Hey
@fishbone. Always a pleasure reading your posts for their positive message.
I'm at the ENT again today because I need to do something. I've been off of work for almost a month and don't see myself returning anytime soon. After my worsening last year I kept on working and finally crashed big time early January, almost a year later.
How do you do it? I hear my tinnitus just about everywhere. I can maybe mask it in environments that are uncomfortably loud to me, so that's no help at all. Tried exercise and this doesn't help much at all but I'm still sticking to it cause I like it. Tried masking, distraction... What do I do?
Let me share something with you. From my experience through out the decades, I prefer to have some *LIGHT*/low volume tranquil noise/sound in the background. The idea is to have some sound that CAN have your brain listen to other than your tinnitus. My tinnitus has no chance of not being heard, it's loud and can be heard over highway noise
Even at low volumes, tranquil sounds can still soothe the mind. We don't even have to fully listen for it. For the first time ever I just overcame a very horrible 2-3 month spike. I figured it would become another new baseline, this one was extremely hard.
Low volume sound therapy works for me, and it relaxes me. It may not work for all,
so do find what works for YOU. The point is to find something that can help us relax. There are many tools and techniques out there.
I stuck to daily sound therapy and relaxation. It's gotten a little better and my ears are healing a little. Even though this new possible baseline was tough for me, I still stuck to my basics and foundations. Building up a foundation in your tinnitus journey is very important.
I use my lessons learned from my first days of the low static/barely noticeable hiss(took it for granted). Those days were the TOUGHEST for me. I had LOTS of unanswered question and was lost with what was going on. Now, decades later with tinnitus that is 5 to 10 times louder, I am not emotional about it. Yes, I am not pleased with this chaos that rings 24/7, but it's life, it's reality for me.
Building out our foundations, can be quite helpful for our tinnitus journey. I am still at the drawing board daily and I will always stand up to the tinnitus and take daily steps to possibly help my situation.
The point of exercise is to improve the physical and mental fitness. BOTH are key, but the mental aspect will always win for me. Doing a exercise routine can help the mind gain some relaxation. It can help the mind gain some distraction. Make sure that your exercise routine does not annoy your tinnitus.
ALL in all tinnitus has made me focus, on what I need to do on a daily basis to live with this condition. I will play by it's rules to some degree, but it will play by MINE as well. It's a give and take relationship. It has disciplined me and taught me many things. It has caused me to adjust my life. ALL in all, I accept what goes on. Just do my best to live a life that helps me and to try to come here and to help those that suffer
Having a plan, creating our routines early on can be quite helpful in our tinnitus journey.
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Got pulsatile in one ear at 23 and then tinnitus in the other at 24! It can be really scary and daunting but know that it does get better. Although I have some days that feel really scary again it always passes. Mine too is sinus related (I think).
. The thought that, at any moment, I could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and it could get even worse is truly terrifying. I didn't go anywhere without ear-plugs in my ears for that first year or so.
