I'm Going to a 4 Week Tinnitus Treatment Camp Soon. Will Share My Experiences.

[meeruf]

Hi guys. (and ladies of course )


5th August I will go to a tinnitus treatment camp here in Norway. This treatment camp will go on for four weeks and my group will have 20 people. The camp consists of one doctor, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists and training experts. They follow the TRT method. This camp goes under the public healthcare system here in Norway. So I only have to pay a small contribution of 20$ per day.

This camp helps people with hearing-loss problems, tinnitus, hyperacusis, muscle pain, stiffness, other pains, worn out symptoms and all that other stuff that comes along with tinnitus.

I know that a lot of people here is not so fortunate when it comes to their own health-care system in their respective countries. Some countries may not have this service at all, and other countries may have it, but is private and therefore costs a lot of money.

Therefore I will share what I learn on this camp with everyone here. I'm pretty sure the staff on this camp have a lot of experience and some serious knowledge with/about tinnitus, and some of them probably have it them self.

Feel free to ask questions in this thread, and I will try to sneak them in when we have meetings and gatherings with the staff.

- Meeruf

 

[Leah]

What a great opportunity, please keep us posted.

 

[Street Spirit]

Incredible health care system you have there. Looking forward to hearing about it and also how the hyperacusics fare at a camp? ..do they get their own quiet cabin away from everyone else?

 

[valeri]

Yes, you are very fortunate to have something like that available to you!
Scandinavian countries have always been a step ahead in many things!

Although Australia (that's where I live) has a good standard of health care and living in general, there's nothing like that here.

Good luck and keep us posted!
I hope it brings you some relief!

 

[James]

@meeruf
Great post. I want the best for you. I hope you get results.

 

[RaZaH]

All the best mate , keep us posted.

 

[nogood]

F**king Indian doctors just made a joke when I spoke to them on first few weeks of my T.. I envy you guys..
Good luck to you...

 

[meeruf]

Incredible health care system you have there. Looking forward to hearing about it and also how the hyperacusics fare at a camp? ..do they get their own quiet cabin away from everyone else?

I don't know how they do it with poeple with hyperacusics. I know the institution is pretty far out in no-where, so its pretty quiet there I think. No traffic, nightlife, honking taxies or stuff like that.

Here is a picture of the main building:

Here is a picture from futher away:

Pretty idyllic place. Can't complain.


I will post more pictures when I actually get there. Only one more week now.

 

[Marlene]

Wish you all the luck in the world Meeruf,be interesting your findings,sounds hopeful.will watch out for your postings.Looks a lovely place ,a retreat ,place id go to for meditation,calming.

 

[Street Spirit]

wow@meeruf you are so fortunate! I SO wish I could go!

 

[Teri]

Beautiful.....enjoy!

 

[dan]

nice sanatorium.

 

[Iril]

Have a nice trip to Landaasen @meeruf . I've been there in 2012 (3 weeks), a few months after the onset of tinnitus. Good luck, and take care of yourself while you're there.

 

[meeruf]

Hi guys. One more day. I'm driving tomorrow at 10.45 am. There will be some kind of opening ceremony there at 3.00 pm. Will make another update tomorrow night around 10.00 pm CEST when I'm settled.


I have started to pack some stuff together now. I will bring my DSLR camera and try to take some sweet pictures too.

Yeah, see you tomorrow... Good night.

 

[jimH]

It looks like a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Once they get to know you, I sure hope they'll allow you to leave!...

All kidding aside, meeruf, thanks for thinking of us and Good Luck to you! ....

 

[meeruf]

Day 1:

Hi guys. Today I arrived to the rehabilitation center that provides tinnitus treatment. I don't know much yet about what will happen the next weeks, but we had a short informational meeting earlier today with all the participants. Tomorrow all of us will have individual appointments with a nurse and a physiologist.

This is what was written in the opening letter that I got earlier today:
(Warning: 50% Google translate English. )

" _______________

Dear participant. Welcome to Landaasen Rehabilitation Center!

