I Guess I'm Getting Habituated...

[Indianajohn]

I developed tinnitus back in October of last year. I went through all of the emotions. The despair, suicidal thoughts, all of that. It was a very dark time in my life.

However, I found something that helped me get habituated. It was this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

I put into practice what the author, I Who Love Music, suggested. Instead of lamenting my T, I recognized my feelings toward my T. I would also recognize that there was most likely no cure, no treatment and that I needed to go on with life. Some days it was harder than others. I would recognize how I felt about my T at any given moment when it was bothering me. Most went something like "yeah my T is very loud, but I have x, y and z to do and need to get moving", or "My T bothers me a lot right now but there is no cure, no treatment so I need to get on with life". I've been doing this for several months now and things are much better.

I still have my T. It is as loud as ever (as loud as a normal conversation), but it doesn't effect me like it used to. Some days I have to stop and check if it is still there because I'm too busy doing other things. Do I still miss silence? Very much so. But I have accepted the fact that this is the way things are now and there is no alternative other than to keep carrying on. But the thing is, I notice it much less now.

I still use white noise to go to sleep. I still meditate to help lower my perception of my T. And when my T does bother me, I recognize how I feel about it. Kind of tough to do when your a man and taught not to recognize your own feelings, but it has helped.

So I guess I just wanted to say that there is indeed life after getting T. That there are still good things around you even though you have T. That even though I may never have a moment of silence ever again, that there are still good things in life and to enjoy them in spite of having T. Do I hope that one day there will be a treatment or cure? Sure I do. But I am also OK if there isn't.

When I first came here I was in a very very dark place. Many of you reached out in compassion and that has helped greatly. So this is my way of giving back a little bit for the help and support that I have received here.

And if you are still struggling with T, I respectfully suggest reading this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

It worked for me and might work for you...

 

[ashlee]

So glad to hear of your success! I'm in Wisconsin and developed my tinnitus around the same time. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Mike34]

I developed tinnitus back in October of last year. I went through all of the emotions. The despair, suicidal thoughts, all of that. It was a very dark time in my life.

However, I found something that helped me get habituated. It was this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

I put into practice what the author, I Who Love Music, suggested. Instead of lamenting my T, I recognized my feelings toward my T. I would also recognize that there was most likely no cure, no treatment and that I needed to go on with life. Some days it was harder than others. I would recognize how I felt about my T at any given moment when it was bothering me. Most went something like "yeah my T is very loud, but I have x, y and z to do and need to get moving", or "My T bothers me a lot right now but there is no cure, no treatment so I need to get on with life". I've been doing this for several months now and things are much better.

I still have my T. It is as loud as ever (as loud as a normal conversation), but it doesn't effect me like it used to. Some days I have to stop and check if it is still there because I'm too busy doing other things. Do I still miss silence? Very much so. But I have accepted the fact that this is the way things are now and there is no alternative other than to keep carrying on. But the thing is, I notice it much less now.

I still use white noise to go to sleep. I still meditate to help lower my perception of my T. And when my T does bother me, I recognize how I feel about it. Kind of tough to do when your a man and taught not to recognize your own feelings, but it has helped.

So I guess I just wanted to say that there is indeed life after getting T. That there are still good things around you even though you have T. That even though I may never have a moment of silence ever again, that there are still good things in life and to enjoy them in spite of having T. Do I hope that one day there will be a treatment or cure? Sure I do. But I am also OK if there isn't.

When I first came here I was in a very very dark place. Many of you reached out in compassion and that has helped greatly. So this is my way of giving back a little bit for the help and support that I have received here.

And if you are still struggling with T, I respectfully suggest reading this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

It worked for me and might work for you...

Excellent! This is precisely what you have to do to beat T - calm the limbic system/emotional response to T. Many on here don't like to hear this is what it takes, but I'm glad it worked for you! I'm also starting to meditate. BOL!

 

[billie48]

That is an awesome success story post. Thanks for sharing it. It re-affirms two things to me, that 1) people do get better over time and especially with a successful strategy and 2) the successful method of IWLM once again proves its effectiveness for someone like you who had a tough time at the beginning. I congratulate you and also @I who love music for proving once again that his simple method works.

 

[I who love music]

billie48 is right. It takes a strategy. I went through the "Wait and see what happens" phase. It didn't work for me. In fact, it made my T and nerves worse. No, my T is not gone, but now I don't hear it unless I listen for it. And it is loud. The brain is fascinating.