If Your Tinnitus Vanished, How Would Your Life Change?

[RB2014]

I just want to add that I have had tinnitus with H with TINNITUS, TINNITUS and tinnitus. The only way in my opinion to live a somewhat normal life is with just tinnitus. Anything more and its just not going to work. Just my opinion though. H with TINNITUS, you could turn up the TV at full volume and it might come close to the experience that I had. Its difficult to mask TINNITUS and I might be able to achieve a 2% time of the day when I truly tune it out and forget. With just tinnitus, I can lead a normal life, forget about it 95% of the time. I have experienced all of these in the past 4 months.

 

[MattK]

Right. So what makes you log on to TinnitusTalk just about every day for several hours? I believe I could think of some more exciting forums to join or activities to do. But - hey - perhaps TinnitusTalk is such a cool place to "hang-out" - you never know.

For several hours a day? Hardly. I'm logged onto my account 24/7 because I have it so that my iPhone stays logged on... Just as it does with my personal e-mail, blog sites I frequent, Yelp, etc. Also, because I like to check for any interesting messages or posts. There are a few here I consider friends and like to see how they're doing from time to time

Yes, there are many things I'd rather do, but do you know what is not necessarily one of them? Work. The time I'm here most often is when I'm bored at work, like right now.

 

[linearb]

Here we go again

All you people that preach happiness and hunky dory despite tinnitus good on you.
It's either that you are some super humans or your t is so bloody mild "need to look for it" to hear it type.

Maybe you should stop and think of those who have real TINNITUS and whose lives are destroyed not because of their thinking but purely because of the severity of their condition.
There's many on this board who went from highly functioning individuals to nothing.

I don't have to look for my T, I can hear it pretty much anywhere unless I'm standing directly under a fast running shower. I realize that there are people who can hear it even there, and I am not suggesting that I have the worst tinnitus of anyone here, or anything like it. But, the suggesting that my tinnitus is "mild" and "not 'real' tinnitus" is not only incorrect, but pretty bloody offensive to me.

This isn't some little lightweight deal, this is a serious, life-changing, difficult condition. But, tinnitus is far from the only condition that qualifies, and people who make it to middle/old age without encountering something like that, are lucky and privileged, not "normal".

No one is suggesting that changing your thinking is a magic bullet that will make tinnitus go away. The suggestion is not "change your thinking and your condition will go away", it is "change your thinking and maybe you can learn how to stop directly contributing to your own misery and this will reduce the impact your condition has on your life".

Maybe you should stop, and listen to all the people who have had their lives completely upended by tinnitus for a period of time, and then found another way forward. Or, maybe you shouldn't, I really have no idea, but it works okay for me.

The mindset some of you have is this: if someone has T and is happy then they are either lying or it's mild T. You got it so ingrained into your thinking that T is so unbearable that there is absolutely no way someone can live a happy life with it. This is a massive stumbling block keeping you down.

Yup, this exactly. I'm not happy about my T. If I could get rid of it, I definitely would... but, I put a lot a lot a LOT of time, money and effort into doing that, and the results have been modest at best. I have put maybe a third that much effort into acceptance and mindfulness... which have not had even the modest effect on my T which various other things do, but the effect on my life has been significant.

So, maybe this really CAN'T work for some of you. Maybe you have such bad tinnitus, and are so fucked up and lost in your own minds, that you are just stuck there forever and there's no way out. I am not you, I don't see the world through your eyes, and I can't really know. But, my bias is that I have felt that same way some times, it is horrible, it makes the T impossible and made the future seem too horrible to contemplate... and somehow that stuff just doesn't drag me down the way it used to. I have gone from being 100% aware of this condition 100% of the time, to having huge chunks of time where it more or less goes offline and I don't think about it for hours. That's definitely not "cured" so it sure isn't "perfect"... but if I set my expectations on perfection, then I will find disappointment every time.

Again, I have no idea what will really work or not for some other person. But, I know that for myself, when I let my brain get stuck in panic mode "ahh this is horrible, my life is worthless and stupid and not worth living", then at some point I will start believing those thoughts and very quickly get to a place where I'm thinking very dark thoughts and happiness is far away. And I also know that if I steer myself back from the edge, accept current discomfort as temporary, and yes, "FAKE IT" just a little bit... over a period of days/weeks, then I get myself out of that dark place, back into a more 'normal' world where T is neither something to be embraced, nor something to be especially feared, but just another percept sitting there in the mental bin of percepts that I have available to me.

