4.5 Months In with Noise-Induced Tinnitus

[magiccat]

Hello everybody!

I am reaching out here because I am struggling a lot with tinnitus and it is hard to explain to people in real life what I am going through.

About 4-5 months ago I had a couple of days where I stupidly exposed my ears to a lot of loud noise. I think what started it was a very loud rock concert. I looked for ear plugs before the concert but since I didn't find any I stupidly went without. My ears rang directly after the concert but unfortunately I didn't think about it and went out to pubs a few days in a row after. I realized afterwards how stupid it was but the thing is, I couldn't have known how bad it would work out. So even though it totally sucks that it happened I have hated myself for it enough and is trying to only think forward. I will forever be super careful with loud noise in the future - even though music is my biggest passion in life, I will probably never go to a concert again. Not worth it for me when damage has already been done.

Since I love going to pubs with friends and I have definitely had the loud temporary tinnitus sound during a day after pub/club nights. This has always passed but this time it has stayed. Never realized how much of a warning sign those temporary tinnitus symptoms are, its craaazy how all my friends has had these symptoms as well. When I am feeling better I will write an article or something so spread awereness.

So the last 4-5 months has been awful, I have put my whole life on hold and am dependent on sleeping pills and anti depressant. I am out of the constant panic phase (which lasted for about 4 months) since I have been working hard with an psychologist. Thing is - for me the tinnitus sound hasn't gone better. The tinnitus is as loud as ever. I am not over protecting my ears anymore, since I want to get them used to everyday sound. I overprotected them A LOT the first 4 months, but my sensitivity to sound is getting better but tinnitus is still super high and piercing loud.

I have no hearing loss so I wonder how much damage can have been done? What are the odds of it getting better for me?

Any advice or insight is welcomed.

 

[Digital Doc]

Hard for anyone to say how much damage is done, and what will get better. Only time will tell.

Sounds like you had some cumulative damage, and sounds like you are the path to avoid more with avoidance of concerts, and wearing of hearing protection as needed. 4 months may be early in for you, and habituation can go on for a few years after your exposures, and the high pitched T.

Yes, this disease is a crappy one, and changes lives not for better.

 

[Contrast]

I have no hearing loss so I wonder how much damage can have been done? What are the odds of it getting better for me?

Yes you do have hearing loss. Nervous tissue attached to cochlear hair cells can die immediately from noise trauma.

Recent research indicates that hearing test used at most audiology clinics and ENTs are extremely inaccurate, they only test for hearing loss within the human voice range, learn more here about hidden hearing loss

http://hyperacusisfocus.org/innerear/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595516302507

 

[mache_salinas]

Sorry to hear that, it'll probably be hard to believe but most people here knows what you're going through without much explanation. I don't have any research or magic advice for you but my personal experience and how it felt.
My T appeared out of the blue one day like a year ago, it was hell. I can easily say that for a couple of months was the worst time of my life and all of it was in my head. I was just struggling with a lot of stuff and T made everything worse. But im telling you, as you have also read in many posts here, it'll get better. Took me a lot of time, patience, hard times, frustration and help from people to figure that out. I started with antidepressants to help me sleep and to keep going on with my daily life but after some time I said it was enough. I wanted to live my life as I used to, so I did. With baby steps I started to do again everything I wanted again, while being cautious of course. I learned with the helped of a psychiatrist how to accept that T was there to stay. It helped a lot. And here I am a year after, living my life as always, with its ups and downs since T left a mark on me, but that changes nothing!

In few words... Its hard, it's frustrating and no one can deny it but IT WILL GET BETTER and its up to you when you wanna start to accept it and get over it the fact that T can't and won't ruin your life.

Hope it helps at least a bit, feel free to message me for anything.

 

[Bill Bauer]

Any advice or insight is welcomed.

