Let Time Do Its Work: Tinnitus Used to Consume My Attention — Now It's a Non-Issue

[Ken219]

So when you are in bed, do you have to think about something else in order not to be aware of tinnitus? Or can you lie there without thinking of anything and still not be aware of the tinnitus?

It is a technique to practice. It isn't easy but try to think about something pleasant to ignore the tinnitus. It takes practice. Eventually you will fall asleep. I think this is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)?

 

[cruise]

So when you are in bed, do you have to think about something else in order not to be aware of tinnitus? Or can you lie there without thinking of anything and still not be aware of the tinnitus?

Great question. I think my mind never rests and is always thinking of something. I found out long time ago that when I am about to sleep, my mind gets very creative. So often in bed I think of new things to do or try out. In any case, I am always very calm when going to bed and tinnitus is not a factor in my going to bed routine. Pre-tinnitus I used to talk about going to bed being the best time of the day. Tinnitus took that away from me for quite a while. But now I enjoy going to bed again and enjoy to calmness of ending a day, and anticipating a new day to come.

To try and sum it up. Tinnitus used to distract me from my thoughts. Now my thoughts distract me from tinnitus. This was not an active process, it happened naturally.

 

[TDarckRevan]

Hi,

Just read this. Thank you for sharing. I got tinnitus 1.5 months ago and since yesterday I notice it a bit louder but I think I can manage it and I'm trying to do the same as you: paying no attention to the tinnitus when going to bed and it will get back to normal soon! Thank you for your story!

 

[Johan001]

Hi @cruise,

Do you think the character of your tinnitus plays a role in your habituation? Is it a monotonous noise or a cacophony of noises?

 

[DaveFromChicago]

Karl Marx actually said that "Equating philosophy with the real world is tantamount to equating masturbation with sexual love" (he actually said this).

Equating habituation with silence is precisely the same.

 

[Uklawyer]

Karl Marx actually said that "Equating philosophy with the real world is tantamount to equating masturbation with sexual love" (he actually said this).

Equating habituation with silence is precisely the same.

Both are equally pleasurable experiences albeit not the same i.e. the result can be just as powerful even if not measurably as effective?

 

[Uklawyer]

It is a technique to practice. It isn't easy but try to think about something pleasant to ignore the tinnitus. It takes practice. Eventually you will fall asleep. I think this is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)?

Thanks @Ken219. I understand that drifting into thought can take one's mind away from tinnitus - but that seems akin to another distraction technique (useful though it is) - whether consciously done or not.

I am trying to understand if habituation can get you to a point where you are not having to distract your mind from it in order to not be aware of it - in other words: "I go to bed and it's just not there in my mind (my mind can wander or it can be still - it's just not there)". I know some people say they have to really look for it to become aware of it. Otherwise, I assume that they can simply not be aware of it - including when they turn out the light and settle in for a night of sleep (and upon waking up - how great that would be!)

 

[Ken219]

and upon waking up - how great that would be!)

A life changer! Pray for better treatments or a cure. 30 plus years it is the spikes that kill (sic) me.

 

[Uklawyer]

I pray - for you, for me and for everyone afflicted with this condition. You are a hero @Ken219.

 

[cruise]

Do you think the character of your tinnitus plays a role in your habituation? Is it a monotonous noise or a cacophony of noises?

I don't know because I only have experience with my tinnitus. What I can say is that in the early stages, there were low tinnitus days where I would be focusing a lot, so having a bad day, and there were high days that were OK because I was not focusing so much.

 

[JK888]

One of the things I did in the early months was to force myself to just listen to my tinnitus. I removed all noises that would mask and I would cover my ears or sit in a very quiet room and just listen. I would listen for up to 10 minutes and would just try to breath calmly. At some point, my mind would start wandering. When that happened, I tried to focus on my tinnitus again. I did this exercise on a daily basis. What I was actually doing was making my brain get bored of the sound of tinnitus. And I think this helped. It also helped taking away the fear and anxiety. I was teaching my brain that it was OK to hear my tinnitus. If I can survive actively listening to it for 10 minutes, then I could survive any unmasked situation without a problem. Once the fear subsided, everything became easier. No more anxiety and sleepless nights.