We will provide you a comprehensive rehabilitation program for your tinnitus and other distress that follows. The main element in this program we have chosen to name "active knowledge". That is, we want to give you the knowledge and skills that makes it possible for you to live the most normal life.

To make this happen we will provide a mix of education, individual follow-up, exercise and different teamwork. The goal is to give you a bigger understanding of your own situation and a bigger mastering of your own condition. So you can get a better quality of life. This will also require an effort from your side.

We will use time on different exercises that are made to give a better control of your own tinnitus. These exercises are intended to give you the tools you can use in everyday life.

Under our stay you will get personal follow-up by a physiotherapist, where the weight will be placed on active training, relaxation, training in body consciousness and rehabilitation. In addition to this we offer testing and adjustment of technical utilities by audiologist.

An important element in both teaching and drills is that tinnitus is a bother that vary from mood and your own situation.

We wish that you already from reading this, you start to think about what situation you are less bothered by tinnitus, and what situation you are most bothered by tinnitus. And if there are commonalities in when its bad, and when it is good. This is a topic that will be followed up in both lectures, exercises/drills and in the teamwork.

We also encourage you to discuss this with your fellow participants if this feels natural. Our experience is that the participants in you group can be a big resource.
______________
"

Some pictures:

Translated: "Landaasen Training Center. Welcome. "

Reception

Dinning Hall

Livingroom / Hall

Livingroom / Hall

ROOM:

View from balcony (Someone wants a shot of me running with those cows? )


Will come back with more tomorrow. Feel free to ask questions if you are wondering about something.

 

[Danza]

@meeruf You must be a really nice person to post these things. I nearly have the feeling that I am there at the camp with you (you beat us Finns with this camp-thing). The bed looks a little bit small though - if I may now comment the pictures Did you take of the work or how does this work in there?

 

[meeruf]

@meeruf You must be a really nice person to post these things. I nearly have the feeling that I am there at the camp with you (you beat us Finns with this camp-thing). The bed looks a little bit small though - if I may now comment the pictures Did you take of the work or how does this work in there?

I'm on a sick-leave from work while I'm here.

 

[LadyDi]

What an interesting approach to treatment, @meeruf. Kind of sounds like a combination of several therapies -- CBT, TRT, Mindfulness. And I think its great that they are doing it in a group setting, so participants who truly understand tinnitus (because they all have it) can support one another.

Anyway, thanks for posting and I look forward to following your treatment story. Best wishes for success!

 

[meeruf]

Day 2:

Not much to say about this day. More information about what to come. We used the day to get to know each other, relax and to do personal stuff. I took a long jog.

Early in the morning I had a individual meeting with the physiotherapist I will have under the stay. He had a lot of good questions and seemed very interesting in my situation. Good eye contact and a lot of clever questions. A very good meeting. The physiotherapists will start to work on us on Monday. They will also make a training program for each one of us.


Day 3:

Started the day with a very good lecture with a peer. He had tinnitus himself. He was an old retired firefighter. A very smart man with a lot of experience about tinnitus and life. He was very good to put stuff into perspective. He had been a patient at this center many years ago, after he retired as a firefighter. He started to work and have lectures in the facility about how he overcome tinnitus. He claimed he was not bothered about his tinnitus anymore. At all. I believe him.

Some tips we got at this lecture was:

- Avoid silence
- Listen to radio/TV
- Use a pillow with speakers
- Avoid the sofa
- Stay away from serious/hurtfull noise
- Jacuzzi as emergencies and pleasure
- Seek groups with less people (less noise) when being sosial
- Be positive
- Always have positive plans
- Be thankful about everything, including your tinnitus.
- Dont' worry about stuff you can't do anything about, concentrate about what you actually can do something about.
- Think about good memories. ​

And now a story about an old man. I don't know if this is a story from Norway, or from somewhere else. I could not find any English version of it. So I will just translate it. I think it was really good. Our lecturer told us it was a true story. It was written in a very good and clever way in Norwegian. I hope I can do the same for you, just in English. Here it goes:

Bank account ​

A 92 year old man, of small stature, well-balanced and proud, fully dressed every morning 08.00 am, with his hair neatly combed and with a perfect shave (even tho is he was practically blind), moved to an retirement home today. ​

His 70 year old wife had recently passed away, so he had to move to a nursing home. After many hours of patiently waiting he met me with a big smile when I told him his room was ready.

