Noise-Induced Tinnitus — Positive Success Stories

[emmalee]

@emmalee

Are you a counselor for your day job? You're so good at this.

I'm once again, not the first time and won't be the last, being impatient.

That fullness is a bear. It's been gone a week or two but it was back last night. It got to me because it's another reminder, like when I was using a hand saw with ear muffs to cut lumber last night. Many on the site say it takes up to 6 months to go away for the ones that it does.

I went to the hardware store yesterday and bought some lumber to make raised beds for a vegetable garden. When I was a kid I watched a show called Square Foot Gardening. I want to start 3 square foot garden plots and give it a try. A vegetable garden and chickens are two things I've put off all my life but what am I waiting for? It's a great distraction.

I brought some Coral Bells home with me but those were for my wife. She needs them for something with the School.

I did get out and jog. I made 2.5 miles with no walking. I pushed it to burn off some anxiety. I succeeded. Next it's a long hot shower to relax and reset.

Last week I spread mulch I had to wheel across a yard, over a stream and up a hill. It did wonders for my t and mental attitude. Tomorrow is my last day at that house for a while. I'm going to miss it.


I hope we both get it Emmalee.

I didn't know you were a truck person. I can't wait to hear about that. What made you decide it was time to upgrade?

@New Guy

John, the vegetable garden sounds interesting, you will have to post some photos once you have finished it. You have mentioned chickens a few times so that surely is something you should focus on, too. Both are wonderful distractions from the t. You will be too busy to pay attention to its demands.

Sounds like you are getting a good amount of exercise, I hope you fall off to sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, tonight.

I have always liked pick-up trucks, they are so useful. The current one is feeling her age so it's time to think about an upgrade. It is in the works now.

 

[emmalee]

@New Guy @emmalee
Yes, me too.

I guess we just have reclaim our old lives, then. We will not settle for less than that, even though it may take a good bit of time. In the meantime we will carry on.

 

[DBT]

I miss having a garden. Not that Im a "garden" person at all. A few years ago my family went though a tough experience and I got some kind of PTSD. At the time we lived at a farm where the property was 100x100 meters. And the previous owner was indeed a garden person.

There were so many places to go in the garden, and it was so relaxing. I would just go out there and find a spot and just sit there for a while. Only bad thing was the mosquito's. They just looooove me.

I bet John's garden is a very nice place too.

 

[emmalee]

I miss having a garden. Not that Im a "garden" person at all. A few years ago my family went though a tough experience and I got some kind of PTSD. At the time we lived at a farm where the property was 100x100 meters. And the previous owner was indeed a garden person.

There were so many places to go in the garden, and it was so relaxing. I would just go out there and find a spot and just sit there for a while. Only bad thing was the mosquito's. They just looooove me.

I bet John's garden is a very nice place too.

Hello @DBT.

I would love to live on a farm, mostly for the same reasons you talk about. Finding a little solitude is good for the soul.

Mosquitos just may love me a little more than they love you, lol. We have black flies, too. Talk about demons with wings.

 

[New Guy]

@emmalee

I guess we just have reclaim our old lives, then. We will not settle for less than that, even though it may take a good bit of time. In the meantime we will carry on.

That's what most of the people who have had t a while on this site say.

 

[DBT]

Hello @DBT.

I would love to live on a farm, mostly for the same reasons you talk about. Finding a little solitude is good for the soul.

Mosquitos just may love me a little more than they love you, lol. We have black flies, too. Talk about demons with wings.

Oh @emmalee they dont call me mosquito man for nothing ;-)

We dont have black flies though. Never heard of them, but just checked out some pictures of them, and I can imagine that they are some nasty biting bugs.

But we do have horse flies(might be called something else). They give a nasty bite, and adds swelling and itching. They can grow quite large. The small ones are the worst though. They are like some sort of ninja fly. Coming out of nowhere and without a sound.

Sorry for going a bit off topic

 

[emmalee]

Oh @emmalee they dont call me mosquito man for nothing ;-)

We dont have black flies though. Never heard of them, but just checked out some pictures of them, and I can imagine that they are some nasty biting bugs.

But we do have horse flies(might be called something else). They give a nasty bite, and adds swelling and itching. They can grow quite large. The small ones are the worst though. They are like some sort of ninja fly. Coming out of nowhere and without a sound.

