Thanks for All of Your Feedback (Dissertation Thesis, Hints About What Help You Cope with Tinnitus)

[Heidi1994]

Hello everybody,

I am a student at the university hospital in Regensburg (a little city near Munich-Germany) and I am currently writing my dissertation about tinnitus. In this doctoral thesis hints should be expressed, which help patients handling their tinnitus in their daily routine (for example by putting a loudly ticking clock in silent rooms). I would like to contact you, as affected people, in order to ask if you have any hints that could help your fellow sufferers. All your comments could be published (of course anonymized). So please comment only if you accept that!

I hope to receive a lot of feedback and I am very thankful for all of your support!

Thank you in advance for your help, Heidi

 

[HJDTinnitus]

Hello I Suffer from tinnitus and I'm 15 I have had it all my life and don't know what caused it
I listen to music all the time now to drown it out and at night I have a noise generator to produce whight noise.
How old are you ??

 

[MarmiteKFC]

I listen to music, but soothing music not rock or metal. Just like this or I listen to some religious music to lower my stress. While that, I just think of this. For me I only hear tinnitus only at night so I guess 10 percent of the day while the other 90 percent I don't hear it at all. I just think of my tinnitus in a positive day and just think that hey there might be a chance it made fade which gives me hope. Also I don't try to test or focus on my T or it will make it sound worse.

 

[Steve]

Hi @Heidi1994

Are you working with one of the TRI people at Regensburg?

Hopefully you can get some good information from people on here but we may also be able to help you out - especially if it may be useful for us also to show information on what sounds are the most helpful for tinnitus patients. It could help many to know easily what is good for others.

Steve

 

[Lorac]

A loudly ticking clock in a silent room would drive me insane!

 

[Lorac]

@Heidi1994 ,
I don't get any relief from using white noise or pink noise. Masking sounds just seem to exacerbate my problems. Focusing my brain on something other than tinnitus is how I find relief.
Thank you for taking an interest in our issues. I wish you well with your dissertation.

 

[Heidi1994]

Thank you for your feedback @HJDTinnitus . I am 22 years old.

Hi @MarmiteKFC : Never loosing hope and just thinking about tinnitus on positive days are good tips. Thanks!

Thank you @Lorac : Do you have a certain strategy or thoughts, which help you focusing on something else than your tinnitus? I have tinnitus myself and underwent a hard time, so this topic is close to my heart.

Hi @Steve : Yes I am working with Dr. Winfried Schlee (he gave me the advice to search in this forum for helpful tips, too). We are developing an app, which gives the patients a hint daily in order to facilitate their life with tinnitus (based on questionnaires about themselves, they fill in). I would be thankful for all of your help!

 

[Lorac]

@Heidi1994 ,
There are many people on this forum who dislike silence because they hear their tinnitus more when it is quiet. I am the opposite. My deaf ear reacts to sound and I prefer dead silence. I hear the tinnitus in a quiet room but I hear more tinnitus in a room with sound. Reading many books served as a coping mechanism for me during my initial months with tinnitus. I can tolerate low volume television or music now but I often retreat to silence for relief when my ear is bothering me more. Quiet activities such as reading, cooking, gardening, billiards, etc. This type of activity steers my mind away from the tinnitus.

My husband and I were recently engaged in a very intense foosball game. We played in the basement of our home with music playing (not too loud). At the end of the match, we realized that the music had stopped playing. Neither of us noticed when the music stopped because we were so focused on scoring points! The T and H were there but I didn't pay attention to them while I was busy with my goalie.

Puzzles and brain teasers help me much more than white noise does.

 

[Life4U]

Previously I hardly noticed my T in daytime...
So dint have to mask but after 3 years...now there is a spike suddenly....
I use a fan and an AC to mask at night....but suring the day...a silent room and try to get adjusted to it....

 

[Heidi1994]

Thanks @Lorac for your detailed answer!
Thank you @Life4U for your response!

 

[quietatnight]

Heidi1994


I have found that keeping busy as much as I can is the best way to divert my attention away from my tinnitus. I like to play Computer adventure games like Find the objects, they not only keep my mind engaged and off of my tinnitus, but those kinds of puzzle games are great tools for improving eye and hand coordination, and improving memory, perfect for keeping your mind sharp, and is supposed help keep a person from getting things like Alzheimer's and dementia as they get older. So they are good in many ways, besides keeping your mind off of your tinnitus.


Good luck on your paper, this could end up helping a lot of people with tinnitus.


Louie

Quietatnight