MemberThis is a Success Story about how habituation, physical therapy, mental discipline, and finally, lifestyle changes have made Tinnitus a non-factor in my life.
Over 19 months ago, my life was forever changed when I awoke one morning and, slowly, throughout the course of the day the familiar high-pitched pulse of Tinnitus bilaterally plagued my hearing. I've written extensively, both on this forum and across the Internet, about my experience and challenges. I've even created a Tinnitus page on my personal website. To say that Tinnitus started out defining my life would be an understatement, as I know it started defining the lives of all those afflicted with this terrible and sad condition.
Today, over 19 months later, I have mastered my Tinnitus.
I am not cured - not by a long-shot. But I am, by and large, completely ignorant of Tinnitus' impact on my life, except when I focus on it. I've been able to resume all of the activities, passions, and interests of my life before I had Tinnitus, but with one major difference. My mastery of Tinnitus has gifted me with incredible mental focus that I didn't have before. If you have read any of my posts on Tinnitus Talk, you will know that especially during the first six months, I was ravenous in my appetite to find a cure. Like many of you, I couldn't believe that something so life changing and so ear-piercing was incurable, and worse, permanent. I also had many false starts and approaches to 'gaming' my Tinnitus because, again like many of you, my tinnitus is reactive.
Here's what happened:
I would be happy to answer any questions about my experience and journey so far. Tinnitus, at least for me, appears to be a permanent fixture in my life, but it is largely irrelevant on its impact in my day-to-day.
Over 19 months ago, my life was forever changed when I awoke one morning and, slowly, throughout the course of the day the familiar high-pitched pulse of Tinnitus bilaterally plagued my hearing. I've written extensively, both on this forum and across the Internet, about my experience and challenges. I've even created a Tinnitus page on my personal website. To say that Tinnitus started out defining my life would be an understatement, as I know it started defining the lives of all those afflicted with this terrible and sad condition.
Today, over 19 months later, I have mastered my Tinnitus.
I am not cured - not by a long-shot. But I am, by and large, completely ignorant of Tinnitus' impact on my life, except when I focus on it. I've been able to resume all of the activities, passions, and interests of my life before I had Tinnitus, but with one major difference. My mastery of Tinnitus has gifted me with incredible mental focus that I didn't have before. If you have read any of my posts on Tinnitus Talk, you will know that especially during the first six months, I was ravenous in my appetite to find a cure. Like many of you, I couldn't believe that something so life changing and so ear-piercing was incurable, and worse, permanent. I also had many false starts and approaches to 'gaming' my Tinnitus because, again like many of you, my tinnitus is reactive.
Here's what happened:
- My Tinnitus, when it started, was piercingly loud - a ~7 out of 10, at best, and sometimes higher. I could hear it over music, over the television, even in the shower. I also had full-blown hyperacusis for the first couple of months, where every day sounds (heartbreakingly, my then 2-year-old son's sweet and loving voice) produced piercing pain and excruciating headaches. I remember that I was not able to enjoy my time at a very loud convention, and missed out on most of the panels, because my Tinnitus made it impossible to concentrate on what was being said.
- My Tinnitus is also somatosensory, meaning that I could amplify or silence it by moving my lower jaw. This was a clue as to the underlying etiological mechanism of my Tinnitus, but like most Tinnitus, even a clear behavioral interchange does not describe the symptomatic pathology of the neurological disorder. However, because my jaw was a factor, after ruling out many other things that would be much scarier - like brain tumors, cancers, etc. - doctors began to focus on my jaw, clenching teeth, and how this created the muscular conditions for my Tinnitus to emerge. Prednisone completely silences my tinnitus for upwards to a couple of days when taken in at least a 50 mg increments. This proves that my tinnitus is at least inflammatory in origin, and aligns with the somatosensory behavioral mechanism.
- I began wearing a nightguard about 3 months into my Tinnitus, just as my hyperacusis began to fade (and my Tinnitus became more regular and less erratic - a typical "centralizing" effect that you often read about when Tinnitus goes from being acute to chronic). Ultimately, I noticed minor improvements in the loudness of the Tinnitus, but it was still very clearly there. Cervical MRIs never showed anything particularly compelling, but my chiropractor began to perform significant adjustments to my neck, back, and spine that all seemed to help. My Tinnitus went from a 7 out of 10 down to a 2 or 3 out of 10, and I could begin to easily mask it. However, it was still always there.
- Physical Therapy to address the tension of my jaw also helped make Tinnitus appear much less noticeable. I also noticed that getting a good night's sleep, taking hot showers before bed, and hot showers in the morning also helped relax the muscles and likely contributed to a gradual improving over time.
- By the 6 month mark, I started to experience the early signs of habituation. I would go for a few hours without actually noticing my Tinnitus, even though it was still there, and could focus and concentrate on other things. I began to be very cognizant of this ability and then began to hone my mine to focus on the silence. (Another poster here has described a success story involving meditation that "focuses" on the silence, as a way to build neuralplasticity -- I am convinced this is ultimately what I was doing through these exercises.)
- A Chiropractic adjustments (months 2-6)
- Nightguard Use (months 2-5)
- Physical Therapy (months 4-9)
- Low Calorie Diet and Cardio Exercise (months 15-18)
I would be happy to answer any questions about my experience and journey so far. Tinnitus, at least for me, appears to be a permanent fixture in my life, but it is largely irrelevant on its impact in my day-to-day.
