I found Tinnitus Talk lingering in my email today, and I was reminded of how much brief but intense support I garnered from this website when my tinnitus was so bad that I contemplated suicide. That was in 2014. I remember coming across a forum thread here where people commented on the lack of positive and improved cases of people living with tinnitus. There was a post saying something along the lines of "of course we wouldn't hear those stories because when people are better, they're not going to remember to come back and share".
Albeit 10 ish years later with the surprising and (concerning) predictable remembrance of my password to this site, I'm here to tell y'all my tinnitus is not gone, but it has no control over my life anymore. Well, maybe not no control, but very little anxiety regarding it. Part of me wants to claim it is because it's gotten more quiet, but I do think the brain (yes, all brains, not just mine) is mighty and has done some CBT on me to not feel threatened by the noise anymore. I have had times of brief trauma response when I've had earwax compaction or been to a concert with not the best earplugs, but most of the time when I notice it, I try to greet it as an old friend who never really leaves but accompanies me as a guest in my head. I understand that isn't how everyone can work and it even may feel dismissive of me to say these things, but I came here ultimately to say I never thought I'd be happy again with life. I thought I was done and couldn't see any happiness in my life with this level of noise. 10 years later, I couldn't imagine having left the world so soon and missing out on so much good.
What we feel in the moment will not always be. There is hope. There are reasons to keep going. There is still peace out there even when the inside of your head feels chaotic. I know this is a debilitating condition, but do not let it have more control than you do.
I don't have much else to add to this except I wanted to come back and make good on what Tinnitus Talk offered to me during my hard time with tinnitus.
I'm glad to see Tinnitus Talk is continuing to do outreach toward others in need.
Thanks for everything, y'all.
Albeit 10 ish years later with the surprising and (concerning) predictable remembrance of my password to this site, I'm here to tell y'all my tinnitus is not gone, but it has no control over my life anymore. Well, maybe not no control, but very little anxiety regarding it. Part of me wants to claim it is because it's gotten more quiet, but I do think the brain (yes, all brains, not just mine) is mighty and has done some CBT on me to not feel threatened by the noise anymore. I have had times of brief trauma response when I've had earwax compaction or been to a concert with not the best earplugs, but most of the time when I notice it, I try to greet it as an old friend who never really leaves but accompanies me as a guest in my head. I understand that isn't how everyone can work and it even may feel dismissive of me to say these things, but I came here ultimately to say I never thought I'd be happy again with life. I thought I was done and couldn't see any happiness in my life with this level of noise. 10 years later, I couldn't imagine having left the world so soon and missing out on so much good.
What we feel in the moment will not always be. There is hope. There are reasons to keep going. There is still peace out there even when the inside of your head feels chaotic. I know this is a debilitating condition, but do not let it have more control than you do.
I don't have much else to add to this except I wanted to come back and make good on what Tinnitus Talk offered to me during my hard time with tinnitus.
I'm glad to see Tinnitus Talk is continuing to do outreach toward others in need.
Thanks for everything, y'all.
