How Long Have You Gone Not Thinking About Your Tinnitus?

[BobDigi]

Today i woke up at 6:00am, got straight up, got dressed, coffee etc, got on bike, rode, got to work, had some breakfast then looked at the clock. Not only did i realize it was 8:30am. But more importantly i realized i hadn't even thought about my tinnitus for two and a half hours.

There was a time it was the first thing i thought about when i woke up was tinnitus. Today was a mile stone. Now i i can extend that two and a half hours by another fifteen, that will be a whole day. One step at a time.

 

[Zam]

Despite my tinnitus being really loud, the fact that I've had some form of T my entire life makes it that I can sometimes go several hours without noticing it. But when I do hear it, it is a nightmare.

 

[Kopesy]

Hmm, if sleep doesn't count, prolly an hour or two Even when I had my 'silent days' I was constantly thinking about it. I'm just so in love with T

 

[valeri]

Hmm, if sleep doesn't count, prolly an hour or two Even when I had my 'silent days' I was constantly thinking about it. I'm just so in love with T

Same here!
Never tear us apart......

 

[Dirk]

I have some days where I am so extremely focused on work and/or studying that I hardly notice it, but it always reminds that it's there at night.

 

[I who love music]

Hmm, if sleep doesn't count, prolly an hour or two Even when I had my 'silent days' I was constantly thinking about it. I'm just so in love with T

"T Love."
Sounds like a new song.

 

[Kopesy]

"T Love."
Sounds like a new song.

You're the music man, it's up to you to make this a hit ^_^

 

[wagonwheel]

I notice it every morning so never more than a full day

 

[Martin Jensen]

Before april of this year I wouldnt hear it for 99% of the time. Only if I decided to listen out for it. This was despite the fact that I could hear it, even in noisy environments.

 

[Ricky81]

My T is a low whooshing sound in both ears. So i only hear it in quite rooms or if I put on head phones on a plane or few times I go to shooting range.
I don't hear it at work unless room gets quite sometimes. When I sleep, I sleep like a pig so i dont hear my T when I sleep. If I'm out shopping, driving, or working out I don't hear T.

 

[Tamar]

I can go for a few hours at a time without thinking about my tinnitus if I'm busy, focused or social. But at night when I'm reading or on my computer... Ouch, it's so loud it hurts. I have 2 completely different sounds. One is a high pitched electrical type sound about 12,000 hz (I think) and the other is a thunderous rumble, vibrating motor-type sound, a mix between an ominous thunderstorm and a garbage truck... Hard to describe and anxiety provoking. The point is both sounds are deafening (literally), obnoxiously loud and real quite impossible to ignore unless I'm otherwise (very) occupied. I used to really enjoy silence and serenity and that is what I miss the most. I also miss being able to eat popcorn in front of the TV, or any food for that matter. Now I can barely hear dialogue so I've taken to using the subtitles for the hearing impaired. I do have actual hearing loss, especially in my left ear and on both sides in the upper and lower frequencies. Ok nuff said. If you have mild or moderate tinnitus and only contend with one sound, consider yourself lucky. Still I empathize with all of you and I don't mean to claim that mine is worse, but it's been a year and half and it's never improved, it's 24/7 and it's always increasing. What will I do? I will live with it and adapt and adjust as their is no other choice in the matter. I very much appreciate being able to vent a bit. Thank you all very much for your posts, tips, advise and honesty.

 

[Sound Wave]

Sometimes from going to work up until late evening.

 

[Telis]

Only when I'm sleeping, but even then, sometimes I hear it in my dreams.

 

[jazz]

I can go for a few hours at a time without thinking about my tinnitus if I'm busy, focused or social. But at night when I'm reading or on my computer... Ouch, it's so loud it hurts.

Yes, being distracted is a well known tinnitus relief strategy!

About nighttime tinnitus, are you using masking sounds? Often, they will serve to direct your attention away from your noise and onto what you're currently doing; thus, you can be free (or nearly free) of your tinnitus perception. Of course, masking does not always work, and using these sounds may irritate people with hyperacusis--either by causing them ear pain or by making their tinnitus temporarily spike. That said, masking is generally beneficial, for it helps deflect our attention away from our noise.

The use of masking for tinnitus is best exemplified by the candle analogy. Specifically, if you are sitting in the dark and you light one candle, then the brilliance of that candle is all you notice. But if you light a hundred candles, then the brilliance of your initial candle is less obvious and blends in with the other lights.

take care!

 

[Tamar]

Thank you Jazz and all, I will try my masking apps again. I really like to read on my kindle app or just read articles and news on the net but I find that the silence is a problem because my T sounds act up. Unfortunately I can't concentrate with music. I'm going to experiement with the masking and report back.

 

[Mark McDill]

If I'm at work I routinely go about 4-6 hours without it on my mind

 

[conbsgc]

weeks!!! its only when I hear the word tinnitus or get stressed that I refocus on it

 

[Cor]

@conbsgc Then it seems counterproductive to be on a tinnitus forum right?

I can go at most a few hours without thinking about it. It depends on the volume since mine fluctuates a lot.

 

[conbsgc]

@conbsgc Then it seems counterproductive to be on a tinnitus forum right?

I can go at most a few hours without thinking about it. It depends on the volume since mine fluctuates a lot.

no, because I am trying to teach myself to not fear tinnitus to completely get rid of it.

 

[linearb]

I remember a day last fall when I realized at ~3pm that I was thinking about it for the first time that day. So, that's about 8 hours... and the really mind boggling part for me is that I spent part of that day wearing earplugs because I was on my motorcycle

 

[geg1992]

I find that if I work really hard, I can go hours without noticing it.

I think one of the best things to get through the initial stage is to live your life as you would (avoiding loud sounds still). But this way it can be filled with other things to take your mind off it. A bad habit I had was wanting to be at home alone, you have to focus on it then!

 

[ampumpkin]

from 2007 until 2014: I spent months not hearing my T

since May 2014 (relapse and increase), I have spent 2-3 days not noticing it.

 

[CarolinaGuy]

I'm pushing five months since onset.
My record so far is about four hours without noticing it.

 

[HiThere]

I've had it all my life. I believe on a nervous system level we're never disassociated from our T completely. Our nervous systems are on high alert 24/7/365/lifetime.

However, I've gone days without being aware of it consciously; so for those periods of time being able to forget that it's there. When I am conscious of it again after a period of "forgetting" about it, I just acknowledge it and move on with whatever I'm doing. "Wow, I haven't noticed my T for a few days........" then move on.

Generally though, I'm conscious of it many times daily.

Chris

 

[ShaunR]

Hey,
I don't notice it at all unless i consciously listen for it or like recently something else is happening like ETD etc .I've habituated very well. I can tune in and out of my T even though its fairly loud.

I've fully accepted that ill never have complete silence its actually now become normal.

Cheers,
Shaun.