I just want to update on how I'm doing, and hopefully give some hope to anyone who is feeling hopeless and depressed about the sound in their ears...I've been meaning to create this thread for a little while now, so here it is.
First off, I'm doing much much better now than during my first couple of months with tinnitus. I can honestly say that I feel like "my old self" again, in most ways, which is amazing to me. Gradually, my brain has adjusted itself to the guest in my ears, but it has taken some time, so patience (and faith in the power of your mind) is important here. I still have moments where I feel I can't stand it anymore, and I temporarily revert to my previous ways of thinking and acting, but I think this is normal for those of us with T...you have good days and bad days, just as we have had our whole lives anyway, except the bad days might feel a little worse than the ones you had before. That's okay though, because when you make it through them, you'll feel stronger because of it...
I know this has been written everywhere about tinnitus, but it's true that once you stop having a panicked reaction, your brain will calm down. It is worth repeating; don't hardwire the negativity into your head. I know it may sound funny, but I sometimes tell myself to imagine I have had tinnitus all my life and in a way, I can almost convince myself that it's "normal" if that makes sense, that it's nothing to be scared of, that it's just another average part of life. I sometimes tell myself to imagine that everyone else in the world has it too, and somehow, that helps me, haha.
And pleaseee, don't start comparing your life pre and post-T (don't beat yourself up over how you got tinnitus, either). If you start telling yourself that life will never be as good as it was before, then that will come true. You'll make it that way yourself, through negative reinforcement. When I catch myself falling in that line of thinking again, I try to find someone to talk to, and then I tend to feel better, or I go listen to music or something.
I also can say that vitamins like b12 and ginkgo biloba have been great for me. I really think those made a positive difference in the loudness of my tinnitus, and I like to sometimes take 6 mg of melatonin 20 minutes or so before I go to sleep too. It seems to quiet things down for me, in addition to making me start feeling more sleepy. Also, on the topic of sleep, I hateee sleeping alone...so I admit that sometimes I sleep on my sister's floor. Something about having someone else in the room with me makes me feel better at night, when my tinnitus is the most prominent. That's a block I need to get over, but at least she doesn't mind it when I'm in there.
Aaaaah really huge wall of TL;DR text, I know. I hope something I wrote here will help to make someone anywhere out there feel better about things though. I wish nothing but good luck and positivity to everyone ^.^
First off, I'm doing much much better now than during my first couple of months with tinnitus. I can honestly say that I feel like "my old self" again, in most ways, which is amazing to me. Gradually, my brain has adjusted itself to the guest in my ears, but it has taken some time, so patience (and faith in the power of your mind) is important here. I still have moments where I feel I can't stand it anymore, and I temporarily revert to my previous ways of thinking and acting, but I think this is normal for those of us with T...you have good days and bad days, just as we have had our whole lives anyway, except the bad days might feel a little worse than the ones you had before. That's okay though, because when you make it through them, you'll feel stronger because of it...
I know this has been written everywhere about tinnitus, but it's true that once you stop having a panicked reaction, your brain will calm down. It is worth repeating; don't hardwire the negativity into your head. I know it may sound funny, but I sometimes tell myself to imagine I have had tinnitus all my life and in a way, I can almost convince myself that it's "normal" if that makes sense, that it's nothing to be scared of, that it's just another average part of life. I sometimes tell myself to imagine that everyone else in the world has it too, and somehow, that helps me, haha.
And pleaseee, don't start comparing your life pre and post-T (don't beat yourself up over how you got tinnitus, either). If you start telling yourself that life will never be as good as it was before, then that will come true. You'll make it that way yourself, through negative reinforcement. When I catch myself falling in that line of thinking again, I try to find someone to talk to, and then I tend to feel better, or I go listen to music or something.
I also can say that vitamins like b12 and ginkgo biloba have been great for me. I really think those made a positive difference in the loudness of my tinnitus, and I like to sometimes take 6 mg of melatonin 20 minutes or so before I go to sleep too. It seems to quiet things down for me, in addition to making me start feeling more sleepy. Also, on the topic of sleep, I hateee sleeping alone...so I admit that sometimes I sleep on my sister's floor. Something about having someone else in the room with me makes me feel better at night, when my tinnitus is the most prominent. That's a block I need to get over, but at least she doesn't mind it when I'm in there.
Aaaaah really huge wall of TL;DR text, I know. I hope something I wrote here will help to make someone anywhere out there feel better about things though. I wish nothing but good luck and positivity to everyone ^.^
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