What Gets You Through Your Bad Days?

[gary]

When you have a really bad day, or in my case it's usually a string of 5-7 day's of 10+ (using the 1-to 10 scale)

What gets me through it, is knowing that I will get a string of up to five day where the noise is between 2 to 5 which is tolerable. That I can deal with. I try to get all the things done that require my complete attention.

There are time though that you do what you gotta do. In my case my T was at a 10+ and my wife need tire for her car, so I took it up to the local tire dealer, told the salesman I needed a decent set of tire for her car and just bought the ones he suggested, I did not ask any questions other than the price. This totally is not like me, I usually google things like this, to see what tires are rated at, how good they are etc. Well I got home and realized I did not even know the brand I bought. I then did a google on them, luckily there were a very good set of tire at a good price.

I was telling my wife what happened, and we actually found some humor in the whole scheme of things. From now on when I have to do anything major, that requires am attention I am going to have a cheat sheet with me, with the question written down before hand.....

I am fortunate though that I have been retired. My T started at age 65, 3 months to the to day after I had a 4X open heart bypass on July 31st 2013 Maybe they got some of the lines crossed

I admire anyone who is working and has T, you are very strong people to be able to face the adversity of having T and still work. I would like to think I could be that strong.....

 

[Eric N]

tell me about it I got it and I am only 27 it's going to be a long ride.

 

[Karen]

Gary,
This is a great thread, and you've got some good suggestions. It certainly can be a challenge to cope with life's everyday problems on those bad T days, and it might help us all to keep our sense of humor! I like the idea of the "cheat sheet"; when tinnitus is really bad, it can be quite hard to concentrate, and writing things down can help us stay focused on the task at hand.

Here are some ways I cope on bad T days:

1) Distraction - I find things to do that occupy my mind, such as games, crossword puzzles, playing music --- anything to keep my mind from focusing on the tinnitus. And --- not in complete silence. Background sounds really help.

2) Work --- I work in an office, and there is an underlying "hum" (probably the heat vents) that helps me forget about my tinnitus for awhile. Just focusing on my work helps me cope. It was hard at first, but I'm doing better every day.

3) Living life as normally as possible -- When my T first started, I had difficulty getting through each day, and had to take a short-term disability leave to deal with the depression, anxiety, fear, lack of sleep, and sheer misery of roaring tinnitus. But now, after almost 3 years, I am living more normally again. Just getting back into life's routines helps me cope, and has actually been part of the healing process.

4) Supplements -- I take various supplements to help minimize the tinnitus. It may be a placebo effect, but whatever it is, my tinnitus seems to be more manageable when I take magnesium, enzymes, vitamins, GABA, etc.

5) Support from other people -- Friends and family help me cope, when things are bad. My husband has been very supportive throughout this whole ordeal. Also, I've been a member of Tinnitus Talk for a year now, and it has really helped to be able to vent, to share with others, and to hear others' stories. It's good to know that none of us are facing this alone!

I'd like to hear what other people do to cope on bad days.

 

[mock turtle]

gary...i think karen is spot on

and along the lines of her suggestions...i play guitar... acoustic, softly , nylon string.....something about paying attention to REAL sounds...that helps me to distance myself from noise in my head

eric n....yes you are youg and thinking about the long haul ahead....id bet big money you will have a cure and /or very effective treatment in 10 or 15 years...not sure ill be here with you to celebrate, but, the young amongst us deserve a cure

besst wishes
mt

 

[gary]

Karen, I Wholeheartedly agree with Mock. Thank you so much for comprehensive reply, you really have it together. I am going to use some of your methods along with Mock's. I have just started to do a type of meditation that is associated with something called Prantic healing. To involved to explain here, I found a Dr. that uses this as part of her practice.

Ah Eric, hang tough there buddy, as the Stones said time is on your side. I know it's hard at your age man, but I as others think it won't be long for a cure. Remember T can be caused my many different things, you're T may be from a condition that is treatable now, or in the very near future.

