Need Some Encouragement In My TRT

[kristinsj]

My T became a daily companion august 2014. I work as a legal advisor and i remember that my first major issue with T was the loss of concentration and short term memory. I am so glad that i did 't know back then what a journey that lay ahead of me. If someone told me then that 17 months onwards I would not be any better, that i might not be able to work full hours due to my condition, i think i would have fallen apart. I admit i am in a sort of mourning over this. I so wish that this wasn'tsomwthing that i had to deal with. I currently experience tinnitus most of the day, the sound getting louder during the evening. Luckily, i manage to sleep allright -knock on wood. but my temper is severely affected by T, and i seem to lose my patience aroind my kids. Naturally, this makes me really really sad. I am in TRT, using mindfulness and relaxation to help shifting focus. But i feel really exhausted and quite frankly fed up with coping with T. I am not depressed, i have to mention, but i wish if not for a quick fix then at least for a pause.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

I am in TRT, using mindfulness and relaxation to help shifting focus.

This forum is in dire need of more testimonials such as yours when it comes to TRT. We keep hearing it - TRT - is the only solution at this present time, and yet, there are hardly any testimonials on this board which has +100k visitors per month. The few testimonials we have had turned out not to be so convincing as one member admitted - later on - that TRT is only useful for mild tinnitus (something the member only became aware of when his tinnitus worsened).

We have also had another member - dochoppy - who provided the following testimonial a while back:

www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-retraining-therapy.43/page-10#post-124978

The summary is excellent, but where is the "conclusion" so-to-speak?

 

[kristinsj]

I am aware of the missing conclusion. That, in fact, is where my biggest issue is. I'm not the most patient person in the world, and as i believe that the T bothers me more now that it did before i started TRT I sometimes worry that what i do is wrong. i am not done TRTing and am not ready to quit - but when will i know if this what my life will be like, or if this is the worst, or, so help me god, if my T will become even worse? I admit that this is not me at my most positive. I sincerely try, and want to get better. But i find it difficult to endure. I wonder if i'm worse because i focus on getting better and thereby focus (too much) on T? Do I need to get worse to get better? Thanks for sharing the thread

 

[OnceUponaTime]

I just started tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy a week ago. Just the fact that I am doing something about it helps me to deal with it better. Stay focus on the techniques they are teaching you and practice all day. Keep your thoughts positive. How long have you been doing TRT? It takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for it to work ...depending on the person and the t.

 

[Alue]

If someone told me then that 17 months onwards I would not be any better, that i might not be able to work full hours due to my condition, i think i would have fallen apart.

Damn, I'm just 1.5 weeks in and this is killing me. I handed in a return to work note from my ENT, so I have to be back at work (it was a work related injury that caused my t in the first place).

I'm sorry to hear of your struggles. I keep holding on to hope that it will diminish or get better, I don't understand why for some people it does get better over time and for some it never gets better. But it's discouraging. I hope you find peace.

I wonder if i'm worse because i focus on getting better and thereby focus (too much) on T? Do I need to get worse to get better?

I wonder how much stress is a factor in not only our response to T, but in our acquiring T and forming neuro pathways that become permanent.

 

[kristinsj]

Alue, thanks for your thoughts. Since my T is nowhere to be found by the ENTs, my coping of T at least is literally in my head. I dom't think writing these posts really helps in any way, long term. We are all supposed to put focus on other sides of the life, and to habituate to the sound and reduce stress and focus on ourselves. It is just hard sometimes doing everything in a different manner. Also, please do not focus on what i said about my T and the period i have struggled with it. You are a different person, and T is not something that develops in the same manner in different persons. I hope you will get better soon. Wishing you all the best.

 

[kristinsj]

How long have you been doing TRT? It takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for it to work ...depending on the person and the t.

I first heard about TRT march 15, but I was more just explained the basic principles of it, at not so much the mental part of it. I participate in a 3x3 day programme that started in sept 15 and will end jan 16. I think you are right to indicate that i need to keep up the good work and to be patient. Feeling better today, as well. Thanks for commenting.

 

[OnceUponaTime]

I think you are right to indicate that i need to keep up the good work and to be patient. Feeling better today, as well. Thanks for commenting.

Everyday is a brand new day! Glad to know you are having better days. Just keep trying and be positive. Let us know your progress. I am going to my next therapy session today so I am feeling extra positive!

 

[kristinsj]

I will certainly share ups and downs. It is actually quite helpful just to acknowledge that today it today, and tomorrow is a new day.

 

[marqualler]

I looked into TRT about three months into my tinnitus. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that the service wasn't worth the time and money for me as I was beginning to manage it better on my own from what I had learned myself (largely from being a member here), and like @attheedgeofscience alluded to, it seemed to work better for "mild" tinnitus (I myself scored in the moderate range when I first took my TRQ and now would score very much in the mild range.)

