Reflections on Having Tinnitus for Just Over 2 Months

[Glenn]

I think i've come to the realization that I have this problem for life. It takes me on short spurts where i think its gone, then it comes back with a vengeance. I went a full 2 weeks where I thought my T was behind me. Then, out of no where, last week, it come back and it was about a 8 out of 10 in loudest. The one thing that's different now though is that when I used hear it I obsess over it. Now when i hear it, i think to myself, "whatever" and just go about my day. It really doesn't bother me as much as it did a month or so ago. I guess im just getting used to the sound as being part of me. Its not effecting my life very much. If it gets bad at night, i put on my sound machine and I sleep pretty well. When i'm at work and I feel its a little loud, i put on a sound generator on my computer and it masks it very nicely. Trust me, I still wish everyday that T never existed but i guess i'm not so depressed over it anymore. I have to say this forum has helped a lot along the way.
So, i guess this is what they call habitation? Has it happened for me?

Glenn

 

[Mpt]

do you use any medication to sleep or did you ever since the T started; you've had your T for about 3 weeks longer than me and my biggest problem is im not sleeping anymore than about 3 hours a night and I wake up every 30 min- 1 hour, I think from anxiety, not necessarily from T--- would you consider doing the AM 101 trial the way your tinnitus is now, it seems like its relatively mild-- do you only hear it in quiet places?

 

[Glenn]

Mpt, I pretty much hear it everywhere but mostly in quiet areas. When everything first started my ENT put me on prednisone and antibiotics. I really felt neither one did anything for me.
Sleeping used to be a big problem early on, but i found a really good sound generator on Amazon. It basically will make every fan and white noise there is. You can pick and choose and find just the right one for your T. Private message me and ill give you the link if you want.
The way my T is now, no, I wouldn't consider something like that. I think its manageable right now without doing anything.
Dont get me wrong though.. its still annoying as hell!

 

[Carlos1]

Mpt, I pretty much hear it everywhere but mostly in quiet areas. When everything first started my ENT put me on prednisone and antibiotics. I really felt neither one did anything for me.
Sleeping used to be a big problem early on, but i found a really good sound generator on Amazon. It basically will make every fan and white noise there is. You can pick and choose and find just the right one for your T. Private message me and ill give you the link if you want.
The way my T is now, no, I wouldn't consider something like that. I think its manageable right now without doing anything.
Dont get me wrong though.. its still annoying as hell!

Glad your doing well Glenn T is tough but life goes on ...My biggest battle is acceptance it comes and goes.

 

[Joe Zaffiro]

I too have had T for 2 months. I am not doing well with it at all. I don't know how to get to the point where you are.
I use hearing aids with white noise to help but I'm still anxious all the time. I'm trying to accept this, but it is difficult.
Everyone says it gets better, I'm trying to be positive. I'm glad you are doing well with yours.

 

[billie48]

Very encourage update. Thanks for sharing it with us, Glen. Your progress of recovery is amazing. I am doing great right now but I remember back then at 2 months of T I was still in a cocoon of T suffering.

Reaction is everything. Negative reactions will bring suffering and endless misery. Without negative reactions, T is quite livable and life goes on. Dr. Nagler's Letter to a Tinnitus Sufferer clearly shows that reaction is what dictates the intrusiveness of T. So if we learn to say 'whatever' and move on without negative reaction, the intrusiveness of T is greatly minimized. Good job Glen and congrats.

 

[billie48]

I too have had T for 2 months. I am not doing well with it at all. I don't know how to get to the point where you are.
I use hearing aids with white noise to help but I'm still anxious all the time. I'm trying to accept this, but it is difficult.
Everyone says it gets better, I'm trying to be positive. I'm glad you are doing well with yours.

I understand your frustration,Joe. But be patient. Different people have different time frame of recovery, depending on personality, background and T volume. I was in a mess at 2 months and fully dependent on meds. Panic attacks, sleeplessness and depression still ruled me at 2 months. I also suffered anxiety/panic disorders for decades prior to T & H, so I took my time to get better. I read up all the success stories of various forums to help myself to have hope and confidence that I can get well too in time by copying the successful approaches. I just knew then that if I just copy success and stick to it, then it is only a matter of time before I will get better, and I did. It took me much longer than Glen, but it is alright. I didn't expect a speedy recovery due to my anxiety/panic prone brain. Remember to go back to living your life and don't worry much about T (try what you can). It will happen slowly that T becomes less and less of an issue over time. Time is on your side. Give time enough time. All the best and God bless your recovery.

 

[Joe Zaffiro]

Thanks Billie. I too have been diagnosed with a panic disorder at a young age. I thought I left all that behind me. The meds, the psychologists, I always have anxiety, but this is kicking my but. You sound a lot like me. I too feel it will take a long time for me to recover. I'm glad to hear you are doing well.

 

[Glenn]

I agree with all that Billie48 said. Give it time. I know its tough, but soon you will have the breakthrough day when this will happen. It will be in the middle of the day and all of a sudden you will think to yourself, "wow, i haven't thought about my T at all today and it doesn't seem to be bothering me all that much". For me, I had that day about a month ago. Granted, I did still hear it, but i didnt really care all that much and I got back to getting on with the day.
Its ironic though because as i'm writing this post, its one of those loud T days for me. lol. So, im not saying the frustration will go away completely. You will still have bad days every now and then. However, you wont mind those bad days as much. Make sense?

Hang in there Joe!

Glenn