Back to Silence
- Thread starter I who love music
- Start date
Hi,
Yes, I'm doing great - playing music weekly with others, living happily. But I do hear my tinnitus when I visit the forum. Weird, huh?
MemberNot sure if Silvine will return here but there is another great post from Silvine in another thread explaining how IWLM's method works in the brain. Here is the link if you like to read it. You may also want to read IWLM's posts in this thread:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/does-the-energy-come-back.5563/#post-93289
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/does-the-energy-come-back.5563/#post-93289
This seems like it could work very well! I was having a bit of a rough day, just tried it and felt better IMMEDIATELY! It's hard to teach yourself to measure your response. But it looks like it could defo be worth it! I'll try this out now. Great technique. It makes you concentrate on the actual reality instead of the inside of your head.
Hey folks.
I'm just checkin' in. September 12, 2015. It's been about a year. My tinnitus is LOUD, oh it's loud. But I don't hear it except for those special moments or if I listen for it. Life is SO much better. I have to do the "method" about once or twice a week - that's all. Yes, that's right, I only hear my tinnitus once or twice a week. When I hear it I have to respond to my FEELINGS about it.
I quit describing the volume, and frequency, and so on.
After 40 years I finally found my cure.
If you're attempting this method, please keep at it. It's tough at first but then becomes a good habit...
I'm just checkin' in. September 12, 2015. It's been about a year. My tinnitus is LOUD, oh it's loud. But I don't hear it except for those special moments or if I listen for it. Life is SO much better. I have to do the "method" about once or twice a week - that's all. Yes, that's right, I only hear my tinnitus once or twice a week. When I hear it I have to respond to my FEELINGS about it.
I quit describing the volume, and frequency, and so on.
After 40 years I finally found my cure.
If you're attempting this method, please keep at it. It's tough at first but then becomes a good habit...
My tinnitus is tea kettle, cicadas, and oscillating hissing that I hear over everything except the shower. I keep trying the Back to Silence method, but it isn't sinking in. Anyway, here's a sample of some things to say that reflect an emotional state:
One more thing that covers my tinnitus. The other day I was traveling and stopped at a park to walk my dog. A train went by about 70 feet away, blowing its whistle, and it was loud! But for 30 blessed seconds while the train blew its whistle, I couldn't hear my tinnitus. The experience was pure joy, hearing the train whistle and the rumble of the wheels on the track. I have always loved trains.
- I hear you and I feel frustrated
- I hear you and I feel helpless
- I hear you and I feel angry
- I hear you and I feel hopeless
- I hear you and I feel defeated
- I hear you and I feel sad
- I hear you and I feel betrayed
One more thing that covers my tinnitus. The other day I was traveling and stopped at a park to walk my dog. A train went by about 70 feet away, blowing its whistle, and it was loud! But for 30 blessed seconds while the train blew its whistle, I couldn't hear my tinnitus. The experience was pure joy, hearing the train whistle and the rumble of the wheels on the track. I have always loved trains.
This is cognitive therapy you can do for free and it works.
STOP listening to and for the tinnitus. Stop comparing it, measuring it, and describing it. Just STOP it.
And START measuring your FEELINGS you have when you hear your tinnitus.
OR, if your tinnitus is 'there' all the time, measure your feelings when it annoys you most.
This works.
Yes, it's harder than it sounds. But soon you'll form the good habit of responding only to your feelings about your tinnitus, not the sound of it.
STOP listening to and for the tinnitus. Stop comparing it, measuring it, and describing it. Just STOP it.
And START measuring your FEELINGS you have when you hear your tinnitus.
OR, if your tinnitus is 'there' all the time, measure your feelings when it annoys you most.
This works.
Yes, it's harder than it sounds. But soon you'll form the good habit of responding only to your feelings about your tinnitus, not the sound of it.
Very interesting. I've done some NLP and hypnosis classes and I practice EFT which is similar to EMDR, I believe it is all Trance work in some manner.
