Back to Silence

[GeorgeLG]

I do not question the point of the "Back to Silence" method. I believe some people benefit greatly from it.

But, answering your question...

Before tinnitus showed up, I was in the best moment of my life. There was nothing to solve.

1. For a few months I have been studying my dream field (I went there late, because right after the secondary school-leaving examination, I decided that this field of study is for people more intelligent than me xD).

2. I loved studying all day. In silence. I was very interested in what I was learning.

3. I loved spending time at university and going to lectures.

4. For the first time I was satisfied with the way I look

5. I often felt pure joy just because I was healthy and strong (yes, seriously, I appreciated my health).

6. I was very happy and enthusiastic about the challenges of the future.

So it's not always the case that those who are stuck for a long time had any serious problems before getting ill.

In fact, that's probably why it was such a shock.

Thank you for your comments. Did this or some other methods work for you? Is tinnitus controlling your life or have you been able to move on and mostly ignore it?

George

 

[Wrfortiscue]

So just an update. My tinnitus and mood fluctuates way too much to have consistent success with this method. It helps though and that's more than I can ask. I have to be conscious about my tinnitus, like wearing earplugs when I go out, but otherwise I do try and live my life. My sleep still sucks.

 

[DebInAustralia]

So just an update. My tinnitus and mood fluctuates way too much to have consistent success with this method. It helps though and that's more than I can ask. I have to be conscious about my tinnitus, like wearing earplugs when I go out, but otherwise I do try and live my life. My sleep still sucks.

I would stick at it. I know what you mean, but I think Terry's tinnitus and hyperacusis would fluctuate quite a lot too.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

I would stick at it. I know what you mean, but I think Terry's tinnitus and hyperacusis would fluctuate quite a lot too.

I wonder why I can't progress any further? Maybe need more time?

 

[Athens]

I would stick at it. I know what you mean, but I think Terry's tinnitus and hyperacusis would fluctuate quite a lot too.

How did Terry's hyperacusis respond to this method? Was his hyperacusis as severe as his tinnitus?

 

[DebInAustralia]

How did Terry's hyperacusis respond to this method? Was his hyperacusis as severe as his tinnitus?

Flick through his earlier posts. He makes references to his hyperacusis.

 

[Uklawyer]

The question for those of us who get stuck when this happens is why? what do we need to face and solve that was there before tinnitus showed up?

@GeorgeLG, I find this fascinating. I follow some of your posts and think you have an excellent and healthy outlook on life. You have certainly find strength through your experiences and suffering and serve as a positive example of how to overcome suffering and become a better person as a result of it.

Are you aware of what you needed to face and solve when tinnitus appeared?

For the first time I was satisfied with the way I look

@KotaDomowa, out of interest, did you have any fear around that new state of feeling satisfied (if not happy)? Are you someone that suffers and generally struggles to be happy and positive?

 

[GeorgeLG]

@GeorgeLG, I find this fascinating. I follow some of your posts and think you have an excellent and healthy outlook on life. You have certainly find strength through your experiences and suffering and serve as a positive example of how to overcome suffering and become a better person as a result of it.

Are you aware of what you needed to face and solve when tinnitus appeared?

In the 80s and 90s I seemed to have a cascading set of chronic problems that never went away. I would become obsessed with them with hyperfocus and worry. I was also having a period of failed relationships. My drinking was also getting out of control. I started a period of self examination trying to understand why I obsessed over chronic health problems so much and why I engaged in increasingly self destructive behavior. The result was to understand that I had a rough childhood with a lot of emotional trauma and hardship. This created deep seated fear and anger that manifested in neurotic and obsessive behaviors. At some level I needed to be sick because I didn't deserve to be happy. I think it was also a form of F you world, look what you did to me. A form of self pity. I worked through those issues and came to peace with my past. I read a book by Dr. John Sarno during that period which was my first exposure to these Back to Silence type concepts and it helped me eliminate my chronic back pain. This was my first education in the mind-body connection.

