I keep reading in people's posts that tinnitus is just a sound and that it doesn't matter how loud it is, but that how well one copes or habituates to tinnitus is tied to one's reaction to or perception of that sound. My question is: Is anyone else's tinnitus also tied to their circulatory system? It is not classic pulsitile tinnitus (not a whoosher). Meaning that my tinnitus is very-high pitched, it pulses, it is unilateral, and anything that I do that has the potential to raise my heartrate also raises my tinnitus.
Mine is similar, though decidedly bilateral and moves around a lot. It does not whoosh, but anything that severely raises my HR/BP amplifies it, and some of the electrical tones seem to correspond to my heartbeat.
For example, walking, running, standing up, chewing, breathing, doing dishes, vacuuming, etc. In this case, it does not seem that it can just be tied to reaction or perception.
Well, I think that what's meant by "reaction is the big problem", is that
whatever the nature of your T, it's "just" a sound precept, and the immediate limbic fear response many of us feel, makes it seem scary and distressing, instead of "only" annoying, as with other grating sounds.
It is tied to everyday movements. How does one habituate to a condition like this? Tinnitus is not a one-size-fits-all affliction and deserves a differential diagnosis.
I think the wisdom is supposed to be that whatever the cause of T, the toxic thinking and immediate fear response from the limbic system that it creates is responsible for creating (or at least magnifying) the discomfort, so if that reaction can be controlled, you are left with something which is "only" annoying.
I use quotes because obviously it's nuanced, difficult, and it's also much easier to say you're going to change your reaction than to do it. I also think that "reaction" is something we generally think of as a conscious thing, and that's not really true here -- the goal of habituation based approaches is to stop the perception escalation that makes us consciously aware of it in the first place.
Think of -- you are in a car at a red light, waiting for it to turn green. There is another car stopped in the lane next to you, and it's slightly in your peripheral vision. On some level, you have perceived that there is a vehicle there, but if it is not moving and you are not trying to change lanes, you never think about it, and by the time you're a block up the road, the idea that there was ever a car next to you while you were stopped, is gone -- it never registered consciously strong enough to warrant thinking about it in words.
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