In the post below, you will find some information that might help you avoid getting a secondary trauma.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822
Also, check out some possible cures that are currently in the pipeline

Hearing Regeneration Trials

Spoiler

Frequency Therapeutics - FX-322
in Phase 1.5 (Results: December 2018)
Phase 2 (begin 2019)
Audion / Regain Trial
Phase 1/2 ongoing in the UK
Genvec / Novartis - CGF166
Phase 1/2 ongoing

Trials to begin in 2019 / Things to look out for in 2019

Spoiler

Neuromod (MuteButton)
launching their new device in January 2019 starting in Ireland, then Europe, then the US
results of their latest trial: 1H2019
Xenon Pharma - XEN-1101
Phase 2, expected to wrap up in 2nd quarter 2020
Frequency Therapeutics
Phase 2
Otonomy
1H19: OTO-313 (reduce tinnitus) Phase 1/2
1H19: OTO-413 (repairing synaptic damage) Phase 1/2
OTO-6XX (hair cell regeneration)
2H18: candidate selection
2019: Phase 1/2
University of Minnesota (device for tinnitus)
Phase 3 ?
University of Michigan (device for tinnitus)
perhaps updates on their currently ongoing trial
Estimated Primary Completion Date: September 2022
Estimated Study Completion Date: January 2023

 

[magiccat]

Sorry to hear that, it'll probably be hard to believe but most people here knows what you're going through without much explanation. I don't have any research or magic advice for you but my personal experience and how it felt.
My T appeared out of the blue one day like a year ago, it was hell. I can easily say that for a couple of months was the worst time of my life and all of it was in my head. I was just struggling with a lot of stuff and T made everything worse. But im telling you, as you have also read in many posts here, it'll get better. Took me a lot of time, patience, hard times, frustration and help from people to figure that out. I started with antidepressants to help me sleep and to keep going on with my daily life but after some time I said it was enough. I wanted to live my life as I used to, so I did. With baby steps I started to do again everything I wanted again, while being cautious of course. I learned with the helped of a psychiatrist how to accept that T was there to stay. It helped a lot. And here I am a year after, living my life as always, with its ups and downs since T left a mark on me, but that changes nothing!

In few words... Its hard, it's frustrating and no one can deny it but IT WILL GET BETTER and its up to you when you wanna start to accept it and get over it the fact that T can't and won't ruin your life.

Hope it helps at least a bit, feel free to message me for anything.

Thanks you all for your responses. That is so harsh that it can come out of nowhere @mache_salinas ! But really good to hear that you are doing better. I have also been working really hard with a psychologist and I am a whole other person than 4 months ago so I am doing better but since I started out in SUUCH (!!) a bad place I am still struggling a lot. Now I am trying to live life as normal and expose myself for normal noise. Thing is it still affects me so bad that I am struggling even to take the bus to school, afraid it will "stop" my healing process by the noise.. do you think those kind of noises can hurt me? Silly question, but on my phone they reaches over 85 dB sometimes! I do wear earplugs though so I should be fine?

 

[Lane]

What are the odds of it getting better for me?

From my reading on this forum over the past year, I'd say your odds are very good.

 

[magiccat]

Hi everyone.

In a couple of days I have had my noise induced tinnitus for a year. My tinnitus is quite severe even though it fluctuates a lot from day to day but it is mostly high pitched hissing ringing, kind of electrical. Like a saw in my ears. I was in a constant phase of panic for first 6 months and have really had a terrible year with this, it has literally been the toughest thing I ever have to go through. It limits my everyday life a lot, I'm super scared of being exposed to a second trauma, it is bad as it is really.

Talking to a therapist/doctor in real life, I feel like they have no idea what I am going through. How do you cope with severe tinnitus? Can I still get better? When will life get fun again? I'm in desperate need of optimistic words from someone who has gone through this...

Thanks.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Talking to a therapist/doctor in real life, I feel like they have no idea what I am going through. How do you cope with severe tinnitus? Can I still get better?

HI @magiccat

Noise induced tinnitus usually improves over the course of a year. You may also have some hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) ? If you have both of these conditions and they haven't improved over 12 months there could be a number of reasons for this. The most common one is that you are subjecting your ears/auditory system to sounds that it doesn't like. Are you working in a noisy environment? Are you listening to music through headphones even if the volume is low? Are you using a headset to play computer games? Have you been attending clubs or concerts where loud music is played?

If the answer is no to any of the above, then my suggestion to get a referral to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that specialises in the treatment and management of tinnitus. Please give me some more information. What caused your tinnitus and have you had any treatment for it over the past 12months?

If you can answer my questions I will be able to give you some more advice and information that I have written on the treatment for Noise induced tinnitus. NIT can improve but this may require specialist treatment. However, if you are using headphones or around loud sounds no amount of treatment will work.