I eventually became sober, engaged in healthy activities and then found and spent 23 years with a wonderful woman who further helped heal my heart and improved my self image. All of those chronic illnesses of the past disappeared. I then spent a period of over twenty years virtually pain free and happy. She passed away two years ago at age 54 from a devastating cancer.

Since my wife died, I have gotten two cancers myself and COVID-19 isolation set in. I have started having new chronic health problems. Sensitivity to light, joint arthritis, tinnitus, my old back pain reappeared, etc. My first reactions to these things was similar to 30 years ago. I started reading about tinnitus and eventually found this website. A person here was talking about their journey and mentioned Dr. John Sarno and I started thinking about his book that I read so many years ago. For about 60 seconds my tinnitus disappeared 100% and then returned. It was then that I knew what to do so I focused on my prior learning and newer versions like this thread. My tinnitus has not gone away but I don't care about it anymore thanks to the tools that I have developed over the last 30 years.

I hope this answers your question for me.

George

 

[Uklawyer]

Thank you for the explanation, @GeorgeLG. So it seems that the unfortunate passing of your wife triggered something in you, maybe opened some old wounds. It is good to read that you have worked through your negative thoughts about tinnitus. I hope that you manage to conquer all illness and resume living and healthy and happy life.

I am guessing the book was the mind-body prescription? In any event, I have to read that book. Some people have said that just reading parts of it helped alleviate their symptoms - like your experience. Seems like a magic worker.

Best wishes.

 

[GeorgeLG]

Thank you for the explanation, @GeorgeLG. So it seems that the unfortunate passing of your wife triggered something in you, maybe opened some old wounds. It is good to read that you have worked through your negative thoughts about tinnitus. I hope that you manage to conquer all illness and resume living and healthy and happy life.

I am guessing the book was the mind-body prescription? In any event, I have to read that book. Some people have said that just reading parts of it helped alleviate their symptoms - like your experience. Seems like a magic worker.

Best wishes.

Yes that is the book. For some the mere explanation that the suffering comes from emotions is enough to break the cycle. He explains that for a small set of people further physiological counseling is needed, first in group sessions and then if necessary, one on one assistance.

Yes the loss of my wife was deeply painful. The things I watched in the hospital were terrible and traumatic. I believe that it gave me PTSD at some level. I saw and heard the same things that you would experience watching someone die in war from injuries, all happening to my dear wife. I have since read that tinnitus is linked to PTSD. My heart arrhythmia started up again and shortly after I was diagnosed with a new cancer. Every night in the hospital as my wife was dying she used to placed her hand on my chest until her strength gave out. That is the exact location of the new tumor that they just removed last week. It was an ultra rare tumor affecting only 1.5 people per million population. They want to use my case in the medical literature. In other words, this extremely rare event is no coincidence. We had an extraordinary connection and beautiful relationship. That loss is almost not bearable some days.

It's been a rough few years but the only choice is to dust yourself off and do the very best you can. Part of why I come here is that it makes me feel better to try and help people through my knowledge and experiences. My wife taught me this. She was like an angel in real life. I don't always understand why such things happen so I try to concentrate on how to deal with what life brings both the good and the bad.

I want to add that although my life has had many challenges, I had the most perfect 23 years with my Marilyn. It's a miracle that a guy that was as messed up as I was years ago could experience so much happiness and joy. That alone made my life wonderful and the key here is that none of that would have happened if I had not done the work to understand my past and my emotional relationship with chronic illness and substance abuse. It was the key to coping and happiness for me.

George

 

[Ben Johnson]

Hi @GeorgeLG, would you recommend reading Sarno's book specifically for tinnitus? Looks like it primarily deals with physical pain. I was about to order it but didn't know how applicable it may be for strictly tinnitus. Thanks.

 

[GeorgeLG]

Hi @GeorgeLG, would you recommend reading Sarno's book specifically for tinnitus? Looks like it primarily deals with physical pain. I was about to order it but didn't know how applicable it may be for strictly tinnitus. Thanks.

