Its a life sentence.
My tinnitus only started to bother me less after I gave up all hope of curing it.
The first year is hell because you are still full of hope that some new innovative cure is just round the corner.
The agony of frantically searching for some vitamin that will "reduce oxidation" or some other bullshit and save the day.
I mean I have been through all manner of emotional and psychological torture dealing with this, its a mental meat grinder. I'm sure everyone on this forum understands that.
Hell, I even had a breakdown...I wouldn't say suicidal though I had contemplated it...I was at the end of my tether for nearly two years.
I tried almost everything.....and it put a lot of pressure on my wife because I believed my life was over and I had nothing to look forward to anymore.
But after two years I decided f@ck you tinnitus. You are just backround noise...so stay there. I am gonna use a tinnitus masker to fall asleep and have a couple of melatonin.
If I go out socializing I put in a small earplug in my left ear to avoid a spike.
I'm sitting in a quiet room and I hear it buzzing and hissing away and I just think "well I could zoom in and listen to the neighbour's washing machine or air conditioner and that would drive me equally insane". So I don't allow myself to zoom into any of it...and it stay there but I just don't let it get me like it used to.
I think I habituated or whatever the technical term is.
I exercise regularly to ensure I'm tired at night...that helps because that's the worst time of the day.
I lost all hope of a cure and I bet I'm happier than most people,with less intense tinnitus, looking for a cure.
I also suffer from tremors in my right eardrum which periodically opens but hey life could be a lot worse....