Never masking during waking hours

[Misery]

Since there's a thread about who uses maskers here, it got me thinking... I never use anything to mask during waking hours and I can hear my T all the time, except when showering or vacuuming. I'm hopeful this will aid in a quicker habituation in case the T doesn't resolve itself. Who else never masks and how are you progressing?

 

[Misery]

Bumping

I can't be the only one who never masks during the day...

 

[Lynnette]

Misery, I don't mask during the day as well. I use a noise app on the ipad at night to help me sleep though. I hear my T all day and am trying to get used to it without masking...some days I can handle it and others it's so loud I just can't and get out for a walk or keep busy. It really is a day by day ordeal with me. I'm hoping my brain will just register it as sound and put it in the back of my head...wishful thinking right now.

 

[Neenie]

i mask all day all night with ipod that plays white noise. i can still hear it while i mask though. no matter how i turn up the volume i can still hear it. i just want one day where i cant here it. mine is always the same piercing volume. i feel anxious all the time. a lot more anxious if i dont mask it during the day.

 

[Liesel]

I don't mask very often during the day. If I do, I tend to snap back to the tinnitus noise when I walk away, which is often the case when I use a fan. Something about the act of purposefully masking also brings my mind to the T and the related anxiety more often.

I always have to turn the fan on to sleep though.

 

[Markku]

I don't mask either. Well, I listen to music a lot, but at the levels I listen it doesn't mask my tinnitus, and I don't remember the last time I listened to masking tracks during daytime.

Night time is different though. I regularly fall asleep to sounds of mountain stream, raining, waterfall, etc. I can get to sleep without masking, only enjoying the incessant high-pitched ringing, but lately I've preferred those nature sounds.

Markku

 

[erik]

I use computers at work and my office area is generally quiet. I play pandora all day long but then I did that before I had T, so I guess technically now it is masking my T, before I was just playing it to create some noise in the quietness of the office. At night I do use a white noise machine. I don't really need it to fall asleep or mask my T, it helps most block out the noise of my neighbors.

 

[Riikka]

Sometimes, more often in the morning or in the early evening I feel my T is better and I don't need the masking. But usually after a busy/noisy day I dont' feel comfortable sitting down on my couch and listening to my tinnitus, which is quite loud. So at that point I will switch on the TV or some music. I still get a bit anxious when I hear the T sound when I come to my quiet home from a noisier environment. At night I also use some nature sounds.

 

[carol kane]

I am 6.5 weeks in, and i have never masked day or night, i don´t have anything to mask with. I watch TV but can still hear it, i only can´t hear it for the 15 mins i´m in the shower every day, i fall asleep eventually only because i´m so exhausted, i get 4 hrs sleep per night, and then the whole thing starts again when i wake up. I´m not on any medication as i haven´t seen a health professional yet, so you could say i´m just doing this completely alone. I´ve just dropped something on the floor and it made a very loud crack, i´ve panicked!!! does this mean i will definitely have a spike?

 

[Misery]

Thank you everyone. I appreciate all your responses.

@carol kane I'm sorry you're still not sleeping better. I also have never seen a doctor regarding the T, only the pressure I felt in my left ear. I ended up casually mentioning the T to him and he kind of muttered that many have varying levels of it and it gets worse with age. Thanks Doc! NOT! Anyway, I didn't care what he said about it. I'm certain he doesn't have it and I assume he knows very little about it.

For my sanity, I find it better to not refer to increases in T volume as spikes. I guess it sounds too harsh. I prefer to think of it as a fluctuation... it goes up and down.