Will Tinnitus Change My Personality?

[fishbone]

Absolutely right MBH.
I come on here particularly when I am low,
and in need of some understanding and companionship.
We are in the best place. x

I come in here at times feeling wonderful and at times feeling like an average Joe. Helping people and getting a positive feedback, always makes my day. The gratification of helping even one person, CAN be so so rewarding

 

[Ed209]

I come in here at times feeling wonderful and at times feeling like an average Joe. Helping people and getting a positive feedback, always makes my day. The gratification of helping even one person, CAN be so so rewarding

You're a good person fishbone.

 

[BobDigi]

You're the same person you were when you never had tinnitus. The fact is you will get to the point where your tinnitus is completely ignored most if not all of the time!
You will be you forever and tinnitus won't change that. Perhaps untill you habituate it may effect your mood a bit. But those times will become less and less. Until they dissapdis completely. Stop monitoring your T, accept it's not going anywhere and habituation will come even sooner.

 

[Jazzer]

@BobDigi - brilliant post,
such a help xx

 

[Helheim]

You're the same person you were when you never had tinnitus. The fact is you will get to the point where your tinnitus is completely ignored most if not all of the time!
You will be you forever and tinnitus won't change that. Perhaps untill you habituate it may effect your mood a bit. But those times will become less and less. Until they dissapdis completely. Stop monitoring your T, accept it's not going anywhere and habituation will come even sooner.

Sounds like someone with maskable/mild/moderate tinnitus tbh

 

[Jazzer]

@Helheim - We will never know the scale of another person's tinnitus of course.
If you read @BobDigi 's post
"How I Habituated" it sounds as if it was pretty tough.
His advice on that post is very well respected.

 

[Helheim]

@Helheim - We will never know the scale of another person's tinnitus of course.
If you read @BobDigi 's post
"How I Habituated" it sounds as if it was pretty tough.
His advice on that post is very well respected.

Tbh that post just seems like the usual shit we get from doctors. "Just get used to it". I've actually done most of those things - I've removed myself from tinnitus communities for a long time, tried to live life as much as possible (even if we ignore the fact that tinnitus and hyperacusis have ended my career and most of my hobbies, but who cares, right?). It's been a year and I'm not feeling one bit better, despite trying TRT and being in psychiatric care.

The habituation shills on this forum always surprise me though. This is why doctors ignore us. This is why they just shrug and say "you'll get used to it". People who buy into the habituation myth will just keep harming our community and I wish they'd just stop talking. It is not okay and you won't just "get used to it", and no amount of fairytale lies will change that fact. Unless you have it mild, of course. Which habituated people clearly do. Ugh, I'm so done with these forums, I'll just go back to lurking... why the hell I thought engaging with the Stepford Smilers here will help I have no idea.

 

[Jazzer]

@Helheim - I can only add this.
I have it loud - I hear it above everything - and permenant. It never goes away.
You may or may not believe that of course.
I've also been a pro musician for years.
I still play (trombone) with my bad side occluded, and the other side partially blocked.
I am not personally expecting a cure.
Involving both the brain and the cochlea as it does, it may be too complicated or too dangerous to solve with drugs or surgery. But I don't know.

One thing I do know is this.
If there are any techniques that can help me to live with this 'thing' - that can help me to feel more comfortable and relaxed - that can help me obsess to a lesser degree, and keep calm, then I want them.

Like you, I don't believe in fairy stories, Father Christmas, the super natural....or any of that stuff
......though I have to admit, the tooth fairy gave me two bob once.
I wish I had a magic wand......we would all be well. x

 

[foliefortuna]

It has not really changed mine since I have been obsessive and anxious all my life.

 

[Jazzer]

@foliefortuna - and yet we have to admit that some people with very tough Tinnitus manage to cope - and cope really well.
I strive to be one of them. x
Best wishes x

 

[Shera]

AH, I remember when my T was mild and I could ignore it like a champ. Barely affected me.

It's been intensely loud since March 2017. While I am doing better than even September, I still feel like a stranger to myself. I take my small prizes like finally sleeping better and no longer feeling like a brainless zombie due to lack of sleep.

I've noticed my patience and ability to sit and do something for hours on end is gone. I use to be super chill and now I'm anxious/restless. I have to force myself to do things. Still can't fully submerge into anything. Books, TV, work and just everyday life.

 

[Jcb]

My personality has changed, I've always been a confident person, straight to the point kinda person. Since this I've become so anxious and can't concentrate for long like shera.... I've become quite distant in some respects with family and friends. My poor partner has put up with my constant mood swings and I feel so bad for it, but they have been so supportive. Each day I can feel a little bit of my old self popping through so I'm hoping going forward I'll be back to my old self.