People who do not think that the ways we think and words we use to express things to ourselves are powerful, haven't done much reading about how tightly coupled cognition, emotion and language all are. "meditation changes your brain" doesn't mean 'we have foo-foo lovey-dovey beliefs and everything is awesome if you just turn on and tune in', it means "regular, strictly disciplined thinking over time changes the structure of the brain, and we have increasing amounts of imaging studies to show how and why that happens". Again, I'm not suggesting that meditation is some magic bullet, but I am suggesting that
one of the brain structures which shows reduced mass in people with severe intrusive tinnitus, has been shown in another study to show increased mass in people who meditate regularly for a period of years

Does this mean that the same meditative practice, done by someone with tinnitus, will reduce their distress over time? Of course not, no one has done any work to attempt to answer that question. But, it's an interesting idea, and certainly might explain why so many people have reported these practices as helpful over time....

Anyway, I am done with this thread for the moment. If you want to believe that your physiology precludes any happiness in your life, you are of course free to do so, just as I am free to believe that electing the corpse of Ronald Reagan to the office of president would do great things for our great nation.

 

[karine]

It happened to me i was so happy it went away. The worse torture is it came back, but at least i got a month off. Now it comes and goes. Id go run all around town screaming and laughing and party all night long and enjoy the things i dont get to enjoy now... Although i did change my life in a way that t doesnt give me even though its really loud and unmasquable... Now i dont need medication at least.

 

[Matt01]

It actually doesn't bother me that much now. I have either developed, or always had and just noticed, quite a lot of eye floaters, some quite big, and that's probably more annoying at the moment, but am confident can overcome that too. Tinnitus just doesn't bother me that much now, which is crazy as I was a mess the first couple of months. It has however got better for me and the volume is pretty low now after the action I took. The floaters thing is strange, maybe they were always there and there is some stress or neuro connection to the tinnitus. I honestly can't believe I never saw them, but it is possible based on how your brain works. I think there may be a connection between the two conditions. In some instances, are there always things, debris, damage, noise you have?, but it is brain function that triggers the constant awareness? The more I read on tinnitus, the more I think there is a heck of a lot we don't understand, sadly.

I was daydreaming the other day, and thought about getting transported to a Star Wars universe where a medical droid fixes me of everything in a few minutes with a completely painless non invasive procedure. I wonder how far we are off from this?...after all that was a long time ago!

 

[Dr. Nagler]

If somebody came up with a cure for tinnitus, it would make me happy. If I won the lottery, it would make me happy. If there were a lasting peace in the Middle East, it would make me happy. There are countless things that would make me happy. But true happiness? That is something different. True happiness does not require perfection. True happiness does not require winning the lottery. Moreover true happiness does not require a cure for tinnitus. What true happiness requires is balance, and balance comes from within. How can a person with tinnitus achieve balance? Well, strictly in terms of tinnitus, balance can be achieved if you cease viewing the world through the prism of your tinnitus. And you do not need a cure for that.

stephen nagler

 

[marqualler]

If you want to believe that your physiology precludes any happiness in your life, you are of course free to do so, just as I am free to believe that electing the corpse of Ronald Reagan to the office of president would do great things for our great nation.

 

[NiNyu]

I can genuinely say that I have my life back and am doing everything I'd be doing without tinnitus..

Then why are you even here?

Or could it be the ones who post a success story and then contradict themselves later are just having a bad moment..?

I have cancer. Now I write a success story. But still I have cancer.

That sounds about legit. Mind over reality.

I'm just talking T.

Would I rather it be gone? Of course [..] But [..] my tinnitus doesn't affect my life anymore.

You do generalize T even though there are quite different cases! Moreover, you do contradict yourself. On the one hand, you state that T does NOT affect your life at all but with the same breath you would like it to be gone. What now?

The mindset some of you have is this: if someone has T and is happy then they are either lying or it's mild T.

Really?
Your mindest is: if someone has debilitating T and they are too intelligent to delude themselves in thinking that it does NOT affect their life they simply have the wrong mindset. Or to put it plainly, if you have a broken leg and you do not pretend it isn't broken no wonder you can't walk the walk with a smile on your face. Stop whining start walking.

You got it so ingrained into your thinking that every T is the very same for every single individual that there is absolutely no way someone can suffer beyond reason unable to live a normal life with it. This is a massive stumbling block keeping you delusional. Isn't it obvious? You deceive yourself.

