@Mathilda, mulling over your story and comparing it to the days when I was bouncing from doctor to therapist, some things you said brought back memories.
You mentioned a 20% reduction in tinnitus—I'm happy to hear that, and I hope it lasts.
About 25 years ago, I did a therapy program at a live-in clinic in Germany. It involved lectures that gave a thorough rundown of the latest medical knowledge on tinnitus—what it is, the different types, and how it is triggered—all to help remove the fear. The idea was that if it wasn't caused by a tumor, it wasn't dangerous.
Another key message was to get up, get out, and engage with life—spending time with people, enjoying a picnic in the woods, swimming, and so on. Oh, and relaxation therapy: autogenic training, yoga, tai chi…
One point was made clear from the start: our tinnitus would seem much louder at first. We were there for a "cure," so naturally, tinnitus would be at the forefront of our consciousness. They were right! Maybe it felt 20% more intrusive.
So when you say your tinnitus is 20% lower after the sessions… I wonder.
The sooner the Bionics Institute gets its objective tinnitus-measuring device widely available, the better—we'll finally have something concrete to go on.
Sounds almost like the TRT I did back in the '90s. It helped me live with it for about ten years—but now I'm back here, aren't I?