How Long Will It Take to Habituate?
- Thread starter sandra72
- Start date
Memberit took 6 months the first time...and now I'm almost done with my 2nd habituation process and it has been 5 months since the increase.
Usually, I think it takes from 6 months to 18 months...
Usually, I think it takes from 6 months to 18 months...
I'm 16 months in and not fully habitated yet...but at least I enjoy life again. There are some bumbs on the road but I will continu to not let it get to me anymore. Habitation started for me several weeks ago so just give it time. My T was very loud in the beginning. So perhaps it takes longer ..... my guess is good as any 
Is it more less now?
I have it since may this year and i think it came from sound trauma. Not so sure. Last year in oct. i went to a concert with my sister. We both had 3 days of ringing but went away. This april i woke up and i hear a white noise sound in my ear. It went away but it came back every morning for a week. Then in may i whas vaccuumcleaning and the sound hurts my ear i bit. And there it whas the same white noise sound and this time it did not go away. I have good days when there is silents but also days that i can hear it all the time.
When i work i have more trouble. I still can hear everything, have no trouble listening to conversations but the T is there. But when i am free from work and weekends than there is more silent. I have somatic T. I can change the sound, i hear the sound going on the beat on how i walk. I also feel pressure in my ears somethimes.
I have no trouble sleeping, dont use masking. But now and then i cant stop thinking about my T. I give it a lot of attention. Just had a break down and start crying because i am affraid that it could become worse or that i would have to live with this for the rest of my live.
Sorry for my long story.
My T is not more or less I just don't hear it so much anymore.
That means...when I plug my ears (stick both fingers in my ears) it's loud as it was last year, but the sound to mask it is way less than it used to be. A minimum of sound makes my brain block it out.
In a complete silent room I still hear it ofcourse. A year back I could hear it through everything. Sometimes I don't hear it in a silent room because I do not think about it. The moment I think about it I hear it. And sometimes when I don't think about it and it is silent I hear it also. but it's waaaaaaay better than last year.
I do not have panic attacks any more...when I hear it I don't like it but I do not panic and seem to care less more and more
That means...when I plug my ears (stick both fingers in my ears) it's loud as it was last year, but the sound to mask it is way less than it used to be. A minimum of sound makes my brain block it out.
In a complete silent room I still hear it ofcourse. A year back I could hear it through everything. Sometimes I don't hear it in a silent room because I do not think about it. The moment I think about it I hear it. And sometimes when I don't think about it and it is silent I hear it also. but it's waaaaaaay better than last year.
I do not have panic attacks any more...when I hear it I don't like it but I do not panic and seem to care less more and more
Habituation is getting hard for me.
at the beginning I did have a really hard time, like I suppose all of us, I was depress, stress, I don't even want to remember. When talking to people who told me they had it, they told me that it would get better with time...but I am still waiting to habituate. Of course I am not as bad as when it started, and there were times when I thought I did it, I have habituated...but no, I have not, at least , completely. I find myself looking for it, checking whether is on a high or on a low pitch,..because if fluctuates.. the worst part is the night. During the day I am busy, work, this and that..but as soon as I get home..i check for it..I try not to, but I can't. And at nights wow!!, I do felt sleep soon, not as the beginning, but if I wake in the middle of the night, which actually happens basically every day...then is the problem..because on the silence of the night.....and I have tried to used the sound machines,,..but I am sensitive to noise, and they do not let me sleep..
Anyway, I just pray for habituation.. and hope it happens soon.
at the beginning I did have a really hard time, like I suppose all of us, I was depress, stress, I don't even want to remember. When talking to people who told me they had it, they told me that it would get better with time...but I am still waiting to habituate. Of course I am not as bad as when it started, and there were times when I thought I did it, I have habituated...but no, I have not, at least , completely. I find myself looking for it, checking whether is on a high or on a low pitch,..because if fluctuates.. the worst part is the night. During the day I am busy, work, this and that..but as soon as I get home..i check for it..I try not to, but I can't. And at nights wow!!, I do felt sleep soon, not as the beginning, but if I wake in the middle of the night, which actually happens basically every day...then is the problem..because on the silence of the night.....and I have tried to used the sound machines,,..but I am sensitive to noise, and they do not let me sleep..