Did you know one of the side effects of cancer treatment is tinnitus? I have a friend who had breast cancer and now she's cancer free but has tinnitus.

It's the meds that can cause T in cancer treatment. I'd never take those meds, and I presume your friend didn't know about it. Now ask your friend what's worse breast cancer or T.

 

[Vincent R]

Does this mean that the same meditative practice, done by someone with tinnitus, will reduce their distress over time? Of course not, no one has done any work to attempt to answer that question. But, it's an interesting idea, and certainly might explain why so many people have reported these practices as helpful over time....

I personally believe that if your T is extremely loud, it will be hard to do much else but suffer. This said, it seems somewhat naive to suggest that it wouldn't be possible for human beings to adopt to a new situation. Even if your life is painful, there can be moments of joy, peace or meaning. That's how I understand some of the people who assure there's life beyond T. I don't expect to be able to fallow in their footsteps, but saying they're wrong is like saying you know the limit of human potential.

Further more, I think the meditation aspect could be worth a closer look. T causes suffering because it leads to anxiety and tensions. If you can effectivly release these states, the suffering should decrease drasticly. Meditation has that potential, but how do you venture into deep trance with a never ending scream in your head? Within time, I hope to get the opportunity to search for an answer to that question.

Anyway, I am done with this thread for the moment. If you want to believe that your physiology precludes any happiness in your life, you are of course free to do so, just as I am free to believe that electing the corpse of Ronald Reagan to the office of president would do great things for our great nation.

This thread has every potential for some heated exchanges of words. Lingering here will probably end up with some ineffective use of time and energy.

 

[LeQuack]

I would stop thinking about death and start thinking about life.

 

[NiNyu]

But, the suggesting that my tinnitus is "mild" and "not 'real' tinnitus" is not only incorrect, but pretty bloody offensive to me.

my overall health and quality of life would go up a tick.

I don't think much else would change, [..] there isn't much else that tinnitus keeps me from doing.

This isn't some little lightweight deal, this is a serious, life-changing, difficult condition.

What now?

You know, you have put on the shoes yourself.

@valeri , was referring to those that think T is 'no big deal' so it must be 'NO BIG DEAL' for everbody else, which is not only delusional and ignorant but utter BS.

Moreover true happiness does not require a cure for tinnitus.

Spoken like a true NON T sufferer. Or let's call it, 'conflict of interest.'

 

[MattK]

Then why are you even here?

I've already explained this to ATEOS. At the moment I'm checking in to see if I had any responses to what I had written and yours is here. Also, I never understood why those who reach success leave instead of trying to help others.

I have cancer. Now I write a success story. But still I have cancer.

That sounds about legit. Mind over reality.

Except that tinnitus in itself won't kill you. But it seems that in you mind no one can reach success with tinnitus unless it's gone. But the universal cure for tinnitus doesn't yet exist. Seems you've set a goal that leaves you with no choice but failure.

Moreover, you do contradict yourself. On the one hand, you state that T does NOT affect your life at all but with the same breath you would like it to be gone. What now?

wow I'm starting to see what you guys call "faking" it. But the answer is rather simple. I live a normal life and do everything I'd be doing with or without T. I hang out with friends, go to cook out, go on vacation, make a decent living, etc. And I had a fantastic summer. But that doesn't mean if all things being equal, I wouldn't rather T be gone. Just as I have a couple strands of gray hair. All things being equal, I'd rather not have any gray hair at all. But that doesn't mean just because I wish that that the gray hair has any meaningful impact on my life.

Now ask your friend what's worse breast cancer or T.

Funny you should mention this because I didn't even have to ask. She was the one who told me she had it. I said, "I'm really sorry about that" and her response was, "as long as I'm cancer free, that's all I care about". So there you go.

 

[linearb]

What now?
Now ask your friend what's worse breast cancer or T.

I had the "opportunity" to talk about my tinnitus with one of my best friends while she was dying painfully of aggressive cancer with tubes running in and out of her body.

I hope you do not get the same opportunity, is all I want to say about that.

 

[Street Spirit]

I had the "opportunity" to talk about my tinnitus with one of my best friends while she was dying painfully of aggressive cancer with tubes running in and out of her body.

I hope you do not get the same opportunity, is all I want to say about that.

For some, tinnitus is like dying...just very slowly.

 

[Street Spirit]

Maybe replace the word 'Tinnitus' with 'Suffering' in the thread title.

 

[NiNyu]

Except that tinnitus in itself won't kill you.

