How to Habituate to Tinnitus

This is so cool to read, Dave! I remember you being in a very different state of mind back in the days.

 

I commend you for trying to do this @Strawberryblonde because it is no easy feat! If you feel this is working for you, then continue. However, please keep in mind the purpose of using sound enrichment at night is not to mask the tinnitus, but to allow the brain and auditory system to focus on sound while we are asleep. The brain and auditory system never switch off until we die. If the brain hears silence while we are asleep, it will increase its background activity and in the process the tinnitus will also increase, which can make it louder and more intrusive during waking hours.

Using nature sounds (not music) at night will provide the brain and auditory system with low-level sound enrichment. The brain will not be so eager to increase its background activity because it's being supplied with sound enrichment from an outside source - the sound machine. In the process it will push the tinnitus further back into the mind over time, which helps to make it less noticeable during waking hours. If hyperacusis is present, the sound enrichment will help to desensitise the auditory system.

The goal is to set the sound enrichment at a level so it's not drawing attention to itself and can easily be ignored. It takes at least 6 to 8 weeks to get used to using sound enrichment at night. Once this is achieved you will begin to find the habituation process easier.

Michael

 

Hi there @Michael Leigh.

I have been using sound enrichment since my tinnitus began many moons ago in 2015. It worked fine and caused me no issues until my tinnitus increased in May of this year. Along with my tinnitus increase I also developed distortions such as erratic beeps over certain sounds and a one sided morse code in my left ear. Unfortunately my tinnitus likes to overpower my masking noises at times and I was finding it somewhat impossible to get a full restful night's sleep even though the volume of the devices was set below my tinnitus to help with habituation again.

This is where I decided to forgo my masking noises and power through the erratic noises and to my surprise I find them lowering to a more tolerable level and I can sometimes tune them out (not always as the mind sometimes likes to work against me lol). It has also been beneficial to my mental health which has taken a battering since the increase and I am able to not be as frightened when I do hear it and just think of it as part of me now.

Thank you again for taking the time to explain the benefits of masking noises. If things do hit the fan or I do a 180 habituation wise, then I do have my masking noises powered up and ready to go.

Strawberryblonde

 

Hi @Strawberryblonde. I am sorry to know your tinnitus increased. This can happen for a number of reasons. Taking a new medication, stress or an underlying medical problem within your auditory system. One of the most common is exposure to loud noise or listening to audio through some type of headphones even at low volume, especially if the original cause of your tinnitus was noise induced,

If you find it better not using sound enrichment at night, then continue as you are, but please remember, the correct way to use low level nature sounds at night, is to provide sound enrichment, not to mask the tinnitus.

All the best,
Michael

 

@Michael Leigh, serious question. Does a partner's breathing count as sound enrichment?

 

Assuming you are serious @tpj, a partner's breathing does not count as sound enrichment. I believe the only way to treat and hopefully cure an oversensitive orditory system is using sound enrichment. There are various ways this can be achieved. In its simplistic form it's using a sound machine by the bedside at night or having it attached to an under-pillow speaker for privacy.

It all depends how severe the tinnitus and oversensitivity to sound are. This may require the wearing of white noise generators and having regular counselling with a tinnitus therapist.

Michael

 

Hi @Michael Leigh. I was serious when I asked that and I am curious, if the sound is lower than the volume of your tinnitus, why do you think some sounds are more helpful than others? Nature sounds as opposed to soft, soothing music for example.

 

Hi @tpj. It is absolutely fine to use soft soothing music for sound enrichment during the day, but for night it's not recommended according to Pawel Jastreboff, developer of TRT. His reasons are that music evokes emotion and will draw attention to itself, which is not ideal for sound enrichment at night. I agree with him. Some people may not agree with this and that's their choice.

In a similar vein, it's one of the reasons most wearable white noise generators, are programmed with white or pink noise, or have sea wave sounds. All these sounds are neutral and tend not to evoke emotions or draw attention to themselves providing the volume is not set too high. I know some white noise generators enable music to be streamed to them via Bluetooth. However, I have corresponded with a few people that find their tinnitus and hyperacusis have spiked when listening to music through these devices even at low volume.

Michael

 

@tpj, purely out of curiosity I went on Amazon and typed in "Jastreboff". You will find his TRT book (which is nearly 20 years old and a whopping $65.00) along with several sample pages.

I was amazed that his analogies for "demystifying" tinnitus are as prima facie absurd, insulting-to-my-intelligence, and empirically disprovable as anything from Julian Cowan Hill.

Can you believe that Jastreboff actually calls tinnitus "naturally benign" and "fundamentally normal"?

Now we get the typically incomprehensible commentary from @Michael Leigh that supports Jastreboff's claim that music is to be avoided because "it will evoke emotion and draw attention to itself."