Michael

 

[foam]

I was reading a post on here just earlier from someone that took 3 years to get 9 days of silence in a row, still had tinnitus but that is a vast improvement over no silence

 

[magiccat]

HI @magiccat

Noise induced tinnitus usually improves over the course of a year. You may also have some hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) ? If you have both of these conditions and they haven't improved over 12 months there could be a number of reasons for this. The most common one is that you are subjecting your ears/auditory system to sounds that it doesn't like. Are you working in a noisy environment? Are you listening to music through headphones even if the volume is low? Are you using a headset to play computer games? Have you been attending clubs or concerts where loud music is played?

If the answer is no to any of the above, then my suggestion to get a referral to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that specialises in the treatment and management of tinnitus. Please give me some more information. What caused your tinnitus and have you had any treatment for it over the past 12months?

If you can answer my questions I will be able to give you some more advice and information that I have written on the treatment for Noise induced tinnitus. NIT can improve but this may require specialist treatment. However, if you are using headphones or around loud sounds no amount of treatment will work.

Michael

Hi Michael and thanks for your respons.
I have been extremely careful with sounds since the onset of my tinnitus. I have had no life at all really, first 6 months i stayed at home at the countryside at my parents house, it was a very quiet atmosphere. I have not used headphones since onset, I always talk in my phone on speaker on low volume because I don't want any sound near my ears. I have not attended club or concert either. I have attended a quiet pub maybe 2 times since onset but then I used custom made pluggs and my ears didn't feel tired or anything after. Im a student also so my working environment is not loud. I have been to therapists, acupuncture and now I'm starting a CBT treatment in October which is said to be very good. But other than that, no real treatment because every doctor has said there is nothing to do but to wait. I feel like I have done everything according to the book but my tinnitus is just not getting any better.

I had really bad hyperacusis in the beginning but that has faded a lot, although its taken almost a year. Now I am a little bit sensitive but thats nothing compared to how it was in the beginning. It feels like my ears are taking forever to heal, I just wonder if they can to the point that tinnitus starts to fade. I got my from acoustic trauma, first from visiting live-band pubs and then an powerful fire-alarm went of 1 meter from me. So unfortunately, it was repeatedly a lot of noise, I had no idea what loud noise could do, i just wish I did.

What would your suggestions for me be?

Thanks in advance

 

[Michael Leigh]

HI @magicant

I am familiar with Noise induced tinnitus, having had the condition for 23 years and helped people with it. You have been doing the right things by not using headphones and keeping away from overly loud sounds. I am pleased although not surprised that your hyperacusis has improved because it often does over time. However, your tinnitus should also have improved and as this isn't the case I tend to believe you now need "specialist" tinnitus counselling. You will get this from the CBT treatment that you are about to start.

A lot of people do not realise tinnitus is 90% mental. By this I mean it is intrinsically linked to our mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. Life is problematic and all of us have problems of one kind or another. Depending on how much problems or stress is in one's life, can affect the way we react and cope with tinnitus tremendously. I cannot impress that upon you enough. You are a student and therefore concentration is important, this can affect tinnitus a lot or rather the tinnitus can affect our ability to concentrate and thus increase stress. Stress increases tinnitus and tinnitus increases stress. It can become a vicious circle, so one has to try and keep stress to a minimum.

In the link below I will paste my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View. It is approximately 13,000 words. As you will read in my introduction, I agave up writing this article many times because my tinnitus was so severe. It took me many months to write. It was help and encouragement from friends and family that enabled me to carry on. So I know how tinnitus can affect our mental and emotional wellbeing. I feel the counselling will do you good. Please start using "sound enrichment" during the day and also at night. Try to avoid being in quiet rooms as silence isn't good for tinnitus especially at night. More about this is explained in my articles below.

I will include a lot of links and my suggestion is to take your time and read through them in full and not skim through. If you have a printer my advice is to print the articles and refer to them often. They are a form of counselling. Over time they will start to have a positive impact on you subconsciously. Life will become easier and less problematic. If you incorporate relaxation exercises into you life this will also help. 3 to 4 times a week for 30mins, you'd be surprised how much better you will feel. More information is in the links below. Please do not disregard medication. A light sedation or something herbal like: St John's Wort, can help reduces stress. More information is below. Talk to your doctor about how you feel.

