3 Years with Mild Tinnitus: 10 Things I Learned.

Hi Everyone.

I am a creative soul and I have been living with T since October 2014, and I wanted to share my story for anyone that might benefit from my insights and conclusions.

I got the ringing about 5 days after I had an AUDIO accident while using a digital field recorder with in ear buds. I was sick and quite out of it , and didn't notice the volume was turned all the way up instead of down, and pressed record and had very loud AUDIO FEEDBACK go straight into my eardrums through my ear buds. I instantly felt I had deafened myself. And I then I panicked.

5 Days later, I woke up with the ringing. I went straight online, and found this forum, which I would read on and off, when It bothered me. I found some relief in knowing there are people who are suffering like I was.
I kept researching obsessively, in the end the only way out was through the experience.

The most scary part was the realization that most - audio related T sticks around. I went down the rabbit hole of sadness, remorse, backtracking, what ifs, how will i live now, what about my music, what about the silence ill never hear...

It was really tough, for me and my partner. For at least a year. I went to get my haring test. Normal hearing with a dip in 4k. That was the frequency of the feedback, and my T. 4k.

I was surprised my hearing was normal, because when I was a teen, I played in a very very loud punk rock band. I remember the ringing for days after practice. Then in my 20's I was a drummer for an indie rock band for 5 years! But I was smart, I wore earplugs every practice, every show.
My audiologist was surprised my hearing was as good as it was, as they had seen drummer with much worse charts.

The main difficulty was psychological as my T was mild - only noticeable when Im in bed, going to sleep or waking up, or in a very quiet room. As of now, its still at the same baseline level. Sometimes I have very loud fleeting T in various freq. in either ear, randomly. First this scared me, but it never laster longer than overnight, with shortest bout if mere seconds.

I became sensitive to sound for a year, ( even angry at people beeping their cars, partner clanging dishes) then it wore off, but I still wear earplugs anywhere beyond my comfort level.

In the 3 years Ive learned to to accept it, deal with it, meditate with it, see it in a different light, and modulate it. So I want to share my finding in hopes it will benefit someone in a similar situation.






1. It takes time for your self and your mind to accept the T. and you will not notice it but it WILL HAPPEN. You will realize its part of you and not a foreign entity, and eventually you will accept it. Hang in there. Be tough.

2. Now I look at it as a blessing, a reminded of the Infinite life Force with in me. Almost, like my hidden infinite energy container within me (charkra?) got scratched, and the T is the infinite light of energy shining through. This reversal of point of view made all the difference, but I only had this realization after acceptance.

3. T made me a healthier person: Why? It MADE ME practice Meditation. Accept things as they are, Less Sodium, Less stimulants . Less Stress, more Cardio. More stretching.
I like to enjoy my vices and I am fine trading off a little T for a little partying. Its works for me because I moderate. If I had a week of yoga, cardio, less vices and more herbal tea, I can barely hear the t in bed.

4. When you spend the time doing and paying attention to what you love, The T goes away. Your mind if busy enjoying what ever your enjoying. Do what you love most. no matter what. Don't let T stop you.

5. Your mind is not You. You will panic, and your mind will produce ugly, intrusive, self-judging , anxious very bad thoughts. But thoughts are not YOU. Let them come and go, concentrate on your breath. I suggest "The Untethered Soul" for more insight how to ignore anxiety, fear, and self- judgement.

6. Don't over sensitize to Sound. Since my ears were still recovering. I wore earplugs in my car, doing dishes. Avoiding Target parking lot BC of CAR alarms / beeping. This made me more sensitive and made me psychologically sensitive as a result. Then when I stopped, Hearing sensitivity went back to normal.

7. Don't panic if a loud sound happens. I've had fire alarms, car horns, train horns, metro/hammers dropping on concrete, dishes breaking, every time I panicked, thinking I made it worse. NOPE. just fear talking. Your ears will most likely recover.