When I do EFT on phobias it has amazing effects in less than half an hour. A phobia is a protective mechanism of the sub-conscious mind. Many people don't realize that the sub-conscious mind is doing this out of survival to protect you.
The sub-conscious mind is extremely powerful it can learn and unlearn things. It is however very linear and stubborn and the only way to access it is through trance. Trance is a natural phenomenon that we practice daily. I consider tinnitus as a protective mechanism of the sub-conscious mind as well. Especially when it is due to hearing loss where the sub-conscious mind is filling in the frequency gaps because it believes it should.
I personally have witnessed what hypnosis or any trans works for that matter can do. And I know the brain is flexible in learning and unlearning things.
The method in this thread makes perfectly sense, because they say when you repeat something over and over again eventually it will bypass the critical factor and goes straight into the sub-conscious mind.
I still think when tinnitus is caused by hearing loss a good hypnotist with the right suggestion should be able to make a big difference in perception. Hence if you can make a person eat a lemon, thinking and tasting it is an Orange surly you should be able to change perception of tinnitus too.
When I do EFT on phobias it has amazing effects in less than half an hour. A phobia is a protective mechanism of the sub-conscious mind. Many people don't realize that the sub-conscious mind is doing this out of survival to protect you.
The sub-conscious mind is extremely powerful it can learn and unlearn things. It is however very linear and stubborn and the only way to access it is through trance. Trance is a natural phenomenon that we practice daily. I consider tinnitus as a protective mechanism of the sub-conscious mind as well. Especially when it is due to hearing loss where the sub-conscious mind is filling in the frequency gaps because it believes it should.
I personally have witnessed what hypnosis or any trans works for that matter can do. And I know the brain is flexible in learning and unlearning things.
The method in this thread makes perfectly sense, because they say when you repeat something over and over again eventually it will bypass the critical factor and goes straight into the sub-conscious mind.
I still think when tinnitus is caused by hearing loss a good hypnotist with the right suggestion should be able to make a big difference in perception. Hence if you can make a person eat a lemon, thinking and tasting it is an Orange surly you should be able to change perception of tinnitus too.
Update.
Oct 3, 2015.
I go a couple weeks at a time without having to respond to my feelings about my tinnitus.
This is wonderful. I never thought this would be possible. The tinnitus is simply "not there" unless of course, I listen for it, or dwell on it. This method did not erase my tinnitus, it put it somewhere else in my head where I simply don't hear it.
So.... I can go a couple weeks now without hearing my tinnitus. When I do hear it, I quickly respond to my feelings about it. Just like I did in the beginning, a year ago.
Oct 3, 2015.
I go a couple weeks at a time without having to respond to my feelings about my tinnitus.
This is wonderful. I never thought this would be possible. The tinnitus is simply "not there" unless of course, I listen for it, or dwell on it. This method did not erase my tinnitus, it put it somewhere else in my head where I simply don't hear it.
So.... I can go a couple weeks now without hearing my tinnitus. When I do hear it, I quickly respond to my feelings about it. Just like I did in the beginning, a year ago.
Mayo
Member
- Oct 1, 2015
- 22
- Tinnitus Since
- 17 September 2015
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Cold? Had it ever since
@I who love music
Do you still play music? I'm 14 and I loved music since I was 7 or 8.
But I'm afraid that music would make tinnitus worse forever
So should I quit music for life?
Do you still play music? I'm 14 and I loved music since I was 7 or 8.
But I'm afraid that music would make tinnitus worse forever
So should I quit music for life?
I got tinnitus when I was 14. I quit playing loud music and drums and electric guitars when I was 18. I started playing acoustic guitars miked when I was 19. The tinnitus stabilized. When I was 34 I got in an electric blues band for a few years and this made my tinnitus permanently louder. I went back to acoustic music then. But one night I played VERY loud electric music and I had a TWO YEAR spike. I didn't play music at ALL for those 2 years and today at age 57 I'm still very prone to get a spike around electric music or too loud acoustic music. Always when I sing I get a spike. So you can see I've had a lifetime of fun music regardless of tinnitus. I've played at barns, bars, festivals, huge auditoriums, given workshops, played for millionaires' parties a couple times (what a trip), and I'm always playing with friends and even making instruments. Tinnitus tried to bring me down but I always fought back.@I who love music
Do you still play music? I'm 14 and I loved music since I was 7 or 8.