But it seems that in you mind no one can reach success with tinnitus unless it's gone.

True and being constantly raped won't kill you either.
Now, by that -- very limited -- definition suffering does NOT apply unless it's ultimately something lethal.

Moreover, there are people with cancer and they won't die just that easily. Are they better off than I? Maybe, or very likely so if they can live a normal life.

Indeed, there are enough successful people with ailments but does this mean they have been successful in ending their suffering?

I wouldn't rather T be gone. Just as I have a couple strands of gray hair.

You compare T with gray hair. I think that speaks volumes.

Your friend must have it like you.. mild.

As said prior, There is t and then there is T.
@linearb , The same for cancer. There's cancer and there's CANCER. And yet some people throw it all in the very same basket. Claiming it's all the same game the only difference is your mindset. What does that attitude say about them?

 

[ruben ruiz]

I would cry tears of joy instead of sadness. I would be very humble. I would go out and see people and meet people
I would stay away from loud things fully knowing what could happen. I would have a girlfriend as my confidence would be up. I would thank the world and god too. I would start weening off the meds. I would get a cat or a dog.
I would go to my ranch in Northern Mexico and hike till I dropped. I would help people who needed help...
It would be the best day of my life since birth.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

Tinnitus isn't cancer. Tinnitus isn't rape. Tinnitus is a sound. It can be an extraordinary loud sound. It is a sound from which there is no escape. It is a sound that can make you incredibly miserable, miserable almost beyond description. But in the final analysis tinnitus is still a sound. And for all intents and purposes, in 2015 there is little, if anything, you can do about that sound. So you can spend your time justifying your misery - or you can spend your time taking meaningful purposeful steps towards decreasing your misery. The former strategy is easier. The latter is far more challenging ... and far more rewarding.

stephen nagler

 

[1MW]

T is life altering.Can destroy you completelly.
If it is incurable and is serious maybe lead you to suicide.

 

[erik]

Here we go again

All you people that preach happiness and hunky dory despite tinnitus good on you.
It's either that you are some super humans or your t is so bloody mild "need to look for it" to hear it type.

Maybe you should stop and think of those who have real TINNITUS and whose lives are destroyed not because of their thinking but purely because of the severity of their condition.
There's many on this board who went from highly functioning individuals to nothing.

So please let's go back to the main question of this thread.
If you think your life is perfect and there would be no change if your t dissapeared simply skip this thread.

Happiness to you! Good on me! My T is loud-usually louder than most everything I hear in my day. I also have H but its mild. My life is good. Not perfect, but good. There is really no perfect life or perfect happiness. Striving for that will always leave you unfulfilled and disappointed. I will continue to be positive. Would I prefer my tinnitus to be gone? Yes, but for now I am hunky dory! The sun is shining. It is 60 degrees. I am going for a bike ride now.

 

[erik]

T is life altering.Can destroy you completelly.
If it is incurable and is serious maybe lead you to suicide.

Lots of things may lead you to suicide, at least 10,000 other reasons not just T. T altered my life. It made me realize my mortality and that it is precious. It also made me realize I need to take better care of myself both physically and even more importantly mentally. I have T and will for the foreseeable future. I'd rather not have it. It is loud and annoying at times. I cannot do anything about that. Other things in my life I can do something about. So I do.

 

[NiNyu]

Tinnitus isn't cancer..

T isn't winning the lottery. T isn't balance. T isn't gray hair. T isn't happiness.
T is a neuronal reaction similar to phantom pain. It's all in the brain. It can be incredibly painful and loud beyond reason. It is a painful neuronal reaction from which there is no escape. It is a painful neuronal reaction that can make you incredibly suicidal, suicidal almost beyond description.

But in the final analysis T is still just a loud pain. And for all intents and purposes, in 2015 there is little, if anything, you can do about this special pain. Nevertheless, you can pretend it doesn't faze you. Just like beautiful music or a stunning mind opening speech or the screams of someone being raped and tortured in the room next door. Of course it's more challenging.. but far more rewarding.


Definition of the term 'sound',

noun
[mass noun]Vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear: light travels faster than sound

 

[Street Spirit]

Tinnitus isn't cancer. Tinnitus isn't rape. Tinnitus is a sound. It can be an extraordinary loud sound. It is a sound from which there is no escape. It is a sound that can make you incredibly miserable, miserable almost beyond description. But in the final analysis tinnitus is still a sound. And for all intents and purposes, in 2015 there is little, if anything, you can do about that sound. So you can spend your time justifying your misery - or you can spend your time taking meaningful purposeful steps towards decreasing your misery. The former strategy is easier. The latter is far more challenging ... and far more rewarding.

stephen nagler

well when you put it that way. ...

