Makes sense. Tinnitus is such a strange animal. It hides when it needs to then comes back when least expected. For example I could notice for days where if I don't get a solid 8 hours, my tinnitus is worse. The day I purposely force myself to get less hours is the day where I have little to no tinnitus even though any other day I would have a siren in my ear. My tinnitus seems to respond to many new things I try. Initially with good results then back to baseline. Is this a placebo or does tinnitus actually respond to new changes then eventually creeps back? I haven't figured it out yet. All this seems to point to how complex and intricate the brain really is and it seems like each time we think we figured it out it's workings, there's a catch and what we thought was the case all along seems to be wrong.I sometimes wish I could permanently delete the word from the brains of people who often quote it with such authority. Even though there's a certain credence to it, I think it's way too often inappropriately used and misinterpreted--like a lot of medical science in general for that matter.
For instance, during drugs trials, it seems they primarily focus on the people who've NOT gotten a real medication, and monitor what their results are taking placebo into consideration. But what about the group that DOES get a medication. Since so many medications have side effects--some of them very immediate and strong--doesn't it make sense that a good number of these individuals are convinced they're getting the real medication, and their bodies respond accordingly? In other words, sort of a reverse-placebo effect?
For myself, I've got such a sensitive system, I know when something I take is placebo or not. I know some will likely say that's being arrogant, but I've tried many things I felt convinced beforehand would be really good--and they weren't. Conversely, I tried many things I had serious doubts about, only to find they had some benefit. I think in the end, we have to put our confidence in whatever makes the most sense to us. -- BTW, I'm still not convinced your initial benefit from taking those drops was placebo.
I think I've observed people long enough to conclude that the less intelligent and less self-aware someone is, the better off they are health-wise and the more intelligent and self-aware one is, the more they struggle with illness and stress and this combination compounds and forms a self-fulfilling cycle. I've also noticed many of us who struggle with tinnitus are very self-aware people. I'm to the point where if I feel some change anywhere in my body, I have to know what the cause it or else I get bad anxiety and stress even though it's not warranted. I'm also a perfectionist and I'd assume this personality trait also fits into the issues I have. Being self-aware of your own flaws is also detrimental to your health since seeing them and failing to correct them causes you to feel like a failure which further adds to your overall problems.
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