Take care
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/medications-and-tinnitus.12365/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/sound-machines-and-tinnitus.12072/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-tinnitus-counselling-help.22366/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/why-is-my-tinnitus-getting-worse-and-not-improving.25291/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-darkness-into-light.22234/

 

[Mymlan]

HI @magicant
A lot of people do not realise tinnitus is 90% mental. By this I mean it is intrinsically linked to our mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. Life is problematic and all of us have problems of one kind or another. Depending on how much problems or stress is in one's life, can affect the way we react and cope with tinnitus tremendously.

I kind of disagree on this point. Of course one get stressed from dealing with tinnitus. To not stress about it is easier said than done. Tinnitus will not really ease off if you relax, but relaxation can make you feel better of course. Meanwhile one recovers from tinnitus being good to yourself will always help.

But no, tinnitus is not 90% mental. It's a physical injury. Only time can heal and improve the condition, and stay away from loud noise.

 

[Michael Leigh]

But no, tinnitus is not 90% mental. It's a physical injury. Only time can heal and improve the condition, and stay away from loud noise.

I take into account that you are new to tinnitus and therefore inexperienced. With respect, you are wrong and I am right. Ask any tinnitus veteran such as myself or those seasoned to this condition for two years or more and you will find, they will have the same opinion as me. Whilst noise induced tinnitus does affect the cochlea and the hairs cells attached to it. The tinnitus signal is sent to the part of the brain known as the limbic system. It is here that it lives. The limbic system controls our mental and emotional wellbeing.

I wish you well.
Michael

 

[magiccat]

HI @magicant

I am familiar with Noise induced tinnitus, having had the condition for 23 years and helped people with it. You have been doing the right things by not using headphones and keeping away from overly loud sounds. I am pleased although not surprised that your hyperacusis has improved because it often does over time. However, your tinnitus should also have improved and as this isn't the case I tend to believe you now need "specialist" tinnitus counselling. You will get this from the CBT treatment that you are about to start.

A lot of people do not realise tinnitus is 90% mental. By this I mean it is intrinsically linked to our mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. Life is problematic and all of us have problems of one kind or another. Depending on how much problems or stress is in one's life, can affect the way we react and cope with tinnitus tremendously. I cannot impress that upon you enough. You are a student and therefore concentration is important, this can affect tinnitus a lot or rather the tinnitus can affect our ability to concentrate and thus increase stress. Stress increases tinnitus and tinnitus increases stress. It can become a vicious circle, so one has to try and keep stress to a minimum.

In the link below I will paste my article: Tinnitus, A Personal View. It is approximately 13,000 words. As you will read in my introduction, I agave up writing this article many times because my tinnitus was so severe. It took me many months to write. It was help and encouragement from friends and family that enabled me to carry on. So I know how tinnitus can affect our mental and emotional wellbeing. I feel the counselling will do you good. Please start using "sound enrichment" during the day and also at night. Try to avoid being in quiet rooms as silence isn't good for tinnitus especially at night. More about this is explained in my articles below.

I will include a lot of links and my suggestion is to take your time and read through them in full and not skim through. If you have a printer my advice is to print the articles and refer to them often. They are a form of counselling. Over time they will start to have a positive impact on you subconsciously. Life will become easier and less problematic. If you incorporate relaxation exercises into you life this will also help. 3 to 4 times a week for 30mins, you'd be surprised how much better you will feel. More information is in the links below. Please do not disregard medication. A light sedation or something herbal like: St John's Wort, can help reduces stress. More information is below. Talk to your doctor about how you feel.

Take care
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/medications-and-tinnitus.12365/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/sound-machines-and-tinnitus.12072/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/can-tinnitus-counselling-help.22366/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/why-is-my-tinnitus-getting-worse-and-not-improving.25291/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-darkness-into-light.22234/

I appreciate your answer and help but the thing is, my tinnitus had nothing to do with stress. When my acoustic trauma happened, I was very happy and mentally strong. I had never dealt with depression or anxiety before. I have been determined to not stress about other unnecessary things, such as studies etc, after this happened and I have been focusing on feeling well, doing yoga/training and being at my very best to give my body a chance to heal. But no matter how relaxed/stressed I am, it does not affect my tinnitus. Even when I a my happiest/un-stressed me the tinnitus is screaming loud. Stress does not affect it in any way actually, what affects it temporarily is when i'm very tired, drinking too much coffee etc. I agree with you that its a mental thing, because one must be very mentally strong to deal with this. But the real problem here is the physical damage that was made to my ears 12 months ago. So to people saying "don't stress about it and it will go", I think its disrespectful against my struggle this last year because that has nothing to do with it.