T was at a 10+ when I started this post earlier and it caused me to make a mistake on the date of my bypass & T dates. Bypass was on April 30th 2012 T started July 30th 2012 I try to use my T as an advantage when I can

 

[click]

When you have a really bad day, or in my case it's usually a string of 5-7 day's of 10+ (using the 1-to 10 scale)

What gets me through it, is knowing that I will get a string of up to five day where the noise is between 2 to 5 which is tolerable. That I can deal with. I try to get all the things done that require my complete attention.

There are time though that you do what you gotta do. In my case my T was at a 10+ and my wife need tire for her car, so I took it up to the local tire dealer, told the salesman I needed a decent set of tire for her car and just bought the ones he suggested, I did not ask any questions other than the price. This totally is not like me, I usually google things like this, to see what tires are rated at, how good they are etc. Well I got home and realized I did not even know the brand I bought. I then did a google on them, luckily there were a very good set of tire at a good price.

I was telling my wife what happened, and we actually found some humor in the whole scheme of things. From now on when I have to do anything major, that requires am attention I am going to have a cheat sheet with me, with the question written down before hand.....

I am fortunate though that I have been retired. My T started at age 65, 3 months to the to day after I had a 4X open heart bypass on July 31st 2013 Maybe they got some of the lines crossed

I admire anyone who is working and has T, you are very strong people to be able to face the adversity of having T and still work. I would like to think I could be that strong.....

On a bad day I have 2 sources of rain music playing gently in the background, 2 water air cleansers that make their own noise and, if that's not sufficient, I clip on an ipod shuffle and play more rain through headphones (clip on 'jogging' phones that don't go in your ears). If it's still screaming at night I use a bolster pillow that has a pocket large enough for another MP3 player with an in-built speaker and have an audio book playing in the background on a cd player.
I also tell myself that this is just a 'blip' and it will go back down. Negative thoughts really don't help any of us.

T hasn't affected my work in any significant way since the first 3 months. I just carry on regardless now and ensure that I stop and rest if I get a headache (I do find that all the rain noise can sometimes give me a headache!). Having said this, I'm fortunate to be able to work from home for most of the time which makes all of this easier. Also that my 'bad' days are far and few between now.

 

[mike]

It gets really tough to work and have Tinnitus. There have been days where I did not think I was going to make it. I have walked out of the work area on a Friday and looked around and said I will never come back here again it was that bad. On bad days like today I just say to myself it will be lower tomm. To be Honest there have been days when I did not think I would make it.It will be a year next week. In that year I have got tinnitus,I have lost one of the best friends and then I lost my son which has destroyed me. I know I must keep going. So I just take it day by day. I have had days where mine has been low and I could cope. I have done a lot of different things to try and reduce the Tinnitus and I will keep trying. But like I said I just take it day by day.

 

[Chicken]

Mike,

didn't you post a little while ago a link on tinnitus sounds. i went to open it and i had to do something else at work. was that you and oh, by the way, sometimes life really throws us a curve ball but your attitude with taking day by day is the only way!!!

 

[mike]

Chicken,
I could not get the link to work. Might have it Blocked I am at work. I will try and find it tonight when I get home and post it then.

 

[J. Wing]

"You do what you gotta do". Gary great,great line that I have used since getting tinnitus(1999) 13 years ago. I'm just glad those days don't come around as often as they use to. I'm retired also. Came down with tinnitus when I was 44 and my request for disability retirement was approved in 2006. I can't tell you how many people have told me that it must be nice to be able to retire at 50 years old.
My wife got tired of hearing that so she "gently" reminded them it was "disability" retirement. Unless you have tinnitus you can't imagine what it is and I quit trying to explain to people what it's like to have severe intrusive tinnitus. You from Michigan? Did my Air Force 4 years at K.I.Sawyer AFB in the U.P. I'm a "Yooper" for life.

 

[calin]

Ativan!

 

[Louise]

How often do you take that Calin?

 

[calin]

How often do you take that Calin?

I only take a wee bit when I feel like I am getting too anxious. Having T gets on one's nerves sometimes without realizing it.... sort of an undercurrent of irritation which makes other daily life experiences and activities more stressful and with less ease and joy. I also take a bit when my blood pressure climbs too high for sudden "issues". I withdrew from my BP meds cause of the side effects... one being tinnitus.

I used to be able to meditate and/or be in a quiet space to relax and get "balanced"..... hard to without silence. Ya know what I mean?!