 

[Jazzer]

@Jcb - My head has been noisy for four years now, but my 'self' is getting stronger every day.
I am finding some good coping methods.
I don't think I get moody with it.....though sometimes I am a bit sensitive - tearful.
Generally speaking, I am coping.
I will never allow this to distance me from my family and friends. They are my lifeline.
Life can be a total bastard as we all know only too well, but we need to come up with some answers.
Best wishes x

 

[Jcb]

@Jcb - My head has been noisy for four years now, but my 'self' is getting stronger every day.
I am finding some good coping methods.
I don't think I get moody with it.....though sometimes I am a bit sensitive - tearful.
Generally speaking, I am coping.
I will never allow this to distance me from my family and friends. They are my lifeline.
Life can be a total bastard as we all know only too well, but we need to come up with some answers.
Best wishes x

Thanks Jazzer.
I never really got moody until this, I thinks it's combination of anxiety and stress and I just end up snapping at the most trivial things. I'm feeling less anxious now which is great and my moods seem more stable haha
Yup life can be hard but you got to take the good with the bad, I'm a strong willed person so I'll get through this.

 

[BobDigi]

Sounds like someone with maskable/mild/moderate tinnitus tbh

Well that isn't true. From the day my tinnitus started I haven't masked it once. It is in my left ear and is a constant high pitched screech. Kind of like metal screeching on metal. It's almost as if the tinnitus is so deep and internal that an external sound has no chance of masking it. TV, loud music even when Ive used loud machinery, nothing masks it.
Maskable, mild or moderate it isnt!!!!!!
I'm also not dismissing anybody else's struggle. It's simply my story of how I managed to cope.
What's the alternative? Tell people there is no way they will ever habituate and you will struggle for ever?
The truth is I did manage to cope and eventually habituate! And believe me or not, mine is so loud, although never suicidal, I remember thinking if I have to have this forever, I'd be happy to die. I can't remember if I put that in my post. But it's the truth.
I have better things to do than go online and write untrue posts.
I just simply wrote what I did, and how I habituated, in the hope it helps others.
Don't dismiss other people's struggles and accomplishments just because you are struggling.

 

[BobDigi]

@Jcb - My head has been noisy for four years now, but my 'self' is getting stronger every day.
I am finding some good coping methods.
I don't think I get moody with it.....though sometimes I am a bit sensitive - tearful.
Generally speaking, I am coping.
I will never allow this to distance me from my family and friends. They are my lifeline.
Well done mate and I'm glad you liked my post/blog.
I'm glad you are beating it!

 

[BobDigi]

Tbh that post just seems like the usual shit we get from doctors. "Just get used to it".
Well what I posted is the truth. I could tell the truth! Or I could lie and say "you will never cope, nor habituate" but why would I say that when I have.
Sure some people will read the post and think it's nonsense, and their tinnitus is worse etc etc etc.
But someone might read it and it may help them on the road to recovery!
I won't try and convince you my tinnitus is extremely loud and unmaskable. Your mind is made up on two things. One, my post is garbage and I'm a shill, and secondly, you will never habituate and never get over your tinnitus. And because of those reasons, perhaps you never will! I hope you do.
But I'm convinced with a positive attitude and effort, everybody can habituate in their own time.
Just because you are struggling, don't put down other people's efforts and accomplishments.

 

[BobDigi]

@BobDigi - brilliant post,
such a help xx

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/how-ive-habituated.10654/#post-131497

 

[Jazzer]

Well that isn't true. From the day my tinnitus started I haven't masked it once. It is in my left ear and is a constant high pitched screech. Kind of like metal screeching on metal. It's almost as if the tinnitus is so deep and internal that an external sound has no chance of masking it. TV, loud music even when Ive used loud machinery, nothing masks it.
Maskable, mild or moderate it isnt!!!!!!
I'm also not dismissing anybody else's struggle. It's simply my story of how I managed to cope.
What's the alternative? Tell people there is no way they will ever habituate and you will struggle for ever?
The truth is I did manage to cope and eventually habituate! And believe me or not, mine is so loud, although never suicidal, I remember thinking if I have to have this forever, I'd be happy to die. I can't remember if I put that in my post. But it's the truth.
I have better things to do than go online and write untrue posts.
I just simply wrote what I did, and how I habituated, in the hope it helps others.
Don't dismiss other people's struggles and accomplishments just because you are struggling.

@BobDigi - that really needed saying.
There seems to be a tendancy to write those of us off who have habituated, or who are well on the way to habituation, as being necessarily mild or moderates.
Mine is loud and permanent, and from your earlier posts I could tell that yours definitely is also.
To be fair, I think such assessments by those in the hateful early stages of "T" arise because they simply can not imagine that acceptance and habituation can be possible.
In the early stages, acceptance is virtually impossible isn't it.
For me, starting my daily meditation by listening to it, before drifting off, really helped me to take much less notice of it.
I can't help thinking that, without any proper treatment, much less a cure, acceptance and accommodation are the best way forward.
Hard to swallow, I know, but who's got any better ideas?

 

[Starthrower]

To be fair, I think such assessments by those in the hateful early stages of "T" arise because they simply can not imagine that acceptance and habituation can be possible.
In the early stages, acceptance is virtually impossible isn't it.

I so remember my first year and feeling exactly like that.

 

[BobDigi]

That's the thing. There are literally only 2 options. Anger, anxiety, fear and sadness, or acceptance, strength, positivity and eventually positivity.
I always feel like I have to say things like "I'm not dissmising other people's struggles or difficulties" etc. And I'm not insinuating people who aren't habituated are weak, negative or unaccepting.
But the truth is, i think people can habituate and find peace. So I'm gonna say that.

