Can You Live with High Frequency Tinnitus?

[Gl0w0ut]

The primary time I hear is very high pitched (I estimate it between 12-16 kHz). I often feel it in the form of some kind of electric wind or something. It's very loud and intrusive. It's not impossible to ignore but very hard. It makes me think habituation is impossible and that I may as well just die already. My life sucks and all I hear is "we can help you cope", not "we can treat tinnitus".

And no, just because stress makes tinnitus worse does not mean relaxation is treating tinnitus.

 

[Michael Leigh]

The primary time I hear is very high pitched (I estimate it between 12-16 kHz). I often feel it in the form of some kind of electric wind or something. It's very loud and intrusive. It's not impossible to ignore but very hard. It makes me think habituation is impossible and that I may as well just die already. My life sucks and all I hear is "we can help you cope", not "we can treat tinnitus".

And no, just because stress makes tinnitus worse does not mean relaxation is treating tinnitus.

Relaxation, medication and counselling can all help in lowering stress and this will reduce the impact of the tinnitus. Negative thinking about tinnitus increases stress and reinforces the belief that nothing can be done to reduce the noise. This can make it louder and more intrusive. Stress makes tinnitus worse and tinnitus makes stress worse. it can become a vicious circle if one isn't careful.

 

[threefirefour]

Relaxation, medication and counselling can all help in lowering stress and this will reduce the impact of the tinnitus. Negative thinking about tinnitus increases stress and reinforces the belief that nothing can be done to reduce the noise. This can make it louder and more intrusive. Stress makes tinnitus worse and tinnitus makes stress worse. it can become a vicious circle if one isn't careful.

How much can reducing stress reduce tinnitus by? Why does stress make tinnitus louder?

 

[Kibakiru]

It's possible to survive with that sort of tinnitus, whether you actually live your life is up to you (die trying, try and succeed, or never try at all).

I have severe somatic tinnitus along with pulsatile tinnitus. It sounds like a high pitched dentist drill x10 with a dog-whistle, and throw in some background static for effect. I also get that noise that sounds like the damn lightsabers on Star Wars. Gives me a headache sometimes.
I can hear mine over a lawnmower, the shower, and all that pleasant loud stuff; but it's safe to say that I am living with it, yes. My quality of life depends on the day, week, month, etc. Some days/week/months are harder than others. I have days when I think 'eh. It's not that bad' and then days in which all I can think about is the noise. But those bad days have lessened a LOT since I first got tinnitus. I went back to work, I'm preparing for college again, and I go out a lot more than I used too. Everyday stuff that I took for granted, really.

I know you don't believe habituation is possible. That's fine. Neither did I, especially early on. My goal was never to habituate. It was simply to return back to my normal, mundane life. Learning how to process the fact that i had tinnitus. Learning not to cry everyday was the first step. The next was trying not to lash out in anger at everybody and everything; learning that everyday noises weren't going to ruin my life (usually just cause a spike but nothing serious); etc. Baby steps, really.

Over time, learning how to adjust turned into what everybody calls 'habituation'.

Am I cured because I'm habituated? No. But I'm doing better because of it. I don't remember the last time i cried or got angry at somebody or lashed out because of a noise. It's not a perfect cure because it's not a cure. Habituation won't erase your tinnitus but it should "erase" your feelings towards it -- which will always seem impossible until it suddenly just happens. You'll have good and bad days, but hopefully more good than bad. I actually don't remember when I stopped caring as much about it. I just kind of realised one day that It didn't bother me like it used too.

Of course, you have a certain mindset towards your tinnitus and especially habituation, and I don't believe anybody will persuade you out of it, no matter what they say; so don't take this as preaching habituation like some sort of religion that you need to convert to in order to be 'saved'. I'm just talking about my experience and many others. Some are unfortunate, the majority are not.

You'll only be able to live with it if you're willing to try first. What quality of life you'll have, I don't know; hopefully one that improves with time. Your tinnitus could disappear or lessen over time. They say it takes 2 years (some say 6 months but it's generally 2 years or so) for it to be considered chronic but people have had their tinnitus disappear after 10 years; or at least have it settle overtime.

Anyway, hope you feel better someday.

 

[linearb]

I have been living with ~14 kHz tinnitus since the late 90s. For about the last 10 years it's been loud enough to hear over ~95% of the environmental noises I'm exposed to.

I'm still here. My life is pretty normal. Sometimes it really bothers me, other times I realize I've been sitting in a silent room not thinking about it at all for hours.

With the caveat that I have a long history of anxiety and depression which predates the tinnitus, I would not say that overall I'm any more distressed now than I was 10 or 20 years ago. In fact, my life is a lot more balanced and full of legitimate happiness than it was in my teens or 20s, when I sort of bounced from one distraction or drug to another.

I have tried to accept this as a challenge to test the limitations of myself and my mind. I think that most people are unwitting slaves to their subconscious (and I am no exception). Simply realizing that is not the solution, it's only the first step down a long path towards actualization and something like release from suffering.

 

[IntotheBlue03]

@linearb, is your tinnitus head/central tinnitus? How much does your medical cocktail lower your tinnitus?