If you do suffer from this extremely annoying medical condition, what do you do to try and get some relief from the symptoms ?
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How do you all cope with it, any tips ?
I cope by having some sort of sound always playing around me, if possible (only hard to do at work). It doesn't remove the ringing but it is distracting and gives my mind something else to think about. In the evening, rum also helps.
This year has been particularly hard for my hearing. Starting last January, my right ear started getting congested and lost significant hearing. I tried antibiotics and ear drops (which had helped in the past), but this time those cures did not work for me. I've stumped my main doctor and an ENT so far. All I know for sure is, I have a cyst in my right maxillary sinus that's totally blocking it (which I am told is unrelated), nothing obvious on the CAT scan of my head, and only Fluocinolone Acetonide drops have had any effect at all (they do tend to bring the hearing back temporarily in that ear, but not permanently).
I've done my own audiology tests at home using generated sine wave test tones and playing them in various equipment. A year ago, I already knew my hearing above about 12000 Hz was mostly gone (of course depending on the gear), and I have had an obvious dip in hearing response around 4k Hz, thanks to working around cooling fans at a former employer for 14+ years (without using hearing protection). I had a professional exam a few months ago, which just confirmed what I already knew.
My parents got me started playing in school bands at an early age (4th grade), which continued through my first year of college. Suffice it to say I was exposed to lots of loud sounds. I also went to lots of concerts back in the 70's and 80's, and never used hearing protection. Oh and as a plus, I rode loud motorcycles for about 9 years in my teens and twenties. And have always had some kind of audio system at home or in my car.
Having just turned 60, one might chalk all this up to poor choices over the last 50 years, and just plain growing old. Perhaps I should be happy that I can hear what I can hear. On the bright side, I won't have to worry about buying high end audio gear any more (not that I've ever had any).
Had I worn hearing protection daily at my former employer, and had the good sense to avoid all the loud music, perhaps I would not have tinnitus today (or perhaps it would not be so bad). I am concerned that my right hear is exhibiting the symptoms it is, as it is starting to resemble a nasty irreversible condition that I recently read about. I am going to continue investigating that, so hopefully I can get my right ear in better shape. Also, thanks for the reference to the tinnitus forum, that could be useful.