Anyway, I just pray for habituation.. and hope it happens soon.
I'm over a year in and still not. But I don't want to kill myself anymore so the only way is up right 
Seriously tho - it still annoys me on an everyday basis but not I'm as depressed about it. Most of the time now my mindset is "yeah, it sucks, but balls up and move on"
It takes time and I think personality has a lot to do with it (as does volume but that's another thread). I'm a very A type personality - highly stressed, like to be able to control things etc, and T isn't something I have any control over and that makes it difficult for me.
My hubby and father in law on the other hand both have T - not as loud as mine admittedly - and it never ever bothers them, they are so much more relaxed than me
Seriously tho - it still annoys me on an everyday basis but not I'm as depressed about it. Most of the time now my mindset is "yeah, it sucks, but balls up and move on"
It takes time and I think personality has a lot to do with it (as does volume but that's another thread). I'm a very A type personality - highly stressed, like to be able to control things etc, and T isn't something I have any control over and that makes it difficult for me.
My hubby and father in law on the other hand both have T - not as loud as mine admittedly - and it never ever bothers them, they are so much more relaxed than me
Don't wait for habituation, force it.
Stop listening to the T and gauging it. Instead, gauge your response. For instance, "I hear it today and it's making me nervous." Or, "I hear it and I'm really too busy to care." Say these things to yourself. Don't say, "God it's so loud, what am I going to do?"
Gauge your response.
Things will change.
I learned this here on the forum.
It works for me, my T was heavy on my nerves since the mid 70's.
Stop listening to the T and gauging it. Instead, gauge your response. For instance, "I hear it today and it's making me nervous." Or, "I hear it and I'm really too busy to care." Say these things to yourself. Don't say, "God it's so loud, what am I going to do?"
Gauge your response.
Things will change.
I learned this here on the forum.
It works for me, my T was heavy on my nerves since the mid 70's.
The weard thing with me is that the last couple of weeks i did not notice it but only in silence room en when sleeping. But today had some stress and i can hear it over everything beside riding my car. When i am relaxt i dont hear it when watching tv, outside, goint to my horse, shower etc.
Can stress make it al worse? Dit i gett T from stress. My T is most of the time not te sime. It goes up and down. Is this also possible when you have T from sound trauma?
Can stress make it al worse? Dit i gett T from stress. My T is most of the time not te sime. It goes up and down. Is this also possible when you have T from sound trauma?
It took me somewhere between 6 and 9 months to accept that it's there and it's not going anywhere. That's also when I realized there are more important things in life to pay attention to. Since then it seems like it got less loud as well!
- Feb 9, 2014
- 536
- Tinnitus Since
- 03/2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Likely stress, anxiety, an antibiotic and nsaids
sandra72
stress most definitely makes it worse; I hear my T over everything all the time (it's really loud) but when I'm anxiety filled or stressed it is way loud. I figure I have a built in stressometer (called T). I'm pretty convinced stress had a lot to do with the onset of my T.
Mark
Ok...I've had T since June 2014...caused by a day at the Speedway, despite wearing ear plugs. I'm at the stage now where it varies day to day...some days (like yesterday) was great...almost no T at school (despite a bigger and more stressful workload this year)...it was like I didn't have T anymore. I slept really well too. Today? it's raging..as I type this. Stress is a definite trigger...I teach classroom music and I'm worried about my teaching load...trying to focus in class...not being as prepared as I need to be. I'm 61 and have organised a superannuation meeting to see if I can retire early...my thinking is health vs money! Taking stress leave for up to 2 years on 75% salary is an other option...providing I can substantiate T as being a disability, and have the required medical intervention with psychiatrists etc.
I guess that I don't panic as much now, even on a "bad" day. My T today would have seen me head to the hospital in tears 5 months ago...now it's something I seem to be able to tolerate (well...sort of!). Luckily I am able to fall sleep and usually get 6-7 hours before waking up with the T...always loud in the morning. I've been told by members of this forum that as I get good days, then they should increase in number over time...this is the hope that I cling to (as well as a "cure" one day). One of the instrumental teachers I work with has had t for many years...he says he can still hear it but ignores it...I guess his is not "loud" as mine? I'm not on any meds, but will pop a Valium once or twice a month if need be...seems to help if taken the night before. Habituation?...bring it on!