Sorry for going a bit off topic

Ninja fly, I like this @DBT. I have heard of horse flies, both the big and small ones. Northern Ontario is famous for far too many biting bugs, luckily I am in Southern Ontario.

No reason to be sorry, it is refreshing to go off topic. @New Guy would more than agree. We tend to talk about many things that do not pertain to tinnitus.

 

[emmalee]

@emmalee

That's what most of the people who have had t a while on this site say.

It makes heaps of sense to me, John. We can't let our struggle become our identity, we are more than that.

 

[New Guy]

@DBT @emmalee

When I was younger I would say I want to live on 5-10 acres. Always have something to do. Now that I'm a little older I think it's a lot of work to take care of that much land. I wouldn't mind living on the edge of a public forest though.

I have a 1 acre property on a busy street. I live in a house from the early 1800's. It's a level piece of property with maple trees shading the house. Over the years I've worked on adding gardens close to the house and I slowly move away from the house.

Gardens are nice to look at but they take a lot of time to keep up. You can completely weed a garden and a week later there will be more to pull. It can be hard to find time, and energy, to work in my gardens after working in someone elses all week. Work has been slow the last few years so I've been finding time and it's good therapy for me.

When I come home from work I often walk around the yard to see what has changed. It's a very slow walk with plenty of pauses. As I walk my mind comes up with small improvements to make the gardens better. Change the edge of the bed here, add some plants here, it's time to prune that shrub, etc.

Working in my gardens isn't always a rush and get it done thing though sometimes when performing mundane tasks it is. Working in the garden is about letting my mind wander and a chance to try new things while being outdoors.

 

[emmalee]

@DBT @emmalee

When I was younger I would say I want to live on 5-10 acres. Always have something to do. Now that I'm a little older I think it's a lot of work to take care of that much land. I wouldn't mind living on the edge of a public forest though.

I have a 1 acre property on a busy street. I live in a house from the early 1800's. It's a level piece of property with maple trees shading the house. Over the years I've worked on adding gardens close to the house and I slowly move away from the house.

Gardens are nice to look at but they take a lot of time to keep up. You can completely weed a garden and a week later there will be more to pull. It can be hard to find time, and energy, to work in my gardens after working in someone elses all week. Work has been slow the last few years so I've been finding time and it's good therapy for me.

When I come home from work I often walk around the yard to see what has changed. It's a very slow walk with plenty of pauses. As I walk my mind comes up with small improvements to make the gardens better. Change the edge of the bed here, add some plants here, it's time to prune that shrub, etc.

Working in my gardens isn't always a rush and get it done thing though sometimes when performing mundane tasks it is. Working in the garden is about letting my mind wander and a chance to try new things while being outdoors.

John, your home sounds so, so nice. I can almost envision it from your description. Beautiful old home, shady maples and gardens. No wonder you like to walk slowly and take pauses, especially after a long day at work. You have much to be grateful for. I am sure you are well of this already.

 

[New Guy]

@emmalee

I do have a lot to be grateful for. I have to focus on that.

Thank you for listening and getting my mind off of things for a while.

 

[TracyJS]

John, your home sounds so, so nice. I can almost envision it from your description. Beautiful old home, shady maples and gardens
. No wonder you like to walk slowly and take pauses, especially after a long day at work. You have much to be grateful for. I am sure you are well of this already.

@emmalee @New Guy
I envy both of you in that it sounds like you both have lovely homes in beautiful nature.
I live in an apartment complex in a suburb of Chicago. Not so idyllic.

 

[New Guy]

@TracyJS

It's worked out ok. I couldn't imagine living in a city and even suburbia where I live is starting to get too crowded. Do you have any nice parks near where you live?

 

[TracyJS]

@New Guy
There are some parks. I'm actually going to be moving out of my apartment for financial reasons and where I'm going may be a bit more noisy.
Worried about that.

 

[Chris M]

I wanted to take the time to provide an update. I am approaching week 5 with static noise and hissing t. I am noticing a difference in the volume of the hissing and static. It seems to be getting lower. I have odd frequency noises in my ears throughout the day but it's nowhere near as loud. I feel that it was about a 7 or 8 out of 10 and now it's down to about a 3 or 4 in terms of volume. The volume sometimes would spike overnight and send me in a panic! Is that common?