But I'm afraid that music would make tinnitus worse forever
So should I quit music for life?
You probably read my recent remedy called Back To Silence. It's the best thing since new guitar strings.
Hunszi
Member
- Apr 26, 2015
- 71
- Tinnitus Since
- 2015 (got worse in 20,21)
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Noise induced
I've got tinnitus. I've got it bad. Those little inner ear hair cell things were blown apart decades ago. They ain't coming back.
BUT, it was my lucky day when I discovered this site!! After I read about this, it sounded like I could make it work. I used to work with a psychologist who said I was a shoulder shrugger, hence, headaches. She said that every time I walk through a doorway I should drop my shoulders and in a couple weeks I was doing it without thinking about it. So when I read about this 'method' for tinnitus, it sounded something like her headache cure. Something clicked and I understood that it's no good to sit and wait and wish for headaches, or tinnitus, to get better. I figured some action would be required. You can tell I like talking about this. I'm free of tinnitus!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, to answer your question... I have tinnitus. But I don't hear it. If I listen "TO" it now, I hear it. But otherwise it's gone. I mean G O N E.
Yesterday I think I responded to my tinnitus 2 or 3 times. Today, none.
Some people would say that I'm wrong, and I have tinnitus.
Yes I do have tinnitus but I don't hear it. Well I did hear it 3 times yesterday not for more than a minute though. So to me, that means "gone." Because before I started doing the method I was in rough shape. Insomnia, worrying, fearful, panicky, all those bad feelings.
Another thing that helped me succeed with the method was once I read about it, I understood it's not tinnitus that bugged me. Tinnitus didn't limit my hearing, or my physical abilities, or anything. It gave me these bad FEELINGS. The feelings bugged me. I completely understood that the feelings must be addressed, not the tinnitus. Because my tinnitus is hopeless.
But let me tell you, I expected a little relief but not this TOTAL relief. And it's still getting better.
Many people find this hard to understand. Even my wife, the other day said she didn't "get it."
When we start to "link up" the feeling we have when we find tinnitus intrusive, something starts to happen.
That's all I can say, I don't know exactly how it works. And it wasn't easy at first because I still wanted to tell myself things like, "oh man, it's loud, or I hate this stuff, or will this ever get better, or It's worse than yesterday."
But I stuck with it. Every single time, still today, when I have to address my thoughts about tinnitus, I address my feeling instead. It's like trying not to look at the sun when somebody says, I bet you can't look at the sun. It ain't easy ... at first.
After a couple weeks of doing it, one day in the middle of the day I realized I hadn't done the method yet. I did NOT check to listen to or measure my tinnitus. Instead, I smiled a big smile and said, This is going to work.
Every single time I respond to a tinnitus feeling instead of a tinnitus sound, it does something in my brain apparently.
Read the posts here and count how many different ways people describe their tinnitus. They'll say, "High pitched, low pitched, hissing, screaming, constant, left, right, humming, buzzing, electric sound, thumping sound.... the adjectives are endless. I'll feel bad because maybe they haven't read about this method and I know the more you think like that, the worse it's going to get.
People have even said, Yours must not be as loud as mine, or, You've had it for decades so you're used to it. Someone said, your tinnitus isn't gone, you just got used to it. OK, whatever they want to say. I don't hear it.
Here's another way of looking at it, the tinnitus volume and the tinnitus feelings go hand in hand, right? The louder and more intrusive the tinnitus, the worse the feelings get. So it makes sense that to conquer this, you have to address the feelings.
Some people misunderstand the method. They think it's self positive talk. Nope. If you feel crappy or nervous, you say, "I hear it, I feel crappy." It's ok to sound negative because it's the truth. It's that easy. I did it over and over and it clicked.