Yes, Dr. Sarno's work is in chronic pain so it is not directly applicable to tinnitus. That said, I have found that the mechanism is the same and so the work can help us. Also, I brought it up because it is part of my journey. If you want a basic starter look, this summary is interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Dr-John-Sarnos-Healing-Discoveries-ebook/dp/B01CO7AL46/

There are many techniques that are similar and more general like mindfulness and EMDR. And of course things like Back to Silence are applying these principles to tinnitus.

George

 

[Ben Johnson]

Yes, Dr. Sarno's work is in chronic pain so it is not directly applicable to tinnitus. That said, I have found that the mechanism is the same and so the work can help us. Also, I brought it up because it is part of my journey. If you want a basic starter look, this summary is interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Dr-John-Sarnos-Healing-Discoveries-ebook/dp/B01CO7AL46/

There are many techniques that are similar and more general like mindfulness and EMDR. And of course things like Back to Silence are applying these principles to tinnitus.

George

Just ordered that book. The more I wrestle with tinnitus, the more I realize how closely it walks with anxiety. Can you recommend any books or resources in breaking the anxiety/fear loop?

 

[GeorgeLG]

Just ordered that book. The more I wrestle with tinnitus, the more I realize how closely it walks with anxiety. Can you recommend any books or resources in breaking the anxiety/fear loop?

No, I am afraid that I don't, however a book on mindfulness or CBT might be what you are looking for. Some of them reference work on anxiety.

George

 

[KotaDomowa]

@Uklawyer
No, I wasn't afraid of that happiness. I'm sure.

I was prone to obsession before tinnitus (I mention it because stubbornly you can call it "struggles to be happy and positive", but I guess I wasn't unhappy or negative). However, tinnitus in its time gave me a new understanding of this word.

Thank you for your comments. Did this or some other methods work for you? Is tinnitus controlling your life or have you been able to move on and mostly ignore it?

George

It was very bad in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Maybe I would like to summarize it somehow, but I can't. As an example, however, I can give a situation when, after more than a year, the first thought in the morning was that if I am to get up now and worry about it so much all day, I don't want to.

However, at the end of 2020, I came across some supplements:

- Cerinax (so called "psychobiotics ", they improve the relationship between your intestines and your brain).

- MB Adapt (MB stands for Mood Balance, so it should knock out stress - it contains among other things magnesium and vitamin B6).

- LG-support (natural resistance, detox).



It has been much better since then, although it is known - it's a roller coaster. It's not that changeable, it's quieter, and as a result I'm not that obsessed, I'm rarely afraid of it.

As for ignoring ... Well, I do what most peers do (work, study, etc). But:

1) I am aware of the topic of tinnitus (and eye floaters) almost all day long (BIG SUCCESS - one thing is to be aware of it and another to be sick with worry from the first thought to the last one).

2) I often drown out tinnitus with YouTube recordings, so something like "I sit in silence and forget I have it" (BIG SUCCESS - before I discovered Decola, jamming tinnitus was usually not an option, I had to confront it when it was bad, just like hearing an ominous knock on the engine, the driver is unlikely to turn up the volume of the radio to drown it out).

3) I am still ready to try all the drugs and treatments that come out on the market (antiepileptic new version of Trobalt, Dr. Shore's device and so on).

So my attitude to it is far from ignoring the tinnitus. But:

1) It's not bad when I'm aware of the topic but I don't suffer (it happens quite often, especially if I'm aware of the topic but don't hear the tinnitus).

2) I don't even expect myself to have situations like "I don't hear tinnitus in a quiet room because I don't think about it" or "floaters float in front of my eyes, but I can't see them because I don't focus on them". I don't expect something that is within the reach of some people, but within the reach of others - including me - not. Just like I don't expect myself to win a math Olympiad.

@GeorgeLG - I read your posts in this thread. Do I understand that you have been suffering from chronic pain and have begun to wonder why you are obsessed with it?

I am asking because, in my worldview, chronic pain = constant threatening negative stimulus = thinking about it 24/7 (or at least being aware of it that way) is an obvious, inevitable response.