I'm hoping this is a good sign? I'm still sort of paranoid. I find myself being afraid to use my cell phone next to my ear and listening to any loud noises. Am I on the right track?

 

[New Guy]

@TracyJS

Hopefully you've got nice thick walls. In our older home the plaster walls do wonders for keeping out road noise. At some point today or tomorrow I've got another picture of Minnie for you. She's in her favorite window. I think I'm going to send it to you in a message so be on the look out for a kitty in your in box.

@Chris M
It sounds like you're making great progress. The fact you have static/hiss and lowering volume is awesome. I'm jealous! I think you got t a few weeks before me. I get the static/ hiss but the volume doesn't go down that low for me. It's similar to the EEE volume.

When my t changes to hiss or static it will get louder for 5-10 minutes to an hour before changing over. It makes me very frustrated then changes. I think t is playing games with us.

Sounds like you're on the right track with the Cell Phone. I use speaker on low volume as much as I can.

 

[TracyJS]

@New Guy
I would love a picture of Minnie.
I will look forward to Minnie in my box!

Unfortunately, the place is on a busy street so there will be road noise.
Not a city street, but a busy neighborhood street.
There will also be increased noise in the place itself with another person.
I hope I'm doing the right thing.

 

[New Guy]

Oh, you're going to share an apartment? Do you know the person you're moving in with? Busy neighborhood sounds better than busy city. I have what is close to main street traffic in front of my house.

 

[TracyJS]

@New Guy
Yes, I do know the person. We are a bad combination in that the person is hard of hearing so tv volume can be louder than normal. I think we will be able to reach a compromise.

Yes, busy neighborhood street better than city street.

 

[New Guy]

A night of Comedy

We went out for dinner tonight as a family. My wife chose a restaurant with a nice patio overlooking a river. It was a great idea because the river provided good masking.

We got to the restaurant around 7:00 and sat down. Within minutes there were 3 leaf blowers working across the street. I plugged my ears and looked at the menu. "No be Deal," I thought.

About 10 minutes later they turned on the stereo and started cranking Marley. I had to go to my car to get my ear plugs but I came back with them in. I didn't even bother sitting at the table, I didn't like the bass.

I asked someone too low on the food chain if they could turn the music off. She said no. I told my wife I wasn't going to risk it and left. I wasn't angry. I was disappointed.

I've eaten at that restaurant a couple times in the past and it was a pleasant experience. 2 1/2 months after I got t I had no interest. Reality is setting in.

 

[New Guy]

@TracyJS It's good you know the person. That's a plus. Not sure how bad your h is but the tv can be a problem for me. I listen to it at 1/3 the volume I used to most of the time.

 

[TracyJS]

@New Guy
Yes, I have H and I listen to the tv at a lower volume. I may have to spend a lot of time in my room. This person does like the volume louder than I can tolerate. Will be a challenge.

 

[TracyJS]

A night of Comedy

We went out for dinner tonight as a family. My wife chose a restaurant with a nice patio overlooking a river. It was a great idea because the river provided good masking.

We got to the restaurant around 7:00 and sat down. Within minutes there were 3 leaf blowers working across the street. I plugged my ears and looked at the menu. "No be Deal," I thought.

About 10 minutes later they turned on the stereo and started cranking Marley. I had to go to my car to get my ear plugs but I came back with them in. I didn't even bother sitting at the table, I didn't like the bass.

I asked someone too low on the food chain if they could turn the music off. She said no. I told my wife I wasn't going to risk it and left. I wasn't angry. I was disappointed.

I've eaten at that restaurant a couple times in the past and it was a pleasant experience. 2 1/2 months after I got t I had no interest. Reality is setting in.

T changes many things. Feels sometimes like a dividing line: a before and after T.

 

[PortalNaut]

It makes heaps of sense to me, John. We can't let our struggle become our identity, we are more than that.

Profound. Thank you for your reflections, here and around @emmalee.

 

[New Guy]

@TracyJS

I'm under the assumption that some day the h and the fullness we get will be gone even if the t doesn't go. I know for some people it doesn't go away so I have to add everything is unknown. I think life is going to get easier for us as time goes by though I'll always be very careful of my ears. I feel like I've always been careful of my ears so I guess I'll be more careful of things like music in restaurants, vacuum cleaners, music at a road race at the finish line. Stuff like that.