 

[BobDigi]

That's the thing. There are literally only 2 options. Anger, anxiety, fear and sadness, or acceptance, strength, positivity and eventually habituation.
I always feel like I have to say things like "I'm not dissmising other people's struggles or difficulties" etc. And I'm not insinuating people who aren't habituated are weak, negative or unaccepting.
But the truth is, i think people can habituate and find peace. So I'm gonna say that.

 

[BobDigi]

That's the thing. There things like "I'm not dissmising other people's struggles or difficulties" etc. And I'm not insinuating people who aren't habituated are weak, negative or unaccepting.
But the truth is, i think people can habituate and find peace. So I'm gonna say that.

That's the thing. There are literally only 2 options. Anger, anxiety, fear and sadness, or acceptance, strength, positivity and eventually positivity.
I meant eventually habituation.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@Jazzer Loud high pitch severe T is difficult. When I had loud severe T from first onset I was able to adjust and move on. The volume did drop a little to about the level of a microwave.

Now from dental I have loud severe high somatic piercing T on top of my other T. It's difficult when the jaw or other physicals are contributing because they're always associated with neuro pain focus from bypassing an important emotional part of the brain.

When this happens as stated in the University of Illinois update of August 25, 2017, it's stated that exercise, having an active mind needs to be done to control T passing from one part of the brain to another and that's for all with loud severe T.

I hope to think that exercise and having an active mind will help when severe T does pass to another part of the brain. Bypassing doesn't happen with mild or moderate T and habituation may be very possible and easier. I left out the brain regions, but I and others have discussed them.

Help is on the way. U of I is now in their third study along with other studies and they all agree where T begins in the brain and where it goes afterwards and why. When these longitude studies are completed we should see clinical trails for a drug.

 

[BobDigi]

You're more optimistic than I am for a drug to cure or drastically quieten tinnitus.
I don't think there are any drugs coming our way in the near future.
Just my opinion, but I don't think tinnitus is high on the list for medical break throughs. I think the ear is so complicated that a tinnitus cure is impossible or a long long way off.

 

[Jazzer]

@Greg Sacramento - whether help is close by or not, we still urgently need to accept and habituate to get us through today, tomorrow and next week.
I fully understand the frustration and anger of the cure searchers, but if there is any method or technique that is proving to help many, it would be best to give it a try, if your mindset will allow.

 

[fishbone]

The mind is such a powerful thing, anything is achievable with it. It can work in our favor, IF we let it. We are the ones that can hold ourselves back.....

No matter how aggressive or gentle our tinnitus is, habituation/coping/living/thriving/accepting/overcoming is ALL possible and can be done.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@Jazzer I would have never post to you in disagreement. I agree and this is why. Neuro science tinnitus researchers have found the emotional parts of the brain where tinnitus has centered and the it's journey for those with severe tinnitus. They also know that mild/moderate T does not have brain travel. They have done all this thru several types of MRI related technology with the help of specialized neuro radiologists.

By doing this and from teaming with other psychology professionals they are in discovery of treatments per emotional attitudes called longitude studies. I visit many neuro sites that require registration. They have additional information from studies beyond the link below.

Some comments attained:
- For those with mild and moderate tinnitus there is less brain travel, making the limited emotional centers easier for habitation.
- Notched music may help, seen by use of MRI technology.
- Those who exercise and focus their mind on other things - decision making lower stress levels.
- Trigeminal neuralgia, jaw and joint disease, brain cell/stem disorders, disorders and disease contributing to T, ASD, TTTS - makes the T coping factor higher. These people often have high pitch T.

https://neuronsandsynapses.wordpres...y-of-precuneus-with-dorsal-attention-network/

 

[annabel16]

I went from being a pretty relaxed happy person to being a pretty relaxed happy person who is struggling with a little depression, nothing serious, but I don't want it to become chronic. Happily, for me the things that make the T bearable are the same things that make life meaningful and fun, so there's that... I enjoy helping others and I do that for a living, and the T is quietest when I'm busy and focused on others. If I'm enjoying sports or hobbies, it's also less obtrusive.

I think it's cool you asked this question, Jazzer. I worry about this happening to me someday, but more because of my sudden hearing loss. It is effortful to listen, so I may not want to invest as much of my down time in friends and loved ones, and not being clear on things does cause annoyance and misunderstanding.

I have to think that if you are sensitive and thoughtful and attuned enough to have this question, then you will be equally well equipped to counteract it's affect on your personality- if it is your will. I hope.

Thanks for sharing your meditation.

 

[Greg Sacramento]

@Jazzer I can remember when you first started posting I sent you some ideas by PM. One was baths and you responded by saying that you have been doing that. When I developed this new somatic T a year ago I had ASD and TTTS. That is gone and my stress has adjusted. I still have high pitch ringing and all the physical issues including neck problems and a severely damaged jaw from a front lower dental implant that now must be replaced again.

I always think about you and so many others when I'm in bed at night or not on the computer. I know that you have support from a loving lady and I do as well. I know that you will to continue to find ways to relax and I wish you the very best.