Hopefully the CBT can help me to get another view on the sound and help me cope. I think just meeting others in person with these problems as well can be encouraging. Even though we have some different opinions, I am thankful for your help Michael, all the best

 

[foam]

magiccat, the point they are making is that the sound is not from from damage to the ear, but from the brain, if the brain would forget about it.. you would have no sound. This the the theory.. however.. if I take enough steroids I have no tinnitus.. so there's something with inflammation there.

 

[Mymlan]

Yes and it's the same if you hurt your leg. It's your brain that is telling you that the leg hurts. So when you injury your ears they will send a signal to the brain that the cells or nerves are missing/damaged. It's a "phantom limb sound".

 

[Michael Leigh]

I appreciate your answer and help but the thing is, my tinnitus had nothing to do with stress. When my acoustic trauma happened, I was very happy and mentally strong. I had never dealt with depression or anxiety before. I have been determined to not stress about other unnecessary things, such as studies etc, after this happened and I have been focusing on feeling well, doing yoga/training and being at my very best to give my body a chance to heal. But no matter how relaxed/stressed I am, it does not affect my tinnitus.

@magiccat

The problem with reading text on a screen sometimes things can be misunderstood. I was not implying that your tinnitus was caused by stress. I know that it was caused by "Noise trauma". However, whether you want to believe me or not, I am telling you that stress, will now affect your tinnitus whether good or bad because it will be affected by your thoughts and emotions.

To prove my point I quote a section from your first post:

I am reaching out here because I am struggling a lot with tinnitus and it is hard to explain to people in real life what I am going through.

You say that you are able to:

I have been focusing on feeling well, doing yoga/training and being at my very best to give my body a chance to heal. But no matter how relaxed/stressed I am, it does not affect my tinnitus. Even when I a my happiest/un-stressed me the tinnitus is screaming loud

The above is admirable and I commend you for doing so well even though you say your tinnitus is screaming loud. If your tinnitus wasn't causing you some problems then you wouldn't be here asking for help or seeking CBT treatment. Some people can live with quite intrusive tinnitus without too much of a problem. Your tinnitus is causing you some problems because you would like to be less intrusive. The way to achieve this is through CBT treatment which involves counselling and following some of my suggestions in the links to my articles that I have given. you. Please read my post: The Habituation process, to get a better understanding of what I mean. The link is above I will place it here: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/

I wish you well.
Michael

PS: Regarding damage to your ears and auditory system. There is no damage as such other that you experiencing an acoustic trauma and probably some of the hair cell on your cochlea, in the inner ear have been affected but not to a detrimental effect. If you had any significant damage then you would have pronounced hearing loss and I don't think this is the case. Your problem is "Tinnitus" and the way you perceive it, because at this moment it is too intrusive. The way to treat it is through counselling and following my suggestions in my posts which will hopefully help you habituate in time.

 

[Michael Leigh]

I have been focusing on feeling well, doing yoga/training

It is good to keep fit. Please keep in mind that some forms of training, particularly running on hard ground, can make tinnitus worse for some people. If you run on hard ground or on a treadmill, this could make your tinnitus more intrusive due to impact underfoot. This travels up through the legs, body, head and auditory system.

Michael

 

[Digital Doc]

@magiccat

5 mos is not enough time. It took me about 8 months to feel better, and others have taken even longer. You are on the right path, but healing takes a while.

T is not 90% mental in my opinion. There is emerging evidence of brain inflammation as the cause of what we are all hearing. This is not a simple mind over matter issue.

 

[magiccat]

@magiccat

5 mos is not enough time. It took me about 8 months to feel better, and others have taken even longer. You are on the right path, but healing takes a while.

T is not 90% mental in my opinion. There is emerging evidence of brain inflammation as the cause of what we are all hearing. This is not a simple mind over matter issue.