I feel like time is starting to move quicker but a day still lasts what feels like a week for me. I'm 10 weeks in which is nothing in terms of giving t time to heal. My t is still changing which is a good sign because it can change and hopefully change for the better. Some days it feels less obtrusive and some days I feel like I'm stuck where I am for the rest of my life. How I feel about t literally depends on how it is at the moment. In this moment it's a little gentler with a the crickets dominating. That's better than constant EEE. Last night it was the constant EEE and I was feeling down about it.

 

[Mellow7]

@TracyJS

I'm under the assumption that some day the h and the fullness we get will be gone even if the t doesn't go. I know for some people it doesn't go away so I have to add everything is unknown. I think life is going to get easier for us as time goes by though I'll always be very careful of my ears. I feel like I've always been careful of my ears so I guess I'll be more careful of things like music in restaurants, vacuum cleaners, music at a road race at the finish line. Stuff like that.

I feel like time is starting to move quicker but a day still lasts what feels like a week for me. I'm 10 weeks in which is nothing in terms of giving t time to heal. My t is still changing which is a good sign because it can change and hopefully change for the better. Some days it feels less obtrusive and some days I feel like I'm stuck where I am for the rest of my life. How I feel about t literally depends on how it is at the moment. In this moment it's a little gentler with a the crickets dominating. That's better than constant EEE. Last night it was the constant EEE and I was feeling down about it.

Hey @New Guy!

Hope the last few days have been treating you well. I agree, the changes you have been experiencing are a good sign. It is my uneducated opinion that our body, with its natural healing ability, is struggling to get the auditory nerve signal back on point. That could be the reason why the phantom signal we experience, is not constant. Maybe we should look at it much in the same way that a broken leg heals itself (of course optimally with some medical help, such a a cast). Isn't it absolutely wonderful that the body is able to set things to a large degree straight in this way? You don't actively have to do anything about it. You just give it time and create the conditions under which you allow your bones and the tissue around to be reconnected. For a leg, you make sure you don't put stress on it. For T, you make sure you don't put yourself through more noise exposure and keep your stress levels down. I'm freewheeling here, but I'd like to believe in this imagery

Could you perhaps tell me whether you notice any differences in volume or pitch, when you have been able to keep stress and emotions under control and otherwise been careful with your ears?

Cheers and take care.

 

[emmalee]

Profound. Thank you for your reflections, here and around @emmalee.

@PortalNaut

You are very kind, PortalNaut. Thank-you.

 

[emmalee]

A night of Comedy

We went out for dinner tonight as a family. My wife chose a restaurant with a nice patio overlooking a river. It was a great idea because the river provided good masking.

We got to the restaurant around 7:00 and sat down. Within minutes there were 3 leaf blowers working across the street. I plugged my ears and looked at the menu. "No be Deal," I thought.

About 10 minutes later they turned on the stereo and started cranking Marley. I had to go to my car to get my ear plugs but I came back with them in. I didn't even bother sitting at the table, I didn't like the bass.

I asked someone too low on the food chain if they could turn the music off. She said no. I told my wife I wasn't going to risk it and left. I wasn't angry. I was disappointed.

I've eaten at that restaurant a couple times in the past and it was a pleasant experience. 2 1/2 months after I got t I had no interest. Reality is setting in.

@New Guy

I understand this post only too well. Same thing happened to me when I went to my favorite Italian restaurant. It wasn't until after I ordered my meal that the noise began, so I stayed. Dishes clanging, music too loud, other customers talking far too loud, and so on.

I will go back, just not at the dinner hour when it is so busy. Perhaps a lunch through the week. I am not above calling the restaurant and asking them when their quietest times are.

So sorry your night out didn't go as planned.

 

[New Guy]

@emmalee

You had the courage to stay. I would have been ok with the dishes and the customers with the river in the background. The loud music was too much. My wife didn't even roll her eyes at me. She never questioned me. I'm very lucky.

 

[emmalee]

@emmalee

You had the courage to stay. I would have been ok with the dishes and the customers with the river in the background. The loud music was too much. My wife didn't even roll her eyes at me. She never questioned me. I'm very lucky.

Yes, you are. She's a keeper, John.