Driving Is My Best Coping Ability

[AVIYT]

I LOVE driving for the reason I have always loved it, freedom. It gives me access to a lot of fun things: Ice cream shops, parks, driving to the city and back, listening to great music, driving around my girlfriend, etc.

I may not have a car at the moment (I totaled one last week, using rented ones for now while I search for a new one) but I'm excited that in the future I may have better cars. Nothing luxurious as of yet, since right before pregabalin induced tinnitus I lost most of my money and fell in debt (my life REALLY took a tumble quickly) but... the little things count.

I still hear the tinnitus many times. But I don't get so sensitive about loud music anymore. I rather listen to it in the car than risk it with earbuds and stressful environments in public transport. I HATE that with a passion. I need full control over where I'm going, how and everything.

Does anyone else drive a lot to distract themselves from tinnitus and depressive thoughts?

 

[StarrySky]

Yeah, I find listening to music boxes for some reason always takes my tinnitus away. I think it's because it sounds similar to the ringing in my ears so it tricks my brain somehow.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I love going on road trips. I recommend that you wear noise cancelling headphones (over earplugs to protect against the headphones - as some people get tinnitus as a result of noise cancelling headphones). They are comfortable, go a long way towards eliminating the road noise, and prevent spikes as a result of driving for many hours. I also recommend that you drive around Iceland - it is spectacular and basically as good as it gets.

 

[MBH]

I love driving. It works for me. I also listen to music on the radio, drive my kids around. Driving around also distracts tinnitus. I learn a lot driving around.

 

[GlennS]

If you're in Iceland, hike. I hiked up a fjord once and it was an awesome experience. Wild blueberries and crowberries everywhere.

 

[Bill Bauer]

If you're in Iceland, hike. I hiked up a fjord once and it was an awesome experience. Wild blueberries and crowberries everywhere.

There is nothing better than collecting wild berries. What month were you there? What was the approximate location of the fjord? How long was the hike?

Of course hiking is great. But driving achieves the perfect rate at which you get to see new things (that you can stop and admire). [One time, in Iceland, I stopped my car and observed a field of wild flowers swaying in the wind for over an hour.] This rate can be too slow when it comes to hiking. You will need multiple trips to drive on all of the roads in Iceland (and you will WANT to drive everywhere you can drive there, as each road is so different from the others and so scenic).

 

[GlennS]

There is nothing better than collecting wild berries. What month were you there? What was the approximate location of the fjord? How long was the hike?

I think it was in August. Great time for berries but no northern lights.

I stayed here. I wanted a cabin but they put me in the main hotel/motel building.

I didn't time how long it took to go up. When you're doing it you lose track of time but my daughter was with me and she stayed at the base while I did it. It was kind of reckless on my part because the ground is very loose there. Very gravelly and the brush barely holds the rocks together. But by the time I got to the top I was very deep into the cloudcover looking down. Even though I doubt it was really that high compared to Mt. Everest or anything, it felt high as far as the view and the mist.

It was so wet all around that my feet were literally soaked. It wasn't raining as much as it was just permanently foggy and the mist covers the "heath" (I guess technically the groundcover is a "heath").

Of course hiking is great. But driving achieves the perfect rate at which you get to see new things (that you can stop and admire).

Or a bus tour, which I took. When we got to the geysers I went up the nearest hill and got some amazing Middle-Earth type shots like this one:

As you can see, there are a handful of actual trees in Iceland. Not many, but a scant few, small and slow-growing.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I think it was in August. Great time for berries but no northern lights.

It is a great time to be there, as many roads in the interior might still be closed for the winter even as late as July. If I am ever back, I will now know to look for berries there. Thank you!

I stayed here. I wanted a cabin but they put me in the main hotel/motel building.

Thanks!

When you're doing it you lose track of time but my daughter was with me and she stayed at the base while I did it. It was kind of reckless on my part because the ground is very loose there. Very gravelly and the brush barely holds the rocks together. But by the time I got to the top I was very deep into the cloudcover looking down. Even thought I doubt it was really that high compared to Mt. Everest or anything, it felt high as far as the view and the mist.

It was so wet all around that my feet were literally soaked. It wasn't raining as much as it was just permanently foggy and the mist covers the "heath" (I guess technically the groundcover is a "heath").

Sounds like just the kind of an experience that I would absolutely love.

When we got to the hot springs I went up the nearest hill and got some amazing Middle-Earth type shots

It's as good as it gets.

 

[Bill Bauer]

There are berries everywhere in the Olympic National Park (in the state of Washington) around July 1. It is mostly salmon berries

You can also find a lot of bakeapple berries in the Canadian province of Newfoundland (I believe I was there in July)

 

[GlennS]

It is a great time to be there, as many roads in the interior might still be closed for the winter even as late as July.

I chose the hotel because it's in one of the more remote areas. I wanted a real "retreat" rather than just going to the obvious tourist spots. When I said I wanted to visit Nepal that's kind of what I have in mind, a retreat to clear the mind and get away from the hustle and bustle. When you go to a popular tourist spot it's not really a retreat because tourists are filing in and out and in and out. You have to find a truly quiet spot to sort of disappear into. Of course, the ideal would be to actually experience quiet and not just the tinnitus.

 

[GlennS]

There are berries everywhere in the Olympic National Park (in the state of Washington) around July 1. It is mostly salmon berries

Never been to the pacific northwest. I once tried to grow salmon berries from rootstock here in New England but it didn't work. Gardening is another one of my therapeutic hobbies.

BTW, believe it or not there are actually blackberries in Hawaii. They're huge.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I once tried to grow salmon berries from rootstock here in New England but it didn't work.

Perhaps the plants needed more water...

 

[Lane]

pregabalin induced tinnitus

Hi @AVIYT -- I understand your love of driving to experience the sense of freedom you describe. It's been a big factor in my life as well. -- Re: the pregabalin (Lyrica), I hope you've discontinued it, especially since it caused your tinnitus. I myself use DMSO (and other things) to control some of my own pain syndromes. -- All the Best!

 

[GlennS]

Perhaps the plants needed more water...

Not sure. The soil here in New England is different from the pacific northwest plus I tried growing it on a hill that is sandy and doesn't hold in moisture. I have plenty of natural black raspberry that keeps coming up and I've even made jams out of that. Sometimes it's best to work with what is already adapted than to try to cultivate an exotic plant.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I tried growing it on a hill that is sandy

The plants in the Olympic NP grow close to the shore - I am pretty sure the soil is sandy/sand there. So the above was probably a good decision.

 

[JohnAdams]

Does anyone else drive a lot to distract themselves from tinnitus and depressive thoughts?

Definitely used to.