Making the Transition. Sleeping with Tinnitus.

[UKJon]

Hi!

Some people have written in 'Success Stories' that they can now sleep without sound enrichment or even masking. Is this all about relaxing again or fully accepting tinnitus? I would like to reach that stage.

How is this transition made? Do some people find one day that they just drop off unaided because they are so tired or is it about slowly turning down the volume of the sound over a period of time until they do not need it any more?

Thanks.

 

[hartje5]

I have always been able to fall a sleep with T. It's sleeping trough the night that was the problem for me. I kept waking up at 5 am with adrenalin rushing through my body. Because I have had T for so long (before december last it was minor T). I'm used to the sound. I'm not scared of it. It's my natural habitat for falling asleep. During the day I have more trouble. I used to no be able to hear my T. only if I listened for it in a quiet surrounding. Now I hear it 24 hours a day. That makes me very, very sad.

 

[UKJon]

Why do you think your T has got worse? I've read some of your posts and I understand that you also have heart problems. It's good that you say that you're not scared of the sound any more and that you are used to it.

I've been seeing a therapist and have been trying not to test and monitor my T. It went well for some days but I have been testing and listening today which is not good. If I could just get used to it when I want to sleep then that would be fine.

There was a reduction in stress when I kept the sound enrichment on whenever I was in my bedroom but I relapsed into monitoring again and of course I was disappointed when I heard T. Still not able to accept fully.

 

[hartje5]

My T got bad because I started using medication that made it worse and was (and still am) under a lot of health related stress for a long time.

It's strange, I often can't stand the sound during the day (it's making me depressed). I'm so used to hearing it when going to sleep that's about the only time it doesn't bother me. I think that is because I've been hearing it for so long at that time of day. It used to be softer, but I'm not bothered by it when going to sleep even now it's louder.

Why don't you keep on using sound enrichment? I would do what ever works. Be practical about it. Have you tried the technique where you don't measure your T (how loud, what sound etc.) but measure your response to T? (Anxious, indifferent, worried etc.). See the successtory section for a more detailed description of the technique. Consciously trying not to think about T is like trying not to think of a pink elephant. Impossible.

 

[UKJon]

It's funny because I don't hear it hardly at all during the day but it's the night that worries me. Thanks for the advice though.

 

[Engineer]

I had lots of issues with sleeping, and needed meds for the first two months. Masking was moderately effective, sometimes I got little sleep during the night. I started using white noise generators at 60 days as part of TRT and slept well from there on. I wore them during the night and found that the masking they deliver right into the ear is superior to anything else. Yes, sometimes they fall out during the night. Gradually after months I weened off of them, but yes night time was the hardest. A few nights here, a few nights there, and suddenly it was more of a bother to put them in my ears. Occasionally I get a spike for a few weeks and revert to using them again.

 

[Lorac]

I don't hear or feel the T when I sleep and that is the only time I don't hear it and feel it. When my ear gets louder and more uncomfortable, I sleep to bring down the noise and discomfort. It's like a reset button for me. Love sleep!

 

[PaulBe]

Testing/monitoring does become habitual after a while. Hard one to break.