No, I don't have chronic pain. It just interests me.

I am obsessed with tinnitus and floaters (they came back 3 months ago after resolving on their own a year ago). But I don't have any feelings about insulin resistance and psoriasis, I hardly think about those. So I don't react that way to all diseases. The difference is that I am taking effective medications for psoriasis (temporary remission of symptoms), and insulin resistance does not cause any form of suffering.

 

[Michael Leigh]

The more I wrestle with tinnitus, the more I realize how closely it walks with anxiety. Can you recommend any books or resources in breaking the anxiety/fear loop?

You are quite right Ben, tinnitus is closely related to anxiety because it is an integral part of our mental and emotional well-being and cannot be separated from it. I have explained this is many of my articles on condition. Hyperacusis is also linked to stress and anxiety.

Incorporating positivity into your life is one of the best ways to reduce stress and anxiety which will help in the habituation process. If needed medication, sound therapy and counselling with an audiologist trained in tinnitus and hyperacusis management can help in this process too.

However, I advise some caution. Since you have just started wearing white noise generators with hearing aids, it's important to give it time for this therapy to start working and not focus too much on reading about the effects of stress, anxiety and how they affect tinnitus. Instead try to engage in the things you like to do which will help to reinforce positive thinking and takeaway your focus from tinnitus.

You might find my posts: Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset and Acquiring a Positive Mindset, helpful, they are on my started threads.

Michael

 

[GeorgeLG]

@GeorgeLG - I read your posts in this thread. Do I understand that you have been suffering from chronic pain and have begun to wonder why you are obsessed with it?

I obsessively struggled with control issues, perfectionism, chronic pain, addiction, and panic attacks in the 80s and 90s and the cause was my unresolved childhood traumas that I needed to deal with. I did that work and my troubles went completely away for almost 30 years.

2.5 years ago I went through a horrible trauma watching my wonderful wife die a painful death in the hospital. This along with the pain from my own metastatic cancer and the joint destruction from the cancer treatments caused new chronic pain in the last two years. In addition tinnitus arrived. Those skills that I learned 30 years ago along with the techniques like in this thread allowed me to face these problems without obsession or fear, maintain a positive attitude and continue on with a positive life despite everything that I have had to face. Tinnitus has no effect on my life now. I had a brief period of shock and worry but my training kicked in and I kicked tinnitus out for not paying rent. I come here to try and help people.

As a matter of fact they screwed up in the operating room last week and after getting me on the table strapped down some equipment failed. I had to lie there for 45 minutes while I listened to talk of equipment failure and nervous healthcare people running around in a panic trying to get things fixed as I waited to be operated on. They were very concerned about me and kept asking if I wanted to be sedated or knocked out and I said no I am totally relaxed. Whenever your ready I'll still be here. I was practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques and talking to the techs about guitars and amplifiers. Three days after my operation I was home alone grocery shopping, cooking, doing laundry and checking in here. No fear or obsession at all.

The grief of the loss of my dear wife at such a young age is still with me and that will never go away. I loved her more than life itself and something would be wrong if I did not grieve her loss. That said I still enjoy my favorite activities as best I can. I just spent a week with my son for the surgery adventure and it was the best week since my wife died. We had a great time together. The only time I thought about tinnitus was when he asked me about it. Oh and when a new nurse put a piece of equipment next to my bad ear and did not know to silence the alarms (she didnt get the memo) which woke me up with all the screamimg alarms when something went wrong. I just thought, this big spike will pass like they all do and the next day I was back to baseline and ignoring it.

George

 

[GeorgeLG]

Tinnitus affects 50 million people in the US alone and yet only a subset are suffering with tinnitus to such a degree that it controls and ruins their lives. Why is this? That is a question that I ask myself often. If the suffering are to be helped, what is the key?

