Avoiding Sound After a Setback?

Hi all,

A few days ago I got tired of being afraid doing ordinary things around the house would affect my tinnitus levels, so I just said I'm not having this, and went about cooking and doing things without earplugs, not running away from humming appliances etc like I normally do.

Levels went up and I kind of retreated to my room for a few days which helped a little. Now when I do small amounts of normal things, running taps etc it went up a lot. I can't see that avoiding sound is a good idea now but the opposite has been problematic too.

Speaker sound etc not great for me right now so I don't have sound enrichment etc based support.

Doing my best on the side of getting clinical help but currently haven't got that much on that side.

I'm posting a lot of different questions last few days but any wisdom is welcome

Thanks

A

 

I don’t know the details of your T and what cause it but I think the general consensus is that shying AWAY from noise is the wrong thing to do. Michael Leigh has a post somewhere on here specifically about NOT avoiding noises as you will most likely just make yourself even more sensitive to sounds in general. Your comment about hiding in your room for days doesn’t sound very helpful to yourself IMO.

 

Please be strong. You are the only one can save yourselves. Face it. Don't try to run away from it. Don't read horrorful stories here until you reach a strong mindset. Only read success stories and gain some confidence. Just try to do all normal things which you done before getting 'T'.Dont worry about each and every simple thing. Have good faith and hope in all. Do your thing and leave rest to that supreme power.

 

Thanks. I know that the prolonged silence isn't good but ordinary sound made it worse today too. So hard to figure out what to do

 

Understand your pain and frustration. I have overprotected myself for years with earplugs. Now getting to the stage where everything seems loud without them and somethings seem loud even with them!

Working up the courage to go without around the house, but it is hard!

 

Hi Anna,
If your only problem is the increase in tinnitus after exposure to sounds, I wouldn’t worry too much unless the tinnitus remains elevated after a good night’s sleep. Then I would advise caution.
I think it’s better to try some low level masking (eg crickets) instead of complete avoidance of sounds or overprotection.
My tinnitus was so bad at first that I couldn’t talk because of the noise my ear was making. This has got a little better. Still low level broadband sound seems to irritate it sometimes.
You can try some music for sound enrichment.

 

Thanks A.
Speaker based sounds weren't great for me last year when I had 'normal' tinnitus (low level, not sensitivity to sound or reaction much to it) so I haven't gone near them since I got sensitivity to sound. I'm so up for using the things you mentioned but not sure it will be great idea at the moment.

 

Thanks Elfin. It's frustrating to be doing something I don't think is a good idea i.e. avoiding sound , but not knowing what else to do

 

I agree. Not knowing what to do and not trusting that you will be ok by exposing yourself to noises which everyone else seems so comfortable with, but which are distressing and painful to you. This is offset by a desire to want to do things and go and live life, but feeling as though you cant really. Trapped in your own head and misery!

 

If anyone has found or knows a way to break this cycle I can really do with any help I can get.
Thanks so much

 

Without giving explanations on the cause of your T you won't get the right advice

 

Have you read her post before responding to it? She had provided evidence that there is a problem with acting in accordance with that "general consensus". It might work for healthy people, or for people with other conditions, but for some T and H sufferers it is plain wrong.

I guess you need to slow down the rate at which you expose yourself to noises. It is easiest to control the volume at which you watch video clips. You can begin with low volume and over time, very gradually, increase the volume and the time that you spend watching the videos at that louder volume.

 

Apologies I had it in in different thread, it's noise induced. Thanks all. Yeah, trying to do as much sound as I can..