I have had noticeable tinnitus for around 10 years, in my case it was caused by over exposure to noise.
As a hearing aid technician for the past 35 years, repairing and testing some extremely loud devices, I was over exposed to damaging levels of noise. Consequently I have a 'Noise Induced Hearing Loss' NIHL.
This means I have reduced hearing above 3Khz, I have difficulties hearing some consonants and sibilants. I have difficulties following a conversation when there is background noise present. The only thing I can hear above 3Khz clearly without assistance, is my tinnitus.
My tinnitus is a discord of a group of tones around 6Khz, 24 hours a day. Imagine 2 or 3 tin-whistles playing the highest notes they can.
Tinnitus can manifest itself at most frequencies, and in a variety of sounds, from a single note, to a buzzing or humming sound.
The essence of most tinnitus treatments, is to train your brain to ignore the tinnitus.
Think about this: if you were in the room with a grandfather clock ticking away all the time, it would initially drive you batty, but after a few days you will no longer be conscious of it. The same results can be achieved with tinnitus.
From my experience dealing with a variety of hearing complaints, I think most people who experience tinnitus achieve this by themselves without help.
I can't forget about my tinnitus because I have to talk about it on a daily basis.
But you can learn to. I do not get stressed by it, I do not allow it to cause me distress. I acknowledge it is there and get on with whatever it is I am doing. Keeping busy helps a lot.
My tinnitus is made worse by the fact that I have a hearing loss. If you can imagine most people with tinnitus would experience their tinnitus to be more severe when they are in a quiet room. A hearing loss puts you in a quiet room all of the time. There is no ambient noise present to 'mask' the tinnitus.
Our first recommendation is to have a hearing test to see if there is a hearing loss.
Come and talk to us, you will get a sympathetic ear, and if we can't help you, we might be able to point you towards someone who can.