So, I guess it is more "therapeutic" and emotionally reassuring to listen to a high-pitched tea kettle sound than to (for example) have on Van Cliburn's piano performance of Ravel's "Pavane For A Dead Princess" (to see what I mean, just check it out on YouTube).

I am so exhausted with the counterproductive, crank nonsense that @Michael Leigh promulgates.

 

Any soft sound or activity (safe for your tinnitus) that can take attention away from the ringing, could possibly be helpful. Key thing is to not get too focused on the sound (tinnitus) and try possible distractions. If this helps someone, then possibly use it. Everyone is different, you have to see what works for you.

All of this depends on the person, for some it could possibly help.

 

I don't focus on my tinnitus. I don't need to. This metallic piercing screams at me.

 

Hi again @Jazzer. It took you many, many years to reach this point. Do you think there's something you could have done to reach this point faster, and save yourself from some suffering?

 

Hi Bud - to be honest - I’m not sure.

Developing severe tinnitus is hateful and devastating for anybody - but I will say particularly for me. I had been a cornet player since age 10, and a professional jazz trombonist since age 20?

When I stopped playing in 2017, I was a trombonist in 5 bands.

To answer your question, on the morning when I awoke to 55/60 decibels, I thought for sure I would go mad. I sobbed and sobbed - I asked my beautiful wife to take me to Switzerland for euthanasia. She said “I would do anything for you - but I will never do that for you. I know it is terrible, but you must be bigger than this thing. You can do it - I know you can do it.”

I have said before that she was a qualified hypnotherapist. She recorded one hypnotherapy session on to my mobile phone. It ran for 22 minutes. I played it every night to get to sleep, and every morning before getting up.

The hypnotherapy message goes in subliminally - it does not say “it may get quieter and fade into the background”;

“It will get quieter and fade into the background.”


To bring you up to date - I have not thought about tinnitus once today.

The time here is now past 1 am, and I must get some sleep - but I wanted to answer you because I know how you feel.

By all means come back - as necessary.

Best wishes,
Dave x
Jazzer

 

It sounds like for some reason your brain decided not to pay attention to your tinnitus anymore. At some point you realized subconsciously that these sounds don't deserve your attention and you found peace. Maybe having Parkinson's was the catalyst for you?

 

Well I can’t agree with that suggestion.

My considerable degree of improvement predated the advent of Parkinson’s.

My view is that tinnitus is incurable, and virtually untreatable, so acceptance is crucial, and actually provides the only available ‘escape route’ from further diabolical suffering.

In any event, I now have peace of mind.

After years of reading understandably frantic posts on here, many of which were my own, I have come to the conclusion that not only are we wasting time, we are wasting our precious lives.

We have to find a way to live again.

Stop desperately hanging onto every last detail that the researchers can come up with. Accept that which is. Accept the “is-ness’ of life. What can be more futile than resisting ‘that which already exists.’ Read Eckhart Tolle for wisdom.

Perhaps hypnotic suggestion, and meditation can help you come to a degree of acceptance.

Best wishes everybody,
Dave x
Jazzer

 

A woman who is the secretary of a local orchestra said that the trombone part of Ravel's "Bolero" is so difficult that oftentimes trombone players will have included in their contracts the stipulation that they will not be required to play this.

Is this true?

 

Thanks for the answer! What I am gathering from this is the earlier you accept it, the earlier your suffering will subside. In other words, you can reach peace in 6 months or 6 years, depending on how much you accept it. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's my conclusion from reading your posts.

 

Hi @Michael Leigh, I truly appreciate everything you contribute to this community. I remember exchanging a few messages 6 months ago at big jump in my tinnitus due to sound exposure. Since then my tinnitus and sound tolerance have both been aggressively worsening to the point I have been completely housebound for months.

I tried sound therapy early on but I was one of the unfortunate patients who found the pink noise uncomfortable at nearly any level and it would flare everything up. I have conversations with family (who I am living with), I listen to podcasts through a speaker while working, and I watch TV with low volume a lot of nights, all in an attempt to keep some level of sound exposure. I am housebound but I’m keeping my ears open to ambient noise and not wearing hearing protection. Even if tinnitus can get worse with being over cautious to sound, the extreme amount that my symptoms have worsened seem out of line with the amount I have protected.

However, my tinnitus and hyperacusis are so (and I cannot emphasize enough), SO much worse than 6 months ago and have quite honestly been worsening constantly. Several unexpected loud noise incidents have added completely new sounds that do not go away. I know the mind can often make tinnitus seem louder, but mine has objectively added sounds and volume to a level that is incredibly uncomfortable and completely unmaskable by my activities that initially brought me relief. Any accidental sound can make it worse, and week after week I find myself trying to get accustomed to a new level. This is a nightmare for me, and it’s really hard to see any way out. I know this is a lot, and I realize I am a difficult patient. But I need help badly, and I don’t know what is happening or how to think about handling this. I would highly value your opinion. Thank you!

