The Positivity Thread

[demi]

I love checking back in on this thread and reading positive stories. Here is a funny story to add to the thread!

I wear earplugs at restaurants and when venturing out on the busy city streets because of my H, which means I hear my T always with my plugs in. As I was walking earlier today I noticed the ringing in one of my ears stopped for a couple seconds and I freaked out! I was like WHERE DID MY RINGING GO. It scared me for the ringing to have gone away! It did slowly start right back up, but those few seconds of it gone made me uneasy. I guess it has become such a norm that not hearing it seemed abnormal!

 

[billie48]

Nice to see you back posting again in this wonderful thread you started. You are so right about the habitual aspect of the human brain. Whenever it senses a change from things it is used to, it can freak out a bit. Haha. How the brain can change about its perception of noise/sound tolerance is encouraging for us to learn, as in your case. That means our painful and negative perception of T at the initial stage may have some chance to change for the better over time. Not saying you will love your T, but how about being able to tolerate this sound without negative reaction which then give you the chance to habituate to T. That is possible and doable. How I know? Because I am one of those who has just done that over time.

How the perception of noise can change over time is well documented and experienced by many. I heard of immigrants coming over to our quiet Vancouver from major Asian metropolises and they have a hard time accepting the quietness of the suburbs at first. They thought it is so unbearable to be quiet and boring. Their brains are craving for the loud cities they came from. Then they stay in Canada a few years and go back to visit their former homeland. Many report that they can't stand the noise there any more and want to come back to Canada fast. LOL. Go figure. The brain is trainable and adaptable and don't count out the possibility of habituation in the future based on your current state of perception of T and your current negative reaction towards it.

 

[AlecP]

Hey @demi I'm new hear, so just wanted to say thanks for starting this! Comforting to see that other people are being positive in their struggle against this horrible ailment! Peace and love everyone and remember, there is always hope

 

[MikeS]

Woo-hoo, another Friday! We put the T in TGIF!

 

[marqualler]

Just wanted to add a positive story from my experience yesterday going to an NBA game...

I went to one NBA game in the first month of my tinnitus in Oct 2014 and while it was fun to watch, I was not quite prepared for the noise and what it did to my tinnitus. Into November, I think I actually had an increase of hyperacusis and "reactive" tinnitus sounds, which ramped my anxiety up. Into January and this month, I've found that the reactiveness has decreased a lot, to the point where things that made me jumpy don't make me jumpy anymore (like my kid playing with noisy toys, etc.) I went to a game last night (Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Atlanta Hawks) and while wearing earplugs, found that I had absolutely zero problem enjoying the game. Sure, I could hear my tinnitus a little bit more, but not much more, and it didn't bother me at all. I actually entered the arena with earplugs off just to see what would happen, and since I experienced a little discomfort in my tinnitus ear, putting plugs in took that discomfort away pretty quickly. And I could still talk and laugh with my friends who I was at the game with just as well as I could before.

So just a reminder that the acute stage of tinnitus is tough but that for me it has gotten much better!

 

[Martin69]

I moan a lot here. So now something positive.

My wife got cancer treatment for nearly half a year. She has a very aggressive breast cancer which was growing rapidly. She is one of the first in Germany (if not the first at all) who got a relatively new antibodies therapy (it is still in trial phase). No chemo, no radiation. The therapy was a success up until now. Surgery was last Thursday and no more cancer cells were found. We all know that cancer can come back and you can never be safe. But at the moment, things are good on this side.

Her case will probably be used as another example that the drug gets approved. I am so happy for her and for my kids (and for me of course) that at least for the moment the treatment was helpful. Let's hope, cancer will stay away long time or forever.

When I write trial, I am thinking about the AUT00063 and hope that one day, there will be a cure for T, too.

 

[billie48]

That is great positive news indeed. So happy for you Martin. Hope her cancer stays off for good. Will pray for your wife and your family. Keep being positive.

 

[Teresa1958]

Martin, may God Bless you and your family and your wife. What great news that is for all of you.!
Teresa

 

[Thongjy]

I love checking back in on this thread and reading positive stories. Here is a funny story to add to the thread!