Thanks for your respons @Digital Doc . I am a year in unfortunately and still struggling a lot, hopefully I feel better soon! Glad to hear your doing better. Would you say you are 100% back to old you?

 

[Digital Doc]

@magiccat

I am close to a year (from this last acoustic trauma, and overall over 3 decades of experience with this) at the end of the month, and was all noise induced. I am 95 percent better, but still have some not great days, but nothing like a year ago when the T was so loud I was woken up from sleep, and then progressed to hyperacusis for a while.

My regimen is to protect from all loud noise, including earplugs and muffs for the vacuum, lawn mower etc. I also single protect for the paper shredder, electric razor, and stay out of the garage when the garage door opener is working. I wear earplugs when walking alongside traffic, but have been weaning off that as I improve.

I sleep with earplugs each night and think it helps a lot.

I was on melatonin when I was having difficulty sleeping.

I also take daily omega3 for antiinflammatory. Also, I drink plenty of green tea and aloe.

I have made progress, but it takes some effort, and a lot of patience. It is quite frustrating when the T increases for any random reason, but stick with what I have outlined, and what you are doing and improvement will happen.

 

[Michael Leigh]

T is not 90% mental in my opinion. There is emerging evidence of brain inflammation as the cause of what we are all hearing. This is not a simple mind over matter issue.

@Digital Doc

I will say this only once so there is no misunderstanding. When I say tinnitus is 90% mental, it has nothing to do with mind over matter as such, as if it can easily be dismissed. On the contrary it can't because it's an integral part of our mental and emotional wellbeing. If you want to know what I mean because I'm tired of explaining it to people, then talk to @fishbone someone that I have a lot of respect for as he understands tinnitus. I have no doubt he will explain what I mean as he is very helpful.

Good day.
Michael

 

[Digital Doc]

@Michael Leigh

We can perpetually agree to disagree. I do not misunderstand you, I simply don't agree with your perspective. As a sufferer of T for over 3 decades, I have plenty of experience with it, and over time I have figured how to deal with it. Needless to say, I do not emphasize counseling, or perception adjustment as you do. If that works for you, more power to you, and glad to hear it. However, as a longtime sufferer, I will share what has worked in my experience, and the community can decide what they wish to incorporate into their plan of care.

 

[fishbone]

@Digital Doc

I will say this only once so there is no misunderstanding. When I say tinnitus is 90% mental, it has nothing to do with mind over matter as such, as if it can easily be dismissed. On the contrary it can't because it's an integral part of our mental and emotional wellbeing. If you want to know what I mean because I'm tired of explaining it to people, then talk to @fishbone someone that I have a lot of respect for as he understands tinnitus. I have no doubt he will explain what I mean as he is very helpful.

Good day.
Michael

Tinnitus can affect people in negative ways. It affected me and numerous people that I have chatted or helped out. Mind over matter, is simply trying to do something... that can possibly help us move just a little further in our lives. T is a mental thing, it can spark depression and many emotions. T can take us to negative emotions, I faced them myself. My relationship was affected by it. I was down and out, due to wanting and trying everything under the sun, to make life just a little live-able I tried many different routines, I took action all the time.

Was all of this going to take my intrusive T away, NO. was all of this going to help me cope just a little and manage to live with this beast, It helped. It's that kind of mind over matter that I talk about in my posts.

Mind over matter is not an easy quick fix, it is not. We have to work at it daily, I work at it daily. Am I living the most amazing life right now? No, but at least due to trying for 31 years I am able to cope and live with the hell that screams out my head 24-7.....

 

[Michael Leigh]

@Michael Leigh

We can perpetually agree to disagree. I do not misunderstand you, I simply don't agree with your perspective. As a sufferer of T for over 3 decades, I have plenty of experience with it, and over time I have figured how to deal with it. Needless to say, I do not emphasize counseling, or perception adjustment as you do. If that works for you, more power to you, and glad to hear it. However, as a longtime sufferer, I will share what has worked in my experience, and the community can decide what they wish to incorporate into their plan of care.

I can respect that you disagree me and have found your own way of dealing with tinnitus. My point was to bring clarification and understanding to what I mean when I say tinnitus is 90% mental. I have no doubt that through your experience with tinnitus over the years, you have learned to adopt a more positive mental attitude to life and tinnitus. This is not to say you haven't felt negative about it but you haven't allowed it to overcome you and this takes time to acquire, whether one seeks specialist help through counselling, medication, sound therapy etc or not.

