The Positivity Thread

Alooooha! Greeting from oceanic paradise Hawaii. I am finally here to see my new born grandson. So cute & precious baby for my daughter and son-in-law after 14 years of marriage with no kid. He is God-sent. We had been out already to Sunset Beach to watch the gorgeous sunset. Blue sky, green sea, lush tropical trees and wonderful spirit of Aloha here. Life is beautiful. People are wonderful. Why? Like what we do here on TT, I saw a stranger literally saving another stranger in crisis, literally life & death crisis. Well, while we ate out at an outdoor grill, we witnessed a life & death scene right before our eyes. A newly wed tourist went into seizure while eating and fell to the floor shaking convulsively. His poor pride was hysterical. It happened so fast, and most of us didn't know what to do nor knew what happened. Luckily another tourist with training saw the gent was having both seizure and choking and he quickly performed some CPR like moves to help the victim from choking to death. He recovered slowly to everyone's relief particularly the newly wed bride. I offered to drive them back to Honolulu but the guy said he was ok to drive and his wife drives too. What a sudden crisis. Life is beautiful and yet it is also quite unpredictable. So enjoy it while we can, regardless of T. It rang loud while the plane was landing due to barometric pressure changes. But I just focussed on the positives, the great scenery and the wonderful Aloha spirit between people, even strangers. What I witnessed on that day confirms my faith in humanity and the brotherhood and sisterhood between us, as also plainly evident here on this site. If T can bring out the best in us to reach out to help desperate strangers, at least it has done one thing good for our life. If there is positivity in life after T, this is one thing we can find some consolation. Aloha.
 
Today is cook out day, bought chicken fajitas and ribs and a few stakes, time to do what I like most but first a good knap, I will have a couple of beers, Mexico is hot and dry today, im gonna wait till sun down, T is gonna be unnoticed and I will have a great day, wish you all the same and keep up the good work and positveness!



Hey Raymundo, what part of mexico? I'm from Monterrey. :)
 
Last night for the first time in a while I heard nothing but the natural noises of the night. I ENJOYED every minute of it :) its amazing how much you begin to enjoy the simple things in life.
 
Its a bit violent but its just another day in the jungle, we survive to another beutiful day, cartels have come quiet, thank God, hope it keeps that way!
 
Lately, several times actually, I noticed that I forgot about T for a period of time. It wasn't even masked by sounds. For example I went home by train. I usually wear earplugs as I am a little sensitive to loud sounds after T. Wearing earplugs makes the experience of T louder, as you know. Twice now I have forgotten about T completely until I got home 45 minutes later. Also, even when I listen to it, it disturbs me less... it still disturbs me, but perhaps I am slowly habituating? And it has only been a little over 6 months.

I went back to singing. Had my second classic concert in two weeks, even with a brass ensemble. Still no change in T.

I also started started reading up on CBT! Sure, it's not professional help but it's still encouraging.

It sure feels good, and before I give up I will stomp on my T 1000 times until it's a pulp of silent goo on the floor. That's where it belongs.
 
Firstly, I probably should say that I'm one of the "lucky" ones whose tinnitus has been intermittent, pretty much from the start -- well, after the first 2 or 3 days.

I'd like to give people hope, but not false hope, but anyway,
these days, the frequency ("often-ness", not the pitch :D), duration and volume of my tinnitus have all reduced in the last year or so, and particularly in the last 6 months.

Yes, I did get somewhat used to it after the first "amount" of months, but it's definitely quieter and less frequent.
 
