@JoshuaD2002, our limbic system plays an important role in how we perceive tinnitus, so by constantly checking and obsessing over it, you are making it worse.
In my case I realised that T was taking me down; I had no life left and all my ambitions had been taken from me. It was literally killing me slowly. One day I decided enough was enough and figured I felt terrible anyway so why constantly worry about everything? I took drastic measures and rebooted my life.
First of all I stopped coming here, I stopped reading about T everyday, and I stopped reading research papers. I also gave up looking for a cure. I found I had become obsessed with tinnitus and I felt like I was in a bubble being consumed by it.
Next, I cleaned up my diet and started exercising regularly (this is great for reducing anxiety and improving your mood).
I started learning songs that were on my radar (I'm a musician) but never got round to. I also started playing chess again because I found the deep concentration of being lost in a game made me forget my concerns for a moment; even with the noise raging in my head. This was a very gradual process; it's not like I started the first game and thought that noise ain't bothering me anymore! I've habituated!! It's not like that at all.
I stopped wearing earplugs when I left the house and in the car. I realised a lot of my problems stemmed from the fear I had built up around sound, so I set out to systematically destroy the control it had over me and regain some rationality. I felt my emotional wellbeing bouncing back and my obsession with sound decreasing. This step is incredibly difficult and many may need help with it. My personality is quite determined and once I start something, I have unbelievable, freakish, willpower. I have custom plugs, foam plugs, and ear muffs that I use when the occasion calls for it, but I must stress that I no longer walk around analysing everything in case it's a threat like I used to. I believe 90% of my day used to be me checking and worrying about every moderate noise I heard.
Start helping people. It's a fact that helping others also helps yourself. It can replenish your soul, and a simple act like giving a homeless person a drink and a sandwich can boost your own wellbeing.
Reconnect with friends old and new, and be social. If your personality fits with this, then do it, as laughing with friends is very hard to beat.
Take up a new hobby. This is another method of distraction and is all about taking your mind away from the obsession of sound, and making it obsessed with something that is healthy and benefits you. One method I've spoken about before is to turn negative energy into positive energy. This is something I've done many times in my life. What you do is make a list of goals (keep it small to begin with) and then try and attain them. Make sure they are things that can revolutionise your life. If you do achieve these things then you can thank Tinnitus for giving you the push to do it; for giving you that motivation that you never knew you had. This is how I originally started playing guitar, so believe me it works. On some level the guitar saved my life.
You could try cold shock therapy which involves swimming in cold water. It's proven to help one's mental health.
Finally, and this is really important: do not put a timetable on yourself. Recovery is not linear and you will take just as many backward steps as forward ones. It is like watching a child grow older: you don't realise just how much they've changed until you see an old photo. Recovering is no different; you don't realise until one day you notice you haven't thought about it for a few minutes, and this gradually turns into longer durations almost unrecognisably.
All these things help break the cycle of control that tinnitus can have on you.
Good luck.
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