I wear earplugs at restaurants and when venturing out on the busy city streets because of my H, which means I hear my T always with my plugs in. As I was walking earlier today I noticed the ringing in one of my ears stopped for a couple seconds and I freaked out! I was like WHERE DID MY RINGING GO. It scared me for the ringing to have gone away! It did slowly start right back up, but those few seconds of it gone made me uneasy. I guess it has become such a norm that not hearing it seemed abnormal!

Hi too have experience a sudden change in hearing such that the problem ear of all sud

Ent went well today. Tinnitus is almost gone!!! Fluid out of my ear is gone after 5 months.

How can we know if there is fluid in the ear? Do you mean in the middle ear?

Do we need to be scanned in order to confirm fluid in the ear?

 

[linearb]

the weirdo "anti candida" protocol I tried for T has somehow cleared up my acne and IBS... and maybe even had a very modest effect on my T! So, that is positive!

 

[Lisa Robinson]

Hi too have experience a sudden change in hearing such that the problem ear of all sud


How can we know if there is fluid in the ear? Do you mean in the middle ear?

Do we need to be scanned in order to confirm fluid in the ear?

Drs could see it behind the ear drum in middle ear.

 

[DmanLamb]

Over 20 years with T. If you are suffering and think you wont habituate because yours is "louder than the next persons," you are wrong. You will adapt in every case. Multiple times over the years mine has gotten louder (spiked) and never returned to the original baseline. Sure, in those cases I have panicked and dwelled on it like all of us have. Testing, listening for it, plugging my ears and judging it, etc. Its awful. But in the end, I always go back to shrugging it off, sleeping with no issues, no masking, etc. Even a month ago, I posted something where I was sort of complaining about a recent spike.. Now just a few weeks later, I could not care less.

Loudness is subjective. I have some pretty expensive T masker/Hearing Aids I bought in December. When I first got them they covered up the ringing perfectly. Such a relief. Then like I stated, I had a spike a month ago and started to stress. When I use the maskers now my T rings over the top of the white noise they produce, yet the maskers have not changed. They are managed by the Audiologist and are statically set. So the only logical conclusion is that, YES, my T is louder. Its ringing over the top of the same white sound (noise and volume) that masked it just a month ago. Yet, I don't care.

The point is, I believe that in every case and at any volume, your brain gets bored of monitoring. Although the time this takes will vary from person to person. In the meantime if you want to dwell on something, spend time focusing on your reactions to T and not the T volume itself. Their are many threads on this. This totally works. I promise you that eventually there will be a time where you can honestly say to yourself that "My T is loud and I don't give a rip." Even if that thought flashes in your head for just 2 seconds... that is the beginning of great success to come. STOP monitoring the volume. It just makes it worse.

 

[Giovanni]

Hey guys, I'm brand new to this website and since I got a more severe case of T last week, I've found hope and happiness by reading your post, something I've always lived by is: "fear is a prison where YOU are the Jailor, FREE YOURSELF" I've now accepted the fact that T is with me, and it doesn't bother me.

 

[billie48]

Hey guys, I'm brand new to this website and since I got a more severe case of T last week, I've found hope and happiness by reading your post, something I've always lived by is: "fear is a prison where YOU are the Jailor, FREE YOURSELF" I've now accepted the fact that T is with me, and it doesn't bother me.

That is a marvellous attitude and quote. Many people don't realize this fact that fear is an invisible prison. If I have learned something from decades of struggling from anxiety & panic disorders, it is that "A life being controlled and terrorized by fear is not worth fearing about!". So when the suffering from fear gets too much, it actually generates the perfect antidote for it, at least for myself.

 

[Mark K.]

Hey Giovanni:
Great attitude! And still a Newbie? I only wish I had your attitude my first month of T. I truly believe the quicker you accept your T and conquer your fear and anxiety, the quicker and stronger you develop those Neuron pathways that enable you to habituate and basically allow your mind to stop focusing on your T, which eventually, your brain will no longer hear the ringing. This will also help you with your sleep, since fear and anxiety is usually the main reason of why we cant sleep. It took me over 2 months to really accept my T, and my fear and anxiety levels are almost down to zero. But my sleep patterns are still a challenge (5 to 6 hours of sleep), since I had 2 months of embedding and developing that sleep pattern. Slowly trying to break out of that sleep pattern. Anyway, good to hear that you grasped the core mind set early in your T.