@Henry Orlando FL recently invoked the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and the phrase "what you resist, persists". I will add some related concepts such as that we can get stuck in a fear loop because we have "passion for what we don't want" and through the laws of attraction we then cannot rid ourselves of the beast that we fear and despise. You have to be very careful what you have passion for because that will come into your life with great force. You should always have passion for what you want, not what you don't want. Mother Teresa famously would not go to war rallies but instead would gladly go to peace rallies if invited. Great athletes, business people and people of all walks have demonstrated for eons that you achieve great things when you visualize success, your goals. You achieve what you are passionate about, what you obsess about. There are examples all throughout history of people achieving impossible things, things they had no business being able to do because of their passion for its outcome.

I think that this central theme can be the starting point for being able to heal from all suffering including tinnitus. I credit these concepts as part of the recipe for what I have been able to overcome in life despite hardships and barriers.

The steps taught in this thread are one of the many ways that this can be put into practice. The reason that there is more than one way to make progress is because most of these techniques move you into a head space that facilitates breaking the obsessive pain fear cycle and moves your focus to healing and the more positive things in your life. I laid open for you too see my pain and barriers to healing earlier in my life in this and other threads so that for others who are stuck as I was so many years ago that it might help even just one person to know why they cannot make this transition, this shift away from constant obsession with the exact state of health that we don't want. My story will not apply to everyone, not everyone had my childhood. Not everyone has deep seated emotional trauma. If so and you are stuck, then you should ask yourself why am I not able to have passion for what I want instead of what I don't want? This may be key for you. My only purpose for writing here is to help people get better.

All the best,

George

 

[GeorgeLG]

I wonder why I can't progress any further? Maybe need more time?

@Wrfortiscue, keep at it. You cannot unwind a lifetime of thinking in one step. Have passion for what you want, not what you don't want and keep working on it. Your efforts will pay off, you can get better.

George

 

[Wrfortiscue]

@Wrfortiscue, keep at it. You cannot unwind a lifetime of thinking in one step. Have passion for what you want, not what you don't want and keep working on it. Your efforts will pay off, you can get better.

George

Thanks man. I appreciate the words.

 

[GeorgeLG]

Thanks man. I appreciate the words.

Lol.

 

[GeorgeLG]

Thanks man. I appreciate the words.

My pleasure. Think of it this way. Why do some people absolutely love living in NY City? Yelling, jackhammers, traffic sounds, building construction. They love the energy and diversity of the city more than they don't like all the noise. Their passion is for this city that they love. You can't pry them out of there with a crow bar. Find your positive passion and work towards that. Make it a goal to push tinnitus to the back seat to stop interfering with realizing a more positive passion. Don't have passion for what you don't want. If your stuck, figure out why. Sure, harder said than done but doable all the same.

I am here with you brother, I have walked this road many times for over 30 years.

George

 

[Wrfortiscue]

My pleasure. Think of it this way. Why do some people absolutely love living in NY City? Yelling, jackhammers, traffic sounds, building construction. They love the energy and diversity of the city more than they don't like all the noise. Their passion is for this city that they love. You can't pry them out of there with a crow bar. Find your positive passion and work towards that. Make it a goal to push tinnitus to the back seat to stop interfering with realizing a more positive passion. Don't have passion for what you don't want. If your stuck, figure out why. Sure, harder said than done but doable all the same.

I am here with you brother, I have walked this road many times for over 30 years.

George

I'm trying. My moods AND tinnitus constantly cycle and change everyday. One is not correlated to the other either. I've had really down days with low tinnitus, and bothersome tinnitus days with a good mood.

Rollercoaster lol.

 

[GeorgeLG]

I'm trying. My moods AND tinnitus constantly cycle and change everyday. One is not correlated to the other either. I've had really down days with low tinnitus, and bothersome tinnitus days with a good mood.

Rollercoaster lol.

Have you ever found something that has successfully improved your mood swings?

George

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Have you ever found something that has successfully improved your mood swings?

Nothing yet.

 

[GeorgeLG]

Nothing yet.

Perhaps this is your starting point.

George

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Perhaps this is your starting point.

