MemberHow to Habituate to Tinnitus.
Whenever I see habituation discussed in tinnitus forums, it seems to cause a lot of frustration and controversy. Perhaps it's because each person is able to have a different opinion on what it actually is? Some believe it's only obtainable for a select few but I don't subscribe to that thought and neither do I think it's an enigma. My interpretation of it may be different from yours and that's fine for we are all entitled to an opinion.
Whilst I don't consider myself an authority on habituation, I have lived with tinnitus for quite a while, corresponded and counselled people with the condition and believe, I've acquired a level of understanding about tinnitus based on this experience. I feel quite comfortable expressing my views and opinions on it and the way it can affect our mental and emotional well-being. I believe I have a good grasp on what it means to habituate to tinnitus and how best to achieve it.
I have habituated twice to tinnitus. The first was 25 years ago. I had TRT for two years. I wore white noise generators and had regular counselling with a hearing therapist. Treatment lasted two years. At its completion the tinnitus reduced to such a low level that most of the time I was unaware of it. Hyperacusis often accompanies noise trauma and I had it very severe. It was completely cured using the white noise generators and has remained this way.
In 2008, I had a second noise trauma and had TRT again for two years. It took a total of four years to habituate but the tinnitus changed considerably from what it was. I now experienced large fluctuations in intensity, from complete silence, mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe. It was an incredibly difficult period of my life. My ENT consultant and hearing therapist said they don't see many patients that experience such large fluctuations in tinnitus to the point where no two days were the same. Thankfully, over the years it has improved but I have to stress that it has been slow. I am able to live comfortably with my tinnitus. There are times it can be severe and I may need to take Clonazepam for a day or two just to calm things down. Other times it will reduce to a manageable level by itself. I have habituated and accept my tinnitus and feel I'm in a very good place from what it used to be.
Whether you are new to tinnitus, seasoned to it or a veteran experiencing a resurgence after a long habituation period, you are all going through a similar thing and that is having difficulty coping with it. You are probably thinking will my life ever return to some normality? Many times I had those same thoughts particularly in 2010, when my tinnitus began putting restrictions on the things I wanted to do. Life at times wasn't a pleasant experience but somehow I managed to hold it together and wouldn't give up. Please read my thread: My Experience with Tinnitus.
Your life can improve but first you need to believe it, for this to become a reality. I am not saying this is an easy task, because the path to habituation is a process that has many twists and turns along its way and therefore, it's something that cannot be rushed. To start the process one has to make conscious effort to engage in things they like to do or find a new interest that will ignite that spark.
Little by little the seeds of doubt will be replaced with positivity, vitally and verve. Once a person learns to accept the tinnitus with all its idiosyncrasies, life will become easier and less problematic. No longer will you feel anxious or afraid even when you might notice a sudden change in the tinnitus, which is often temporary until it settles down again. Particularly noticeable with people that have suffered a noise trauma and their auditory system is oversensitive to sound or they are experiencing hyperacusis.
Accentuate the positive things in your life and focus on them, as I truly believe this is the way forward to getting your life back on track. Remember, it doesn't happen overnight and since we all have busy lives, you may need to seek help managing stress because tinnitus is closely associated with it. Stress makes tinnitus worse and tinnitus makes stress worse. It can become a vicious cycle. Talk to your doctor who may advise taking a light medication, to help keep your mental and emotional well-being on an even keel. Counselling with an Audiologist, that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management can be helpful too along with sound therapy.
Please don't sit there and do nothing and attempt to tough it out because tinnitus is quite capable of surprising you how resilient it can be, by sapping your mental strength and resolve. Believe me for I have been there. Habituating to tinnitus is a process and I describe this process as the reconditioning of the mind in order to achieve it. The reason being tinnitus is mostly mental, but I don't mean the intensity of it can be controlled by mere thought.
When negative thinking is removed and demystified, the tinnitus no longer takes centre stage and therefore, its perception is pushed further back into the mind. Treatments such as TRT and CBT are based on this. Counselling with an Audiologist or Hearing Therapist specialising in tinnitus and hyperacusis management can help the rearrangement of one's thoughts about tinnitus by incorporating positivity in your life.
Some of my articles on tinnitus, available on my started threads are a form of counselling. Anyone wanting to get the full benefit from them, I advise to print and refer to them often. This way the information will be better absorbed and retained rather than reading on a phone or computer screen and then forgotten.
