General Encouragement & My Tinnitus Story — The Human Mind Is Very Strong

[Zulla Haile]

Hello folks,

My name is Zulla, I joined just a few weeks ago. Though not officially diagnosed with tinnitus, I've told the doctors etc. about it. My tinnitus really became noticeable in November of 2020.

I also get migraines (I just thought they were headaches the whole time lol) which will amplify the tinnitus when it kicks in.

Will this go away? I do not know.

I found Tinnitus Talk and have been appreciative of all the work they put in. There are around 36k members on here.

I am not sure what happened to me that I got this (other than turning 40). I have no hearing loss or any sort of trauma to the head. It just showed up one day. Head scans, blood work etc. is all normal.

My point is, I pray for every member on here daily, and the scientists that they figure this thing out. I want us all to be encouraged in all this craziness that goes on in our heads daily. Be strengthened by this. Some have had it for years and cope well, others, it drives them crazy from what I read. Know that at least I am, and probably many others, are praying.

Why is God allowing this to happen is a BIG question for me as a Christian. And slowly the answers come, and they may be different for each of us. And perhaps I will share what I have received at a later date. But it is real, and must be dealt with, the HOW is what it will come down to. After some weeks of crying, not knowing how I got this and how my life will be, I got used to it a bit, and only notice it when I'm not in day to day activities, like trying to sleep or read. But some days it's good (and I'm grateful for the break).

I've ranted on long enough, but please be encouraged. The human mind is created to withstand much. It is very strong, and you can deal with tinnitus and have support. Imagine all the things the brain filters out daily that we don't even notice...

God Bless, and be well.

 

[Drachen]

Welcome, Zulla! I must say, I not only appreciate your writing style but find your message to be charming, relatable, and hopeful. Thank you for taking the time to join the community and share your story.

As someone that has experienced severe headaches in the past, which may very well have been some form of migraine, I cannot begin to process how difficult this must be in addition to your tinnitus. This past week, I've had a few moderate ones myself, and I found myself utterly miserable. The strength you must wield to get through it all is truly admirable, and I hope you are also to overcome them with time.

Like yourself and many, many others, I have more or less a clean bill of health, though I have come to learn that many of the diagnostic methods used by medical professionals are not robust enough to fully gauge your condition (this particularly applies to audiometry). One of the most distressing parts of this condition, besides having to actually endure it, is how little you can know for certain. This paralyzes me and makes it hard to decide what I must do going forward. I don't like the concept of merely having to wait and hope for the best, but that itself is the only guarantee we can manage.

I must admit that my faith has been tested a bit by this myself. I find a symptom such as this to be incredibly cruel and damaged, and despite my prayers and the prayers of others, I have not found any relief. This has led me to consider how many other conditions like this there are out there afflicting people on a day to day basis. It all makes me wonder why.

It's good to see that you have at least found some peace with your condition and are on the way to mending your perception of it. This is something that I will have to admit is hard for me to imagine as it continues to be a constant day-to-day source of stress. I do believe you are correct in that the mind can be a powerful source of defense, one I hope everyone (including myself) will be able to use to defeat the distress this symptom causes.

I truly hope to see you around. God bless you indeed, and I pray you recover with time.

 

[twa]

Welcome, Zulla! I must say, I not only appreciate your writing style but find your message to be charming, relatable, and hopeful. Thank you for taking the time to join the community and share your story.

As someone that has experienced severe headaches in the past, which may very well have been some form of migraine, I cannot begin to process how difficult this must be in addition to your tinnitus. This past week, I've had a few moderate ones myself, and I found myself utterly miserable. The strength you must wield to get through it all is truly admirable, and I hope you are also to overcome them with time.

Like yourself and many, many others, I have more or less a clean bill of health, though I have come to learn that many of the diagnostic methods used by medical professionals are not robust enough to fully gauge your condition (this particularly applies to audiometry). One of the most distressing parts of this condition, besides having to actually endure it, is how little you can know for certain. This paralyzes me and makes it hard to decide what I must do going forward. I don't like the concept of merely having to wait and hope for the best, but that itself is the only guarantee we can manage.