I remember my responses yesterday. They were, "I hear it, I'm driving having fun," and "I hear it and I'm busy and happy."
Sure different from a year ago.
Anyway, I play music again without fear. I've sat in many quiet doctor offices in the last year and never "heard" my tinnitus. I go to bed and get up and don't hear it.... etc. It's great.
Even in the beginning when I averaged 40 responses a day, it only took a total of maybe 2 minutes a day.
But you have to stick with it.
I guess you have to (not) hear it to believe it.
Hunszi
Member
- Apr 26, 2015
- 71
- Tinnitus Since
- 2015 (got worse in 20,21)
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Noise induced
@I who love music
To understand right, what you are doing... when you hear your tinnitus you just respond to it with telling how you actually feel about it? For example... "I hear my tinnitus and it's pissing me of"?
To understand right, what you are doing... when you hear your tinnitus you just respond to it with telling how you actually feel about it? For example... "I hear my tinnitus and it's pissing me of"?
Exactly.@I who love music
To understand right, what you are doing... when you hear your tinnitus you just respond to it with telling how you actually feel about it? For example... "I hear my tinnitus and it's pissing me of"?
By the way, I heard my tinnitus only once today and responded.
But the method does not take it away if you are listening for it. That was a bad habit I had.
You can NOT measure the effectiveness of this method by listening to your tinnitus wondering if it's going away. Measure the effectiveness by how many times you respond. I used to keep paper handy. Lo and behold, very quickly my responses became fewer, meaning I wasn't hearing it.
For folks reading this, this is not positive self talk or an attitude adjustment. It's a way to put tinnitus in a place in the brain where it's not so noticeable. I guess that's how I would explain it.
@I who love music I'll try it too. Since English is not my first language, just wanted to tell you you're becoming an international guru 
Good, I'm glad for you.@I who love music I'll try it too. Since English is not my first language, just wanted to tell you you're becoming an international guru
When you hear your tinnitus and get the urge to think about it, instead, think about and describe the feeling you're having at that moment. Keep it short and be honest with yourself, whether you're mad, sad, afraid, anxious etc...
In the days to come keep track of how many times you respond to these feelings. It should decrease. Hopefully your feelings will change too.
Less tinnitus, nicer feelings. Pretty cool, eh?
- Oct 12, 2015
- 12
- Tinnitus Since
- Don't know. Likely had it for a few months at least, but noticed and recognized as tinnitus on 10/2015, perhaps due to higher volume
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Not sure, (a) lot of stress lately, (b) whole body vibration machine
Hi @I who love music, You just responded to my post as a newbie and directed me to come here. I read through some of the posts. They are definitely positive and I am giving them a shot already. I have a couple of questions:
I feel like by shifting my attention from tinnitus am I masking the real problem of long term repurcussions of my subconscious always hearing a high pitched frequency? Things like brain entrainment? I know there are no alternatives at this point, or at least none that I have come across, but by accepting this and making this unimportant to my conscious brain, I still don't know if my subconscious brain would just turn into something nasty listening to high pitched sound forever. I have yet to read up on that but does someone know if it is medically okay if the high pitched sound remains for the rest of my life, assuming I don't have any other major conditions?
I feel like by shifting my attention from tinnitus am I masking the real problem of long term repurcussions of my subconscious always hearing a high pitched frequency? Things like brain entrainment? I know there are no alternatives at this point, or at least none that I have come across, but by accepting this and making this unimportant to my conscious brain, I still don't know if my subconscious brain would just turn into something nasty listening to high pitched sound forever. I have yet to read up on that but does someone know if it is medically okay if the high pitched sound remains for the rest of my life, assuming I don't have any other major conditions?
This makes a lot of sense to me, tried it, did not stick with it, guess I should try again.
I am convinced that the "cure" is something super simple.
I am convinced that the "cure" is something super simple.
