7 Months into Tinnitus — Moving from "Hoping It Gets Better" to "Acceptance"

[Poseidon65]

Hi folks,

I've now had my tinnitus for 7 months following a loud concert. In the beginning, what got me through the days was the fact that the tinnitus should fade over time. However, in the past few months, it seems like the improvement has mostly stopped. I have some good days and some bad days, and honestly I can't tell if the tinnitus is moving in a positive direction anymore.

At this point, I feel like I need to stop counting on improvement and start accepting my tinnitus. But I'm having a hard time with it. It's hard for me to not focus on things like:

• How much better my life used to be
• How a 25-cent pair of earplugs could have saved me from this reality
• Fear about what the rest of my life will be like

etc.

Can anyone offer me any advice on how they started accepting their tinnitus successfully? I'm honestly not sure what I'm looking for here, but I hope someone out there might have some wise words / advice for me.

 

[ASilverLight]

Don't blame yourself, that's one thing. Plugs could have saved you and then the next day something loud could have gone off and you could be here anyway. That's how I try to look at it now, because that's what happened to me.

Can't really help you with the other two points because I'm still trying to figure that out too, however I just live day by day and, if that's too daunting, minute by minute. I cherish the good moments, and they keep me going. I hope that eventually this way it all becomes normal.