 

[kayla]

this is a great post !!!!
having newly being a t sufferer 6 weeks and countin all ive read about is how it never goes etc and how depressing it is etc etc is really getting me down ha ha but this post has lifted my spirits in knowing so many people do suffer it but there is help out there and if the worst comes to the worst that il have this for the rest of my life i can deal with it as so many people have!
so glad i foud this website i think it will be my SOS XX

 

[nills]

I love this thread! I was just sitting here just now and allowed inner silence to grab me, to freeze all movement of the body and movement of the mind ... to let my being become like a living statue ... not cold and hard but alive but so silent. Peace came and visited me ... the thing is, we are too ocupied, we don`t let peace arise in ourselves. And i`m guilty of it many many times even though I have read tons of books about this subject of peace, buddhism and enlightenment. but in the end we have to throw it all away, all the knowledge and all the ideas ... and than we have to throw away all the hopes and dreams and cravings ... just for a few seconds ... even for a split second is enough. and in that moment you will see life is good and peaceful .. even with T ...

after you can pick up your hope again and the effort to find a cure ... but atleast know that when you need to you can drop all of it and find peace ... even for a few seconds.

love you all xx

 

[Misery]

Greetings everyone! Just dropped in to give a quick update. I've had T for about a year and 4 months now. During the daytime I rarely notice it although it's there. I've learned to listen over/beyond the T, if that makes sense. This past week I attended my son's first private French horn lesson. Bad idea! Holy cow. I've been hearing my T more during the day since, but I'm confident things will go back to my normal shortly.

 

[linearb]

"If tinnitus rings in the head of someone who is so habituated that they literally do not consciously notice it at all, does it make a sound?"

 

[Stink]

I love this thread! I was just sitting here just now and allowed inner silence to grab me, to freeze all movement of the body and movement of the mind ... to let my being become like a living statue ... not cold and hard but alive but so silent. Peace came and visited me ... the thing is, we are too ocupied, we don`t let peace arise in ourselves. And i`m guilty of it many many times even though I have read tons of books about this subject of peace, buddhism and enlightenment. but in the end we have to throw it all away, all the knowledge and all the ideas ... and than we have to throw away all the hopes and dreams and cravings ... just for a few seconds ... even for a split second is enough. and in that moment you will see life is good and peaceful .. even with T ...

after you can pick up your hope again and the effort to find a cure ... but atleast know that when you need to you can drop all of it and find peace ... even for a few seconds.

love you all xx

love your posts! you are so full of good spirit. keep going nills

 

[svintegrity]

I am new here, and I have enjoyed reading these posts. I hope that someday I can be in the same space that you all are here. Thank you.

 

[linearb]

After weeks of snow and freezing temperatures, it's sunny with highs in the 50s today, which means I get to ride my motorcycle over to my sunday card game. Nice.

 

[canyonero]

Habituation is starting to kick in fast. This week I had my first couple loud days where I was not nearly as bothered by it. I don't know if there's anything you can do to speed up habituation, you just have to wait.

 

[svintegrity]

@canyonero That is great news about your habituation! Are you doing any specific treatments for T?

 

[canyonero]

@canyonero That is great news about your habituation! Are you doing any specific treatments for T?

No, I actually tried to avoid masking noises. Best treatment is just to wait, I'm not sure anything I would have done differently would have speed up the process. I'm not there yet, but there was definitely a change this week.

 

[svintegrity]

@canyonero Makes sense. Every treatment I have tried has only made my T worse. Glad you are noticing a positive change.

 

[nina95]

This thread is great so I'll add something myself.Yesterday I met with three of my best friends. I hadn't seen them since the onset of my T because I was trying to avoid as much loud noise as possible(their laughs are very loud) .But it was a very good experience and I didn't even think about my T for three hours. It showed me that you can still engage in social activities with T, you just have to be picky and choose the quieter ones.

 

[Lisa123]

Yesterday I was sitting in my room trying to study. The T was there but it also wasn't there. It seemed quiet. Very weird, but I liked it. I hope this is what habituation is all about. That it is not just the acceptance of your T. But also an actual decrease of perception even when you're trying to hear it.

 

[Aziz Khan]

This is the best thread guys .. Thanks

 

[linearb]

I walked out of my apartment building this morning and discovered it was snowing, and was filled with almost child-like glee at walking through wet snow for a half mile on the way to work.

Two weeks ago my T was all I could think about; now I'm back to "only hear it when I think about it, and still don't really care" mode.

Life is good!