My last day in hawaii, I woke up with my tinnitus screaming and resonating in the whole head. As usual I ignored it and went about enjoying my life. T wants my attention bad screaming off the chart the whole morning, but it is wasting its time. I was not about to waste my day and no negative reaction is forthcoming. I was on the beach jogging and enjoying myself regardless what tinnitus did. It can go to hell while I enjoy my earthly heaven.

http://cdn.alohaupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Hukilau-Beach-Park-sandy-beach.jpg
 
I used to be overwhelmed by the same ringing and my anxiety/panic prone brain would cave into panic attacks on auto mode. But by following Dr. Nagler's advice as suggested in his 'Letter to a Tinnitus Sufferer', I realized my reaction can decide how intrusive my T can be. I made a conscious decision to accept T as a reality of my life & tried to stay positive. The brain slowly caught up and now it does not treat T as a threat. With that the brain can fade T out from consciousness. How so? Remember those plane trips you took before T that while the plane could be loud, you would hardly pay attention to the plane noise when you were deep in watching a movie. The brain simply ignores the loud environment you were in and you might not even be aware of the plane noise. Likewise when you get to the stage when you don't treat T as a theat. I used to have trouble sleeping with T but after a few years, the heck with it. The brain is bored by the repetitive stimulus of T and it just dozes off. It takes time to do this but it is doable. If you need it, try masking T while you try to sleep.
 
It seems like with every positive comment I find 3 negative comments. While reading the same thread I can go from feeling a bit better to feeling even worse than I did prior to reading.

Let's make this thread one that ONLY has positive comments/stories/helpful things.
I had the best hour I've had yesterday since tinnitus started 9 days ago. It was only an hour or so but it's a start. I also had a good nighs sleep. No headphones or waking up 5 times. Just me, a fan and my tinnitus. Just woken up to the sun shining. Let's go.
 
I fell yesterday with my roadbike into a ditch with quite a lot of speed. Missed a pole by inches. It could have gone A LOT worse, so this is positive... :)
 
Tinnitus has made me more understanding of other's personal struggles and a more compassionate human being.

That is a very good positive thought. If there is one positive aspect of my T experience, I consider this being the one positive aspect that stands out in my life after T. Only those who suffered so much from T understand what the newer sufferers are going through, and lending them a helping hand will hopefully reduce their suffering.
 
It's been almost 8 months and I can say the T has gotten better, or at least it doesn't bother me as much. I've had some positive changes in my life...I retired from my job on May 16 and the relief from the stress is wonderful. The weather has been great; I've been out gardening, walking in the park, hanging out with friends, and generally enjoying my freedom. I'm trying to sell my house and downsize for even less stress, but so far no offers. The T is still there, sometimes I have loud days (for some reason Monday is still the worst even tho I don't work anymore) but I have a few quieter days, too. But even on the "louder" days, I'm now able to push the T to the background, and I feel I'm getting closer to habituation. Over the last 8 months I've tried myofascial massage, chiropractory, special vitamins, and lots of prayer, and the only things that have helped are prayer and time. (And both don't cost a thing!)
If you're new to T, I want to encourage you to be patient, be kind to yourself, and share your feelings & suffering to family and friends. Hang in there! It WILL get better!
 
Wake up with my T rumbling with the highest of pitch and loud as usual. A few years back I would have been in panic. But now I go about enjoying life regardless of what T does any given day. Today being Family Fishing date in Canada and the local lake is stocked with trout for children to learn fishing from experienced volunteer fishermen. What a great day out helping youngsters and many of them catch their first trout in their life. It has been a joyous experience to see these kids so happy fighting and landing a trout and parents who don't know how to fish are so thankful for the volunteers' time to help their kids have a great time. Did I hear the screaming T? Sure, on and off but I didn't give a dime these days and focus on living and enjoying my life. There is much meaning & beauty in life besides T. I accept it and move on with positivity and this has made a big difference in the quality of my life.
 
Now that I'm healing my (infected) wounds from the cycling accident, I don't really have time and energy to worry about my T. In a way accidents / events like these put many things into new perspective, which I think is a good thing...
 
'A Cure Is Possible in 10 Years
The HRP consortium of scientists has developed a strategic research plan to develop a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus in 10 years. This three-phase plan starts with discovery research and culminates in clinical trials.'
It is now 2014 and now they are talking about a concerted effort as being novel?
Excuse me if I am pessimistic.
The company I work at has a 5 year plan. I believe they are in the 2 year of their 3rd 5 year plan. Funny I don't recall achieving the last 2 5 year plans. I can say they did spend a lot of money on executives' salaries during each 5 year plan. Excuse me if I don't hold my breathe.
 
