Two or three weeks ago my tinnitus flared up and started spiking, a new complication adding to an already stressful summer. In the past the tinnitus was always intermittent, usually only noticed after rare spikes that would drown out the world for seconds or minutes, those always cleared up, this has not. During the day it is an annoying static, like a radio left on but not tuned to a station. At night it becomes seemingly dizzyingly loud, waking me from sleep, keeping me awake. I’m not sure why it suddenly flared up. Maybe stress and anxiety, allergies, hearing loss, or a mix, but it’s annoying and draining. I see a specialist in a few weeks, finding ways to cope with it until then.
I’ve completely changed my sleep habits, lighting, tried white noise (which drives me crazy), but part of the issue is my bedroom. It is near silent and has no outside windows, I’ll wake in the middle of the night, tinnitus screaming in my ear, my body spinning in a directionless black void, vertigo. We have a dim nightlight in the room that I’ve brightened up, reducing the severity of the vertigo upon waking, but it doesn’t quiet the tinnitus, or help when I close my eyes and experience waves of dizziness and nausea.
I’ve setup my guest room as a place I can go when I can’t manage the tinnitus in my master bedroom. It has an outside window letting in natural moonlight and which is also thin enough for me to hear the crickets and other night critters that live around us. Being able to hear things besides the tinnitus really helps ground a person. I’ve also found that classical music helps, I’ll put on one of the all classical NPR stations and try to focus on that. These are allowing me to get the bare minimum sleep I need to function.
I’m drained, achy, physically and mentally fatigued, thankfully able to keep my fibro from flaring up too badly. I’ve slowed down while working on projects, most of my energy is used up trying to stay functional for my job. Maybe the next few weeks leading up to the specialist appointment won’t be easy and there’s no guarantee that they can help, so I’ll continue to learn management techniques and I’m sure I’ll start feeling better soon.