Perhaps

 

[Greg Sacramento]

This is a reality post about severe tinnitus and severe pain. Please consider not reading if your conditions are not severe.

@GeorgeLG, your thoughts and perspective concerning tinnitus and hardships are valuable. Our community is better because you're in it.

I once had discussions with a compassionate member of our trauma team whose specialty is holistic medicine. We talked about how to emotionally and physically treat those with severe loud/high pitched tinnitus and severe pain. Ironically, I'm now one of them.

For many of these souls, physical nervous system intervention is needed?

I may be writing this to address those who are unable to function enough to write a post. We have had new members with heart breaking introductions who did not post many times more. My writing skills have gone downhill, but I can still spell long medical words and have a good memory. I'm also now blind in one eye and vision in the other is bad.

My holistic medical friend now only cares for those who are in very severe pain and who often also have severe tinnitus. Many are old and in the last stage of life, but some are young, some have cancer, severe whiplash and other conditions and disease where tinnitus can be severe. Many powerful medicines for pain, cancer and other conditions or diseases can make tinnitus very severe.

My tinnitus is very severe and high pitched, but I also have severe physical pain in five body areas. This are some things that are done...

My wife heats coconut oil in the microwave. I lie on the side of the bed. She sits in a wooden chair on a pillow next to the bed. She gently applies the warm coconut oil to my posterior lumbar spine - lower back - in circular motion. She does this for one hour in the evening before I try to sleep.

Palliative and hospice care methods also can help with severe pain and/or severe tinnitus.

Before bed, I place a thin strip of a surgical tag behind lower front teeth where four inches hang out of each side of mouth.

I take small sips of Glycinate Magnesium throughout the day for a total of 400 mg in 24 hours. I take one tablet of hawthorn a day.

Love.

 

[GeorgeLG]

This is a reality post about severe tinnitus and severe pain. Please consider not reading if your conditions are not severe.

@GeorgeLG, your thoughts and perspective concerning tinnitus and hardships are valuable. Our community is better because you're in it.

I once had discussions with a compassionate member of our trauma team whose specialty is holistic medicine. We talked about how to emotionally and physically treat those with severe loud/high pitched tinnitus and severe pain. Ironically, I'm now one of them.

For many of these souls, physical nervous system intervention is needed?

I may be writing this to address those who are unable to function enough to write a post. We have had new members with heart breaking introductions who did not post many times more. My writing skills have gone downhill, but I can still spell long medical words and have a good memory. I'm also now blind in one eye and vision in the other is bad.

My holistic medical friend now only cares for those who are in very severe pain and who often also have severe tinnitus. Many are old and in the last stage of life, but some are young, some have cancer, severe whiplash and other conditions and disease where tinnitus can be severe. Many powerful medicines for pain, cancer and other conditions or diseases can make tinnitus very severe.

My tinnitus is very severe and high pitched, but I also have severe physical pain in five body areas. This are some things that are done...

My wife heats coconut oil in the microwave. I lie on the side of the bed. She sits in a wooden chair on a pillow next to the bed. She gently applies the warm coconut oil to my posterior lumbar spine - lower back - in circular motion. She does this for one hour in the evening before I try to sleep.

Palliative and hospice care methods also can help with severe pain and/or severe tinnitus.

Before bed, I place a thin strip of a surgical tag behind lower front teeth where four inches hang out of each side of mouth.

I take small sips of Glycinate Magnesium throughout the day for a total of 400 mg in 24 hours. I take one tablet of hawthorn a day.

Love.

@Greg Sacramento, I am deeply sorry to hear that you are in so much pain. This is another level, a humbling level of suffering. Sometimes it's hard to understand why this happens. You sound like a man with grace and compassion despite your hardship which shows us your strength and heart. I am glad that you have a partner that is helping to ease your suffering. You have my respect. I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain.

George

 

[Uklawyer]

You have my respect. I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain.

Me too. I would do it in a heartbeat. I hope the pain eases with the comfort of knowing how much you have done, and continue to do in your selfless way, to help others who suffer. We are with you.