Can You Habituate to Reactive Tinnitus?

[Watasha]

In my first months I still noticed spikes and high and low days. I never found a cause or pattern so I just gave up looking for one. After many more months I got so used to my tinnitus that I don't notice a difference anymore between high and low days. I think there is still a difference in loudness from day to day but since I am not consciously aware of my tinnitus I do not notice the difference anymore.

How long did your habituation take? How would you rate the volume? Any steps that you took? Does it fluctuate throughout the day?

 

[Chris S.]

It's not so much about habituation per se, but about the fact that reactive tinnitus pays you back every time someone in your household or outside does something very loud (and you happen to be nearby) - slams a door, shouts, crashes a shopping cart, revvs up a motorbike on your street, or jumps into a tractor to mow the lawn. As careful as one may be, at some point one of these (or similar) events will make the tinnitus worse. And then - again worse, etc. It is this constant worsening that is the problem. I have habituated to the idea of tinnitus, but I find the constant worsenings every few weeks quite difficult to adjust to. No matter how careful I am and even if wearing protection, spikes constantly happen.