noise (even purple, blue & pink noise!!!) - just go search.... In fact, I made myself a little playlist here....

    http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_-CjdNV2WjDlVM5pgZYQFNppLV_zFbm2

    Hope this helps....

    Love 'n' hugs,
    Stephie ♥ xXx ♥

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have had tinnitus at regular intervals due to both my anti rejection drugs and positional vertigo problems - but with me it does go away.
    However my husband - now 64 - has had it since he was a teenager (as has one of his brothers). It gradually went from one ear to both and has worsened to the point where he now has some hearing loss. It sounds simplistic (my attacks drive me mad!) but he says he just has to try to ignore it and hear through it.
    I do think that certain drugs make the condition worse though - not helped in your case by having so many complex symptoms due to your medical conditions.
    I really do wish you well X

    ReplyDelete

Happy to have thoughtful, funny or imformative comments..abusive crap will be deleted