I guess that I don't panic as much now, even on a "bad" day. My T today would have seen me head to the hospital in tears 5 months ago...now it's something I seem to be able to tolerate (well...sort of!). Luckily I am able to fall sleep and usually get 6-7 hours before waking up with the T...always loud in the morning. I've been told by members of this forum that as I get good days, then they should increase in number over time...this is the hope that I cling to (as well as a "cure" one day). One of the instrumental teachers I work with has had t for many years...he says he can still hear it but ignores it...I guess his is not "loud" as mine? I'm not on any meds, but will pop a Valium once or twice a month if need be...seems to help if taken the night before. Habituation?...bring it on!
- Jun 26, 2014
- 2,264
- Tinnitus Since
- 11/2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Drugs barotrauma
I'm not sure that all T can reach the stage of habituation, especially with H. It's been 13 months for me and I fight through every day. I feel as though I'm being punished mentally and physically 24 7. I don't know if I can train my brain to ignoir this, if I can, I don't see it for some reason. I have lost the anxiety portion, now it just feels like I'm being punched in head all day. Bizare pains in my ears/brain even with no sound. T feels like pressure in my brain and it is uncomfortable to hear. All sounds distorted. Yesterday, every word I spoke sounded like my T, screaching with every word, even if I whispered. I really don't see just putting all this to the back of my mind. Could I get used to being kicked in the teeth all day? I don't know, probably not, I don't see how this can happen at this stage.
I had mild T to start (maybe normal T). Well...there is a HUGE difference to what I have now. I think the best I can do at this stage is face it as the disability it is, quit beating myself up for not moving on and ignoring it.
I feel for people with serious ear issues and not just anxiety about a noise. It's not the same at all. One is just a phycological hurdle, the other is a true physical disability in my opinion. Unfortunately everyone is grouped together and it's all the same thing. If I had my old T I wouldn't even be here, I would be out living life.
I had mild T to start (maybe normal T). Well...there is a HUGE difference to what I have now. I think the best I can do at this stage is face it as the disability it is, quit beating myself up for not moving on and ignoring it.
I feel for people with serious ear issues and not just anxiety about a noise. It's not the same at all. One is just a phycological hurdle, the other is a true physical disability in my opinion. Unfortunately everyone is grouped together and it's all the same thing. If I had my old T I wouldn't even be here, I would be out living life.
TheGagagirl1234
Member
I think I'm habituated but I'm not sure. When I have bad days I sometimes cry because my T is annoying to the point where I barely sleep. And I have insomnia, too so I wake up several times every night but I don't get up I just try to fall asleep and I mostly fail to do so 
But I barely hear it when I do something during the day. It could've been MUCH worse so I'm thankful that it is this way. We have no choice but to accept it
But I barely hear it when I do something during the day. It could've been MUCH worse so I'm thankful that it is this way. We have no choice but to accept it
I have had some degree of tinnitus since 2004. When I first noticed it, I was really only bothered by it in the quiet. I was able to habituate to it in two months, just by leaving a TV or fan on. I then had a bout with a severe cold, in May 2014, which stuffed my ears up and that made me notice the tinnitus ringing in my ear a lot more. When the ear cleared up, the tinnitus really bothered me and it took about 4 or 5 months to habituate to it again. I now had a severe ear infection and even had a tube put in my ear in September 2015. The ear has since healed but the tinnitus has been bothersome again since October. I know how to habituate it after doing it twice and when it was habituated, it didn't affect me in the least, even though I could notice it at night. Now I can't seem to get it to habituate completely and I feel like I have tried all the things I tried the last two times. I've tried relaxing, melatonin, headset with talk radio, and relaxing nature sounds with headset, and TV with headset, as well as all of these without a headset. It seems to be worse some days than others and maybe I'm just trying to rush it or thinking too much about it. I did have a lot of anxiety with the ear infection and other health problems, but the tinnitus didn't seem to be that hard to deal with the first two times, although it was real bad the second time, before I found out I did not have a medical problem causing it. Seems like I have a lot more anxiety with it this time and really letting it affect my life, when I feel like I've already learned how to live with it before. Any suggestions?