I wish you well,
Michael
Whenever I see habituation discussed in tinnitus forums, it seems to cause a lot of frustration and controversy. Perhaps it's because each person is able to have a different opinion on what it actually is? Some believe it's only obtainable for a select few but I don't subscribe to that thought and neither do I think it's an enigma. My interpretation of it may be different from yours and that's fine for we are all entitled to an opinion.
Whilst I don't consider myself an authority on habituation, I have lived with tinnitus for quite a while, corresponded and counselled people with the condition and believe, I've acquired a level of understanding about tinnitus based on this experience. I feel quite comfortable expressing my views and opinions on it and the way it can affect our mental and emotional well-being. I believe I have a good grasp on what it means to habituate to tinnitus and how best to achieve it.
I have habituated twice to tinnitus. The first was 25 years ago. I had TRT for two years. I wore white noise generators and had regular counselling with a hearing therapist. Treatment lasted two years. At its completion the tinnitus reduced to such a low level that most of the time I was unaware of it. Hyperacusis often accompanies noise trauma and I had it very severe. It was completely cured using the white noise generators and has remained this way.
In 2008, I had a second noise trauma and had TRT again for two years. It took a total of four years to habituate but the tinnitus changed considerably from what it was. I now experienced large fluctuations in intensity, from complete silence, mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe. It was an incredibly difficult period of my life. My ENT consultant and hearing therapist said they don't see many patients that experience such large fluctuations in tinnitus to the point where no two days were the same. Thankfully, over the years it has improved but I have to stress that it has been slow. I am able to live comfortably with my tinnitus. There are times it can be severe and I may need to take Clonazepam for a day or two just to calm things down. Other times it will reduce to a manageable level by itself. I have habituated and accept my tinnitus and feel I'm in a very good place from what it used to be.
Whether you are new to tinnitus, seasoned to it or a veteran experiencing a resurgence after a long habituation period, you are all going through a similar thing and that is having difficulty coping with it. You are probably thinking will my life ever return to some normality? Many times I had those same thoughts particularly in 2010, when my tinnitus began putting restrictions on the things I wanted to do. Life at times wasn't a pleasant experience but somehow I managed to hold it together and wouldn't give up. Please read my thread: My Experience with Tinnitus.
Your life can improve but first you need to believe it, for this to become a reality. I am not saying this is an easy task, because the path to habituation is a process that has many twists and turns along its way and therefore, it's something that cannot be rushed. To start the process one has to make conscious effort to engage in things they like to do or find a new interest that will ignite that spark.
Little by little the seeds of doubt will be replaced with positivity, vitally and verve. Once a person learns to accept the tinnitus with all its idiosyncrasies, life will become easier and less problematic. No longer will you feel anxious or afraid even when you might notice a sudden change in the tinnitus, which is often temporary until it settles down again. Particularly noticeable with people that have suffered a noise trauma and their auditory system is oversensitive to sound or they are experiencing hyperacusis.
Accentuate the positive things in your life and focus on them, as I truly believe this is the way forward to getting your life back on track. Remember, it doesn't happen overnight and since we all have busy lives, you may need to seek help managing stress because tinnitus is closely associated with it. Stress makes tinnitus worse and tinnitus makes stress worse. It can become a vicious cycle. Talk to your doctor who may advise taking a light medication, to help keep your mental and emotional well-being on an even keel. Counselling with an Audiologist, that specialises in tinnitus and hyperacusis management can be helpful too along with sound therapy.
Please don't sit there and do nothing and attempt to tough it out because tinnitus is quite capable of surprising you how resilient it can be, by sapping your mental strength and resolve. Believe me for I have been there. Habituating to tinnitus is a process and I describe this process as the reconditioning of the mind in order to achieve it. The reason being tinnitus is mostly mental, but I don't mean the intensity of it can be controlled by mere thought.
When negative thinking is removed and demystified, the tinnitus no longer takes centre stage and therefore, its perception is pushed further back into the mind. Treatments such as TRT and CBT are based on this. Counselling with an Audiologist or Hearing Therapist specialising in tinnitus and hyperacusis management can help the rearrangement of one's thoughts about tinnitus by incorporating positivity in your life.
Some of my articles on tinnitus, available on my started threads are a form of counselling. Anyone wanting to get the full benefit from them, I advise to print and refer to them often. This way the information will be better absorbed and retained rather than reading on a phone or computer screen and then forgotten.
I wish you well,
Michael