@fishbone post is detailed and gives an excellent explanation of what I mean when I say tinnitus is ninety percent mental. To readers of this thread that are having a difficult time coping with tinnitus. If you want to get to grips with it and turn the tables so that you gain the upper hand, then I encourage you to adopt a more positive outlook to life and your way of thinking. It doesn't happen over night but rather it is a slow process. A gradual retraining of the mind. Depending on the severity of the tinnitus and what's going on in a person's life. The people you associate with family work etc; some may require specialist treatment with a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist and may need medication to cope for a while. Please keep in mind that tinnitus is an integral part of our mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. Once you start to think more positively and engage in things that you like to do life becomes easier and less problematic. As I have said it takes time and for each person the journey will be different.

Michael

 

[fishbone]

I can respect that you disagree me and have found your own way of dealing with tinnitus. My point was to bring clarification and understanding to what I mean when I say tinnitus is 90% mental. I have no doubt that through your experience with tinnitus over the years, you have learned to adopt a more positive mental attitude to life and tinnitus. This is not to say you haven't felt negative about it but you haven't allowed it to overcome you and this takes time to acquire, whether one seeks specialist help through counselling, medication, sound therapy etc or not.

@fishbone post is detailed and gives an excellent explanation of what I mean when I say tinnitus is ninety percent mental. To readers of this thread that are having a difficult time coping with tinnitus. If you want to get to grips with it and turn the tables so that you gain the upper hand, then I encourage you to adopt a more positive outlook to life and your way of thinking. It doesn't happen over night but rather it is a slow process. A gradual retraining of the mind. Depending on the severity of the tinnitus and what's going on in a person's life. The people you associate with family work etc; some may require specialist treatment with a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist and may need medication to cope for a while. Please keep in mind that tinnitus is an integral part of our mental and emotional wellbeing and cannot be separated from it. Once you start to think more positively and engage in things that you like to do life becomes easier and less problematic. As I have said it takes time and for each person the journey will be different.

Michael

From what I have experienced and see when it comes to tinnitus, when it afflicts us....I'd say majority of us have had a negative emotion towards it. It can change the dynamics of our lives and make things difficult. Tinnitus is a noise that rings out our head, some have it mild, some have it moderate, some have it severe. When I first got it I was very emotional, shaken up by it. I was very much rattled by it and was wondering what was going on. I did not have TT, but I did have access to my audiologist and I had access to support from people that cared about me.

Mentally, I was in a negative spot. I have been on both sides of the fence. I was very negative when I had mild and barely noticeable tinnitus. I took it for granted and as the years passed on it became severe. My negative mindset DID NOT help me in my tinnitus journey, not at all. I had mild tinnitus and much better hearing, but I held myself back because of the constant negativity, anger and bitterness I had due to the tinnitus. It really affected my life and it held me back. I lost so much productivity due to that negativity.

Now, I have severe T, Horrible hearing but I am at peace with myself and my afflictions. It took years of wanting to reach this level. Years of trying to make my life better, even though these ears are damaged and ring like hell. I never look at things to be a popularity contest. I just want a better life for myself and those that I support on this site.

Being negative will NOT help anyone with their tinnitus journey. Gain tons of support and talk to people that care for you and love you. It's hard to be positive when HELL screams out our ears, but it is possible to cope.....it is possible......

 

[Michael Leigh]

From what I have experienced and see when it comes to tinnitus, when it afflicts us....I'd say majority of us have had a negative emotion towards it. It can change the dynamics of our lives and make things difficult. Tinnitus is a noise that rings out our head, some have it mild, some have it moderate, some have it severe. When I first got it I was very emotional, shaken up by it. I was very much rattled by it and was wondering what was going on. I did not have TT, but I did have access to my audiologist and I had access to support from people that cared about me.

Mentally, I was in a negative spot. I have been on both sides of the fence. I was very negative when I had mild and barely noticeable tinnitus. I took it for granted and as the years passed on it became severe. My negative mindset DID NOT help me in my tinnitus journey, not at all. I had mild tinnitus and much better hearing, but I held myself back because of the constant negativity, anger and bitterness I had due to the tinnitus. It really affected my life and it held me back. I lost so much productivity due to that negativity.

