Doing Nothing Worked for Me

I felt bad after recovering from tinnitus that I haven't given back. I'm busy now, on my second startup company since my tinnitus started, first one sold to Google allowing me to retire … which I did for 8 days before starting my next company (my funder likes me).

Anyhow, I'm busy -- I'll be brief.
ONSET:
Prior: Sudden onset. My hearing is down 20db dagnabbit!
My tinnitus fluctuated from extremely loud to absolutely no sound.

The on and off nature made it harder to recover since I've had tinnitus startup all over again 100's of times now.

APPROACH:
I tried everything under the sun so that you don't have to. Sound therapy, supplements, diet, masking. Nothing works (until they physically restore hearing with implants or learn how to control feedback deep in your brain). Got that: your treatment will fail, your tinnitus will last forever. Don't try any of the treatments. I can detail more than a year of dedicated failure.

So, I invented a treatment that did work and I'm giving away for free: NOTHING. Do nothing about tinnitus. Don't track it, don't mask it, done regret it, don't try to get over it, don't wish for it to end, don't wish for it to continue, don't stop your life, don't avoid stress. Do absolutely nothing about it. If it keeps you up, don't sleep. Do not fight it, do not try to get over it, do not track it … do nothing about it. Just go out, socialize, work, start a new company, learn a new instrument, have more sex … whatever. Give up trying to get better, come in, the water is warm...

RESULTS:
After many months, tinnitus faded a bunch. But long before it did, I stopped hearing it most of the time. I used to never be able to turn my attention away, but long training in nothing means I can't even turn my attention to it. And when I do, meh, nothing. It has no power, no meaning.

It isn't something you overcome by practice. Stop trying. Your brain will get bored with it and that's the end. Even writing this, I heard it at the start and forgot to hear it until right now.

This wasn't a quick cure, progress came when I wasn't looking … because I had stopped trying to make any progress. . I thought my life was over, now it's cool. As others have said, I hear it no more than the trains that pass near my house -- they used to annoy me, now I almost never notice them … all without trying. Give giving up a try. 18 month cure. Your milage may vary.

 

So true.

 

I'm so happy for you and thank you @Barry Gradski . You give me hope. I'm in my 7th month and I wondered where to go from here. I am working five days a week, keeping a home, helping my husband with his business, socializing..as I type I am sitting in our mobile home camping. My T is very noticeable. I was wondering if I should try TRT. I just finished CBT after four months. It did help me to get over my terrible fear of tinnitus and I am working on desensitizing myself to the sound. It still annoys me many times. I have noticed that when I'm engrossed or interested in something that I don't always hear it. It kind of fades in and out. When I'm having a good time socially, it moves into the background. Maybe I should try doing nothing for awhile.

 

Thank your for yor incouragement!..mine started 1 month ago..hanging in there..God bless..stay in toch

 

Me too.

 

Thank you so much for this Barry, so encouraging. Did you used to post on here and then left until coming back today? Whilst this forum is invaluable for 'newbies' and I greatly appreciate the advice from those who have gone through it and out the other side I wonder whether hanging out here is maybe prolonging recovery for some of us - but I do find it a comfort at bad times. Would appreciate your view as would love to get to where you are

 

Thanks Barry.....this has given me hope

 

I do think there are bigger and more interesting, absorbing battles we can fight through to successful conclusions, other than this tinnitus deal. If we can find something; family, work, projects, community, whatever, to focus upon, the tinnitus doesn't get into the front seat of our consciousness. Think of it this way, our brain 'gets bored' (as B. Gradski noted) with many things during our lifetime. Why not relegate tinnitus to the 'brain is bored' file, too? As long as you are the personality type to think, 'this is boring for me, I'm moving on to do something else with the time I have on the planet' you've taken the first step. Hey, maybe tinnitus can be the impetus that makes you think of ways of getting outside of yourself, and discovering untapped potential. I know this is difficult for each of us based on individual life situations and our own inherent coping mechanisms. But, if we reduce it to the thought of simply needing to shift our focus, and have the ability to actually participate in other activities, it seems almost to be a done deal. Why not just try living, and if you must think of tinnitus at all, it's your own personal little motor humming along through life. A heart-beat, if you will.

 

Thousands of times for me. It goes completely... it's not there... and then pow - it's back. I recently had 6 days of bliss with nothing but a slight hiss after waking. On the 6th day I didn't even have the morning hiss. Is this it I thought? Is it finally going away completely? Day 7 arrived and it was back to full force (I'd inadvertently eaten something with citric acid in it - it's a hard one to avoid!).

Apart from avoiding foods that I know without a doubt increase the volume of mine (citric acid, more than 2g of salt a day, tea & so on) I've been following the 'do nothing' strategy too for a long time. I think it's the best way forward because otherwise tinnitus receives too much of my attention & time.

 

I just found this board. Probably (the board) wasn't here 24 years ago? I have had tinnitus for 24 years. I have had a few relapses and it makes me mad. I had a good run the last ten years. Now it is back again I started taking, from past experience, Prozac, Xanax, and Ambien to sleep. It helped me last time. Does anyone have any thoughts to my approach? I'm open to anything. I have habituated before and will do it again. Just takes time.

