Finally Habituated and Enjoying Life Again

Hello all,

I think it is fially time to post my own succes story.

First things first : one night I got into bed and suddenly I became aware of a loud very high pitched tone in my left ear, I asked my wife if she heard it too and she said everything was quiet and I knew it was in my head, I went to bed and tought it would be gone the next day, but off course I woke up and it was still there, did some googling and read all sort of horror stories and became a little worried.

Made an appointment with an ENT and she did an eartest, yup I had hearing damage and it was tinnitus, nothing could be done, she basically said : learn to live with it. How could I live with it, it was and is reactive to sound and I had Hyperacusis as well on top of it.

Those where very, very dark days, depressed, and I tought this was how my life would end, I turned from a careless life-loving guy to a complete wreck, lost my job and my lust for life.

I figured I could not deal with this alone so I sought professional help from a clinical psychologist. This has been a great help to deal with it.

Now after a hell of ride and long months of agony I can say that the T doesnt bother me anymore, it is still there but it has no hold on me anymore, I barely even notice it anymore and when I do I just can't be bothered, the H has totally gone away as well. If this is habituation I like it ! I read on this forum on my first months when i was suffering about a tiger/paper tiger and tought this was ridiculous, I would never habituate to this awfull sound but I did and it is true, it has become a paper tiger.

So even if it looks very bad the first months it does get better, never lose hope, you will enjoy life again, don't give up. My life sure has changed alot since I got T, it sure is a lifechanging thing, but I became a stronger person at the end of the road, if this did not get me down, nothing will !

Bart.

 

So happy to read this! Congratulations

 

A

Absolutely loved this! I'm going through the exact same, and I hope I can go down the same path you did! But I'm really young (15) and maybe in my lifetime there will be a cure or treatment.

 

Very encouraging success story for any new sufferer. T alone is tough and you had H too like me. Welcome to the club of the dual devils. Like most people with H that develop after T, your H just fades over time. H is often the more limiting problem but it also is usually the first one to fade. I have been the one calling T the paper tiger here. I am glad you now back up my statement. LOL. Congrats to your amazing recovery within a year and thanks for sharing it.

 

I'm so happy to read your post and see how positive you are feeling about dealing with your T. I actually first had hyperacusis 15 years ago when diagnosed with M.S. (there is definitely a link regardless of what doctors say). I've always had some slight tinnitus but just recently it became really loud and hard to ignore. My hyperacusis seems to be permanent in my right ear (same one as the T now) but the left cleared up and I deal with the loudness now very well. I'm hoping the same will happen to my T and that over time I will just learn to live with it and not think about it as you are doing. It's nice to hear from something that has both and is doing well!

Thank you for sharing!!

Barri

 

Very glad to hear the H has faded. I, like many, have both. I'm learning to deal with the T, but the H is the one that really alters my life.

 

Yippeee!!! Congrats!

 

Its stories like this that inspire me. Life is too good for t /h to ruin . It is hard but so are we. Onward and upward my friend.