Two-Year Update: No Change in Tinnitus, Yet Doing Better

Hi all. It has been a long time since I've come on Tinnitus Talk, but I did want to come back and share a positive update because when I was struggling with the onset of tinnitus and hyperacusis, these success stories were incredibly valuable to me. I especially was on the lookout for success stories where people didn't improve their condition much but were back to living a relatively normal and happy life, which is where I am at right now.

I have put this off for quite a while, as I was starting to feel better at the one-year mark and posting a success story feels a bit like tempting fate. Additionally, staying off the forums and accepting my condition was a keystone component of my recovery. By coming back here and writing this I do feel like I am moving past some remaining fear (or viewing of tinnitus like a threat), and doing so will make me think of tinnitus more. Anyway, onto where I am at.

Tinnitus

My tinnitus is still the same, however I would say outside of fleeting deafness in one ear that happens about 2 days a week for ~30 seconds, I don't think about tinnitus at all until bed. If I do, it is a passing thought, I'll notice it and then go back to not noticing it a few moments later.

I still sleep with white noise, not masking but a fan and some rain sounds to give my brain something else to listen to. I notice my tinnitus most when just going to bed after doing this, however I fall asleep normally now and when I wake up I don't notice it at all.

I live in a busy city, so that has certainly helped with habituating. I notice when I go to a quiet house in the suburbs the tinnitus becomes very strong in my perception, so much that it has a physical fullness and pulsing that I can feel. Fortunately just any other background noise allows my brain to tune it out. While annoying at times, this doesn't give me distress or fear.

It's hard to say how loud my tinnitus is, as we can never compare, but I can say that I could notice it on a busy street before the habituation process, as it has a buzz and pitch that sits above most daily sounds.

On a note about feeling my tinnitus physically, it has been a while since I have tried this for obvious reasons, but if I actually try to focus on it, I feel it gets louder and it actually can make my ear hurt, almost like a little zap. Not sure what that is about but it is strange so just wanted to mention.

I haven't needed much medication in the past year, but I will say this is one thing that will be a bit annoying in perpetuity, trying to research and evaluate if something I need to take is a risk.

Hyperacusis

Thankfully I have seen about 70% improvement in my hyperacusis.

I still feel ear fullness often in my right ear, and sometimes pain. Certainly an annoyance but not distressing.

I do use earplugs at a lower threshold then before, but not by that much. For example gyms are fine but some loud restaurants are not. Either way I keep a small pair of Minuendo earplugs when traveling or going to somewhere that can have loud music.

I can use headphones for calls, but I do find it causes some discomfort after time, especially as it's easy to notch the volume up too much. I do aim to minimize headphone use in my day to day.

I've gone to and enjoyed a concert in the past year (Coheed and Cambria), with hearing protection of course.

Visual Snow

I've become so habituated to this one that I actually had to come back and add this after I wrote anything else. There is still no improvement but I can go days without thinking of it, and it really only comes to my awareness when looking at an empty sky, or trying to search for something in the day.

Closing Thoughts

It gets better, even if it doesn't go away, you can go back to feeling like a normal person with normal problems (life always has problems, but you can have problems and still be happy). Habituation also takes time, and there are ways to help that, but, at the end of the day, just hang in there and get by.

While feeling fairly habituated at the moment, I of course know that it could get worse and I will have to habituate again. I don't really expect my tinnitus to get better if I had to guess. That being said, I am grateful for the people and time I have right now, and while I am cautious about hearing protection, I don't live in fear.

Advocacy for tinnitus and hyperacusis treatment, awareness, and research is incredibly important. That being said, I attribute a big part of my habituation to accepting that it wouldn't go away for me early on and stopped researching progress on cures and treatments, which included being on Tinnitus Talk. My goal was to be happy while coexisting with these conditions, not establish to myself that I couldn't be OK until they were gone and fighting with them. I am not saying everyone needs or should have this perspective, just that it worked for me. Now that I feel I have made some progress, I of course am coming back here to share some hopefully encouraging words, and I will think about how I can help more.

Comparison really is the thief of joy, and when I got better about not comparing my situation to others, my habituation progressed as well.

I won't be on here regularly but I will check back a week from now if there are any questions.

Please take care and be kind to yourself.

 

Thank you for coming back and documenting your success story. It is perhaps not what many of want to read (i.e. another habituation story), but what counts is that it is a success story for you. And that it may inspire another person.

 

Thank you coming back to share. ❤️

 

I'm so happy for you! I rarely check this forum anymore, as my story is very similar to yours. I never posted my recovery story, although I might.

Some months ago a story like this would have helped me to feel a bit more calm. And now, I still appreciate it, nevertheless, so thanks ☺️