Now, I have severe T, Horrible hearing but I am at peace with myself and my afflictions. It took years of wanting to reach this level. Years of trying to make my life better, even though these ears are damaged and ring like hell. I never look at things to be a popularity contest. I just want a better life for myself and those that I support on this site.

Being negative will NOT help anyone with their tinnitus journey. Gain tons of support and talk to people that care for you and love you. It's hard to be positive when HELL screams out our ears, but it is possible to cope.....it is possible......

Thank you @fishbone for writing a great and detailed post on the effects of tinnitus and one's mental ability to overcome it through positive mental attitude. It is a learning process and takes time depending on how severe it is. This is not something that is achieved overnight or within a few short weeks. My own journey took 2 years to habituate the first time and 4 years the second.

Michael

 

[magiccat]

@magiccat

I am close to a year (from this last acoustic trauma, and overall over 3 decades of experience with this) at the end of the month, and was all noise induced. I am 95 percent better, but still have some not great days, but nothing like a year ago when the T was so loud I was woken up from sleep, and then progressed to hyperacusis for a while.

My regimen is to protect from all loud noise, including earplugs and muffs for the vacuum, lawn mower etc. I also single protect for the paper shredder, electric razor, and stay out of the garage when the garage door opener is working. I wear earplugs when walking alongside traffic, but have been weaning off that as I improve.

I sleep with earplugs each night and think it helps a lot.

I was on melatonin when I was having difficulty sleeping.

I also take daily omega3 for antiinflammatory. Also, I drink plenty of green tea and aloe.

I have made progress, but it takes some effort, and a lot of patience. It is quite frustrating when the T increases for any random reason, but stick with what I have outlined, and what you are doing and improvement will happen.

Hi @Digital Doc and thanks for that. I just feel like "making an effort" is an understatement of what I have been doing these last 12 months. I have completely changed and adjusted my life to tinnitus which includes following all of your advices. I wouldn't touch a vacuum cleaner even if someone held a gun against my head and even the garage door has really been an enemy of me as well. Im very glad you have gotten better, thats great, I hope I can get there too. My biggest fear is that the damage done was to big and therefore so severe tinnitus. I will continue to protect from loud noise and try not to over-protect though and hopeful things will turn around for me soon. How loud would you rate your tinnitus on a scale to 10? How does it sound?

Sleeping with earplugs sounds like a nightmare though? My tinnitus already goes through the roof without earplugs, but I do try to make the room as quiet as possible.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Sleeping with earplugs sounds like a nightmare though? My tinnitus already goes through the roof without earplugs, but I do try to make the room as quiet as possible.

Quiet rooms and surroundings are not good for tinnitus. The reason being it allows the brain to focus more on the tinnitus and will tend to make it more intrusive. Secondly, if one sleeps in a quiet room it allows the brain to increase it's background activity. This will also increase the tinnitus making it more intrusive during the day. Evidence of this is when a person has tinnitus due to hearing loss. The brain will increase its internal gain, rather like a volume control to hear sounds from the outside world. In do so the tinnitus will increase. Once fitted with a hearing aid/s, the additional sound supplied to the brain and auditory system, will over time make the brain reduce its internal gain and thus reduce the tinnitus.

The brain and auditory system never switch off until a person is dead. Evidence of this is when a person is in a coma. Doctors encourage friends, relative and those close to such a person to speak to them as the hearing is still operational. This is the reason it is important not to sleep in a quiet room if one has intrusive tinnitus. Although some people with tinnitus choose to sleep in a quiet room, it's not a good idea for the reasons explained above. Some people say they cannot sleep in a room with "sound enrichment" playing throughout the night.

In most cases the person doesn't allow a long enough time to adjust to using sound enrichment. It takes at least 8 weeks. The purpose to sound enrichment is to supply the brain and auditory system with sound, not to assist in helping a person to sleep. The sound should be set below the level of the tinnitus and shouldn't mask it. Sound enrichment during night use also helps to desnsitise the auditory system to help with hyperacusis and over sensitivity to sound.

Michael

PS: a person that has tinnitus and uses earplugs for night use is one of the worst things to do. This will most certainly allow the brain to focus more on internal sounds within the auditory system and body and increase the tinnitus.