I Can't Seem to Habituate

[sideways]

I've had T for 3 years. I'm not sure if it was caused by Lyme disease or the abx (zithromax) I took for the Lyme.

I just can't seem to habituate to it. There are times I don't really notice it, like when I'm driving or in another environment with a lot of ambient noise. But I hear it every other time. (like when I'm watching tv, or trying to sleep. I have to wear earbuds playing brown noise to fall asleep.) It's really loud when I first wake up in the morning.

Plus, I get a weird feeling in my ears. My right ear, the worst one, "pops" a lot, too.

I WANT this to be a non issue for me, but I just can't seem get used to it. It's been 3 YEARS!

Any suggestions? Is it time to see a professional? How do I find someone who will take it seriously? The last two docs I saw didn't. The ENT told me I just had to live with it. The doc at my PCP's office (not my usual) told me to turn up the radio and offered me xanex.

 

[glynis]

Hi Sideways,

Try pillow speakers and a natural sound unit.
Set the sound you pick so its lower than your tinnitus sound.
keep it playing all night as its through the night it works its magic.
Your brain works hard to pick up your sound and pushes the tinnitus sound to the background.
In the day your brain will start to habituate so you will still hear your tinnitus if listen out for it but you will get to a stage where your tinnitus wont bother you.
You might get spikes at times but your base sound wont cause you problems over time....lots of love glynis

 

[Mike TerMaaten]

Hi sideways. That obviously makes sense that you're gonna hear it when you go to bed at night, or when you're in front of the TV. And not hear it (so much at least ) when you're driving or in a louder environment.

I had some harsh Tinnitus. Over the past 2 years i've gotten pretty much over it. A recent ( and very Stupid ! ) exposure to some high-volume ProAudio equipment has given me some noise again.

My tinnitus was caused by a high-pitch noise in a small environment. So my advise is to not expose yourself to any sort of auditory stimulation that makes your ears ring.

But your T. was only caused by Medication ? Tinnitus = Ear Damage And the Ear Damage is the 'ringing'

If yours was solely caused by medication, and no damaging auditory event(s)
Then not sure......

Are you SURE that it was the Lyme disease or medication that caused your T. and not any external sound ?

 

[sideways]

Are you SURE that it was the Lyme disease or medication that caused your T. and not any external sound ?

Yes, I'm pretty sure. There was no noise exposure the months leading up to onset. Just illness and medication.

 

[Sleaford Mod]

It took me about five years to get a handle on my tinnitus so I wouldn't get too discouraged. What made a difference for me was reading John Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living and two other publications: The Mindful Way Through Depression and The Mindful Way Through Anxiety.

There's nothing specifically in them about tinnitus but the approaches outlined in those books for chronic pain, depression and anxiety can also be applied to tinnitus.

Of course, what worked for me might not be suitable for others. But these titles are inexpensive to acquire. You could start with a secondhand copy of the the Kabat-Zinn and see whether the Mindfulness method resonates with you.

Hope this helps.

 

[dan]

It took me about five years to get a handle on my tinnitus so I wouldn't get too discouraged. What made a difference for me was reading John Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe Living and two other publications: The Mindful Way Through Depression and The Mindful Way Through Anxiety.

There's nothing specifically in them about tinnitus but the approaches outlined in those books for chronic pain, depression and anxiety can also be applied to tinnitus.

Of course, what worked for me might not be suitable for others. But these titles are inexpensive to acquire. You could start with a secondhand copy of the the Kabat-Zinn and see whether the Mindfulness method resonates with you.

Hope this helps.

Just the title of the book - Full Catastrophe!- makes me even more depressed.
Are you saying then that tinnitus is a full catastrophe...that is very sad situation.
But thats ok because the book will teach us how to live with a full catastrophe

 

[Bertman]

From what I understand TRT is a great way to help with habituation. As of right now I am trying my best to habituate myself but if all else fails in the next year or so I think I'm going to try it (and maybe by then a medical treatment will be close to being available). TRT does not lower the volume and does not claim to, but it does help a lot of people not to notice it or care as much, seems exactly what your looking for. If there is a specialist nearby I highly recommend making an appointment to speak with them and see what it is all about, thats what I did. I do understand that it is costly but maybe it is something you can save for, or possibly be covered under a medical plan.

Good luck

 

[sideways]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm all for TRT, but it doesn't seem like there is anyone around here that does it. I'm in the Detroit area. Maybe Henry Ford Health. I know they do Neuromonics. I can afford to do it, but I don't want to waste my money if it doesn't work. I know, unfortunately, there's no way to know.

 

[Bertman]

Yeah unfortunately there seems to be a limited amount of places that provide TRT. I'm lucky that in the smaller city in Canada that I live in there is an audiologist place that does it. I just read up on the Henry Ford place and it seems like a good place to start. I can't imagine the evaluation is that expensive so maybe it's worth it to just see what they would plan for you and then go from there.

