Message for Lew

Hi Lew, I have posted a message in general chat.
Len

Hi Lew
I don't know if you can help me but my wife has been diagnosed with tinnitus. A few weeks ago she was having problems with her ears, rushing sounds etc. I thought it might be wax and she started using ear drops. After a few days she went to the doctors and he said it was not wax but that her ears were badly inflamed and he gave her ear drops to get rid of the inflamation. She had to go back to see him after a week and during that week the noises were getting worse. He diagnosed tinnitus and has referred her to the Hospital to see a specialist. Well this will not be for at least six weeks and at the moment she is getting very upset as she is not sleeping. Also she loves Linedancing and she went to her club the other night and she said the music was hurting her ears. She is feeling very low as she thinks that this is how the rest of her life is going to be and that she may have to give up her dancing which is her life, more than me I think sometimes. I do not know what I expect you to say but did wonder how you were, has yours improved and what kind of help will we get from the Hospital and is there a chance it could clear up, are there different levels of tinnnitus. I suppose what we need is a bit of hope as I could cry for her, I love her to bit's and it hurts me to see her like it, I would rather it be me. Anyway I would welcome any advice mate and I do hope you are feeling much better than you were.
Len

Sorry to hear about your Wife Len. As I told Lew, my Dad suffered from Tinnitus. Yes there are varying degrees of Tinnitus and it can leave as quickly as it came although I don't have any figures. I am sure Lew will tell you more than I can. I hope your Wife gets better soon mate. All the best to you both. There are a couple of links below that may help.

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/tinnitus.aspx

http://www.theforumsite.com/forum/topic/Tinnitus/180740

Hello Len, firstly i am sorry your wife has come down with tinnitus, but it is very early for her to start thinking its going to be permanent, at this stage she needs to get onto the ENT route to see an audiologist.
The procedure , and i want to add that its nothing to worry about, is an mri scan, all that does is rule out other things that might be causing the tinnitus, her hearing will also be tested.
You have to reassure her tinnitus can go of its own accord, if it doesnt go the mind just naturally learns to ignore it, but this can take time, if this is the case with your wife then its a period you must support her all you can.
The time framework for tinnitus is usually 6 months, it can go away of its own accord within that time, from what i understand if it stays beyond that time then its usually permanent.
Tinnitus takes many forms and is sometimes accompanied by hyperacusis, sensitivity to sound, i have this condition and cope with it ok, tinnitus sounds can be whistling, hissing, electrical type buzzes, crickets chirping type noise, rushing and also the heart beat can be heard, which is titled pulsatile tinnitus.
Len, it could be that your wifes tinnitus will go when the inflammation clears up, please also look at the side effects of any drugs she might be taking, if ringing in the ears is mentioned then get her gp to change the medication.
As i said its very early for her to worry, and stress and tinnitus form a vicious circle, the more she gets stressed about it the more her mind will concentrate on the noises, its important then that she keeps busy, i cant advise this enough, you must encourage her to do the things she loves doing, if its dancing then she can get musicians ear plugs that reduce the decibel levels by 20 per cent to prevent her ears from hurting, please email me at potsylew@btinternet.com for further information on these and other items that will help her get through this period, i can also give you my phone number and pass on a contact who is really brilliant,and is female so your wife might want to talk to her rather than me, she is from the british tinnitus association.
There is a drug called betahistine (serc) it is really for people with menieres but has been found to reduce tinnitus in some people, she might want to ask her gp about this.
If her sleep is being affected then she must tell her gp. at this stage she must use a few things to help her cope, i had a low dose of temazepan,in the early months, now i sleep well without it, doctors dont like prescribing this as they say its addictive, well i didnt get addicted and i was on it for 3 months.
Its important len that she gets her sleep because i descended into depression through lack of it through tinnitus, she wont cope with it without adequate sleep, so i cant stress enough that she must get help in that direction, she might want to try nytol but not the herbal stuff, its useless, but go by the instructions on the packet, it should only be taken for 2 weeks and not with temazepam or any other sleep aid prescribed by the doctor.
Please tell her that life doesnt end with tinnitus, the mind does cope and banishs it to the background, but this takes time, it took 3 months with me and i only hear it when i think about it now.
If you email me i can give you more advice but its too early for you and your wife to think its permanent, this early period muat be got through by keeping busy and using a few things to cope, there is a sound oasis that gives off natural sounds to help mask the tinnitus, she should also avoid quiet rooms as the mind will target the tinnitus straight away.
I hope i have helped len, if you email me i will give you my landline number and give you more contacts that are better qualified than myself.
All the best.
Lew

Hello Len, i have answered in general chat. ok.
Lew

Hi Lew, Thank you so much for the info you have given me on tinnitus, you have been a big help. I have been looking up web sites that relate to this problem but in all honesty those that I have read have not been as helpful as you have, they seem to be all doom and gloom where as you have given us hope and the will to be positive. One site I went on was to do with a clinic in London and they had a price list that read from something like £250 per consultation up to nearly £6 thousand for treatment. Anyway, I will put your email in my contacts so should I need any more help I will get in touch. What I will do in the mean time is get my wife to read your message as I think this will help her no end and wait to see how things go at the Hospital. We will try the ideas you gave us first, and I do like the idea of these musicians ear plugs, I will try to get some on Amazon, she has been useing cotton wool and it has not been much help, and if we feel that she does need to speak to someone I will email you for the womans phone number who works for the British tinnitus association. Thank you so much again Lew for getting back to me with all this info. And Baz, thank you for your best wishes and the web sites that I can go to if we need to.
Best wishes to you both, Len

Hello Len, the clinic is in harley street and is trying neuromodulation, it consists of playing music through an mp3 type player, it is very expensive and trials have been carried out in germany for the past year.
There has been some success, or so they claim, personally i wouldnt part with £6000 to have classical music played in your ears, because that is what they do.
Please avoid online cures, there are people that prey on peoples miseries and will happily take your money.
There is at present no cure for the condition, but it can be managed and quality of life can continue.
The best path to take is keeping busy and carrying on with what she always loved doing, thats the answer, trust me because i have been through it, if the tinnitus stays she will get to a point where she has habituated, but the important thing with this is the time factor, it takes time, but she will get there.
The other important thing is that she stays strong and receives reassurance that it will get better, thats where you come in len, my sharon was always telling me i would be ok, and i am 6 months into having the condition, i am fine and loving spurs as ever, but when i first got it i lost all interest in everything, today i was back recording music and i am looking forward to seeing an 8-1 resullt over the villains, LOL, lets hope lee,s dream is right.
The sound oasis is a must, they can be bought from the bta shop, or from puretone, the musicians ear plugs can be bought from the bta shop too.
In the early days sharon and me played lots of card games, and chess, scrabble etc, you wont believe how this got me through many a bad day, so you could also try doing the same, but she must keep busy.
All the best len and give her our best wishes.
Lew and Sharon.

Hello Len, check your private messages on the spurs forum, i have sent you a contact number for the bta support line.
Lew