My wife says it works for me because I have the ability, as a musician who practices a song over and over, to repeat and repeat and repeat. I know that when I play a song over and over in practice then I can easily play it in public. The brain is marvelous, weird too. I can never remember song lyrics until I write them down, and after I do that once I throw the paper away because after writing them down they're stuck in my brain forever. I'll never understand that. I don't think I'll ever understand how this Back to Silence method works but I'd like to know.
I've been trying for a few days. The most difficult part for me is that my brain seems addicted on checking the sound. Actually yesterday I had a very good day, at a point in time I though "Hey, I'm not listening..." and BAM, I heard it. I'm only a few months into this tinnitus thing and there are several cases that people say they stop listening to it - some call it habituation, others call it a miracle - but I will definitely keep trying.
Back To Silence method simplified (because it IS simple)
When you find yourself paying attention to your tinnitus, say to yourself,
"I hear it, and I'm (your emotion)"
and get on with life.
FIGHT to not give attention to your tinnitus. Put your attention on your emotion. Keep doing this over and over. Give it some time and NEVER gauge the volume or pitch of your tinnitus ever again as it fades from your life.
Responses over time will become fewer and happiness and energy will seep into your life. If you find yourself checking in on your tinnitus, or it becomes bothersome just keep doing the method. Keep hammering away at it and drive it from your life.
If you have to keep notes on how many times you respond, then do it. When you look back, you'll see the responses dwindling.
Don't worry about volume, pitch, acceptance, sleep, anxiety, fear etc... your brain is now busy working on those issues FOR you because you are doing a new method.
When you find yourself paying attention to your tinnitus, say to yourself,
"I hear it, and I'm (your emotion)"
and get on with life.
FIGHT to not give attention to your tinnitus. Put your attention on your emotion. Keep doing this over and over. Give it some time and NEVER gauge the volume or pitch of your tinnitus ever again as it fades from your life.
Responses over time will become fewer and happiness and energy will seep into your life. If you find yourself checking in on your tinnitus, or it becomes bothersome just keep doing the method. Keep hammering away at it and drive it from your life.
If you have to keep notes on how many times you respond, then do it. When you look back, you'll see the responses dwindling.
Don't worry about volume, pitch, acceptance, sleep, anxiety, fear etc... your brain is now busy working on those issues FOR you because you are doing a new method.
I am on this full force... although my method is just saying "fuck off" and then keep doing what i am doing.
Working so far
Working so far
Kuriboh1981
Member
- Oct 4, 2015
- 39
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/01/2015
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Ear Infection/Slight hearing loss/Who knows at this point?
This method is simple, but hard. I've only been awake two hours so far this morning and I've already noticed my tinnitus 25 times. And since all the feelings I'm having are anxiety, anger and despair, focusing on them is difficult to say the least...
Kuriboh1981
Member
- Oct 4, 2015
- 39
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/01/2015
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Ear Infection/Slight hearing loss/Who knows at this point?
"There's my tinnitus, and I hate it!" "There's my tinnitus, and it's making me loose my mind!" "There's my tinnitus, and I can't deal with this for the rest of my life!"
Are those good responses?
Are those good responses?
Maybe be more specific, instead of "lose my mind" say frustrated or anxious. A one word feeling. Maybe I'm wrong, but I keep it to a one word emotion and so far so good.
- Oct 12, 2015
- 12
- Tinnitus Since
- Don't know. Likely had it for a few months at least, but noticed and recognized as tinnitus on 10/2015, perhaps due to higher volume
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Not sure, (a) lot of stress lately, (b) whole body vibration machine
@I who love music if you don't mind answering, what was the cause of your tinnitus? If you don't want to answer, perfectly all right! I am just curious. Thank you either way!
Loud music did it to me. Of all kinds. Playing in a rock band when I was a teenager and playing a horn in the school band sitting right in front of the drums. Wow, when I think back, the school band was probably worse than the rock music. A daily dose of wham bam.
Log in or register to get the full forum benefits!
Similar threads