I must admit that my faith has been tested a bit by this myself. I find a symptom such as this to be incredibly cruel and damaged, and despite my prayers and the prayers of others, I have not found any relief. This has led me to consider how many other conditions like this there are out there afflicting people on a day to day basis. It all makes me wonder why.

It's good to see that you have at least found some peace with your condition and are on the way to mending your perception of it. This is something that I will have to admit is hard for me to imagine as it continues to be a constant day-to-day source of stress. I do believe you are correct in that the mind can be a powerful source of defense, one I hope everyone (including myself) will be able to use to defeat the distress this symptom causes.

I truly hope to see you around. God bless you indeed, and I pray you recover with time.

@Zulla Haile & @Drachen,

Thank you for your posts. We need encouraging posts like these.

Keep the faith,
twa

 

[Zulla Haile]

Thank you guys and I am appreciative of you all being on here. Sometimes I stay away from the forum because I just want to forget EVERYTHING that tinnitus is, but that only works for a little while at a time.

 

[Drachen]

Thank you guys and I am appreciative of you all being on here. Sometimes I stay away from the forum because I just want to forget EVERYTHING that tinnitus is, but that only works for a little while at a time.

I understand completely. I find myself oscillating between viewing the forum as a source of both positivity and negativity. It certainly contains much of both, but frequenting it proven to be a bit of a paradox. Should I continue participating in order to find, communicate with, and help others at the risk of potentially "feeding" this beast? I haven't been able to find a solid answer for that yet, so I tend to have days where I am quite active (usually my worse days with the symptom) and others where I try to keep it at bay (when I am having okay days).

I hate so much that so many parts of this symptom appear to be binary: you should do this or that, this thing will help or hurt, etc. It makes it nearly impossible to determine what is the best course of action.

 

[ajc]

Should I continue participating in order to find, communicate with, and help others at the risk of potentially "feeding" this beast? I haven't been able to find a solid answer for that yet, so I tend to have days where I am quite active (usually my worse days with the symptom) and others where I try to keep it at bay (when I am having okay days).

I think it's very individual. Look at @billie48, he has frequented the forum for years and continues to help people. Helping people makes him feel good, he knows he's doing God's work by helping those who struggle. But for sure some people are better off not thinking about tinnitus at all. I guess it depends on your personality and psychological build up.

I think universally most people are selfish and don't give a shit about others. My hat's off to people who continue to help others.

 

[billie48]

Look at @billie48, he has frequented the forum for years and continues to help people. Helping people makes him feel good, he knows he's doing God's work by helping those who struggle.

Thanks for the good words. For me, helping and lifting a suffering member from intense suffering and despair is what drives me to stay on. Truly caring for one another even as total strangers is an ideal worthy of pursuing.

I hope more members who have habituated or doing well will stay on to help others.

 

[Drachen]

I hope more members who have habituated or doing well will stay on to help others.

Perhaps my best time on the forum here has been spent talking to other newcomers who have arrived to share their story and their concerns. As I haven't been able to stable myself as much as I would like, it's the least I could do to try and help others in that respect.

I certainly look forward to posting in the near future my success story, as well as a compilation of all the great bits of advice that have provided me benefit to get through this mess. As the medical community is moving at such a slow pace with respect to this issue, it's vital that communities like this exist and share information and support to one another in order to expedite recovery.

 

[Lane]

After some weeks of crying, not knowing how I got this and how my life will be, I got used to it a bit, and only notice it when I'm not in day to day activities, like trying to sleep or read. But some days it's good (and I'm grateful for the break).

Hi @Zulla Haile -- Thank you for your kind, gentle, and sincere post. -- I'm happy to hear you get at least occasional (relative) breaks from your tinnitus. As far as you not knowing what's causing your tinnitus, THIS POST describes how a man from London got rid of his tinnitus after 14 years by using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I think there's clues in his story about why tinnitus can improve from fasting. -- All the Best...