PLEASE please do not let that handful of folks silence you into submission, stories like yours are not only inspiring but also important as it gives hope to many (not to mention those teetering on the edge of suicide). The people who are vehemently against it are always the same people, they are very outspoken but also very few in number (No one takes them seriously any way). Your success story is one of courage and strength; no one can take that from you.
No, I will continue to encourage where I can. I will never forget the depths of despair from my earlier days with tinnitus. I really appreciated those who were there for me (are still there for me). I know how important support is. I desperately needed hope and reassurance that eventually I would move past my tinnitus, and that I have. It doesn't mean my tinnitus can't worsen one day (hope it doesn't) but for now, my lot with tinnitus and hyperacusis have dramatically improved due to habituation/stem cells. I am grateful for this, but continue to feel rubbish for others who are struggling. (which of course is why we need the ultimate: a cure or at least an intervention that can lessen the distress/volume)
The debates on here about loudness and habituation are not new.
I don't want to enter into that. What I do want to offer is an opportunity for those who are having a hard time to read some positive and sincere thoughts on one person's long and rocky road to reaching habituation.
What does my day look like now with tinnitus?
. I can sit in a quiet room for hours and read. I can hear my head hissing now, but it isn't bothering me. It is more of an observation that it is there. (Previously, I couldn't do this. I would try to force myself to listen to the noise and within a short time, felt so trapped inside my head that I considered decapitation.)
. I work as a midwife. My job involves a lot of mental concentration. I need to be focused. I was anything but that in the beginning. Between the severe tinnitus, hyperacusis, and spikes, I couldn't at the time, see myself ever returning back to work. (especially around screaming babies). I have returned to work with tinnitus very much in the distant background. It fluctuates in volume, but my perception and reactions to my tinnitus have shifted, so it no longer interferes with my ability to do my job.
. I don't mask. Tried it 5 years ago at my onset. I loathed trying to sleep listening to another annoying noise layered over my existing tinnitus. I know many of you don't recommend this, but what really worked for me was learning how to lose my fear and anxiety about hearing the noise. (CBT, mindfulness) I soon learnt I had no control over the volume of my tinnitus, so it was really the only next logical step for me; to alter my reactions. It was either sink or swim. I chose to swim (story of my life).
. I have a few sounds; hissing, whooshing, white noise pulsating, frequent fleeting 'eeeeeeeee', and an engine noise (engine noise has disappeared). I was experiencing very nasty spikes, but that along with the reactivity of my tinnitus (hyperacusis) has largely improved I suspect because of stem cells (had for joint pain)
I call it my orchestra. These days, Ill either hear these noises and not be bothered by it, or I simply wont hear it. Id be baffled by others who would say they only heard their t when they talked about it, but now I am one of them, and I get it.
I never thought my brain was capable of filtering out this %&#* but it has ...
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