Thanks for being here!

 

Hello click

It's always wonderful to see any post from you ! I was just wondering if you have ever tried ' lecithin ' , stabilized rice bran complex and goat milk protein powder, I feel including these in my diet has helped me reduce t.

 

Hi Barry.
Thanks for sharing your story and giving us hope.
Doing nothing is a cool strategy. I would also like to do this.
But I would be wondering how loud the T was/is.
If I would not mask my dentist drill at least partly with high pitched crickets, my tension and anxiety goes through the roof.
But maybe I am not strong enough...although I think it is already great that I survived 8 months with this BS.

 

I like this: "Your brain will get bored with it and that's the end. "

My brain: "Okay, this is getting boring. Next!" Great stuff.

We should start a new therapy: TBT - Tinnitus Boring Therapy!

 

I love, love, love this post ... i have been doing nothing for a little while now, i've stopped taking supplements, i never mask, i eat what i want and i have gone back to drinking wine ... because when i gave up nearly everything that i liked for fear of my T spiking and me in tears every day of my life T would spike anyway no matter how much i wrapped myself up in cotton wool, so now i do NOTHING apart from plug when i feel the surrounding noise is too loud, as a result i accept that when it's low it's low, and when it ramps up for the day so be it, yes i'm bored, bored, bored with living like a person with special needs, i don't have special needs anymore if the food is salty so what i just eat it and take the consequences as it comes ... i must say i'm slowly getting my life back, and i mean slowly, i still have meltdowns and feel sorry for myself but not as much as i used to.

 

Well done Carol. I never changed my diet after T. Because it can drive you crazy thinking about each and everything and how it influences your T. At the end I found out nothing influences it. It is unpredictable. What I really like is that you don't mask. That is a very strong step. All the best for you.

 

Sounds like what you are describing -- and very eloquently, Mr Gradski -- is acceptance. Which is everything.
Consider yourself having given back

 

Hi Barry just intrigued to know, as sounds like that you have successfully habituated, but do you really now hardly hear anything unless you go looking for it as that how you would classify your self as that is fantastic certainly a position I think a lot of us would dearly love to bi in and hopefully soon.

All the best.

 

Freddie, I have 'T' for 24 years. I had several relapses and have habituated each time. I do not recall how it happened but it just became part of me. I can assure you it wasn't overnight. The last ten years have been great. 'T' did not go away it just stop bothering me. But it is back. I know what to expect, not happy, but I will wait it out until I habituate again. Best of luck.

 

Thank you for the success story. It is so true. In the end, it is doing nothing for tinnitus that is the beginning of turning around. If we give T no time, no attention, no special treatment, the brain will just fall in line, accepting T as just a fact of life. Soon it gets bored with the repeated stimulus and just fades it out. That is how the stretches of not hearing T getting more and longer as time goes by. I will add that besides not doing anything for T, we get back to living our life as it was and make it enjoyable & productive. When you we can do that, T becomes less and less as an issue and mother time will do the rest of healing miraculously.

 

Wonderful and encouraging story. Thank you very much for sharing. It means a lot to everybody here and I wish you a happy life forever. But also I was a little disheartened when I read in your story that it will never go and will last forever( although I understand that it may be true) . Just being honest

 

billie, you have beautiful works. Last ten years my T has been great now I am having a hard time. It is only 3 weeks patience is my allied.

 

I am like you Martin, I've not been able to get to a comfort zone with my T to ignore it ….but am sure trying. It has been 4 months now and it is mostly in my left ear, loud screeching like a dental drill.

 

guys, don't give up... Big hugs from Canada xx

 

Glad I stopped in to read the forum today!!! TyTy I experience my T just as you described yours hard to believe that I can teach myself to ignore it. But as I have said before I have spent thousands of dollars and nothing has helped.
So why not give this freebie a go? No side effects other than T not taking over my mind.

 

That is the best post I have read on tinnitus so far.

 

I think this is more for people with mild tinnitus who are fixated on listening out for it.

 

Yes,you may be right.Everyone is different,and at a different stage.This is one approach that will work for many.For others this forum will remain a godsend.

 

Trust me, when I had super bad tinnitus, it was all about masking. In-fact, there was a study saying that using sound therapy from the beginning will give significant benefits. I've really bad tinnitus and mild tinnitus, thankfully, I have only mild tinnitus now, cheers trobalt! Anyway, let me tell you if you have super bad tinnitus which is hard to mask, not masking for a day would be a struggle...I had headphones on with sound therapy for 8 hours a day otherwise I wouldn't gone crazy...With mild tinnitus ignoring it is so, so easy. Trust me, big difference.

 

Tinnitus is only as loud as you make it. Acceptance is the cure. Once you no longer see it as a threat it gets much much better. I think that's the key to beating this thing.

 

Just read this that you wrote back in June of this year..bit confused as you said that you had reactive T and H way way back and any sound made your T go back up really loud competing with the sound and that is why you could not use the white sound generators given to you, But here you say that you wore headphones masking your T so I am slightly a lot confused? Sorry this is an old post of yours but just asking if that is okay? cheers.....