 

[Louise]

I do know what you mean. I used to love quiet. Now I have to have some noise everywhere I am

 

[just1morething]

tell me about it I got it and I am only 27 it's going to be a long ride.

Eric, has anything helped you to date? I assumed yours was noise exposure too, like so many others?

 

[Eric N]

Eric, has anything helped you to date ? I assumed yours was noise exposure too, like so many others ?

Hi,
It's not from noise as far as I know, I just woke up with it one day. My hearing is pretty normal expect maybe for one frequency which shows 20-25db hearing loss depending on he test.

And no nothing help, I am really not sure what to try that is reasonable.
I just been trying ginkgo Bilbao / some vitamin E

 

[just1morething]

Hi,
It's not from noise as far as I know, I just woke up with it one day. My hearing is pretty normal expect maybe for one frequency which shows 20-25db hearing loss depending on he test.

And no nothing help, I am really not sure what to try that is reasonable.
I just been trying ginkgo Bilbao / some vitamin E

Eric, I tried about everything out there including ginkgo, vitamins, b12 injections,zinc, iron,lipo-flavonoid etc. It seems one thing will work for a day, but I can never duplicate it. I guess you could look into TMJ disorder. I tried seeing a TMJ doctor as well. He said that I had TMD, but I had no jaw pain at all. I used a oral appliance at night with straps on, but that didn't work either. I am still looking into cervical related T also, but in the end if it is noise exposure, thats bad news.Very ,very frustrating. I hope you find something that works for you.
Dale

 

[Eric N]

Eric, I tried about everything out there including ginkgo, vitamins, b12 injections,zinc, iron,lipo-flavonoid etc. It seems one thing will work for a day, but I can never duplicate it. I guess you could look into TMJ disorder. I tried seeing a TMJ doctor as well. He said that I had TMD, but I had no jaw pain at all. I used a oral appliance at night with straps on, but that didn't work either. I am still looking into cervical related T also, but in the end if it is noise exposure, thats bad news.Very ,very frustrating. I hope you find something that works for you.
Dale

Dale, I did a cervical spike xray and it seems I have a degenerative disk between c7-t1 which could be from bad posture sitting at the PC all the time, I will see a physiotherapist tomorrow but I don't really think its going to help buts its worth a try. I have since a dentist he does not think I have TMJ but recommend I go see a TMJ doctor to do measurements I just hope he wont try to rip me off by making me buy stuff I don't need.

 

[just1morething]

Dale, I did a cervical spike xray and it seems I have a degenerative disk between c7-t1 which could be from bad posture sitting at the PC all the time, I will see a physiotherapist tomorrow but I don't really think its going to help buts its worth a try. I have since a dentist he does not think I have TMJ but recommend I go see a TMJ doctor to do measurements I just hope he wont try to rip me off by making me buy stuff I don't need.

Actually, I am seeing a neck & back orthopedic doctor tomorrow. I have some neck issues also. From what I heard it is usually C1-C3 that can cause T. They may say you need this or that, because they are not sure or simply because they like money ( they have to eat too, you know). I will update you on the doctors opinion on cervical caused T. I think they are very reluctant to do neck surgery unless you have arm or hand issues. I hope you don't get ripped off either.

 

[DezDog]

What gets me through bad days?

Knowing I have good days. I believe in cycles. God knows I'm not an optimist or a positive-thinker, but having been down and up a few times, I know it gets better.

 

[cowdodge]

Just thought I would pop in here and state my problem with this junky! About 30 years ago I came down with somethings the doctors could never figure it out but it changed my strength levels and caused me to want to sleep more. Now fast forward to about 15 years ago and the T's hit me! I had pretty much got ust the tired feeling and resting as much as I could but when the T's hit it took away my resting time and now I just bear it when my body's says time for a short nap knowing after that nap my fight or flight syndrome will be in full force and so will my axixity. So I have tried all kinds of relief to help with this situation and really the only thing that works is to get busy with something. Dam what situation!

 

[linearb]

sex, wine, motorcycles, cannabis.

 

[Richard zurowski]

You need to have a strong mind, be depression free, and will power to have a good day .