How I Got Here

The one unshakable truth I have discovered during my two-year journey with tinnitus is that it is a symptom, NOT an affliction.  There are many causes and therefore, many solutions.  But please know this – there is a path to silence for each and every one of us.  Your path may not be the same as my path, but rest assured that we can all reach that common goal of silencing the noise in our heads.  So, the purpose of this blog is to share the steps of my journey: what I have tried, what worked and what didn’t work. 

My Beginning

Shortly after a wisdom- tooth extraction in my early 20’s, I noticed this persistent ringing in my ears.  I had been taking aspirin for the pain and wondered if it was causing the ringing. I stopped the aspirin and the ringing immediately stopped -  so, no more aspirin for me. 

The next episode happened about 20 years later.  I had been living in New York for about 5 years (I’m originally from L.A.) when I developed this horrible, loud ringing one summer that was very loud when I was in Manhattan, but much quieter when I was at home in Queens.  The ringing was so loud that I could hear it above the noise of the subway train!  My doctor gave me a hearing test and told me the ringing was due to seasonal allergies and that my sinuses were filled with fluid.  She put me on Claritin and the relief was almost immediate.  I took the Claritin through the summer into fall and did not have any more ringing.  Later, when I moved to Virginia, I switched my allergy medication to Zyrtec as the Claritin was no longer working against the spring and summer pollen.  However, the ringing never returned, even though the pollen count would get really high and cause other symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, etc.

August 2009 – full blown tinnitus

In the summer of 2008, my father’s illness and subsequent passing necessitated a relocation back to California.  By the summer of 2009 I was struggling with hot flashes from menopause that kept me awake most of the night. I began keeping a journal to document my struggle with weight control and sleep.  I was taking large amounts of vitamin E to control the flashes and was seeing improvement.  On August 24 I made my first entry about tinnitus: “This persistent ringing in my ears.  I am cutting out the E to see if that stops it.  The Claritin doesn’t appear to be working.”  Little did I realize that I was beginning a long journey/discovery that would take to me doctors, holistic websites, allergists and prayer as I desperately searched for something that would "work."