I am Confused About Habituation...

[cullenbohannon]

Martin that small period where you did not concentrate on the sound to me is a sign that you can eventually habituate. I wish there was a step-by-step guide to help but. It's thame thing but for extended periods. Goodluck martin.

Cullen, your words are very encouraging for all of us.
Of course sometimes I think why has this guy already habituated, but I am not.
But I remember stories where people took years to cope.
Today morning I was crying because of this BS in my head.
Then I pushed me starting the day. Was outdoors the whole day and had minutes where I did not concentrate on this sound. Also was very relaxed and my T was not a big issue. Maybe it was quieter, I don't know.
Now being home again having time and no distraction, T has my full concentration again.
A goog thing today was that I did not do any masking, not even a second. Masking is not really possible anyway.
I am sure that there will be a time in the future for everyone here where you no longer care, no longer react and simply live your life. T will become more and more a non-issue.
At least this is what I aim for.
Body and brain need much time adjust to this.
All the best for everyone.

 

[Martin69]

Very simple- their volume was low enough for them not to cause an emotional reaction or terror. And they just went on with their lives.

I think the same. I had never ear issues, even cannot remember fleeting T.
I had no healthy issues at all.
Then, T (and some other things) started full blast, loud, high-pitched. An explosion in my head. Horror.
So you cannot simply say after a week or month: Hey ok, I now have a dog whistle in my head. So what?
Your whole life is around T and getting rid of it.
Therefore, the best approach as recommended by everyone, is to live life - as difficult as it seems.
The more important other things become, the less important T can be.
Time will do the rest.

 

[Martin69]

Martin that small period where you did not concentrate on the sound to me is a sign that you can eventually habituate. I wish there was a step-by-step guide to help but. It's thame thing but for extended periods. Goodluck martin.

Thanks my friend.
Yes, when I am on the driving range.
For every ball I play, T is not there.
Besides that I think that our brain/body just needs getting used to it.
A day for me without any masking is a success.

 

[Ken219]

Sorry if I use 'habituate'. I only started using the word habituation is when I found this site. Yes there is no time limit and yes there may be setbacks and relapses. There came a time when I was living with 'T'. Next thing I know tens have come and in a relapse. I call those ten years living life. That should be a 'T' sufferer's goal. How does it happen? Time.

 

[Martin69]

Sorry if I use 'habituate'. I only started using the word habituation is when I found this site. Yes there is no time limit and yes there may be setbacks and relapses. There came a time when I was living with 'T'. Next thing I know tens have come and in a relapse. I call those ten years living life. That should be a 'T' sufferer's goal. How does it happen? Time.

Hi Ken,
How loud is/was your T you habituated to?
What frequency?
Nevertheless I think one can habituate to loud T.

 

[Ken219]

Hi Ken,
How loud is/was your T you habituated to?
What frequency?
Nevertheless I think one can habituate to loud T.

@Martin69 , 24 years ago I was told and I forgot. I consider my T loud! I do not need to know frequency. At its loudest I can't mask it. The goal for me is to adjust to whatever it is.
Ken

 

[Nich]

This post is really helpful. And i completely see that the reaction to the T is the limiting factor to not actively hearing it in myself. My T has decreased in loudness in the last couple weeks. And now I have days where I don't hear it as much as 50-60% of the day. But give me a day where my anxiety flares and I hear it 100% of the time and it causes more anxiety and panic. Its a stupid cycle. Today it is quiet but I'm still being really bothered because of my anxiety. Whereas Monday - Wednesday I had no anxiety and it literally was a non-issue (those days were so amazing!)
Before the onset of my T I had been having prodromes of an onset of a panic attack flare. Then one night in bed the T began. I woke up that night in a panic attack. I honestly think I had the unforunate co-occurence of a loud T flare (i had very mild tinnitus for several years) and the onset of a panic flare. Now I think it's just a matter of separating the anxiety from the T. But as we all know that's no small task.

 

[Karen]

@Kathi

Thanks for your kind comments. I have had pulsatile tinnitus for four years now, and I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. It hasn't gotten any worse, and actually seems to have gotten better recently. I have had a number of tests, and nothing unusual was found. So --- I have decided to live with this condition, and try to habituate to it. That's why it's taking me so much longer than the average to habituate to my tinnitus.

I think you are definitely on the right track by remaining in the working world; it actually helps to distract your mind from the tinnitus! I'm still working, too, although I work part-time now (I'm an office manager). I find that the day-to-day structure of going to work, plus the distractions it offers, really helps. I would recommend work as a means of habituation to anyone. Don't give up on life! Go out there and live it!

@Ken219,

Yes, I agree with you that your tinnitus is not caused by drugs, since it happened a long time before your heart condition happened. Those drugs have definitely been a life-saver for you, and I believe you are very lucky!! Hopefully, you will be able to habituate again soon to your tinnitus; it just may take some time.

Very best wishes to all in the quest for habituation,
Karen

 

[NeoM]

#2 sounds like science fiction to me - i.e. it means that you're cured of the condition. If you don't hear it than it's not there.

No. It's not a cure because if someone says, "Do you have tinnitus?" or maybe they think about tinnitus, then they will hear it. If you talk about tinnitus to a person without it they won't hear it.

 

[I who love music]

Kathi, cullenbo said a mouthful.
I've had T for over 40 years. A year or so ago I came to this forum because I was getting a little nutty about my T. Someone here posted an article about how it is SO important NOT to measure your T. Measure your reaction instead. I've tried many things throughout the decades but nothing worked as well as 'Measuring my response.' It's not about my T anymore, get it? And gladly, it's fading.
Habituation? Well, if I ask myself if I'm habituated, I ask myself if I can hear my T. Yes, I sure can. So I quit listening for it. When it pops into my life, I stop what I'm doing and say, "I hear it, but I'm busy, happy, and I guess today I'm not bothered by it." OR, "I hear it and I want to climb the wall. But I'm happy I didn't hear it till after breakfast." Or something like that. I've found that gauging habituation, listening FOR the T, and just plain worrying about it only makes it worse.
Advice from a 40 year T'er.... Measure your response to your T, not the T. It changes things. This is a pattern of positive action.