PS: It’s worth noting I have been on Betahistine (Serc) for 10 days as I received an opinion the progressive nature of my condition may possibly be caused by cochlear hydrops. So far there hasn’t been noticeable effect and my tinnitus has continued to worsen all the same so far, but I hope it will benefit me in time.

 

Thank you for your kind comments @Theezy.

I am sorry to know that your tinnitus and hyperacusis have increased. I think you are doing the right thing by continuing to use low-level sound enrichment. If it's possible, try and see an ENT doctor and audiologist so tests can be carried out on your auditory system, to see whether there is an underlying medical problem that has caused your tinnitus and hyperacusis to increase. I think this is the best way forward for you.

Take care and hope you start to feel better soon.

All the best,
Michael

 

Thank you Michael. I appreciate the reply. I have already been working with an audiologist and general practitioner for the past months. I have seen many ENTs over the years with perfect ears, hearing, and imaging apart from my tinnitus and hyperacusis, and it was getting worse then too. I feel I have exhausted all straightforward options and need a new approach. I don’t expect you to have these potentially impossible answers, but I’m in a state where I have to swallow some pride and urgently ask around for ideas.

 

I understand how you feel @Theezy.

There are two things that spring to mind that could have caused your tinnitus and hyperacusis to increase, once an underlying medical condition within your auditory system has been ruled out. I will assume this is the case since you have been seen by more than one ENT doctor recently. Therefore, the usual cause for tinnitus and hyperacusis to increase are: stress or further exposure to loud noise that you might not have been aware of, especially if you were wearing earplugs. If you have been listening to audio through headphones, earbuds, headsets, noise-cancelling or bone conduction headphones, it's likely one or more of these devices has caused the increase in your tinnitus and hyperacusis.

If you have attended places where loud sounds were present, a concert or club and wore earplugs, this could have caused the tinnitus and hyperacusis to increase. Once an underlying medical problem and stress are ruled out as the cause, this leaves exposure to sound. Possibly caused by listening to audio through some type of headphones even at low volume, or exposure to loud sound that you haven't been aware of.

Please click on the link below and read my post: Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus?

Hope you start to feel better soon,
Michael

Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

Thank you again, I have really limited anything above low-moderate sound exposure as I realized that was making things worse initially. Of the options proposed, I believe I can work more on stress. The funny thing is I am generally not a super stressed person before tinnitus but it certainly stresses me out when it is bad. What a vicious cycle.

Thank you for your insights, I will try stress reduction and continue limiting sound while not completely isolating. I truly hope I can report back to you with a turnaround story soon and help others.

 

Dave - I’m sorry - though I also love much classical music, I don’t know it from a playing point of view. There are numerous excellent trombonists about - I’m inclined to doubt it. I will have a careful listen to see if I could get my own chops around it.

@tniuf - brother - you’ve got it!

A bitter pill to swallow, of course, I know that, but tinnitus must have been around for as long as human habitation (40,000 years???) and in all that time nobody has been able to reduce the volume of tinnitus by as much as one decibel.

We mustn’t waste the rest of our lives in fretting, weeping about the injustice of it all.

It took away my passion in life, the expression of my talent, my technique, my income, etc etc etc...

Involving the brain, the entire hearing system, it is obviously an incredibly complex problem - and may well prove impossible to fix.

I’m not being negative - the track record ‘ain’t great.’ For goodness sake don’t waste your life in regrets. It will make acceptance so much harder.

Perhaps organise some good hypnotherapy, or counselling, and start treating this as something you definitely will be able to take on board, and come to live with well.

I have just listened in to mine - and it’s F¥€KING loud - but I haven’t heard it all day.

Best wishes - and let me know how you are getting on.

Dave x
Jazzer

 

Do you sleep with a Koala Bear?

 

Unlike your previous pic (stop scarring my eyes), this one I'm happy to look at.

 

That one was just Charles Atlas. That’s why I didn’t recognize him right away.

 

Hi Dave,

i am an avid musician playing in 3 bands with my electric guitar. Four months ago I experienced a worsening of pre-existing tinnitus and since then nothing has been the same. I had to quit all music and barely make it through the day. Your post gives me hope. I have 4 little kids to care for. Yesterday I pushed through, so today my ears hurt.

When did your days start getting a little better?

 

My adaptation stepped up when I began to believe that hypnotic subliminally assimilated messages could be effective, and could make a real difference, and when I stopped focussing on its current status every other minute.

Try just letting it ‘be there’ without fretting.

 

I’m currently 4 months in and am aware of my tinnitus 24/7. I just can’t let it go. It’s a screech and it’s reactive.

 

I’m so sorry ‘TL.’ I wish I had something else to suggest. I’ll come back later - phone calls to make. I won’t forget buddy.