Member- Nov 27, 2014
- 6
- Tinnitus Since
- 06/2014
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Stapedectomy
My Success Story
"Faith is taking the fist step even when you do not see the whole stair case" - MLKJR
I wanted to wait writing and sharing my success story until I was certain T was no longer a negative issue in my life. Although for some time it was more than an issue, it has been one of the greatest challenges that I've had to overcome in my life. I did not want to spend months, years or decades waiting for a medical or scientific cure I was not certain was going to arrive (even though I believe one day it will), so for me, "a cure" was about being able to regain the full joy of living life and putting T in the rearview mirror, making it a non issue in my life. Today, I can say with confidence that I have reached that point.
I got T after a successful stapes ear surgery. At first I was scared, I was angry and I was miserable. I kept blaming my self for having had the surgery as well as the doctor that performed it. I do not know if I got T because the doctor used an ultra loud vacuum to get the blood out of my ear (there was a hemorrhage in my surgery) or because some other factor, but the truth is that I regained almost all of my hearing in that ear...during those times I did not care, that noise was all I cared about (my other ear Is fine). After about 4 weeks I had a panic attack and thought I had lost all control and faith in my life. I could not imagine life as it was (at one point my T was reactive, I had ear pain, Hyper C and ETD), even though I was blessed with a beautiful family a great career and many other blessings. This day was the lowest point in my life and after not sleeping for two days I had to go to a doctor who prescribed something to calm me down (ribotril, which I only took that one day), it worked and I slept well after not sleeping for many days. When I woke up I decided I had to change my attitude and the way it thought about the challenge that life had given me. I stopped thinking the answer was medical and started focusing on my spiritual inner self. The following really helped me change it around:
- The full support of my beloved wife and my family was amazing and their help and motivation made the whole difference.
-Reading Eckhart Tolle changed the way I viewed T and I started accepting and not resisting what was happening. I always had an audio book on personal spiritual development in my car.
- Mindfulness meditation gave me some much needed space around my ear issues and the rest of my body and soul.
- I stared doing more exercise (running) and that made me feel better and sleep better. Having a big goal, like running half marathon, was very motivational.
- Focusing on the good in my life and giving thanks for it vs just complaining on what was bothering me was key. I started reading success stories in this forum more than other "cure" or "negative" sections.
- I stopped going to different doctors or experts to find the "cure".
- I resumed doing everything I liked doing before T. As an investment in my hearing I wear earplugs in weddings or spinning classes but I resumed doing everything I liked, yes including drinking red wine. Doing all this took attention out of T and I stopped identifying with it.
It was miracle how I slowly but surely started to habituate. What others had shared was becoming true. There were large periods of time I was not aware of the sound and I started to sleep great (with rain ambience) 8 or 9 hours straight. I will never forget what @Silvine said in regards to T being like the wizard of Oz.
After a year the other symptoms (Hyper C, ETD, Reactive T) were really minimized or gone. T had the same volume but I no longer had a negative reaction to it. Eventually it almost felt as if the sound had softened but when having the occasional spike I no longer cared or feared it. @Dr.nagler said that T after successful habituation was like a pair of pants, you do not care what color they are and you are aware of their color only when you choose to make it conscious. That proved absolutely true to me.
Right now I am trying to live life to the fullest despite its many challenges and T is there but not a negative issue in my life. If anything it is a reminder that huge obstacles may be overcome and that when facing other smaller troubles I need to keep things in perspective and always give thanks for what I have or more importantly, what I am.
I hope my journey inspires others to have faith and take the first step towards believing that, this too, will pass.
You wil get there.
"Faith is taking the fist step even when you do not see the whole stair case" - MLKJR
I wanted to wait writing and sharing my success story until I was certain T was no longer a negative issue in my life. Although for some time it was more than an issue, it has been one of the greatest challenges that I've had to overcome in my life. I did not want to spend months, years or decades waiting for a medical or scientific cure I was not certain was going to arrive (even though I believe one day it will), so for me, "a cure" was about being able to regain the full joy of living life and putting T in the rearview mirror, making it a non issue in my life. Today, I can say with confidence that I have reached that point.
I got T after a successful stapes ear surgery. At first I was scared, I was angry and I was miserable. I kept blaming my self for having had the surgery as well as the doctor that performed it. I do not know if I got T because the doctor used an ultra loud vacuum to get the blood out of my ear (there was a hemorrhage in my surgery) or because some other factor, but the truth is that I regained almost all of my hearing in that ear...during those times I did not care, that noise was all I cared about (my other ear Is fine). After about 4 weeks I had a panic attack and thought I had lost all control and faith in my life. I could not imagine life as it was (at one point my T was reactive, I had ear pain, Hyper C and ETD), even though I was blessed with a beautiful family a great career and many other blessings. This day was the lowest point in my life and after not sleeping for two days I had to go to a doctor who prescribed something to calm me down (ribotril, which I only took that one day), it worked and I slept well after not sleeping for many days. When I woke up I decided I had to change my attitude and the way it thought about the challenge that life had given me. I stopped thinking the answer was medical and started focusing on my spiritual inner self. The following really helped me change it around:
- The full support of my beloved wife and my family was amazing and their help and motivation made the whole difference.
-Reading Eckhart Tolle changed the way I viewed T and I started accepting and not resisting what was happening. I always had an audio book on personal spiritual development in my car.
- Mindfulness meditation gave me some much needed space around my ear issues and the rest of my body and soul.
- I stared doing more exercise (running) and that made me feel better and sleep better. Having a big goal, like running half marathon, was very motivational.
- Focusing on the good in my life and giving thanks for it vs just complaining on what was bothering me was key. I started reading success stories in this forum more than other "cure" or "negative" sections.
- I stopped going to different doctors or experts to find the "cure".
- I resumed doing everything I liked doing before T. As an investment in my hearing I wear earplugs in weddings or spinning classes but I resumed doing everything I liked, yes including drinking red wine. Doing all this took attention out of T and I stopped identifying with it.
It was miracle how I slowly but surely started to habituate. What others had shared was becoming true. There were large periods of time I was not aware of the sound and I started to sleep great (with rain ambience) 8 or 9 hours straight. I will never forget what @Silvine said in regards to T being like the wizard of Oz.
After a year the other symptoms (Hyper C, ETD, Reactive T) were really minimized or gone. T had the same volume but I no longer had a negative reaction to it. Eventually it almost felt as if the sound had softened but when having the occasional spike I no longer cared or feared it. @Dr.nagler said that T after successful habituation was like a pair of pants, you do not care what color they are and you are aware of their color only when you choose to make it conscious. That proved absolutely true to me.
Right now I am trying to live life to the fullest despite its many challenges and T is there but not a negative issue in my life. If anything it is a reminder that huge obstacles may be overcome and that when facing other smaller troubles I need to keep things in perspective and always give thanks for what I have or more importantly, what I am.
I hope my journey inspires others to have faith and take the first step towards believing that, this too, will pass.
You wil get there.