 

[MattK]

You compare T with gray hair. I think that speaks volumes.

What speaks volumes for me is your lack of ability to grasp the analogy. The point of the analogy wasn't to state that tinnitus is only as bad as gray hair. The point was gray hair is an example of something that, if all things being equal, I'd rather not have, but yet, having it doesn't prevent me from having a happy life. Why did I feel the need to use this as an example? Because you said this:

Moreover, you do contradict yourself. On the one hand, you state that T does NOT affect your life at all but with the same breath you would like it to be gone. What now?

lol quite honestly, the reason for my gray hair analogy was so stinking obvious, that it seems ridiculous that I would even have to explain it. And again, the point of the analogy was how something could not have much impact on my happiness, but still be something I'd rather do without! This isn't a hard concept to understand.

Your friend must have it like you.. mild.

Oh, right, because my friend should rather die from cancer and be taken away from her young kids and husband than have tinnitus, huh?

But you know what, at the end of the day, we choose our paths. If you feel like you need to justify your misery by telling yourself that you must have it worse than those who are doing better than you, then so be it. In the end it unfortunately hurts you, not me.

 

[Telis]

Wow! There are some incredible individuals here, super human I would say! I'm humbled, I'm in pain 24 7 and find it tough to get out of bed, guess I should work on my mindset! I don't even have cancer yet I suffer in isolation and pain like I could have never imagined EVERY DAY, EVERY NIGHT-24 7! I must be weak.

Do we even need a cure? Or is it just weak minded individuals like myself that need to buck up, be positive, face the pain and move on?Yes this is pain!!!!!! Put high pitched sounds on your headphones full blast and tell me you don't get ear/brain pain!! Its also painful to listen to anything, I mean anything.

How is this just a noise!!!???? What f--kin joke. Put someone in isolation and place them in pain 24 7 for the rest of their lives, people loose their minds this way!!!!

Those of you that have minor T, get off your high horse and show a bit of respect. You are not the heros that you think you are.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

How is this just a noise!!!????

Tinnitus is not "just" a noise. It is a noise that can cause you to be absolutely miserable. It is a noise that can cause you to be unable to function. It can cause you to be emotionally devastated. It can cause you to feel like you are losing your mind. It can cause you to feel hopeless. It can cause you to seriously contemplate suicide. I know, because my tinnitus did all that to me ... and more. But tinnitus cannot cause physical pain. So while you may indeed have tinnitus, your physical pain is caused by something else.

stephen nagler

 

[linearb]

But in the final analysis T is still just a loud pain. And for all intents and purposes, in 2015 there is little, if anything, you can do about this special pain.

and yet people disagree entirely, it's almost as if this is just an opinion.

 

[linearb]

So while you may indeed have tinnitus, your physical pain is caused by something else.

My TMJ causes both T and pain, and when my muscle inflammation gets bad and I get lots of pain, I also get worse tinnitus. So, saying that they're necessarily two different things, feels wrong to me.

 

[Street Spirit]

Wow! There are some incredible individuals here, super human I would say! I'm humbled, I'm in pain 24 7 and find it tough to get out of bed, guess I should work on my mindset! I don't even have cancer yet I suffer in isolation and pain like I could have never imagined EVERY DAY, EVERY NIGHT-24 7! I must be weak.

Do we even need a cure? Or is it just weak minded individuals like myself that need to buck up, be positive, face the pain and move on?Yes this is pain!!!!!! Put high pitched sounds on your headphones full blast and tell me you don't get ear/brain pain!! Its also painful to listen to anything, I mean anything.

How is this just a noise!!!???? What f--kin joke. Put someone in isolation and place them in pain 24 7 for the rest of their lives, people loose their minds this way!!!!

Those of you that have minor T, get off your high horse and show a bit of respect. You are not the heros that you think you are.

 

[Street Spirit]

Uhhh, tinnitus CAN cause pain Dr. Nagler.

It really, really can.

I had a friend who just took his life because of that very reason...and believe me he tried EVERYTHING first.. TRT with Jastreboff too!

I've seen lots of folks complain of T and pain! (not H) T.

I also have some T with pain, but like @linearb I believe its nerve/joint related.