Again, just one testimonial, and only from the "initial" stage of TRT, but see for yourself--I'd say I still agree with what I had to say there.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-retraining-therapy.43/page-6#post-101724

 

[kristinsj]

after looking onto marquallers testimonial above, i feel the need to mention some aspects from the norwegian health care. In short, we pay for our health care and social welfare system over taxes. That means that for me now being a T sufferer, the major part of all treatment, even generators and programmes, travel and housing costs, are already paid for. I really need to emphasize that here in norway, the recommended treatment for tinnitus is nothing but TRT. I notice that both the prize people have to pay for TRT and the profit for the people recommending TRT seem to be used here as some kind of proof that TRT isn't worth it or even a real cure. Here in my country this is the only treatment, it is free and I believe it will work for me too, eventually. But this is demanding, it takes time and you have to be willing to make changes yourself.

 

[marqualler]

after looking onto marquallers testimonial above, i feel the need to mention some aspects from the norwegian health care. In short, we pay for our health care and social welfare system over taxes. That means that for me now being a T sufferer, the major part of all treatment, even generators and programmes, travel and housing costs, are already paid for. I really need to emphasize that here in norway, the recommended treatment for tinnitus is nothing but TRT. I notice that both the prize people have to pay for TRT and the profit for the people recommending TRT seem to be used here as some kind of proof that TRT isn't worth it or even a real cure. Here in my country this is the only treatment, it is free and I believe it will work for me too, eventually. But this is demanding, it takes time and you have to be willing to make changes yourself.

That is great to know--thanks for the info! If TRT was fully paid for in the USA I likely would have dug into it myself.

 

[LadyDi]

Interesting thread. Thanks all.
I did Neuromonics, a sound therapy similar to TRT but not exactly the same (so I understand, but I have not done TRT). Both, however, involve listing to pre-programmed sound devices plus going through counseling. I started Neuromonics about six months after my tinnitus onset. As @marqualler said, I had to pay for the whole thing here in the US: $5,000.

Here is my previous post on my outcomes.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/neuromonics.1378/page-6#post-78885


If this is helpful @kristinsj: These therapies usually take about a year to be effective. And in the beginning, you feel like you are making no progress, or that you even feel worse. It took me three months to feel even the slightest improvement. So you need to hang in there and do it exactly as your clinician says for it work, as @glynis said.

And sadly, no, I do not think any therapies are guaranteed to work for all. But speaking only for myself, mine helped me.

 

[kristinsj]

Thanks alot, LadyDi, for your reply and all your information. I will most definitely hang in there and do the things that they recommend. The tricky bit is, there is little follow-up. I feel like I am my own therapist. Perhaps it would be worth it to see a therapist in cognitive behaviourism while I do my TRT, as I see you did. Something for me to think about

 

[LadyDi]

Good luck, @kristinsj. Actually, my barotrauma ENT said in his opinion, that many people (but certainly not all) do better with sound therapies if they couple them CBT. This is particularly true if your tinnitus is causing you anxiety or serious emotional distress. Which, of course, is the case with many people who would go to the time/trouble/expense of having sound therapy.

You said something in your first post that really struck a chord: that you feel like you are in mourning. I so, so understand that. Many of us DO go into mourning when our tinnitus doesn't vanish. We are mourning our former lives, the ability to go through our days without a constant cloud of anxiety and sadness hanging over our heads, our loss of silence and freedom from fear. It's damn hard, this tinnitus! Like you, I don't really have classic depression. But in the beginning, I was so terribly anxious -- full blown panic disorder, first time in my life -- that I didn't think I would survive.

As @OnceUponaTime said, doing something about my tinnitus -- be it Neuromonics, CBT, learning meditation -- made me feel better because I felt like I was helping myself. I could not bear just to stand still. Like you, I continued working full time. And while some days in the office were hell, I think I would have lost my mind if I would have been forced to sit at home with my ringing ears all day.

Yeah, I agree there isn't as much follow up with these sound therapies as there should be. That's why I did CBT as well, at my own expense. And when I came out of that dark tunnel... I was better. Today, I pretty much have my life back. I don't take anxiety meds any more. Some days aren't fun. But life throws challenges at all of us at some point.

I really do encourage you not to give up your TRT, now that you have started. I always feel badly when I see people throwing in the towel after a month or two. It is a long process but you need to hang in there. Again, no guarantees. But you stand a much better chance of succeeding than if you give up.

You can PM me at any time, if that helps you.

 

[kristinsj]

Oh, wow. Thank you SO so much for taking the time to encourage me, to prove to me that actually i am not alone in this. i think there is much to learn from TRT and try as best as i can to stay on the right track. and then there are other times when i let myself feel a little like i did when i started this tread. Sure thing, this T wears on us, but after i got my priorities in life sorted out (me, family, life, work) and made sure that i work only as much as i feel i can cope with without adding stress to the burden, going to work is a kind of coping mechanism in itself. I will PM you later on if or when i need some more helping words. Thanks again