Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

This is the scariest part for me. Do I live as if I had a severe, invisible, unrecognizable, and undiagnosed disability? Do I try to live a normal life? It's already nearly unbearable. I can barely walk down the street. We're stuck, and no one has any answers.

Its simply not true that everyone gets worse over time @Ngo13 Most people get better (habituate and go one with their lives), you just dont hear many of those stories. Don't use this forum as a measure for who worsens over time. Letting go is the key to get past the fear. It takes time to get there.

That's true, it usually gets worse over time. I just try to keep earplugs with me when I'm out so that I can protect if I end up in a loud situation.

Yeah, I dunno. I think we have to live our life the best we can. I never predicted I would get T, and I surely cant predict if I will get worse short of putting myself in a situation that would outright cause more trauma. It seems we just never know what life is gonna throw at us.

I don't know either. I have given up and spend most of the time hiding under my bed.

This is a struggle of mine as well, & here is what I tell myself:

Nobody is guaranteed anything. There are so many things that could happen to us or anyone else when we step out the door (& even indoors!). But do we generally allow these fears to cause us to live as hermits? No, we don't. We take any necessary precautions & assume we will be okay. Because otherwise we would become paralyzed to live.

For many of us, obtaining T & related challenges has drawn our attention to hearing health. And this is an advantage we have over the general public! Now, when we go out, we can protect our hearing as appropriate, whereas most other people never think to do this.

So, ultimately, I think it's about learning from our experience, while not allowing it to paralyze us. Yes, we can stay indoors & try to keep our risk to an absolute minimum forever, but what kind of life would that be?

I also agree with MindOverMatter in that I think it's important not to use this forum (& other online T forums, chatspaces, etc.) as a basis for concluding that everyone seems to worsen over time. Most people who obtain T do not register on sites like this, & for most people who do register & post, we simply do not get an update. Those who worsen are most likely to return to the site for support.

And even when it comes to worsening, there are so many factors that could come into play. We each have our own history with regards to past & present noise & medication exposure, medical issues, stress levels, diet, exercise, etc. So it isn't really a fair comparison.

Finally, I find it helpful to remind myself of stories where people have gone on to live their normal lives after getting tinnitus & have actually experienced major improvement or had it go away. I'm not advocating for not protecting adequately, but I do believe in neuroplasticity, & I think that the more we think about & pay attention to tinnitus, the more likely the brain is to hold onto it or increase its volume.

Anyways, that was a mouthful but I hope you find something in there that's helpful. You're definitely not alone in this fear, & typing this actually helped me as well Best of luck to you!

P.S. I've also noticed that the more I read/engage in T-related spaces, the more my fear increases. So I think taking breaks from places like this can also be helpful.