 

[Barbara777]

@sideways...when Dr. Nagler was on this forum he sometimes would recommend TRT clinicians. You can try going into his archive in the Doctors Corner and enter a search for Detroit to see if he recommended anyone in your area.

 

[DebInAustralia]

Where is dr nagler

 

[linearb]

If I were in Detroit, I would definitely try to get an appointment with Dr. Michael D. Seidman. He's done a ton of interesting research in this area.

 

[Barbara777]

@DebInAustralia...Dr. Nagler wrote in a thread that he was taking a break from this forum. No word on when/if he will be back.

 

[meeruf]

I've had T for 3 years. I'm not sure if it was caused by Lyme disease or the abx (zithromax) I took for the Lyme.

I just can't seem to habituate to it. There are times I don't really notice it, like when I'm driving or in another environment with a lot of ambient noise. But I hear it every other time. (like when I'm watching tv, or trying to sleep. I have to wear earbuds playing brown noise to fall asleep.) It's really loud when I first wake up in the morning.

Plus, I get a weird feeling in my ears. My right ear, the worst one, "pops" a lot, too.

I WANT this to be a non issue for me, but I just can't seem get used to it. It's been 3 YEARS!

Any suggestions? Is it time to see a professional? How do I find someone who will take it seriously? The last two docs I saw didn't. The ENT told me I just had to live with it. The doc at my PCP's office (not my usual) told me to turn up the radio and offered me xanex.

Hi @sideways.

What is it that really bothers you with your tinnitus? Have you tried to ask yourself that? Is it the idea that you have lost silence, is it that you think your tinnitus sound sounds terrible? Would you feel any different if the doctor actually took you serious, and why would you feel any different, because they can't do anything anyways, can they? What do you want the doctor to do?

I feel that you are still hoping for that some doctor out there actually have a cure for you. Why would you otherwise go to several doctors? I think some part of you still have not realized that there actually is no cure. If you haven't realized that, how can you expect to habituate? The first step, if you ask me, is to realize and acknowledge that this is it, then work your way from there.

I know it sounds harsh. But that was what happened to me. I had very little habituation in the first year. Then I went to this tinnitus rehab camp here in Norway. After that, thing started to happen. In retrospect, I think the camp had very little to do with it. I think in the time before the camp, I was just waiting to go to this camp, so they could fix me up. (Of course I could not habituate then!) But, when I was at the camp I realized that they had no cure, it was all up to me! After the camp I have just gotten better and better. I think that realization and acceptance is very important, because it was after this camp I realized that I'm really on my own with this.

 

[glynis]

I know how you feel but you have to keep pushing stay happy as it wont come to you.
My ears blast 24/7 and hard type at the moment and not got my hearing aids in with wet hair .
We have to show our tinnitus who is the boss and dont let it take your smile and laughter away.

It is so easy to let tinnitus take control and our moods drop and that's ok to feel down and have tears .
Always take care of yoursef ,eat well,seep well,get out and about doing what you love .
Some nice treats and make plans .
When its hard concentrate relax to music and push stay positive as tinnitus is not worth letting it take control of your life as we have the control over what makes us happy....lots of love glynis

 

[sideways]

If I were in Detroit, I would definitely try to get an appointment with Dr. Michael D. Seidman. He's done a ton of interesting research in this area.

Thank you. It looks like he's part of Henry Ford. I'll check and see if he sees patients. It appears that he's part of the vagus nerve and am-101 studies.

 

[sideways]

Hi @sideways.

What is it that really bothers you with your tinnitus? Have you tried to ask yourself that? Is it the idea that you have lost silence, is it that you think your tinnitus sound sounds terrible? Would you feel any different if the doctor actually took you serious, and why would you feel any different, because they can't do anything anyways, can they? What do you want the doctor to do?

I feel that you are still hoping for that some doctor out there actually have a cure for you. Why would you otherwise go to several doctors? I think some part of you still have not realized that there actually is no cure. If you haven't realized that, how can you expect to habituate? The first step, if you ask me, is to realize and acknowledge that this is it, then work your way from there.

I know it sounds harsh. But that was what happened to me. I had very little habituation in the first year. Then I went to this tinnitus rehab camp here in Norway. After that, thing started to happen. In retrospect, I think the camp had very little to do with it. I think in the time before the camp, I was just waiting to go to this camp, so they could fix me up. (Of course I could not habituate then!) But, when I was at the camp I realized that they had no cure, it was all up to me! After the camp I have just gotten better and better. I think that realization and acceptance is very important, because it was after this camp I realized that I'm really on my own with this.

I haven't been to a doctor about my tinnitus since it first started and I haven't been going "doctor to doctor". I went to two doctors, first my PCP, then and the ENT. I saw the ENT in May of 2012. I'm not looking for a CURE. That would be nice, but I know that will probably never happen. I'm looking for HELP because my tinnitus is still hard to deal with at certain times when it shouldn't be.

 

[uae96]