Getting Better? Hope So

[Marie79]

Hopefully this time it will stick.

Here are some of my tips because it is NOT one size fits all.


I was on the road to habituation midway through this (I'm 7 months in now so that was a couple months ago). I interpreted habituation to be that I could hear it but not be upset but could tune it out. For me it was that I just couldn't hear it. It never went away it just kind of went out of consciousness. Because I thought it had "gone away" I checked and checked and checked and what do you know..there it was and then there were noises I never noticed before. I KNOW this is the case because I sat in my car and realized the second I was still hearing it and realized it hadn't changed but my perception of it did. I think this is important for people trying to get to habituation to understand. It isn't the same for everyone.


So I had a relapse and the anxiety made it louder and I completely freaked out.

• ANXIETY DOES MAKE IT LOUDER. I promise. A lot louder.

• They all say make the masking just lower than the T so you will habituate. I don't want to give bad advice here but for ME that didn't work. I wasn't ready and it sent me into a tailspin of completely freaking out when I tried to do this and thus, made the T louder. If you can do this without freaking out that is one thing. I know now I was not ready for that. Because I kept trying to do that and failing I was feeling like a complete failure.

• just "WAITING" for habituation. Part of the huge fear with T is the lack of control. I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting for habituation and feeling a complete lack of control when it was happening which therefore increased my anxiety and my tinnitus itself. Finding some control over this (that wasn't a benzo) drastically lowered my anxiety and I will tell you what that is in a minute.

• Things that made me feel more in control: Crickets. I can't hear the T if I have an app playing crickets and I have noticed a HUGE decrease in my perception of T in the past couple weeks since I have been putting them on during the day while I'm working. Refocusing your HEARING attention. Sure we all know how to distract by doing other things but this was something I learned on here a couple weeks ago. It is very hard to focus on 2 sounds at one time. When you hear the T focus on another sound and you will find it's hard to focus on your T. Now this is just something that GRADUALLY your brain is supposed to eventually do on it's own. I noticed a difference with this because it gave me some sort of control.

• Ginger root. I have no idea if this has been helping but maybe there is something to say about placebo. Because anxiety plays such a huge role in T, doing something that you at least somewhat feel like you have control over can definitely help bring the volume down. I can say for sure that chewing and swallowing a bit of ginger in the morning and at night has helped me avoid some colds and that made me feel better..I got T because of an ear infection and the last thing I want is a major head cold right now. I've also give diet soda up or any artificial sweeteners in the past couple weeks. I read a decently reputable study that it increased T. Who knows maybe it's all a coincidence.

• Hyperacusus: In the past week this has decreased. I still hear noises louder than others and beeping/high pitch noises still gets to me but I have noticed a distinct decrease in it.

I'm still not nearly 100% at all. I'm hoping at some point to post a success story. I would say that instead of having terrible moments every day, it's now 1x per week. I'm only 2 weeks into this new phase so I will continue. I mean last night I had a freak out moment because I heard a new low drone noise. I think we all have noises there that we don't perceive unless we really try to. Maybe this was new maybe it was there before.

I still have that terrible anxiety of "what if it gets worse" "what if what I'm doing is all wrong and it will make it all worse."

I hope I can write all this and still have the support of this forum if I have a relapse.

 

[Owen]

I'm pleased you have found a regimen that works for you. Hopefully things will continue to improve.

 

[Raggs]

Wow..the majority of your post is EXACTLY what I am going through! Thinking it has gone, but then when I "look" for it, it is there. So weird! It still doesn't comfort me though, b/c I can't enjoy the relief when I don't hear it, b/c I'm not thinking about it..I want to be able to think about it and still feel relief!! This is such a emotional roller coaster ride for me b/c I am an introverted person, and my mind was my sanctuary..

And crickets are my "go to" for complete coverage. I stumbled across a study where they found that completely masking the sound for awhile, then slowly going to partial was actually more successful then starting at partial.
It's called "Sequential Sound Therapy". So now I sometimes mask completely, without feeling guilty..lol
Here's a link..but you can google it too.
http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/imagebank/pdf/v10n2a10.pdf

And totally understand the focusing on another sound to get away from the sound in my ear(s)!
I also listen to sleep hypnosis apps at night, and just listen to the person talk, which helps my focus away from the noise.

I have been trying to just get through this on my own, grin and bear it, waiting and waiting, (for what? idk), but
finally broke down in my new doctor's office and she put me on meds. I can have long spells of totally coping and then veer off into anxiety land! I was/am very nervous about taking them, but I have been on them for about 5 days, and the first 3 days I noticed quite a lessening in annoyance. The next 2 days have been so s0.

But I feel that you are correct, that anxiety plays a huge part! When I first got this, I read and researched, and there was alot of suggestions to go on meds, but when I read it didn't take the sound away, I thought that wasn't good enough. Then someone said, "I still hear it, but I don't care", really resonated with me. So I am going to stick with it. I am also going through huge stress with my job and other stuff!

I also have been doing the "back to silence" method, where you acknowledge how you feel, but don't measure the
level of sound. I think that helped my animal brain stop monitoring it so intensely.

I'm so afraid this is as good as it gets. I keep reading about habituation to perception, and it sounds like some ppl get to the point where their brain just tunes it out completely. But then how do they know it just simply hasn't gone?
They must be able to hear it still! So confused..

Anyway, nice to know I'm not alone...but sorta makes me sad too...

 

[Jomo]

Yesterday i battled the freaking thing...i was at work in a quiet room and i just kept telling it to go away in my head (i know i sound crazy lol). I cant describe exactly what i did but i ended up with pain in the back of my head on the left side (which was the side the T was coming from). Felt tight for a while...almost like it was sore but the noise stopped. My T has been dropping in volume lately...its so light now...still get it a bit at night but i was just focusing on other noises (crickets) when i heard it. Once i did that the T went away. I stayed calm the entire time...use your anger and frustration to stay focused and say I wont let you win. Im still new at this but I am feeling better. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Joe