8. Protect your ears with in reason. Don't Do #6, But Protect ears over time. On long flights I wear noise cancelling phones and foam earplugs - My T is louder than the plane noise. I avoid excessive amplified sound. I wear Etymotic ETY plugs 15db for loud bars/ metro/ action movies or whenever I feel the noise is too much. I keep them in my pocket. At home I have shotgun over ear phones for vacuuming and blender ( i prob don't need it but am used to it.) But don't Obsess about it. Thats' where I had difficulty. Let it be.

9. Things that lessen my t = a few minutes playing / listening to Glockenspiel ( yes it takes the t away for a few minutes of pure silence) . A weekend of moderate exercise and meditation.
Vascular constriction: ( cold shower decreases T dramatically - THIS ONE IS HUGE) or Pseudo-ephedrine. ( noticed my t was gone when I took sudafed for a cold). ( don't take sudafed everyday duh )Chi gong, photography, Having Fun with friends, partying ( within reason and moderation) , projects, travel. ( I literary don't notice it). RELAX AND MEDITATE. WIDEN YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS BEYOND YO' SELF. HAVE FUN WHATEVER MAKES YOU HAPPY.

10. Things that TEMPORARILY worsen my T: Alcohol, Caffeine, Salty food, esp. Alcohol with salty food. not working out, stress, loud / busy sound places. ( don't use in ear headphones, ever. ) Vascular Dilation.


On the Physical side, I have a hunch that T reacts on VASCULAR DILATION / CONSTRICTION.
But I'm puzzled as to why exercise helps T since it heightens blood pressure during workout, but in the long run, it lowers blood pressure. Maybe blood pressure control and meditation is key ?

So....It took 3 Years .I learned a lot about my self. Its just part of me now. It keeps me in check and healthy 9 almost like a check engine light - if it's lit, then I know to chill out on the spoils of life.
I still enjoy all the things I did before ( except excessive volume). Now I don't even notice it, and when I do, It reminds me of infinite energy.

 

Was that the volume level all along, or did your T gradually fade until it had reached that level?

 

I think the volume of my T in bed was the same on day 1 as it is now, BUT because in the beginning I paid attention and obsessed and stressed about it, it seemed louder. Today, the volume is about same, perhaps a tad quieter, but I think because my perception has changed, I don't pay attention to it, it seems quieter. Its even more quiet if I eat right and get cardio, drink chamomile tea (basically anything that quiets the nervous system) and much louder if I have a few beers and a salty dinner. It varies with the fluctuations of nervous system and vascular pressure. But because I accepted it as my own, and don't pay attention to it, it stopped bothering me as much as it did, even after a few beers. Now I accept loud T as a temporary side effect of beer, like burping.

 

Very nice positive post. I suggest you make a copy to post it in the success stories so struggling members can find hope and comfort in reading your story. I like the reversed psychology about T as a positive indication of your infinite energy. I have had these kinds of thoughts too to think that I must have a lot of internal energy for the body to produce such a screamer (ya, I can hear mine above jet noise during flights too like you). It works to moderate our reaction to T by turning it into something positive. It may be a form of mindfulness. Lol.

 

I also feel like my T lessens considerably when I stand vs lying down. It could have to do with lower blood pressure in the head region while standing.

I even bought a blood pressure monitor cuff to test this theory but the results fluctuated too much to be conclusive.

I'll try going to gym more, maybe it will help

 

Good post! I like the way you describe how T has made your life better in some ways. I've only had mine for 6 months and i would dearly love to be rid of it, but it has made me reduce my sugar, salt and alcohol, made me sleep more and generally give more time to myself (i'm squeezed middle generation with both small children and unwell parents to look out for so can be easy to overlook myself) and as swimming gives me temporary relief I do that a lot (3-5 times per week) and I can feel inside how healthy that has made me. I did sport before but in a high impact way, which i still do, but with swimming i focus on the relaxing side and the exercise just happens as a side benefit, oh and i've begun meditating too. I'd like to think if i become T-free i will keep all of this up, but i'm sure it would slip a bit. Anyway sounds like you have yourself fairly sorted but i also wanted to say that i know people who have fully recovered from sound induced tinnitus too so there is definitely hope that it won't stick around forever.