Different Tones, Frequencies, Anxiety & Habituation

[Jen10]

Hi everyone! I am new here and this is my first post. I've had tinnitus for the past 4 months. It'll be five months in a few days. I am having a very hard time accepting and dealing with this condition.

My tinnitus is all over the place and it constantly changes. When I first got tinnitus there were a few tones that got under my skin. Thankfully they have not returned. Unfortunately, since it is so unpredictable, who knows what else I might hear.

I really want to embrace this condition, not have anxiety and live a good life. Right now, none of those things are happening. In fact, it feels like my anxiety is getting worse. I got tinnitus in a very bizarre way, I won't get into details. I did a CAT scan last weekend and I'm patiently waiting for the results.

This question is for seasoned tinnitus warriors. How do you embrace changing tinnitus even when it's annoying? Most importantly, how do you quell severe anxiety towards it? I refuse to go on pharmaceutical medication. The side effects are horrible. To me it's not worth it even though I am suffering immensely. I don't sleep very well, if at all due to severe anxiety. I do use sound enrichment however I get fleeting tinnitus and it petrifies me. Also, because of my high stress, I wake up with spikes.

I still have hope and I want to get better. I recently started CBT so I'm hoping it will help. In the meantime I would appreciate as many comments and positive feedback as possible. Please no negative comments, this is already hard as is. I hate doom and gloom.

Thanks for reading and replying.

 

[G H]

Similar situation here. I'd like to hear some feedback and advice on this too.

 

[Jen10]

Similar situation here. I'd like to hear some feedback and advice on this too.

 

[gorzakus]

Hi everyone! I am new here and this is my first post. I've had tinnitus for the past 4 months. It'll be five months in a few days. I am having a very hard time accepting and dealing with this condition.

My tinnitus is all over the place and it constantly changes. When I first got tinnitus there were a few tones that got under my skin. Thankfully they have not returned. Unfortunately, since it is so unpredictable, who knows what else I might hear.

I really want to embrace this condition, not have anxiety and live a good life. Right now, none of those things are happening. In fact, it feels like my anxiety is getting worse. I got tinnitus in a very bizarre way, I won't get into details. I did a CAT scan last weekend and I'm patiently waiting for the results.

This question is for seasoned tinnitus warriors. How do you embrace changing tinnitus even when it's annoying? Most importantly, how do you quell severe anxiety towards it? I refuse to go on pharmaceutical medication. The side effects are horrible. To me it's not worth it even though I am suffering immensely. I don't sleep very well, if at all due to severe anxiety. I do use sound enrichment however I get fleeting tinnitus and it petrifies me. Also, because of my high stress, I wake up with spikes.

I still have hope and I want to get better. I recently started CBT so I'm hoping it will help. In the meantime I would appreciate as many comments and positive feedback as possible. Please no negative comments, this is already hard as is. I hate doom and gloom.

Thanks for reading and replying.

Things will get better, I can say this after a year dealing with the same issues as you with constant changing tinnitus and lots of fleeting tinnitus.
Please understand that most people get used to their tinnitus after a while, for me reading the book ' at last a life ' helped me greatly with the anxiety.
https://www.amazon.com/At-Last-Life-David-Bywater/dp/0956948103

 

[Engineer]

I've had T for 4 yrs and sympathize. Two things helped me to keep the faith for the long haul. 1) Talking to people that had habituated, and reading their stories. 2) Taking stock of all the loud, obnoxious, irritating noises that my brain was already habituated to such as road noise, city noise, etc. Yes, they are not 24/7, but they point to the brains ability to tune out noises deemed habitually unimportant. (Even fluctuating noises) I would recommend reading Jastreboff and Hazels book also.(Titled Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) It helped me have faith also. Habituation is a damn slow process, and it can come and go with changes, but it's real and it's the best we can currently hope for short of miracle cures, imho.