While he moved his walking frame towards the elevator I gave him a short description of his little room, included the new curtains the nurses put up.

"Its wonderful, I like it," he declared with an enthusiasm like an eight year old boy that just discovered his new puppy. "Mr. Smith, wait until you have seen the room," I told him. "That does not matter at all," he replied. "Happiness are something you can decide in advance. If I like the room or not have nothing to do about how the furniture is arranged... It's how I arrange my thoughts that matters. I have already decided to like my room.

It's a decision I do every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can either lie down and think about all the parts of my body that does not work anymore, or get out of the bed and be thankful for what I still have.

Every day is a gift, as long as I live, I will always focus on the positive and the good memories I have. Being old is like a bank account. You can raise comforts from every good memory you have saved up. If I can give you any advice it would be that you have to deposit good memories to your account. As much as you can.

Thank you for your contribution to fill my account with. I still do a lot of deposits."

Remember these rules for happiness;
1. Free your heart from hate
2: Free yourself from worries.
3: Live a simple life
4: Give more
5: Expect less. ​

After the lecture all of us went out on a long walk in the forest, until we ended up in a shelter some kilometers away. Our lecturer was with us and did some cognitive therapy out in the free, for all of us. A very good way to do it, if you ask me.

Some pictures from today:

Yeah, that is all for today. See you again tomorrow.

 

[LadyDi]

Gosh Meeruf, this sounds wonderful. Not to mention the place is lovely. I so wish they had something like this in the states. I would be willing to pay a lot for this experience.

Looking forward to your next installment. Thanks for the photos! Norway is a beautiful country.

 

[Emil Mikalsen]

This is great, maybe i should go to some like this one time - as i'm also from Norway
Enjoy your stay meeruf, and have a great time!

 

[Marlene]

Hi Meeruf, im so taken to what you have written,hope everyone takes away from it what I have.the old mans story is a tear jerker ,that's for sure,puts life into perspective.fix what you can.
You already seem to be getting something out of it day 3. Look forward to today's post
It looks a great place.
Best Wishes Marlene

 

[tomytl]

Thanks, great posts, thank you !!!!!

 

[Karen]

Meeruf,

Thanks for these wonderful posts! I can't wait to read tomorrow's installment.

Just being in that beautiful place would be enough to help you forget about your tinnitus for awhile. You are so lucky to have found this therapy retreat, and I agree with Lady Di that I wish we had something like this in the U.S.

Best wishes for a peaceful and inspiring week,
Karen

 

[Poonam Tiwari]

Hi
Meerut for posting these pics. Wish you a very happy stay. The story of the old man was amazing. I liked it a lot. Waiting for your new post.
Poonam

 

[meeruf]

Day 4


Hi guys. Day 4 is over now. It's 23.30 here now. Not so much to say about this day. It's next week the good stuff starts. Some of the topics will be; "How to master tinnitus," "How to master reduced tolerance for sound," "How to defeat anxiety", "How to always think positive" etc. Some of the lecturers have tinnitus them self. Just like the retired firefighter yesterday. Next week I will also start the training with my physiotherapist. This week was mostly for relaxation, "to land", and to get to know the other participants.

Today we had a short lecture about the importance of sleep. Not so much new in that lecture. There was however one good line that made me think.

- "You can't decide to fall asleep, but only create the best possible conditions to let the sleep take you away"

​

After the lecture about sleep, we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. I took a long walk and took some pictures, after this I went out fishing.

​

Bottom

Top

Yes, me. Don't need to sensor him.

And yes, we got fish! A small trout.

 

[LondonGirl]

Bless you Meeruf

 

[Karen]

Great pics, Meeruf!

 

[meeruf]

Great pics, Meeruf!

Yeah, the pictures are shot with my phone. Pretty crazy camera in that phone..