Study Shows Introverts Have Worse Tinnitus. Are You an Introvert?

[Telis]

Then perhaps use your curious nature to learn about geological phenomena in Tunisia? Or any of a gazillion other things that have nothing whatsoever to do with tinnitus. Why? Because if habituation is your goal, then every moment you spend unnecessarily thinking about tinnitus is a moment you are spending impeding your own progress. We necessarily think about it enough as is, no?

Stephen Nagler

Wow...hard core advise, but I like it!

 

[OddV]

INTJ here as well... Very odd (pun intended)

 

[Mark H]

Well actually, I always thought extrovert tendencies were a sign of mental illness or lower IQ. I think most highly intelligent people are so-called introverts. So I find this introvert theory a bunch of pseudo-medical-grasping at straws-babble. My T rages at a level that would bring anyone to their knees and it is not because I am more sensitive or that my Mom died when I was young or because I like cats better than dogs. Tinnitus is a complex brain disorder related to damage in the organ of corti and I believe that modern psychiatry has been shown to be a very inexact science that should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Dr. Charlie]

I must agree with Dr Nagler about focusing one's attention on tinnitus only to the extent necessary to deal with it. Having said that, extroverts typically focus their attention on things outside themselves (others) while introverts are more likely to focus on things within themselves and their immediate surroundings. Thus, they become more aware of their internal noise of tinnitus and their own resulting anxiety. Habituation represent the "habit" of ignoring this internal noise. Relieving one's fear/anxiety is the first step in accomplishing this desired goal.

 

[Dr. Charlie]

I also agree with Mark H that psychiatry is a very inexact science. While helpful for many issues, I have not witnessed any significant relief provided to tinnitus sufferers by my psychiatry/psychology colleagues. IMHO, far better options exist.

 

[mrd28s]

From personal experience, the T had very little to do with the change in me to be more introvert, just a little more subconscious. The hearing loss however had a lot to do with it! I gradually heard less and less in a conversation, in turn couldn't keep up with the conversation, continuing to avoiding conversation, all before really realizing the extent of my hearing loss. With hearing aids, I'm slowly going back to more extrovert.

 

[395Kc73u]

Hi,

another introvert here. INTJ to be more specific. Just found this thread when googling for tinnitus INTJ. I was looking for advice on how INTJs deal with tinnitus. Funny thing, T is making me more extrovert because I am reaching to the people around me for support with this and telling them how I feel.

Will introduce myself and post further probably later.

 

[svintegrity]

I, too, just found this thread. Another INTJ here. I think this thread is really interesting. I discovered Tinnitus Talk from a Google search too, but on a different subject. I look forward to being more like @cmk, but right now my debilitating T and H are making me more isolated. One reason I joined Tinnitus Talk is to engage in conversations, and I have found inspiration from this site.

 

[linearb]

I am ENTJ I think

 

[395Kc73u]

@svintegrity You are engaging with others as well when posting here.

I know this is a bit offtopic in this thread, but I have a question. How do you manage to sleep well without taking benzodiazepines? At the beginning, I was prescribed Orfidal for 10 days, while I still had some hope that the T would "go away". After visiting 6 days ago a doctor specialized in T and TRT, she said that I would need to see a psychosomatic doctor and that I would need medication "for sure". I have always been against psychiatric medication (I believe that problems can be handled with willpower). After that visit I was devastated and wasn't able to sleep more than 2 hours/day for 3 days in a row. Then I went to my GP and he prescribed me Alprazolam Retard 1mg. That night I slept 13.5 hours but yesterday the medicine didn't calm me down. I was becoming anxious just thinking that I might have to depend on taking this and/or antidepressants for life. Today I will just take valerian and hopefully I can sleep a bit.

 

[svintegrity]

@395Kc73u I feel the same way you do about not wanting to take prescription medications. However, sometimes we just need a "leg up." It doesn't mean you will be on them for life. When my first husband died in a climbing accident when I was in my early thirties, I became clinically depressed. I do not think I would have made it through that experience without the help of an anti-depressant. I was on it for six months and then weaned off.

