The issue is that placebo is treated like an actual, viable "treatment" leaving us progressive sufferers high and dry. Yeah I would love for my tinnitus to be stable and not spike permanently from chewing food. In fact, in my first 2 months my tinnitus was severe (could hear it over everything), but due to its stability I got over the "fight or flight" stuff that most people push in their TRT books etc rather quickly (a few weeks). I never even had the luxury of being able to mask it, but I was getting progressively better with time. Jastreboff has halted absolutely all research for 50 years because his nonsense was considered to be the only "treatment", and he constantly pushed that there will never be a cure and discouraged anyone from trying to even attempt research regarding the subject.
I don't mean to undermine anyone's suffering but if tinnitus is stable and can be masked by a fan, it shouldn't even be considered by anyone to be an issue and can be resolved with mental hocus pocus positive thinking etc, in my opinion. The fact that TRT "treatment" relies on copious amounts of time to pass just plays on people's ability to get used to things with time. I'm sick and tired of being told to do TRT when it obviously has made me worse due to it being considered a treatment for every case.
People can get better in 18 months without blasting their ears with white noise. Masking and sound enrichment just delays habituation and can make hyperacusis and tinnitus worse in some cases imo. It should not in my opinion be considered a "fix all" solution for most cases, especially those with hyperacusis.
Well that's unfortunate. I guess my distaste for the US healthcare system has clouded my judgement on current healthcare systems in other countries. I'll always see the healthcare of another country (preferably Nordic ones) as better by default.
I did not say sound therapy wasn't an important part of TRT and agree with you that it is a crucial part of the treatment but, it is not as important as the counselling. I have had TRT twice, each treatment lasted two years and believe I have sufficient knowledge and experience of it which has enabled to help people affected by tinnitus and hyperacusis.
Actually me too. Pretty much all Europe has universal and "socialized" healthcare. (I mean, even Italy that everyone thinks as a peasant; I went to the ER during Christmas break and they gave me an appointment with an ENT within 10 days, and despite the fact that I am not anymore member of the social insurance or whatever it is called because I live abroad, I paid nothing), France has a very well-functioning system; Sweden had one too, but now it is dangerously evolving towards something more hybrid (even though private healthcare providers are still rare here). The public sector has been mismanaged, underfunded and short-staffed for a long while, and if they do not turn the tide soon a breaking point is going to be reached in a few years...
Indeed, it is hard to be positive from what you have described, since tinnitus comes in many forms and intensities and no two people will experience it the same.
I'm 3 years in of hearing tinnitus over everything. Variable as can be. Super uncool, painful, and frequently challenging. The only thing I have any control over with this condition is keeping a positive attitude.
I meant have something that emits sound in the background, at a lower level than tinnitus to help take the focus away from the tinnitus, rather than getting in-ear maskers.
It wasn't masked by the fan. I still heard my tinnitus. I used it in place of WNGs so that instead of being in complete silence, there was another sound.
I'm not sure what piqued your interest in my post but I am sensing a small bit of defensiveness. I was responding to @Uklawyer and his response which I think had you tagged in it, but it was directed toward him, not you. I am glad that you are here sharing your experiences with TRT.
Still not sure what you mean with this post after I had mentioned how alarming tinnitus can sound when going from sound enrichment to no sound enrichment:
My mistake please accept my apology. Thank you for your thoughts and the clarification.
No worries, I'm thankful for all of your thoughts and time. Since we're here, what do you consider the difference between TRT and CBT if you wouldn't mind sharing?
Got it, makes sense. That may be one of the important pieces of the directive counseling, to reframe thoughts back to the logic and rationality. But I'm with you, at a minimum I believe that sound enrichment set below tinnitus is more helpful than not, even if it's not WNGs. I think the additional stimulus is supposes to have some neuronal effects in facilitating habituation.
Like TRT, CBT is a recognised treatment for tinnitus. I had a very brief spell of it in 2010 with my hearing therapist after I had TRT for two years. I think it's best you look up information online regarding CBT for tinnitus. It will give you more accurate and update information on the treatment.
And yet I recall reading a study that suggested that listening to unstructured white noise may cause further maladaptive plastic changes. The study recommended listening to music or sounds with full spectrum of sounds rather than listening to a selected frequency. I think I would agree with this.
But Watasha actually asked about your opinion and experience, because you have a history with TRT counseling. And now we know that you briefly had CBT as well, so you can probably share what you think about how the two "recognised treatment for tinnitus" differ.
You make a valid point. I do have extensive history with TRT having had the treatment twice for the full duration. My tinnitus changed in 2008, after years of habituation with it extremely low for most of the time. It changed to variable tinnitus reaching incredibly high levels of severity. According to my hearing therapist and ENT consultant, they don't see many patients with this type of tinnitus.
My advice to you and others that spend your time reading research papers that say CBT and TRT aren't effective and is a placebo, to stop it and direct your thoughts to more positive things in your life. Reading such material is a sure way for you not to make any progress with tinnitus, as it can instil a lot of negative thinking.
CBT is literally placebo. It makes people calm down with positive thinking etc. TRT is also placebo, only success is to calm people down. Which only works in cases where tinnitus is stable and doesn't get worse constantly. There are people which this doesn't work for and calling it a legitimate "treatment" is ignorant. Telling someone whose tinnitus gets 50% worse every day to "think positive" and "focus on positive things in life" is an insult.
Continue beating the negativity drum. I am not here to duel with you.
That is not "continuing beating the negativity drum". That is his reality that he worsens every day from as little as whispers. To claim that he can beat this with optimism is insulting and it is a textbook case of toxic positivity. He and many other people need a cure and legitimate treatment.
I am entitled to my opinion and was replying to you, not to @AnthonyMcDonald. If he feels my comments were an insult, I have no control over that, but stand by what I have said.
Listening to @Michael Leigh's advice is actually what made me considerably worse. I honestly think he is a danger to the more severe sufferers and there should be a warning before everything he posts that his advice only applies to mild/moderate cases with little or no hyperacusis.
Thank you for your enquiry. I hope that I can be of some help.
@AMe, I disagree with both of these statements at least where it comes to CBT. CBT is merely learning and practicing techniques to modify your behavior and response. While I'm sure doing things in person is preferred, doing classes, trainings, meetings, and telemedicine online is what the whole world has been doing for the last two years, perfectly serviceable way to get CBT or training on most anything really.
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