So the idea is to not to run from your tinnitus but to face it and eliminate the fear.

I did something like this under the influence of psilocybin, and it was EXTREMELY effective. After my attention wandered, I eventually couldn't even find the sound again.

 

[Uklawyer]

Now my thoughts distract me from tinnitus. This was not an active process, it happened naturally.

So no thoughts?

 

[cruise]

So no thoughts?

I do not think about my tinnitus before sleep. Even if my attention goes to my tinnitus, any new thought will distract my attention away from my tinnitus very quickly. I do not have to force myself to think of something else. It just happens naturally.

 

[Uklawyer]

Apologies @cruise, my message came out incorrectly.

Now my thoughts distract me from tinnitus. This was not an active process, it happened naturally.

I had intended to pick up on the point that thinking distracts from the tinnitus and ask the question of what that means when there are no distracting thoughts - in other words:

"So no thinking = ?"(i.e. what happens when there are no other thoughts? Does tinnitus reappear?)

(I hope it comes out correctly this time.)

 

[cruise]

"So no thinking = ?"(i.e. what happens when there are no other thoughts? Does tinnitus reappear?)

(I hope it comes out correctly this time.)

Got it.

My mind is always wandering. But it does happen sometimes that I just listen to my tinnitus and fall asleep. I am so used to the sound that it almost has a calming effect. That may sound very weird but it is true in my case.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Got it.

My mind is always wandering. But it does happen sometimes that I just listen to my tinnitus and fall asleep. I am so used to the sound that it almost has a calming effect. That may sound very weird but it is true in my case.

I believe that. My old tinnitus was loud but just a single tone caused by fireworks. I could hear it almost over anything. I too could listen to the loud sound of it and just peacefully fall asleep.

This new reactive multi tone brain buzz I cannot deal with just yet lol.

 

[Tyler Obermark]

I first heard my tinnitus almost 3 years ago. At first I experienced basically all negative emotions that you may have read about or may be experiencing. The continuous anxiety led to a few very bad months. Not sleeping well was the worst part. I also remember saying to myself that if I can only sleep normally again, I could handle the rest. But I never skipped work or any other family duties, I just kept going and kept fighting. Until things slowly started getting better. The cure: time.

The first few nights of good sleep was a blessing. But then came a relapse that made me feel even worse than before. It was simply because I saw some progression that suddenly disappeared again. That was maybe the worst time of all. But after a few weeks I started getting better sleep again. And since then I never had any sleep problems. Again the cure was: time.

So now I sleep like a baby again. I always hear my tinnitus in bed but it doesn't bother me and it just jumps in and out of my awareness, and it's mostly out. How this happened? My only answer: time.

To make a long story short, my experience is that I suffered all the negative because I was prone to get anxious about tinnitus and it was consuming my attention all day and night. Time has made me get used to tinnitus so much that it has totally become a non-issue. The loudness does vary but does not make a difference in how I react, which is basically no reaction at all. Nowadays, if for some reason I get aware of my tinnitus, it usually takes seconds before I am unaware again. It is not a "thing" anymore but I always told myself that I will share my story one day, because stories of others did help me in the early stages, when I was looking for answers and hope.

So for all of you that are suffering now, hang in there, be brave, let time do it's work.

WONDERFUL! I hope to achieve this level of habituation one day. This symptom is UNFAIR but I am glad you have been able to find peace!

 

[GeorgeLG]

So when you are in bed, do you have to think about something else in order not to be aware of tinnitus? Or can you lie there without thinking of anything and still not be aware of the tinnitus?

We are all different but it's really loud as I start winding down in the relatively quiet room to fall asleep and then I just drift off and sleep. In other words, it's loud and its always there but it doesn't keep me from sleeping.

George