When I got sudden onset T, I tried every treatment known on the planet, acupuncture, massage, cranialsacral therapy, ultrasound, TENS, TMD treatments, trigger point injections, masking hearing aids, Neuromonics, etc. Everything that was supposed to help, only made it worse, including prescription medications and some herbal supplements. The Neuromonics was the worst--gave me high screeching sounds in both ears and severe hyperacusis. But the desperation of my debilitating T drove me to try it. I was never clinically depressed, so I did not take an anti-depressant. Aerobic exercise ( a four-mile run each morning) followed by 45 minutes of Yoga seemed to help the most each day.

The thing that really helped me sleep was my husband reading stories to me at bedtime. I would sleep for about three hours, and the noise would wake me up and we'd do it again. He would continue reading to me throughout the night until I got at least seven hours of sleep each night. The rumble of his chest helped drown out the noise. There is an herbal formal that helps with anxiety called formula 303 that I take on an as needed basis, which includes valerian root, Passion flower, and magnesium. I also take melatonin before bed, and sometimes my husband makes warm milk for me in the middle of the night. Everyone is different, and what works for one, might not work for the next.

I hope this information is a little bit helpful. You are still early in this process, and you may find something that will be helpful for you. You may reach a point where you don't even notice your T. Or that you have habituated to the point where loud T doesn't bother you. Many people on this site have. I haven't broken through to that point yet. My heart goes out to you!

 

[svintegrity]

@395Kc73u Some people need medications to get them through the start of this, but it doesn't mean you will be on them for life. If you look at other threads on this forum you will see that many have been helped by medications. I am just really drug sensitive and most meds. don't work well for me. They just make me feel worse.

 

[James P]

INTP here, very mild tinnitus but still devastating my mind. Still think about it pretty much constantly. I used to instantly feel a wave of relief and total peace whenever I entered silence. Didn't matter how stressed I was, it felt like all my problems melted away. I was rarely even stressed, because just thinking about being in a quiet place would relax me; which now instead reminds me of tinnitus and stresses me more.

I took a break for almost a year after finishing university, spending almost all my time sitting in quiet in my bedroom reading books, self reflection and playing video games with online friends. Pretty much the best year of my life, felt like it was only a month it went by so fast.

I used to rely on no one for support because honestly it felt like nothing could touch me. I just constantly felt relaxed and tranquil, nothing could bother me at all. Now this problem I really feel unable to deal with or ignore, my mind keeps begging for silence. This is the first time I've had to start searching for support and advice because I really don't know how to cope and feel like myself again. Every problem I had before in my life I found a satisfactory solution for (which often was just ignoring it), while this one I don't think there is one I'll be happy with.

Reading everyone's stories on this board honestly makes me feel kind of weak minded. Everyone here seems to be dealing with much worse tinnitus then me yet I can't even handle this little bit.

 

[svintegrity]

@James P One thing that I think is important for tinnitus sufferers is not to compare your tinnitus to others. Your own experience is your reality, and it is no less difficult than anyone else's, even if you perceive yours to be milder. You are not weak minded, you just need to find something that will work for you and your situation. You are pretty recent into this situation, so don't give up hope on finding a solution. I agree with you--being in a quiet place was one of my greatest pleasures as well. A wave of peace and sense of relief describes it perfectly. I love a thread dedicated to introverts--being the introverts' introvert, myself. I also find it interesting how many people on this thread know their Meyers-Briggs rating.

 

[James P]

@svintegrity Thanks for the help, I'm going to keep trying new things until I find something to let my mind feel free of burden again. I used to kind of enter a state of mind that was detached from the world and my body. It felt like I was dumping all my mental garbage, but it keeps getting interrupted now. It's been a very rough time.

 

[svintegrity]

I hear you @James P ! It is the same for me. I entered that same state of mind and dumped my mental garbage. When that process is interrupted, it is a rough time indeed.

 

[Beth]

@ GMac14: You won't become an introvert, but you could develop some of the characteristics of introversion, but that's a choice you can make. If you read a lot of the posts of the old timers you'll get a feel for how you can get through the early months and get to where your t makes no difference in your life, and you go right on living the life you want. There are, for example, many musicians who have severe t but they get on stage every night and play their hearts out. The first weeks and months are pure hell, and when I first started reading on this forum I really didn't believe the ones who said t no longer bothered them. But I'm now getting there too so I believe it. You will be fine, just not right now, it takes time.

I am about as introverted as you can get. Solitude is absolutely necessary for me. Anyone who's interested in the introverted personality should read, 'Quiet. The Power of the Introvert in a World that can't stop Talking'. The book's by Susan Cain; well worth reading.