Sorry I was pessimistic in my last post. Ken think POSITIVE! I pray/hope there is a treatment/cure to reduce or stop tinnitus. Right now I'll take habituation of my present spike.
 
I just survived 3 weeks of studying and doing exams ( and a lot of stress!) and on top of that I actually think I did a good job on those exams. Although it was difficult sometimes and very tiring at moments, I did it and now I know I can do this even with the T :)
 
Speaking of exams, I passed all mine and I managed to not fail any of my classes! All As and Bs for me and all of that while dealing with the T for the first time for over half of the spring quarter! I didn't let the T kick my butt educationally, now I'm aiming to not let it kick my butt mentally or emotionally! ;)
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-message-thanks-embarking-road-recovery.html

This olympic swimmer became paralyzed from a motor accident and she remains positive. I think we should all adopt this positive attitude towards our T. She is an inspiration and a courageous woman. If she is able to be positive, we definately can. For our T is a minute problem compared to what she is going through and she is happy :)
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-message-thanks-embarking-road-recovery.html

This olympic swimmer became paralyzed from a motor accident and she remains positive. I think we should all adopt this positive attitude towards our T. She is an inspiration and a courageous woman. If she is able to be positive, we definately can. For our T is a minute problem compared to what she is going through and she is happy :)

In the same spirit of being positive when hit with sudden crisis, read this report of the power of being positive on People Magazine about the brave survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing. Wow, I sure learn how to be positive from these brave souls. Although they have a different challenge in life than the tinnitus sufferers, perhaps we can learn something there to help some of us cope with our tinnitus struggle, at least in the psychological approach to handling such sudden crisis in life. This of course is not an intent to compare our T challenge with theirs, but to see how positive attitude can help one overcome or cope better with the challenge of coping with sudden crisis in life. Positivity does not cure tinnitus. But in my case at least, it helps to reduce the mental suffering so that I can focus living my life as normal & enjoyable as I can.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20706477,00.html
 
I had great news about my family member who had a very serious medical crisis. Good reports from both doctors. My T was with me all day--but I was able to put it in the background most of the day--even though I was anxious. I can really say that I forget about it for periods of time. I'm so happy and relieved now that things are better for my loved one. What's that old song? "The future's so bright I gotta wear shades". :)
 
I had great news about my family member who had a very serious medical crisis. Good reports from both doctors. My T was with me all day--but I was able to put it in the background most of the day--even though I was anxious. I can really say that I forget about it for periods of time. I'm so happy and relieved now that things are better for my loved one. What's that old song? "The future's so bright I gotta wear shades". :)

Happy to know that your loved one is doing fine and that you are so relieved, Kathy. Since you mention about this, I may as well reveal a similar event happened to me. In the last few months. I had repeatedly done tests on my PSA reading for monitoring the prostate. The reading has been rising and the urologist was very concerned that I may be developing prostate cancer. So he has me gone through the 2nd prostate biopsy within the year. He was preparing for the worst. My wife was very worried about the outcome. The doctor wanted me to see him to review the test result after my Hawaii trip. I never worry about this thing in the entire trip, nor the loud T which wanted my attention. My thinking along the line of positivity is that what is there is there. In fact if I already have cancer, I want the doctor to find that out so I have a better chance for cancer survival. If I survive that, I will then visit the cancer survivor forum to help out others. It turns out there is no trace of prostate cancer. My wife is so relieved and happy that she made a lobster dinner for me on a surprise with all my other favourite dishes too. The dinner was so great that I told her I am ready for another round of tests on whatever the doctor(s) is going to say about my aging body. Haha. I am going to find some positives even in 'hell', LOL.
 
So i am having a crappy week, but i've just started painting and found i really enjoy it. I'm not great at it but i'm really enjoying it lol! and it takes my mind off things. Just got to remember each day is a brand new day, keep going it will get better! xx
 

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